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Original poster

Providing evidence to Student Finance England - 'dormant' account from the 1990s

47 replies

tribpot · 12/03/2023 15:51

I've checked back to make sure there isn't a thread for this for this year yet.

Just applied for student finance with ds and now I need to provide my income details, which means setting up my own account with Student Finance England - but I can't. If I say I haven't ever applied for finance it bombs me out saying my details are too similar to someone else - the other person is me, as I had a small loan in the early 1990s. I'm convinced I finished repaying it later on in the 1990s as well.

So if I answer correctly that I have, I get the message "As you cannot reset your details online please call us on 0300 100 0607".

Based on looking at older threads on Mumsnet I am expecting this to be a pain in the arse when the phone lines open tomorrow, and to need to be able to provide address details of where I was living whilst at uni (not sure if it's my address or my parents' address, probably the latter). Just to add to the fun, the address of my parents' old house has changed quite significantly in the intervening decades - a new postal town has been added to it and I'm pretty sure the postcode has changed as well (not radically but the first part of the postcode has definitely changed).

Just starting this thread really to be able to update it with the experience of sorting this out in 2023. I assume at some point fairly soon this will largely resolve itself, as parents themselves will be young enough to have interacted with their student loan account online, but I'm pretty sure I never did.

OP posts:
itssquidstella · 12/03/2023 16:03

I’m afraid I can't be of any help but I had the most incredible hassle trying to get access to my log in details to my student loan account when I wanted to see how much my balance was about ten years ago (so about ten years after I started university). I no longer had access to the email address I'd used to register, and I ended up having to post them proof of identity before they'd let me reset my email address and password!

ThatMam · 12/03/2023 16:06

Several people have had this issue on the uni parents page I am on and lots of them sent the form with their income in on paper or scanned or attached in additional info on their kids login if that helps?

Apparently they asked lots of people for a security word they gave when applying.

CamoTeaLaLa · 12/03/2023 16:06

My OH lost his student loan details so wrote to them last year with his name, DoB and parents old address. They wrote straight back with a new log in. Was completely painless.

Original poster
tribpot · 12/03/2023 16:45

Thanks all, several possible avenues to explore. I'll try calling tomorrow and see what happens.

OP posts:
Doyouthinktheyknow · 12/03/2023 17:02

Had this with ds1. I called them, had to explain multiple times before eventually they told me I had to write, give them information confirming who I was, personal details and what university I had been at and when and they sent me details to reset my account. It was a pain!

Original poster
tribpot · 15/03/2023 13:32

Quick update from me - I managed to get through to someone quite quickly, although it did seem as if there was no way to break through the wall of automated phone menu options. I eventually had to impersonate ds and give his customer number, date of birth and national insurance details and somehow this let me through.

The person I dealt with seemed to grasp what the issue was, but when we went through the rigmarole of name, date of birth, NI number .. we hit a stumbling block at address. I asked "is it the address I was living at when I took out the loan in 1993 or my current address?". Her reply? "I can't tell you that". Well then I submit to you that I cannot tell you the right blardy address in that case! Anyway, we tried my 1993 address, computer said no and she went through the process of explaining where to download the FPP1 form as @ThatMam describes.

I must say I'm unclear as to whether to upload it or post it, I might do both.

OP posts:
WelshWondergirl · 17/03/2023 19:08

I had exactly the same. Fill in the paper form and let them sort it out.

Original poster
tribpot · 17/03/2023 19:36

Did you post it, @WelshWondergirl ?

OP posts:
WelshWondergirl · 20/03/2023 17:15

Yes, OP, I mailed it to them. Couldn't get through on the phone. This was three years ago though so things might have changed.

Original poster
tribpot · 22/03/2023 15:18

Update from me: before I had got round to printing the form off, they seem to have accepted the PDF version I uploaded on ds' account.

I've had no email from them yet with my own login details, so I might give it a couple of weeks and then do as @CamoTeaLaLa and write to them to see if I can shake a username and password out of them. I don't know that I need it but I'm not very happy about the Student Loans Company still holding information on me full stop, so I'd quite like to be able to interact with it myself.

OP posts:
CamoTeaLaLa · 22/03/2023 16:26

Good luck. We wrote a letter on paper with a stamp on the basis that I’ve always had more luck the old fashioned way, whether with insurance companies, banks or Council Tax. Phone calls disappear into the ether.

ZittiEBuoni · 12/04/2023 15:34

I've just been through this bloody rigmarole. Expected to know security questions from 1991. 'What was your address at the time?' Well, between graduating from uni and starting my PGCE I had five different addresses, barely any of which I can remember now. It's stupid!

Going to fill in the PDF form from dd's account and upload it, hopefully that will do.

Original poster
tribpot · 12/04/2023 15:36

It should do, @ZittiEBuoni , that's what I had to do after the Student Loans Company couldn't tell me even which address I should quote (the one from 1993 or the one from 2023 ... ). I just really want to get into my own account to find out what info they are still holding on me after all this time.

