SO, after stressing out about Student Finance not letting me have a Tuition Fee Loan for my first year, and thinking I was going to have to pull £9250 out of my back pocket to pay for university (money I honestly do not have and have no idea how to even start to get that type of money) We decided to put a formal appeal into Student Finance England (they will be known as SFE so I don't have to keep writing this out #sorrynotsorry) and explain to them how ridiculous they had been in their decision. Miraculously they agreed straight away and overturned their original decision.
I've decided to update you on this as I had no idea how to even start to appeal the decision as they didn't help in the slightest. They told me to speak to my University to see what they could do to help, so I emailed the University and they told me to speak to SFE. So I then emailed my employer to see if they could help at all, but with no luck everybody had started to just stare at me blankly and shrug their shoulders. Eventually, I had to go to my university in to have an Occupational health meeting and my mother decided to seek out the finance office and ask in person. They told us that SFE have an official appeals process that we should look into, instead of writing multiple letters that SFE didn't seem to read or understand what I was saying. We put in the formal appeal (which is just a form where you explain why you are appealing) and within 5 days they sent me a letter giving me the finance.
I guess I was super shocked that they just handed over the money when I felt like I was going to have to gear up for a massive fight as they had made it so impossible to know who to ask and who to go to.
Is this the right time to say 'Never give up folks'
xxx
