Student finance being useless
Before you ask and have ago at for saying how student finance is useless here is a brief summary of why: after applying for student finance in march and getting my entitlement of only 3.7K in July I am still having huge amounts of problems with them down to the lack of information they give you in the first place and the fact that they have no idea what they are doing every time I call up. the fact that after calling them 3 times today the only advice I have got is to call up another HMR service to sort out a student finance problem which on top of that wasn't even the right one kinda does show something. I mean next to the tally of how times they have "I don't know", "let me just put you on hold for another 2 minuets" or the worst one me:"how long will it take" SF: "it shouldn't take that long". Like how long is not that long can I not get an estimate or something?
so yeah if you still want to argue with that or try to help please read on but it only gets worse.
So back when I first applied I was confused about what evidence I was personally meant to send so I sent off the usual DSA evidence and evidence that my mum claimed housing benefit for me just in-case I could apply for the Special support grant as when I applied it said if I came from a low income family or claimed housing benefits I might be entitled to it. not that long after I got my DSA evidence back saying they would get back to me and so on and everything was fine but I got nothing back about the other evidence. Later on my mum sent off her evidence and form saying how many benefits she claimed and my step dads P60.
Now time skip to early July, I got my first entitlement letter at some point when I was on holiday so when I got back I was slightly confused to see that it said I was getting 3.7K loan and nothing else. at first I though it might be that they had processed everything but after asking friends I found out that probably wasn't the case so I phoned up student finance for the first time to find out was wrong just for them to give me about 20 thing that my parents could of done wrong which didn't really help at all it just left me to have a long talk with my parents basically repeating everything student finance has told me to them but this caused more confusion then anything else. lucky we then got a letter each from student finance the next day I got another entitlement letter, my mum got given the same forms again to fill out and my step dad got a letter saying that he sent the wrong years P60. woooo we had our solution or so we thought all we had to do was contact my step dads work and ask them to provide an outdated P60 for a time when my step dad wasn't even financially responsible for me. but owell we sent it off plus the forms they asked my mum to fill in again plus the evidence that showed how much benefits she claimed for the financial year. this was about the 20thish of July by this point so when results day came around and I started sorting out accommodation and budgets the last thing I wanted to see was the the entitlement had still not changed. by the 16th I got around to phoning them for the second time and it turned out the had only received my evidence on the 6th of august so I called one day too short basically and that it should all be done in a couple days time and the website would soon be updated afterwards. so after checking the website everyday and nothing changing, another letter arrived saying the usual we have received your evidence and it will be processed within the next 6-8weeks upon receiving the letter it was both nice and horrible I thought that I could just sit back and at some point it would just sort its self out and I would get the full amount I am entitled to but at the same time my course started before that and both people I spoke to on the phone said it wouldn't take that long.
so I sat and kinda waited while sorting other things for uni until today when I decided I might as well phone up just to check how long I still needed to wait as my tenancy technically starts today but I am not moving in till the 12th. So when I called for the 1st time today you can imagine how angry I was to find out that yet again they had decided that I was only entitled to the minimum and they decided this on the 25th so about a month after I sent the evidence and they didn't say anything no letter no email no nothing. And there reason behind it was is awful. turns out my step dad P60 had all checked out in which case you are wondering he earns about 17K a year so way under the threshold. But my mums evidence didn't check out apparently so I am here on the phone thinking so why am I still getting the minimum when there are no benefits that's would cause my family to go up to the maximum which I pretty sure is like 40K to get the minimum loan like I am on now.
so after explain this to the guy on the phone he is like: "you just need to send off evidence for your mums benefits"
Me: "what do you mean just? I have already sent the evidence 3 times now, this is getting a bit ridiculous now!"
Then silence.......my phone still said I was connected but there was no sound coming from the other end so either the guy disconnected me or muted me or there might of been some other problem but if he did its a tad rude! But I waited for almost 10 minuets just in case.
So after recollecting myself I phoned again as this really needed to be sorted within the next few days. so I explained the situation with the next guy and what just happened and he explained a little bit more on what I actually needed to send but the majority didn't make sense to me so I said I would talk to my mum and call back later. But I knew I needed evidence of the total benefits my mum claimed for the year 2014-2015.
