The Student Room Group

Maintenance Grant Reclaimed by SLC

Hi just a quick question.

I was in my second year of study last academic year and was forced to intermit my studies in January last year and resume this year to repeat my second year due to being diagnosed with a mental health disability and being sectioned to receive care for my condition in hospital.

SLC are claiming back the Maintenance Grant I received for the previous year this year and I'm not receiving anything as they say they already paid me for a year which I didn't complete.

Obviously being admitted into hospital is no fault of my own, are they allowed to do this?

Does it make a difference that I am receiving a special support Grant this year as oppose to Maintenance Grant?

I have contacted both SLC and SFE and both state the other department deals with this issue.

I'm stuck at a brick-wall, What can I do?

EDIT: I was also declared as unfit to work though couldn't receive any income-support due to being a Student. Therefore had to continue receiving my student loans etc. during the period I wasn't at university.

Thanks
(edited 10 years ago)
Reply 1
Hi just a quick question.

I was in my second year of study last academic year and was forced to intermit my studies in January last year and resume this year to repeat my second year due to being diagnosed with a mental health disability and being sectioned to receive care for my condition in hospital.

SLC are claiming back the Maintenance Grant I received for the previous year this year and I'm not receiving anything as they say they already paid me for a year which I didn't complete.

Obviously being admitted into hospital is no fault of my own, are they allowed to do this?

Does it make a difference that I am receiving a special support Grant this year as oppose to Maintenance Grant?

I have contacted both SLC and SFE and both state the other department deals with this issue.

I'm stuck at a brick-wall, What can I do?

EDIT: I was also declared as unfit to work though couldn't receive any income-support due to being a Student. Therefore had to continue receiving my student loans etc. during the period I wasn't at university.

Thanks
Reply 2
Original post by Student_G
Hi just a quick question.

I was in my second year of study last academic year and was forced to intermit my studies in January last year and resume this year to repeat my second year due to being diagnosed with a mental health disability and being sectioned to receive care for my condition in hospital.

SLC are claiming back the Maintenance Grant I received for the previous year this year and I'm not receiving anything as they say they already paid me for a year which I didn't complete.

Obviously being admitted into hospital is no fault of my own, are they allowed to do this?

Does it make a difference that I am receiving a special support Grant this year as oppose to Maintenance Grant?

I have contacted both SLC and SFE and both state the other department deals with this issue.

I'm stuck at a brick-wall, What can I do?


From what I understand of your situation you need to apply for Compelling Personal Reasons. Compelling Personal Reasons are mitigating circumstances that explain why you've needed to repeat study or leave a course.

It's explained on Nottingham Trent's website (toward the bottom under heading of compelling personal reasons).

http://www.ntu.ac.uk/student_services/fees_finance/changes_affecting_finance/Repeating_part_of_course/

And in more detail by Northumbria, who give more advice on how to apply and the documents needed

http://www.northumbria.ac.uk/sd/central/stud_serv/sws/homeinfo/programme_change/cpr/

But that said, I'm a bit confused as to why you aren't receiving the full package this year. How many years of support have you had previous and how long is your course?

It's best to try and get information and support through student support or the finance office at your university if you can. You may be able to give them permission to communicate with SFE on your behalf (though you'll need to discuss the giving of this permission with SFE).

EDIT: I was also declared as unfit to work though couldn't receive any income-support due to being a Student. Therefore had to continue receiving my student loans etc. during the period I wasn't at university.

Thanks


You might have been entitled to Employment and Support Allowance as a full-time student. This replaced Income Support on the grounds of health or disability in 2007. Did no one advise you to claim?
Reply 3
Original post by River85
From what I understand of your situation you need to apply for Compelling Personal Reasons. Compelling Personal Reasons are mitigating circumstances that explain why you've needed to repeat study or leave a course.

It's explained on Nottingham Trent's website (toward the bottom under heading of compelling personal reasons).

http://www.ntu.ac.uk/student_services/fees_finance/changes_affecting_finance/Repeating_part_of_course/

And in more detail by Northumbria, who give more advice on how to apply and the documents needed

http://www.northumbria.ac.uk/sd/central/stud_serv/sws/homeinfo/programme_change/cpr/

But that said, I'm a bit confused as to why you aren't receiving the full package this year. How many years of support have you had previous and how long is your course?

It's best to try and get information and support through student support or the finance office at your university if you can. You may be able to give them permission to communicate with SFE on your behalf (though you'll need to discuss the giving of this permission with SFE).



You might have been entitled to Employment and Support Allowance as a full-time student. This replaced Income Support on the grounds of health or disability in 2007. Did no one advise you to claim?


Thank you very much for your reply! I was entitled for Income Support Allowance, however they decided I hadn't paid enough NI contributions. Then my Welfare officer appealed this decision and they requested that I proved I had repaid the Student Loans that I wasn't 'entitled' to. Of course I hadn't as they didn't pay me so I needed money from somewhere else. This was a process that went on for months.

It wasn't until July-August I was approved for DLA at which point I could have applied to receive ISA. However, as I was resuming University I didn't bother.

I did my first year without any hiccups and it was my second year when problems arose. To answer your question, I am in my 3rd year of funded-study though re-sitting my second year If this makes any sense. I study at a private University and lost out on the fees I paid originally and have to repay them to sit that semester again.

SFE is funding me exactly as they did last year although they say the Maintenance grant was overpaid as I wasn't studying during the period in which it was paid so they have deducted it from this years entitlement. Everything else that I am expected to pay back has been awarded. So in retrospect I am paying for my second year twice.

Thanks for the links I'll take a look at them.
Original post by River85
From what I understand of your situation you need to apply for Compelling Personal Reasons. Compelling Personal Reasons are mitigating circumstances that explain why you've needed to repeat study or leave a course.

It's explained on Nottingham Trent's website (toward the bottom under heading of compelling personal reasons).

http://www.ntu.ac.uk/student_services/fees_finance/changes_affecting_finance/Repeating_part_of_course/

And in more detail by Northumbria, who give more advice on how to apply and the documents needed

http://www.northumbria.ac.uk/sd/central/stud_serv/sws/homeinfo/programme_change/cpr/

But that said, I'm a bit confused as to why you aren't receiving the full package this year. How many years of support have you had previous and how long is your course?

It's best to try and get information and support through student support or the finance office at your university if you can. You may be able to give them permission to communicate with SFE on your behalf (though you'll need to discuss the giving of this permission with SFE).



You might have been entitled to Employment and Support Allowance as a full-time student. This replaced Income Support on the grounds of health or disability in 2007. Did no one advise you to claim?


While this is true, it is not well known about. I am trying to help a friend claim ESA backdated to a period when she was a student, and we have had so much trouble with doing so.

An example of some the trouble we have had



If you have made an application for Employment & Support allowance, you might be able to get the application relooked at - although as you have already learned, there are no clear rules for who gets it and who doesn't. You should have been able to claim under the income-based route, not the contribution-based route. You can appeal a claim up to 13 months after the original decision, however you have to have a reason for why you didn't appeal within 1 month. This might be something worth looking into, for extra support or support instead of student finance - however do try and get someone to help you with it.

If you apply for (and are granted) compelling personal reasons with student finance, then you won't need to pay back what they considered they overpaid you last year.
Yes they are entitled to claim back grant you received to which you were no longer entitled.

All your claimed mitigation is irrelevant.
I don't understand what any of this has to with SFE demanding back a grant to which the OP was no longer entitled.
Original post by balotelli12
I don't understand what any of this has to with SFE demanding back a grant to which the OP was no longer entitled.


The OP may have been entitled under the 'compelling personal reasons' procedure. Me and River are also trying to explore over forms of finance that the OP may be entitled to, if his CPR are rejected by student finance for any reason.
Reply 8
Original post by balotelli12
I don't understand what any of this has to with SFE demanding back a grant to which the OP was no longer entitled.


The rules regarding Student Finance can be complex, and there likely have been several changes since I was a student. Perhaps SFE are entitled to SFE and special compelling reasons do not apply. However (and this is only an assumption on my part) the OP doesn't seem to have much support or information. We are just letting the OP know that Compelling Personal Reasons exists. Even if it's not appropriate for, the OP may need to apply in the future. We're also giving information about other things that he may be entitled to whether his grant gets reclaimed or not. It's useful information.

Original post by rmhumphries
While this is true, it is not well known about. I am trying to help a friend claim ESA backdated to a period when she was a student, and we have had so much trouble with doing so..


Oh, I know it isn't well known about.

It's the same to some extent with housing benefit/local housing allowance, which full time students cannot normally claim. It's well documented by 1000s of websites, including charities, that certain groups of students can claim HB. So in this sense it's well known. But despite this, council helplines can give a gross oversimplification of the rules.

For example when a student,, and in the process of claiming local housing allowance, I needed to phone my council to make a basic enquiry (know that I was entitled to it). I let it slip that I was a student. The adviser replied that "students cannot claim housing benefit". I told her certain categories can, and I never told her whether I was a full-time or part-time student let alone if I claimed DLA etc. Her reply, "I've worked here 30 years and we just get told students cannot claim housing benefit". It really angered my that students, who may be entitled to the benefit and could phone to make basic checks on their eligibility, are discouraged from applying.

Anyway, I got an answer to the question I needed to ask, applied and was successful.

In short, rules can by complex and even those whose job it is to give advice and information often misinterpret or over-simplify the rules thus leading to false information.

This reminds me...

Original post by Student_G

x


I don't know what your living arrangements are at the moment but if you're claiming DLA you may be entitled to housing benefit/local housing allowance. Sometimes it can be paid to people living in halls of residence, not just rented accommodation, but rules can be complex.

http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/housing_benefit_and_local_housing_allowance/what_is_housing_benefit/housing_benefit_for_students#does_it_matter_what_type_of_accommodation_you_live_in%3F

Even if the grant from the previous year is re-claimed, housing benefit/LHA should be able to help with your finances should you be entitled.

And don't forget that universities provide financial support. If you do get into financial difficulty then please speak to your university. There is funding such as Access to Learning for those in need. Students with disabilities are a priority group for this type of funding.

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