Entertainment For Lively Minds
The Student Loan Company
My daughter has left the nest for University and has had the whole experience sullied by the, I would say incompetence but I think it’s more than that, of the Student Loan company.
Being an organised and determined sort she began the application in February this year and badgered me and the GLW to ensure all the financial information they required was sent in a timely fashion (which, I might add was more than the information that I had to give when applying for a mortgage). For the past 5 weeks she ahs been ringing almost daily (I said she was determined) enquiring on the progress of her application, to be constantly told everything was fine and would be complete in a matter of days. Last week her first rent payment was due, and she went to Student Welfare who rang Student loans on her behalf to be told that the processing was complete and would be with her by Friday.
Sunday she was on the phone for over and hour as, you guessed it, she had received nothing and she was told that nothing was now holding the application up and everything would be ok. Yesterday she rang again, as she doubted that what she had been told was true to be informed that a particular piece of information I had sent, needed to be signed by my wife and not me. On receipt of this amended document they could complete the application and she would receive her loan in 4-6 weeks.
Clearly upset at this point, it was time for me to step up and take charge of the situation. At first they would not even speak to me about my daughters account, but after demanding to speak to a manager several times, she confirmed that the new signed letter form my wife was required. I pointed out that the last document I sent was in May, and I or my wife had received no communication, to which I was told that my daughter had been e-mailed. So 2 questions were asked, if the documents related to me why had my daughter been emailed and I then asked did they have a copy of said e-mail to my daughter on her file (all letters are available online). Suffice to say no mail was available and it was advised that it was an error on their part that I was not sent anything. At this point I was asked to get my daughter to call back as her application status had changed (they could not tell me as they did not have written consent from her to discuss her account). She has now received a letter confirming the processing is complete and should expect payment soon.
Sorry to harp on but I was led to believe that after some major errors last year the Student Loan company had cleaned up it’s act, suffice to say this looks highly unlikely. Out of several students my daughter has discussed this with only one has any payment and this was incorrect. So finally to my point, I commiserate with anyone who is starting Uni and having to deal with this third rate excuse of a company. At a time when leaving home and starting studying in new environments should be filled with excitement and wonder I have no doubt for the majority it is tinged with anxiety and worry over missing and incorrect payments, unpaid rent and tapping up the parents for a sub.
Why is it that most mortgages and loans can be completed in a matter of weeks (obviously this was when they actually gave mortgages out!!) yet a company dedicated to doing just that seems incapable of performing the basics. Or am I just being naïve?
To all freshers, keep your chin up and keep on their backs. Perseverance is the key!!! What is it about the British Govt. and finances???
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I won't mince my words
They're shit.
I was at university between 2005 and 2008 and payments into my bank account were frequently late. I had some savings and was sensible(ish) with my money whilst studying, so it was more of a slight inconvenience that anything else, but I was often kept waiting for up to 4 weeks at a time for money from them. When you're a student with no income and your accommodation money for the term is a month late, that is NOT good.
I'd recommend not completely relying on them if it all possible. Easier said than done, but some contingency planning to allow for late payments is definitely a good idea.
It gets better when you graduate too. Funnily enough, they're very good at remembering to start taking their money back the following April. They only give you an annual statement and - here's my favourite bit - they don't actually tell you when you've finished paying. One year you'll get a note saying you finished repaying your loan x months ago and now you're £xxx in credit.
Oh well, only £10k to go until I'm free of the incompetent wastes of space.
student loans
Totally agree with previous comments. My daughter applied really early(April) for a loan to supplement her PGCE. Having just graduated she was already on the "system".She was told in May it was being processed. She had no contact so called repeatedly in August to be told it was incorrect and that she had to reapply with all of our finance info. This is not means tested so we queried that and she wasd then told no you dont need to reapply and they didnt need our info.I can recall at least 2 occasions when my daughter was reduced to tears by the way she was spoken to.She was categorically told that no matter how urgent the circumstances they do not fast track any applications - she asked to make a formal request and it was immediately dealt with. She spent hours running up a bill on her mobile phone and felt thoroughly deflated by the incompetancy and rudeness
thanks for the advice
I'm not entirly convinced ilve had my last conversation with them. I've no doubt the Uni will wait for their fees (they are obvoiusly used to it) but Landlords are a different matter. It's amazing the amount of incompetance we will put up with.
It's almost as if it were
rigged for the wealthiest to have the easiest experience, isn't it?
I was lucky to be of the generation who benefitted from 'free' education an student grants. And I think it's pernicious and shambolic that this shower of shite continues to be so irredeemably bloody useless. I work in HE (I wanted to put something back) and am saddened that a generation of kids have been lied to, that this is the best way to provide education for a modern society. And this year I will, once again, hear the tales of an SLC who have delusions of adequacy and know that nothing has changed.
Student loans v Mortgages
As someone who has no first hand experience of the Student Loan Company I can only sympathise.
You compare the mortgages/loans relatively quick turnaround with the shambles of student loans. Not trying to defend them but the mortgages and loans workload is spread throughout the year across dozens if not hundreds of companies whereas student loans all get channelled through one company aiming to get loans out at exactly the same time of the year. I would imagine this gives some interesting logistical issues but surely they should be better at it by now?
