to think that if the government change the money they give us, they could at least tell me why?

[threefeethighandrising]

Rant alert!

I'm a full time student (and parent) and so is DP.

We both get student loans and grants from Student Finance England (SFE).

Every time SFE recalculate how much they are going to give you, they send you a new breakdown of costs and payment dates.

This would be fine if it was accompanied by a letter explaining what has changed and why. But no.

They have sent me and DP no fewer than 8 letters since September, all with varying amounts on them. At look identical except for the amounts and come with no explanation. They don't even mention that there has been a change.

So after playing a really fun version of spot-the-difference between the most recent letter and the last one (which they sent only last week) I can work out they've reversed their decision to award help with Child Care costs.

But they've given no indication as to why!
And their systems are down so I can't ask them.

So I'm left wondering if this is a mistake which is easily resolved (and even then will probably take weeks) or if they have basically just canceled Christmas and left us totally up shit creek. Which is pretty fucking stressful.

Who designs systems like this?! If you're going to change someone's income, isn't it basic decency to tell them why?!

And how on earth are we meant to budget if they keep moving the goal posts?!

If this decision stands I have no money to live on, I have not planned for this, as until only a week ago they said they were going to pay it to me.

Grrrr!

One of the reasons they may have cancelled this money, for example, is if they are missing a piece of evidence from us. Or perhaps they (mistakenly) think we're getting WTC or something.

But if that's the case, why don't they write and tell us?!

I'm just so angry with them!

Unfortunately we have found this, they lose letters evidence etc constantly. the removal of the Childcare element I would call them about immediately. Top tips Get proof of postage don't bother about recorded delivery send copies not originals and make sure anything sent clearly has both of your student numbers.

I'm with you on the transparency thing, drives me crazy student finance and child tax credit both!

(3 times we had to send all the evidence last september, october half term before DP got a penny)

You're right, I haven't even got onto their incompetence yet!

Last year they messed up (totally their fault not ours) which led to a sizeable chunk of our "September" money not coming till just before Xmas. And it would have been the new year if our Student Adviser hadn't got involved been very pushy with them.

I have called them already but their systems are down until at least Sunday evening, so they can't see my file. They said it was possible that they needed more evidence, or they think we're getting WTC (we're not).

The thing that annoys me most is I have to play this ridiculously stressful guessing game. Why can't they just tell why they've stopped your money in the letter they send you which is meant to be about it?! Grrr!

I would have thought they know that you are not getting WTC, seeing as how you are both full time students.

Incidentally have you heard about say no to 0870 numbers website. If you look up student finance that have a geographical number for them which is normally much cheaper to call. Our phone bills are astronomical in the lead up to the start of the year in september, I wish I knew about the site earlier.

Have you sent in your Child tax credit assessment, if you have you might need to again, sounds like that might be part of the problem?

I'm not sure, I'm wondering if I have now.

But they definitely did award the Child Care grant to me in September. All the old letters show it - they seem to have reversed the decision for some reason.

Thanks for that link, brilliant! I didn't know about it.

I went Christmas shopping yesterday and bought a few small bits. If I'd known about this then I wouldn't have spent that money.

:( I know that feeling, (trust me I have to have dealings with Tax credits, CSA and student finance) they all seem to be a law unto themselves!!!

It does sound like the child tax credit assessment may be the stumbling block. If you have access to a copier and a stamp it might be worth sending a/another copy in now just in case.

and that guilt feeling just before you find out somethings changed is awful!

"Tax credits, CSA and student finance" Jesus! You have my utmost sympathies!

You're both full time students and you need more money...

One of you get a job... simple

Student finance are a sodding nightmare. Apparently for 4 years I was the only single parent full time student in the whole of the country since no one there had ever come across my circumstances and could understand what I was supposed to be getting and when. Not once in 4 years did I ever get a payment on time and 2 years running, my September money came in December. One year it was February before I saw a penny. Ok it was a nice chunk when it came as I had struggled on until that point (with a very frugal Xmas!) and I got 2 payments in one, but it would have been much easier to budget and live if I actually got what I should, when I should.

