Question re: Suspension

I am posting this on Student Room as a last resort because dozens of attempts to get in touch with Student Finance have proven futile and Student Room is the only place I've ever gotten a response. I have checked secure message three times daily and it's never once been available and agents over the phone - after hours on hold - aren't able to answer my query.

It's imperative I get this sorted within the next couple of weeks. Could you please give me a way of getting in touch with anyone who is able to answer my question? Is it possible to have an agent ring me?

Secure message is never available and the phone number also links me to nobody able to answer my queries.

I recently suspended my studies due to health reasons. This was finalised in the last month, but as I was on my year abroad, this was done retroactively to January 2023 and I am set to resume my year abroad in January 2024.

As this has only just been processed, I was obviously unable to meet the deadline for 2023-24 finance but wouldn't resume my course until January 2024 anyway.

As I suspended for health reasons, I am entitled to an additional 60 days of funding, but was overpayed for the third term of 2022-23 as the suspension was retroactive. I received a letter to this effect, but this just contained an unhelpful generic leaflet.

My impression from the letter is that I have to apply anew for Student Finance in 2023-24, because I will be resuming my studies in January 2024 by taking up a work placement abroad. However, when I went to submit an application for 2023-24, I was given no option to apply for additional (household-income based) maintenance loan. It took me straight to a page that says "since you have not applied for additional maintenance loan, we need no further evidence from you." It automatically gave me the minimum maintenance loan. I also wasn't able to choose the option that I will be doing nothing between October and December as I will still be un-enrolled.

This was my impression from the letters I received:

1) Since I suspended for health reasons, I was entitled to two terms' worth of maintenance loan for 2022-23 because of the 60 day additional funding allowance.
2) The overpayment letter said that it would be collected from future payments, thus I would be entitled for funding for terms 2 and 3 of 2023-24, with the overpayment from 2022-23 deducted.

However, in applying for 2023-24, it offered me only the minimum maintenance loan, which is less that what I was overpaid by in 2022-23.

Thus, this would mean that I would in effect receive funding for just the two terms of 2022-23 and nothing for the remainder of that year abroad when I resume it in 2023-24.

This would make completing this year totally unaffordable.

I really have no idea what has gone on. I really would just like to speak to a human being to talk me through what I need to do and what things mean as the generic letters have proven shockingly unhelpful.

I would appreciate being able to talk to a human being about this issue, such as by having an agent able to look at this stuff call me.

Hi there, As your query is account specific we are unable to advise in detail on your query as we would require access to your account. We are unable to call you, we would require you to call us on 0300 100 0607. We can look into this in further detail and look into your assessed and awarded funding. Thanks, Angela

Hi Angela - I have called this number over 5 times over the past two weeks, spent hours and hours on hold and spoken to 5 different agents. Each one of them has told me they're unable to access information regarding my query and to send a secure message (which hasn't been available in weeks). As I wrote in my initial post, I am trying to find literally any way to contact Student Finance as all the advertised methods are impossible to use.

Hi there, We only have the 2 contact options available unfortunately. Thanks, Angela

Any chance you could at least tell me which options on the initial option menu of the telephone line would be most likely to direct me to an agent actually able to respond to my query? All my previous attemps have failed.

Any chance you could at least tell me which options on the initial option menu of the telephone line would be most likely to direct me to an agent actually able to respond to my query? All my previous attemps have failed.