OP posts:
ZittiEBuoni · 12/04/2023 15:38

I would also love to know this, tribpot! I wouldn't have thought they would even have bothered to keep a record of a couple of hundred quid that was repaid within a year...hmm...

MrsBennetsPoorNerves · 12/04/2023 15:43

Ugh, I need to do this as well. Not looking forward to dealing with the stupid bureaucracy, and of course I don't know what my security passwords were from 1994 or whenever it was that I applied. So ridiculous.

In any case, under GDPR aren't we entitled to know what information they hold about us?!

Original poster
tribpot · 12/04/2023 15:49

Yes, I'm sure I could submit a Subject Access Request to find out what they're holding about me, I might do that.

I had a look at their Privacy Notice which in turn led to the Records Management Policy and this contains a statement as to why they have retained data on us from the 90s -

Certain customer data is currently retained on an indefinite basis within SLC. SLC has other obligations to ensure that customer data is retained in line with a range of regulatory and business requirements. In certain circumstances SLC is required to keep data for a minimum length of time (e.g., financial information) and/or even the lifetime of the customer. For example:

  • student support legislation obliges SLC to take into account any previous supported study to accurately determine an individual’s entitlement to student support for any further study; and
  • student finance eligibility criteria requires that there are no arrears with any previous student loans.

So apparently this is in case we all go back to uni in our 50s and 60s and want to take out another student loan.

OP posts:
MrsBennetsPoorNerves · 12/04/2023 16:03

tribpot · 12/04/2023 15:49

Yes, I'm sure I could submit a Subject Access Request to find out what they're holding about me, I might do that.

I had a look at their Privacy Notice which in turn led to the Records Management Policy and this contains a statement as to why they have retained data on us from the 90s -

Certain customer data is currently retained on an indefinite basis within SLC. SLC has other obligations to ensure that customer data is retained in line with a range of regulatory and business requirements. In certain circumstances SLC is required to keep data for a minimum length of time (e.g., financial information) and/or even the lifetime of the customer. For example:

  • student support legislation obliges SLC to take into account any previous supported study to accurately determine an individual’s entitlement to student support for any further study; and
  • student finance eligibility criteria requires that there are no arrears with any previous student loans.

So apparently this is in case we all go back to uni in our 50s and 60s and want to take out another student loan.

Interesting!

Not really planning to take on another student loan at my age! And I paid back the paltry loan that I did have well ahead of schedule!

ZittiEBuoni · 04/05/2023 16:59

Student Finance England really are inspiring my confidence!

I did the PFF2 form in the end - printed it out, sent it in by registered post (£8-9).
Now dd has had an email to say that the PFF2 form we filled in - which we downloaded from the SFE website itself - is for the wrong year and therefore invalid and we need to fill in the same details on the same form - just with a different year printed in the corner - all over again! And send it in again! Registered post again!

Do I trust them with billions of pounds of public and taxpayers' money? Not sure I do...

Catspyjamas17 · 04/05/2023 17:03

We've got to do the PFF2 form.

Such a stupid system and this must be such a common issue. Looks like a government website, they should be able to find out who you are by doing a government gateway logon or just providing your national insurance number and some ID.

MrsBennetsPoorNerves · 04/05/2023 17:07

I rang up and the guy said that he couldn't find me on their system. He searched by NI number as well as my name. For some reason, he couldn't find me despite me having been told to ring that number. He told me to apply for a new account so that's what I did. They have my national insurance number so I assume they will connect the dots somehow if they need to!!!

Catspyjamas17 · 04/05/2023 17:09

I couldn't apply for a new account as apparently I'm on the system somewhere though they couldn't find me. Useless.

MrsBennetsPoorNerves · 04/05/2023 17:13

Catspyjamas17 · 04/05/2023 17:09

I couldn't apply for a new account as apparently I'm on the system somewhere though they couldn't find me. Useless.

I'm certain that I'm on the system somewhere too, but they told me to apply for a new account so that's what I did. It may have helped that my name has changed since I had the previous account, though my NI number obviously hasn't. Its a ridiculous system.

Not sure tbh that the guy I spoke to had a clue what to do with my enquiry but I followed the advice and dd's finances have now been confirmed, thankfully!

Hope you manage to get it sorted!

Original poster
tribpot · 04/05/2023 17:15

Yeah, that was my problem @Catspyjamas17 . I exist on the system but with no idea what details they're holding for me (clearly NI number and date of birth, though!) I couldn't get through security .

@ZittiEBuoni I've got a feeling the person the phone gave me v specific directions on where to find the form, I dont think it's easily available online - I mean why would it?!😱

OP posts:
ZittiEBuoni · 04/05/2023 17:23

It took dd a long time to find the form, tribpot. And when she did, it was the wrong one...

I'm pestering them on their facebook now, playing dumb and asking why things are set up the way they are. If they're going to waste my time...

Original poster
tribpot · 04/05/2023 17:28

Do they actually respond to anything on Facebook? I'd assumed they were 'broadcast only' like most public bodies.

OP posts: