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Student Finance Appeal Advice!

Hello all,

I am having some trouble proving my financial independence from my parents. I’m 20 & have been independent since I was 16. I submitted my HMRC summary of earnings to them for the last 4 tax years including payslips to date and job seekers allowance documents.

I phoned up last night to check the status of my application; I was informed it has been declined as I did not meet the ‘threshold of £7500’ for tax year ending 5 April 2012. The lady I spoke to said this is set-in-stone and there is no way I can get around this. I terminated the call and started putting an appeal together to prove my independence.

Since 16 I moved out into my girlfriend’s council house that her mother had subsidised, I was working at the time and contributed rental payments, bills and food etc...

This is my earnings to date:
Tax year ending 5 April 2011 - £3500
Tax year ending 5 April 2012 - £6310
Tax year ending 5 April 2013 - £11000
Tax year ending 5 April 2014 – Currently £16000

I have submitted my appeal on the basis that in tax year ending 5 April 2012 I worked for a month for a well known tour operator based overseas and I received a remuneration package which amounts to £1300 per month which constitutes a monthly housing benefit of £700 (including electric, gas and water) deducted from my gross monthly pay. I forgot to mention this in my previous evidence as I didn’t think it was relevant at the time.

I enclosed my contract of employment that states this remuneration package also.
I need your opinions on this as I am willing to take this all the way to stage 3 appeal to get my grants.

Regards,

Reply 1

lozzielizzie

It's a difficult one to prove independence . Plus student finance do stick to rules very tightly and it does take a lot of fighting with them. You face a tough battle.

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Reply 2

RobEllis_UK

FYI the £7500 rule is complete rubbish! SFE have made up this figure but it is not in the regulations at all! You should definitely get independence on the basis of what you have stated. If you need to another good trick is to compare your income to that of benefits. Somebody on benefits receives alot less than £7500 which is why this figure is so ridiculous.