Student finance Oversight - ineligible Appeal

Hello, I am an EU citizen with pre-settled status. I am currently midway through my Foundation year, having received full student support approval in June 2023 and commencing my course in August 2023. Last week, during the second semester, I was informed by SFE that I am ineligible for student support for 23/24 academic year. As of now, I can only reapply in the next academic year, 24/25. This is based on not meeting the requirement of continuous residence in the UK/EU for three years before the first day of the course because I resided in South Africa before moving to the UK. As a result, I am liable to pay back the initial instalment received for maintenance and tuition fees.

While I acknowledge that this rule regulation forms part of legislation, my application was submitted with complete transparency and honesty. The information provided confirmed my arrival in England on 12/12/2020, and SFE initially found me eligible for full support.

Prior to being approved for student finance, I held two jobs – one part-time and another full-time. To accommodate full-time studies - I dropped my full-time job due to its lack of flexibility for part-time hours because I was confident that I was meeting my responsibilities as a student so student funding would continue. I made significant life adjustments to commit to full-time education. I am now currently residing in the UK for three years since the 12/12/2023, I now face an interruption in my studies and financial losses due to an oversight on SFE's part.

I have been informed by SFE that I can appeal this decision, and I plan to do so. While uncertain about the strength of my case given the enforcement of the correct process that was initially overlooked, I am curious if others have encountered a similar situation. Has anyone successfully appealed in a similar situation, and what were the outcomes?

Any advice or insights would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.