After talking to my mum the only thing she had like that was a final tax credit decision for 2014-2015 which is what she thought she sent last time. So just to check it was the right thing I phoned up for the 3rd and final time today just so I could make sure I was 100% sure I was sending the right thing. so I did the usual and explained everything again for the guy just to say: "wait let me put you on hold again to check" when he got back I told him what the evidence was called and he went on hold again to look at a list of accepted evidence as apparently the list was really long. but it wasn't on the list so he named a couple which weren't it so i described it, it the summary of how much money my mum gets in benefits from things like working tax credits which he then replied with no that's not it at all its benefits such as job seekers allowance ect. I then had to explain to him that my mum doesn't claim any other benefits other then ones that are related to her children and how none of them are for herself as she counts as a dependent on my step dad. In which he told me that I should call up the working and pensions section of HMR to see if they could tell me if this evidence would be enough or for them to send my mum a letter of benefit entitlement which would basically be a letter say that my mum earns and claims a whole £0 for herself. but after that since the guy never gave me a number I to search it up which took a lot longer then it seems which then turned out was the wrong place to be calling anyway and the right place had a 30 min wait on hold so there wasn't enough time to get through to anyone.
The worst bit is for my mum to get anything sent to her to send off it would take at least a week and some of the evidence you even need to apply for a year in advance. And the last guy told me that if I did manage to get all the evidence to them by Friday it would only be processed around the 23rd of December but since that isn't gonna happen and I have 4 months rent to pay on the 1st of October student finance has really screwed me over. And to think a couple of days ago I was worrying that I would have to live off £10 a week on food.
Thanks for reading if you managed it all if anyone has any ideas please comment but I have already looked at the idea of student bank accounts but a most of them will only give you a starting overdraft of £500 it still wont be enough to cover my first lot of rent.
so yeah if you still want to argue with that or try to help please read on but it only gets worse.
So back when I first applied I was confused about what evidence I was personally meant to send so I sent off the usual DSA evidence and evidence that my mum claimed housing benefit for me just in-case I could apply for the Special support grant as when I applied it said if I came from a low income family or claimed housing benefits I might be entitled to it. not that long after I got my DSA evidence back saying they would get back to me and so on and everything was fine but I got nothing back about the other evidence. Later on my mum sent off her evidence and form saying how many benefits she claimed and my step dads P60.
Now time skip to early July, I got my first entitlement letter at some point when I was on holiday so when I got back I was slightly confused to see that it said I was getting 3.7K loan and nothing else. at first I though it might be that they had processed everything but after asking friends I found out that probably wasn't the case so I phoned up student finance for the first time to find out was wrong just for them to give me about 20 thing that my parents could of done wrong which didn't really help at all it just left me to have a long talk with my parents basically repeating everything student finance has told me to them but this caused more confusion then anything else. lucky we then got a letter each from student finance the next day I got another entitlement letter, my mum got given the same forms again to fill out and my step dad got a letter saying that he sent the wrong years P60. woooo we had our solution or so we thought all we had to do was contact my step dads work and ask them to provide an outdated P60 for a time when my step dad wasn't even financially responsible for me. but owell we sent it off plus the forms they asked my mum to fill in again plus the evidence that showed how much benefits she claimed for the financial year. this was about the 20thish of July by this point so when results day came around and I started sorting out accommodation and budgets the last thing I wanted to see was the the entitlement had still not changed. by the 16th I got around to phoning them for the second time and it turned out the had only received my evidence on the 6th of august so I called one day too short basically and that it should all be done in a couple days time and the website would soon be updated afterwards. so after checking the website everyday and nothing changing, another letter arrived saying the usual we have received your evidence and it will be processed within the next 6-8weeks upon receiving the letter it was both nice and horrible I thought that I could just sit back and at some point it would just sort its self out and I would get the full amount I am entitled to but at the same time my course started before that and both people I spoke to on the phone said it wouldn't take that long.
so I sat and kinda waited while sorting other things for uni until today when I decided I might as well phone up just to check how long I still needed to wait as my tenancy technically starts today but I am not moving in till the 12th. So when I called for the 1st time today you can imagine how angry I was to find out that yet again they had decided that I was only entitled to the minimum and they decided this on the 25th so about a month after I sent the evidence and they didn't say anything no letter no email no nothing. And there reason behind it was is awful. turns out my step dad P60 had all checked out in which case you are wondering he earns about 17K a year so way under the threshold. But my mums evidence didn't check out apparently so I am here on the phone thinking so why am I still getting the minimum when there are no benefits that's would cause my family to go up to the maximum which I pretty sure is like 40K to get the minimum loan like I am on now.
so after explain this to the guy on the phone he is like: "you just need to send off evidence for your mums benefits"
Me: "what do you mean just? I have already sent the evidence 3 times now, this is getting a bit ridiculous now!"
Then silence.......my phone still said I was connected but there was no sound coming from the other end so either the guy disconnected me or muted me or there might of been some other problem but if he did its a tad rude! But I waited for almost 10 minuets just in case.
So after recollecting myself I phoned again as this really needed to be sorted within the next few days. so I explained the situation with the next guy and what just happened and he explained a little bit more on what I actually needed to send but the majority didn't make sense to me so I said I would talk to my mum and call back later. But I knew I needed evidence of the total benefits my mum claimed for the year 2014-2015.
After talking to my mum the only thing she had like that was a final tax credit decision for 2014-2015 which is what she thought she sent last time. So just to check it was the right thing I phoned up for the 3rd and final time today just so I could make sure I was 100% sure I was sending the right thing. so I did the usual and explained everything again for the guy just to say: "wait let me put you on hold again to check" when he got back I told him what the evidence was called and he went on hold again to look at a list of accepted evidence as apparently the list was really long. but it wasn't on the list so he named a couple which weren't it so i described it, it the summary of how much money my mum gets in benefits from things like working tax credits which he then replied with no that's not it at all its benefits such as job seekers allowance ect. I then had to explain to him that my mum doesn't claim any other benefits other then ones that are related to her children and how none of them are for herself as she counts as a dependent on my step dad. In which he told me that I should call up the working and pensions section of HMR to see if they could tell me if this evidence would be enough or for them to send my mum a letter of benefit entitlement which would basically be a letter say that my mum earns and claims a whole £0 for herself. but after that since the guy never gave me a number I to search it up which took a lot longer then it seems which then turned out was the wrong place to be calling anyway and the right place had a 30 min wait on hold so there wasn't enough time to get through to anyone.
The worst bit is for my mum to get anything sent to her to send off it would take at least a week and some of the evidence you even need to apply for a year in advance. And the last guy told me that if I did manage to get all the evidence to them by Friday it would only be processed around the 23rd of December but since that isn't gonna happen and I have 4 months rent to pay on the 1st of October student finance has really screwed me over. And to think a couple of days ago I was worrying that I would have to live off £10 a week on food.
Thanks for reading if you managed it all if anyone has any ideas please comment but I have already looked at the idea of student bank accounts but a most of them will only give you a starting overdraft of £500 it still wont be enough to cover my first lot of rent.
They don't need evidence of non-taxable benefits at all to assess financial income. They just aren't counted. Maybe your mum confused the employment benefits section of the form (which should have been filled with £0 if she wasn't employed) with state benefits?
Also, they'd not be looking at anything from tax year 2014/15, at all. It's tax year 2013/14 for academic year 2015/16.
Also, they'd not be looking at anything from tax year 2014/15, at all. It's tax year 2013/14 for academic year 2015/16.
2/10 Too many paragraphs. Not enough fish and too much water
Original post by applicationa
They don't need evidence of non-taxable benefits at all to assess financial income. They just aren't counted. Maybe your mum confused the employment benefits section of the form (which should have been filled with £0 if she wasn't employed) with state benefits?
Also, they'd not be looking at anything from tax year 2014/15, at all. It's tax year 2013/14 for academic year 2015/16.
Also, they'd not be looking at anything from tax year 2014/15, at all. It's tax year 2013/14 for academic year 2015/16.
I am sorry but that's not what student finance I have told me they said quite clearly 2014/15 as I commented on the fact that my step dads was 2013/14 and they ensured me it was 2014/15 for the benefits. And I was actually there when she did the whole online form thing cause she made a joke about how it came up with are "you sure you make exactly £0" or something. but that's what they want proof off that she makes nothing basically which is practically impossible
to prove.
Original post by Shiki.k
I am sorry but that's not what student finance I have told me they said quite clearly 2014/15 as I commented on the fact that my step dads was 2013/14 and they ensured me it was 2014/15 for the benefits. And I was actually there when she did the whole online form thing cause she made a joke about how it came up with are "you sure you make exactly £0" or something. but that's what they want proof off that she makes nothing basically which is practically impossible
to prove.
to prove.
I was an advisor for more than a year, I know what I'm talking about. They don't need evidence of parental non-taxable benefits, ever. They also won't ask for 14/15 tax year details until academic year 16/17.
Your mother could get a statement of earnings from the tax year 13/14 from HMRC, and send this along with a letter stating that she has no taxable earnings for tax year 13/14.
Of course, it is possible that your mother does have some taxable income for that tax year that she's forgotten about... in which case it would show on the statement of earnings from HMRC.
(edited 8 years ago)
Original post by applicationa
I was an advisor for more than a year, I know what I'm talking about. They don't need evidence of parental non-taxable benefits, ever. They also won't ask for 14/15 tax year details until academic year 16/17.
Your mother could get a statement of earnings from the tax year 13/14 from HMRC, and send this along with a letter stating that she has no taxable earnings for tax year 13/14.
Of course, it is possible that your mother does have some taxable income for that tax year that she's forgotten about... in which case it would show on the statement of earnings from HMRC.
Your mother could get a statement of earnings from the tax year 13/14 from HMRC, and send this along with a letter stating that she has no taxable earnings for tax year 13/14.
Of course, it is possible that your mother does have some taxable income for that tax year that she's forgotten about... in which case it would show on the statement of earnings from HMRC.
sorry but key word being was I had two people today tell me it was 2014/15 and since they where looking at some sort of database from student finance that said what evidence I was missing I think I will take there word. but I will probably call up tomorrow just to double check. But how would I go about getting this statement as both me and my mum have no idea what to even ask for?
So update my mum called the Tax office and they said that all they could give her is a statement of everything the Tax office has relating to my mum but this could take up too weeks meaning I would get the rest of my money around the 4th of October if I managed to send this off straight away which is still after my rent is due and since I have gone private I would have to pay a fee if I wanted to pay my rent late which is worrying too. However when I phoned up and explained the situation again the lady I spoke too said in his situation all I need was a written letter from my mum confirming that she claims and owns nothing. which to me seems kinda weird why would they need her to write a letter confirming that she earns nothing when she said so online? either way I am gonna send it off as that is simply done but I don't know if I should phone up again just to double check or not? can anyone explain why my mum needs to do this?
They really suck, they don't make any sense.. I haven't heard much from them either.
Original post by SassyDancer
They really suck, they don't make any sense.. I haven't heard much from them either.
yeah I really don't understand why they don't just send letters explaining whats gone wrong and that would take so much less time I think my time on the phone to them is in the hours now which is a lot longer then the few mins that it could of taken someone to write all that in a letter then send i with my entitlement. Really hoping next year is easier.
Original post by Shiki.k
However when I phoned up and explained the situation again the lady I spoke too said in his situation all I need was a written letter from my mum confirming that she claims and owns nothing. which to me seems kinda weird why would they need her to write a letter confirming that she earns nothing when she said so online? either way I am gonna send it off as that is simply done but I don't know if I should phone up again just to double check or not? can anyone explain why my mum needs to do this?
The reason for this is that if someone has not claimed any benefits at all or had any tax to pay at all, the HMRC will have no record of them in that tax year. So, when SFE try to confirm income details with HMRC, they can't.
Original post by Shiki.k
So update my mum called the Tax office and they said that all they could give her is a statement of everything the Tax office has relating to my mum but this could take up too weeks meaning I would get the rest of my money around the 4th of October if I managed to send this off straight away which is still after my rent is due and since I have gone private I would have to pay a fee if I wanted to pay my rent late which is worrying too. However when I phoned up and explained the situation again the lady I spoke too said in his situation all I need was a written letter from my mum confirming that she claims and owns nothing. which to me seems kinda weird why would they need her to write a letter confirming that she earns nothing when she said so online? either way I am gonna send it off as that is simply done but I don't know if I should phone up again just to double check or not? can anyone explain why my mum needs to do this?
