DP is a student returning to university to do his final year. His couse is structured so that you do a 2 year Diploma, which he just completed, and then return for a "top-up" year which converts it to a BA Hons degree.
Student Finance England are requesting that he sends in proof of ID, and a declaration from a professional that he's who he says he is.
He sent this to them two years ago. They say they need it again as it's a new course. Which might seem to make sense on the face of it, but let's look at what that actually means ..
Firstly, DP is using the same log-in details with student finance as he did last year.
They are writing to us at the same address.
He is asking for the money to be paid into the same bank account.
His new course is at the same uni, in the same school.
For someone to pose as him, the impostor would have to have squatted his life! They'd need to have access to not only his his student finance log-in, his mail and his bank account, but also to manage to hoodwink people who have taught him for two years!
What's annoying me is they need the declaration (they didn't mention this previously, and it means we're going to be stuffed for money as the student finance will be late).
But the declaration is pointless IMO! If someone had managed to pull off squatting DP's life so successfully, a little matter of a form wouldn't make a blind bit of difference.
There must be loads of people in this position, thousands who are returning to do a top-up year who are having to prove who they are when SFE have seen their documents only 2 years previously.
It's bullshit IMO. A total waste of everyone's time. 
AIBU?
that this makes no sense?
aufaniae · 26/09/2012 19:29
Thanks! My first unanimous AIBU 
It annoys me also when I (politely) point this out to them, that their explanation is that "that's the process" and "we need to do it for data protection reasons"
Saying it's the process is meaningless. It's not an explanation. Processes aren't set in stone, they're things people make up, and they sometimes do a very bad job of it!
And data protection my arse. The verification form we sent has been filled in by a friend (which is allowed). It's no proof of anything really, they're not actually going to check she's a nurse or has really known DP 2 years.
Grrr.
I'm sure it's organised this in the hope that some people will be too befuddled or cba to bother claiming the money - tossers !
When I phoned Student Finance the other in response to a letter they had sent to me as a supporting parent they wouldn't talk to me. They would only talk to the student.
As he was out and DH is the person who has actually filled in all the forms so DS wouldn't have had a clue anyway, I explained to the very nice lady that I was going to get DH, he would pretend to be DS for the purpose of the call and we would go from there.
She said that would be ok, so that's what we did 
.
At the end of all this security business, she wasn't able to explain why they had sent the letter or indeed what they wanted. We are none the wiser, but haven't got any paperwork or money and his course starts on Monday.
Don't get me started on student finance! Applying every year is a nightmare from start to finish, every year without fail! I am a reasonably intelligent person I like to think, but they don't make the process easy at all. And they are incredibly disorganised, and every time I call their systems are down. Just have to keep jumping through their ridiculous hoops I'm afraid and it diesn't get any easier!
carabos that's typical, but sadly I'm not surprised 
The Student Services at your DS's uni should be very used to dealing with Student Finance. At my uni they're great.
Your DS needs to get himself down there a.s.a.p., with as much info as your DH can give him, and I expect they may well call and sort it out for him.
We had months of problems with them last year which were sorted with one phone call from Student Services.
Also, your DS should be able to give you permission to access his account. DP and I can talk to SFE about each other's accounts as we have set this up. He needs to call them and say he wants to set up "consent to share" with you. He will set a password which he will give to you, and then you can call them direct.
If you want to that is! I guess you may be of the opinion that not having money until he sorts it out himself might well be a good life lesson about managing money, and undermined by you doing it for him?!
It's possible anyway, if you want to.
Don't start me!
DD2 is starting 2nd year of college course.
I've just spent 3 weeks getting the council to write a letter to the college to confirm the household income/benefits (for her travel pass) while at the same time trying to get a letter off the college to send to the council confirming DD is still at college (for the benefit assessment) !!!!! Arrrggghhhh.
Neither of them would speak to the other. Neither would write the letter before receiving the letter from the other.
One bloody phone call from either of them to the other would have done it .... but that would be toooooooo simple
Sorted now but FFS!
We've taken to recording every conversation with them. DP has an app on his Android phone which does it.
He checks at the beginning of the conversation that they're OK to be recorded (you have to do this legally). He says "You're recording me, just thought I'd let you know I'm recording you too."
We've been a few people that we'll receive the money in 6 weeks (buggered till then!) and one yesterday that we'll get it in 2-3 weeks. I doubt he's right, but he was very sure about it. I will be playing that back to them if it's not here then!
DD rang them up with a moderately complex query (to do with proof of income from last year's Current Year Assessment), and was given the wrong information from the person who answered the call AND their supervisor, despite looking at their website and reading off what it actually said there. That was wrong apparently, and they were right. All we needed was another copy of a particular form which isn't available to download (although the same form from 2006 is but you cant use that as the date on the front isn't for the year they want) but no, they had to explain how CYA works if this is your first year of applying, even though this is her second year....
We still don't know if her application has been processed for this year or not, nor that the money she got last year is correct, of if she has to pay back a chunk of it. Thankfully she has her summer earnigns to tide her over, and the university is quite happy to let her carry on despite the tuition fees not being in place.
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