Financial Support - Delays

Applying for financial support

Information about financial support available and how to apply can be found at the Welfare & International Support web pages.

Delays

The following information is aimed at those full-time UK undergraduate students whose Student Loan/Grant instalment has not been credited to their account within 3 days of enrolment.

Please note: regardless of the date on your Payment Timetable the first instalment of your Loan and/or Grant will not be paid into your bank account until the University has confirmed with Student Finance England* that you have formally enrolled onto your programme and are in attendance (at the start of term this process can take a day or two). Once Student Finance England* have received this confirmation, the first instalment will be paid to your account. It may take a further 3 days for the payment to clear.

If your financial support doesn't arrive on time, try not to worry. Just follow these simple steps:

1. Find out the reason for the delay. Contact Student Finance England* or check your online account if you have not yet received confirmation of how much you are entitled to.

2. If you have received notification of your entitlement and you are awaiting your payment from Student Finance England*, remember to allow time for the University to confirm your attendance.

3. If, after this time you have not received your payment, contact Student Finance England* on: 0845 300 50 90

4. Students from other parts of the UK should call one of the following numbers as appropriate (See related links for online help):

Students from Wales – 0845 6028845
Students from Northern Ireland – 0845 6000662
Students from Scotland – 0845 1111711

Please note: Students on NHS funded programmes should contact the NHS Student Bursaries on 0845 358 6655

If you are still experiencing delays:

1. Call into Student Services – Advisers in Welfare & International Support may be able to help you by contacting Student Finance England*. If there's a problem, they can often help on your behalf. the Advisers may be able to offer advice on how to manage until your loan is processed.

2. Contact your bank and explain that your financial support has been delayed. Some banks may be able to extend your overdraft until your support instalment arrives. If you do not yet have a student account with interest free overdraft you should contact your bank to see if you can change your existing account to a student account. It may help if you can take along your Student Finance Breakdown and Payment Timetable from Student Finance England* (or NHS Bursary notification), confirming how much you are expecting to receive.

3. Rent. If you have already set up a direct debit or issued a cheque to cover your rent and you do not have enough money in your account, you should contact your landlord or your bank to explain the situation and negotiate a new payment date.

Useful tips

If you have to contact Student Finance England*, here are a few hints to help you resolve any delays as soon as possible:

Before you call:

· Ensure you have your Customer Reference Number, password and secret answer ready so that your application can easily be identified. These should have been sent to you by post or email. Have a pen and paper ready, so you can note down any action which you might need to take.

· If you have not received your Student Finance Breakdown you will need to find out whether the assessment has taken place and when you are likely to receive it.

· If your payment is due to be made shortly, find out the date so you can negotiate with your bank if necessary.

· If Student Finance England* cannot complete the assessment because your application is missing some information, find out exactly what they need to so that it can be completed.

· If there is a problem which needs resolving before payment can be made, find out exactly what this is and what action you, or the University needs to take.

· If you have the information they need, ask them if you can provide it over the phone or the name and address of the person to send it to.

· Be sure to check what will happen once you have followed their instructions and ask them how long it will be until you receive your payment.

· If your application is still waiting to be assessed (particularly at busy times of the year), ask for a date of when they expect to assess your application so that you can plan ahead.

Checklist – some common reasons for delays in payment:

· Check that you have returned your completed application either online or by post.

· Return your completed application within the specified deadlines. Failure to meet the deadlines could result in delay.

· Check that you have signed and returned the Loan Request Form – payment will not be made until you have done this.

· Have you provided the correct University and programme details? If you have changed Programme or University you should let Student Finance England* know.

· Bank account details – if you have provided the wrong bank account details or you have changed bank accounts and not told Student Finance England* your payment could be delayed.

· Declaration – you must sign the Declaration and where relevant, your parents or partner must sign their Declaration. If you do not do this your payment will be delayed.

Where to get help

If you experience difficulties in resolving the delay of your loan/grant payment, the advisers in Welfare & International Support, Student Services are available to help.

*New Students in 2010/11 will apply to Student Finance England.

*Students who started between September 2006 and before September 2009 will apply to their Local Authority (or Student Finance England, depending on where they live).

Contacts

Welfare & International Support
Ground Floor
Northumberland Building
City Campus
Tel: 0191 227 4127
Email: sv.welfareandinternational@northumbria.ac.uk

Student Services
Allendale Building
Coach Lane Campus
Tel: 0191 215 6590

Email:sv.welfareandinternational@northumbria.ac.uk