Your Mum needs to do that, as SF as far as possible need proof of what she's saying. Currently she's saying that she has no taxable earnings, income or benefits, which would be quite unusual. At face value, it looks like she has had no way of supporting herself or you. If your Mum sends something in writing to SF, this can be used at a later date if any irregularities are found in her info (and therefore your entitlement to SF). Fraudulent statements will be used as evidence to reclaim SF which has been incorrectly paid.
It sounds draconian, but SF are obliged to cover their backs when dishing out taxpayers' money. As long as your Mum's telling the truth to both SF and HMRC, then there's absolutely no problem and it's going to be the quickest fix for you. Get her to pop the signed letter in the post as soon as possible and the job is done.
Original post by applicationa
The reason for this is that if someone has not claimed any benefits at all or had any tax to pay at all, the HMRC will have no record of them in that tax year. So, when SFE try to confirm income details with HMRC, they can't.
Original post by Klix88
Your Mum needs to do that, as SF as far as possible need proof of what she's saying. Currently she's saying that she has no taxable earnings, income or benefits, which would be quite unusual. At face value, it looks like she has had no way of supporting herself or you. If your Mum sends something in writing to SF, this can be used at a later date if any irregularities are found in her info (and therefore your entitlement to SF). Fraudulent statements will be used as evidence to reclaim SF which has been incorrectly paid.
It sounds draconian, but SF are obliged to cover their backs when dishing out taxpayers' money. As long as your Mum's telling the truth to both SF and HMRC, then there's absolutely no problem and it's going to be the quickest fix for you. Get her to pop the signed letter in the post as soon as possible and the job is done.
It sounds draconian, but SF are obliged to cover their backs when dishing out taxpayers' money. As long as your Mum's telling the truth to both SF and HMRC, then there's absolutely no problem and it's going to be the quickest fix for you. Get her to pop the signed letter in the post as soon as possible and the job is done.
Thanks both of you. slightly less confused about it now and hopefully it will all be sorted out before I have to pay my first lot of rent. but I wouldn't of really thought it was that uncommon as there are still plenty of stay at home mums out there which wouldn't claim anything.
Original post by Shiki.k
yeah I really don't understand why they don't just send letters explaining whats gone wrong and that would take so much less time I think my time on the phone to them is in the hours now which is a lot longer then the few mins that it could of taken someone to write all that in a letter then send i with my entitlement. Really hoping next year is easier.
IKR Don gemme started on em! >
Did they get bak to you? They send me a letter saying they lost my evidence so I have to send it again omg so annoying they are. All last minQuick Reply
Related discussions
- Help
- Student Finance Rejected - Urgent Help Needed
- Do I have any hope at passing Business?
- is radiography worth it
- Gap year or uni??
- Looking for funding
- Should A-level Maths or A-level Statistics be compulsory?
- Is french a-level useless?
- True or false - non-STEM degrees are a waste of time?
- Not eligible for student finance
- How do I get funding for a 3 year degree if I have a CertHE
- Business Management as a degree? GOOD OR BAD?
- As a uni student, how much is it normal to have saved?
- Student Finance
- Student Finance England does not work.
- What's the difference between 'BScEcon', 'BSc (Hons) and BA(Hons)?
- entry requirements for uni
- bristol or exeter economics?
- Scared to do Philosophy BA
- Could I move Unis after second year? moving for final year?
Latest
Trending
Last reply 1 week ago
Can i receive student finance while on Universal credit and PIP?Posted 1 month ago
Student Finance ineligible, dubious reasons , re-evaluation and appealsLast reply 1 month ago
2024 applicants: do you understand how student finance works?Last reply 1 month ago
withdrawn from university due to non payment of tuition feesTrending
Last reply 1 week ago
Can i receive student finance while on Universal credit and PIP?Posted 1 month ago
Student Finance ineligible, dubious reasons , re-evaluation and appealsLast reply 1 month ago
2024 applicants: do you understand how student finance works?Last reply 1 month ago
withdrawn from university due to non payment of tuition fees