It didn't help that during a 'system update' they changed my log in password and their system wouldn't allow me to just make another, so I had to do everything over the phone, dealing with idiots, or post where they claimed almost every single document got lost at least twice. The icing on the cake was when they cancelled my entire claim, the week before it was due to be paid, because I hadn't sent them my parents income details. This was despite me claiming as an adult(extra payment) and a parent (extra payment) so it was clearly visible from my records that that didn't apply to me at all. It was made a touch worse by the fact that my mum was retired so her income would be disregarded anyway and my dad had been dead for 5 years, yet the muppet on the phone kept asking for his income details

Yes but it's different for single parents. The OP is in a relationship so one or both could get an evening job

Are you for real fortyplus?

Often it's not even about wanting more money, just about knowing how much money you are going to have and knowing that won't change

OOO! I had the cancelling the whole claim because they hadn't bothered to red all the paperwork I sent in. I'm guessing that must be a student finance speciality!!

I an [shocked] at their incompetence and insensitivity now I've finished your post.

given the nature of the above two respective posts perhaps there's a need for a name swap!!

Actually I'm not even sure getting a job will help fortyplus, depending on the income it could actually simple reduce the amount of student finance and create more paperwork

Of course it would help!

DD applied online in the spring, and when we hadn't heard anythign by the summer we rang up to discover that somehow their online system had marked the application as submitted from our end (so we couldn't amend it) but as not submitted from their end (so they didn't process it). Finally got it sorted out this week, but we were lucky we were able to pay her hall fees, otherwise she'd have had no accomodation. They managed to lose every single piece of paper we sent them (yes, she had to reapply on paper) and kept on giving us the wrong forms to fill in.

And we have to do the whole thing again after Christmas [sigh].

Get part time jobs.

Student Finance did similar to me, they decided right at the end of the year that I should not have been getting the childcare grant or parents learning allowance and demanded it all back. Because obviously I had th money stashed away and had not spent it all on childcare . I fought the decision, it was their error afterall as I had provided them with all our details. In the end I paid back the parents learning allowance but not the childcare.

For those saying "get a job", a few hours part time won't cover childcare. If they are both students then they are both trying to get degrees so they can get good jobs. The childcare grants exist to cover expenses for student parents and help them to get a degree. You can't be out working all evening when you need to study so you can actually pass your exams.

Dh worked full time when they demanded money back from me which is probably why they decided I shouldn't have had it (was still their mistake though). Even on a full time job once we paid rent, bills and bought food there was not enough to cover childcare.

The Student Loan Company are sods, they really are. I had the same thing from them- numerous letters, all with different amounts with no explanation. Thankfully, I had no dependants so although it was irritating, it didn't impact me too much.

Calling SLC is less productive than whacking your head against the wall. They just do not give a flying f...udge. When I called to complain that I was expected to live in student halls, with bills, for two weeks even though my loan hadn't come through, they hung up on me!

When I asked them (in sobs) how I was going to cope when my Scottish uni asked for accommodation payment in two instalments as they had semesters and SLC pay in terms, they told me to cope. My loan payment wasn't even enough to pay my rent in halls.

I don't know how they get away with it, apart from by not being accountable and hiding behind an expensive phone line with huge waiting times.

Sorry you can work and study I had two jobs and still graduated with a first.

Then did my masters in a year working f/time.

moaninlisa, slavetofilofax and fortyplus thanks for the support

Let me spell this out for you as you seem to have an empathy bypass misunderstood me.

I am NOT complaining that I don't get enough money from SFE. I am complaining that:

• they keep changing their minds about how much (and when) they are going to pay me
• when they change their minds they make absolutely no attempt to communicate why they have done so or what I need to do to remedy the situation
• the communications they do send would confuse anybody
• I have often found them to make mistakes and be incompetent
• that it is impossible to budget when faced with this kind of goal-post moving

I would be just as pissed off if an employer treated be this way. How would you like it if your salary kept changing with no warning? If your employer promised to pay you a certain amount, then shortly before your last payday before Christmas decided that actually they weren't going to pay you, nor tell you why?

It sounds like a nightmare. Why on earth is there not a proper breakdown on their decision!