I also went to Uni in the good old days of full grants, having less well off parents. Even in the dim and distant 70's the authorities (Cheshire County Council) could still cock up though as I didn't get my first terms grant until 4 weeks before Christmas! My own fault I suppose for changing from a Poly to a Uni through clearing at the last minute. Having said that, the princely sum of £400 for the term was very gratefully received. Those were the days.
I think your point about
I think your point about they should be getting better at it is the worrying thing. From talking to others my tale appears to be the norm and unfortunatly accepted as such. Its just a shame that undue pressure is added at a time when they should be enjoying a new chapter in their lives. I've told her to chalk it up as character building
Cheshire County Council
I too was a student in the 70s and can also attest to their incompetence. Fortunately at Birmingham (and I'd guess most universities) there was a welfare office who were prepared to make interest free loans while I awaited the grant cheque. This was without any transferring between institutions.
I couldn't agree more
We had this palaver with out fist born last year. She too a year off so we had all the forms filled in and the support evidence in nice and early. Or so we thought
1. I did mine online and sent the P60 etc by mail. All correctly marked with the student reference number. But they scan the documents in Darlington and print out the on-line form in Scotland. They ship the scanned documents and someone (I got the impression there was only one person doin it) has to match them up. Maybe they ran out of paperclips
2. My wife filled in her forms and posted them. So no need to physically re-connect the documents. But the information has to be entered on a computer and married up with my submission. Again, I think there was only one person doing this.
3. I received several emails telling me that there was a problem with my submissions. So I spent several fruitless evenings ringing the so called helpdesk. Which was open until 8pm. I finallu got throughat 7.55 one evening. At 8pm on the dot the conversation was cut short and the line went dead. I phoned back and, yes you can guess, got a recording message saying they're closed.
4. I finally got through to be dealt with by a less than helpful person. I dont like to say he was unhelpful because he was Scottish (this being the so called English students loan company I wasn't surprised to find its based in Scotland) but he hadn't a clue what the problem was and couldn't/wouldn't pass me on to some one else.
5. My wife received emails referring to a totally different student number. When she queried this she was told she must have entered the wrong number on the form....a preprinted form. What obviously happened is that someone at their end had entered the wrong referenec number on the computer
She got her load by the end of the 1st week at university. she was in halls so wasn't under too much pressure and had got enough money to cover it anyway.
Put aside the moral inequities os student loans, the whole organisation is a total shambles. Which is fairly typical of anything associated with Government.
Can I offer a crumn of comfort though. 1st born is now in her 2nd year. She applied for a loan, my wife and I received emails asking for out P60s for 2008-2009 (why is it a year behind?) We duly sent them off and 3 weeks later the loan was confirmed and the 1st payment is in her account.
Maybe, just maybe, the problems are associated with new students. Its disappointing to see that nothing has been learned from last year
My last year at Poly...
...coincided with the first year the of the student loan system and I graduated owing the princely sum of £400 (I know, I know!). I paid it for about 6 months (I think it was about £3/month!) and arranged a hiatus for a year as I was off travelling.
On my return, I was greeted by my exasperated father and a thick, thick volume of correspondence. It seems that they forgot the negotiated payment gap, and also didn't believe I was out of the country. Initial enquiries as to my whereabouts became empty threats to repossess my parents assets (though where they got the idea that THAT would fly I don't know) and summonses, culminating in phone calls from "friends" who wanted to catch up on old times with me and, oh, you couldn't just give me his current address could you?
Dad is made of pretty stern stuff, and had 20 years of experience dealing with assorted corporate shysters, but he said that they were just about the bottom of the barrel.
I'm still waiting for my
I'm still waiting for my letter to be sent out, then it has to be signed and sent back (that was the drill last year). Since my overdraft can only sustain one more months payment coming out on Friday it is very much 'squeaky bum time'. In fairness, I have received payment on time for the last two years so I am still hopeful. However, with two out of four of my house mates not being paid up to two months after the start date last year there is enough reason to be worried.
Needless to say I am rather tired of being poor now
I was going to join in
the SLC bashing. Then I arrived home to find out my son's loan had hit his bank yesterday, the day term started. Lucky us I suppose?
It's all true
I won't even begin to go into the hassle my wife had with this shower, but anything you read here pales into insignificance. Once they even asked us to send them a copy of a letter they had written to us because they hadn't got a copy of it! I simply don't know what the answer is - as others have said, they aren't so lax when you owe them something, but they have an interesting approach even then.
They're unbelievably appalling.
When I did my PGCE, I took out a new student loan to help with the career change. Fortunately, I qualified for the Repayment of Teachers' Loans scheme which existed at the time - I was made up when I found out.
So I applied in good time, sent everything by recorded delivery and what happens? They deny ever having received anything from me, and despite my MP and a lawyer threatening them with plague, famine and war they stick to their guns and I'm saddled with repayments that I needn't have been making.
They. Are. TWATS.