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Awarded max maintenance loan by mistake

My son applied for student finance to start university in September 2025.

Me and his mum live together and we both work. Based on our income he should receive close to the minimum maintenance loan which is around £4,900. However he has been awarded the maximum maintenance loan of around £10,500.

I have phoned student finance several times but they seem unable to do anything. They constantly put us on hold and say they will check this and check that but they never discuss the details and tell us that everything seems to have been done correctly. They don't tell me any more than we can see from our student finance accounts.

I am at a loss as to what to do.

Reply 1

Original post
by Haybale99
My son applied for student finance to start university in September 2025.
Me and his mum live together and we both work. Based on our income he should receive close to the minimum maintenance loan which is around £4,900. However he has been awarded the maximum maintenance loan of around £10,500.
I have phoned student finance several times but they seem unable to do anything. They constantly put us on hold and say they will check this and check that but they never discuss the details and tell us that everything seems to have been done correctly. They don't tell me any more than we can see from our student finance accounts.
I am at a loss as to what to do.

Hi there,

Was your income lower during the 23/24 tax year as that's the year we use when assessing a student for 25/26? Also, is your son over 25 or applying as an independent student as this could be the reason for him getting the maximum amount.

If neither are applicable then I would advise getting him to contact us directly so we can confirm how we've assessed him for the funding. Thanks, Jason

Reply 2

Our son is under 25 and our income wasn't lower, it has been very stable for about 6yrs due to covid.

His mum's supporting app was done online and my supporting app had to be done on a paper form via post as I had an account from the 1990's but the help line couldn't gain access to it.

His mum works part time and earns less than 20K, so to me it seems as if they think I earn nothing. I wish I had ignored the email about supporting his application so he would only of got the minimum amount and we could of avoided all this hassle. It seems the people I speak to on the phone don't seem to be able to do much apart from check everything was submitted correctly.
(edited 11 months ago)

Reply 3

Original post
by Haybale99
Our son is under 25 and our income wasn't lower, it has been very stable for about 6yrs due to covid.
His mum's supporting app was done online and my supporting app had to be done on a paper form via post as I had an account from the 1990's but the help line couldn't gain access to it.
His mum works part time and earns less than 20K, so to me it seems as if they think I earn nothing. I wish I had ignored the email about supporting his application so he would only of got the minimum amount and we could of avoided all this hassle. It seems the people I speak to on the phone don't seem to be able to do much apart from check everything was submitted correctly.

Thanks. If you get him to contact us via the live chat in his account and we'll be able to check and further assist. Thanks, Jason

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