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student tuition fees/accomodation fees

Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
edited March 27 in Work & Study
corrrrrrrrr blimey

i'm in my first year at uni and recently i got a scary email with a adrobe attachment saying that i owe the university tuition fees. i know that i've applied for a loan with my local education authority so i logged in using my ART ID number and looked at my account page. my tuition fee payments all look up to date and so i printed off the account page to take to the accounts office and university today.

won't be a surprise but the lady behind 'enquiries' was so rude!! she didn't seem to know the usefulness of the word 'please' and acted all het up. she asked me for how much i thought should have been paid for the tution fees and i said...err three grand something? and she said ah well you must have got it wrong because it is actually three grand blah blah. anywho she went on her stupid system and said that it is actually accomodation that i hadn't paid and not tution fees. this makes more sense now because i remember organising to go and pay it with a friend but not actually doing it..my memory is crap!! so then i said to the lady behind the glass screen (glass screen for enquiries??!) that would make sense but it doesn't explain the email i got because it said 'tuition fees' and she said 'are you sure?'..errr yeah...she obviously wanted me to leave so i said i'd check everything when i got back.

just had a look and the email does say tuition fees. so that makes no sense. i also have another email saying accomodation fees. the emails were titled with URGENT. do you think i have time to go over it with my mum this weekend or should i be panicking?? i know unis always seem to mess up with money matters but gosh the woman didn't have to be so rude. if i were an adult making an enquiry i seriously doubt she would have talked to me like that. i also noticed how she talked to this chinese guy in front of me who obviously didn't know much english. not impressed!
Post edited by JustV on

Comments

  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    My old university were just as bad and just as rude. I used to get letters saying I owed them money fairly often, mostly it would be for like £20 and it was never actually true. I would go into the office and they would agree it was a mistake but then a few weeks later I'd get another letter saying exactly the same thing. One summer I actually got suspended from university for this mystery debt that wasn't even real. But it was in the summer holidays anyway so I just had to go and get them to unsuspend me before I could start the next academic year.

    No advice though, but plenty of sympathy for you :)
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    thanks :) i dont wanna be suspended :shocking:
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    thanks :) i dont wanna be suspended :shocking:

    Yeah, it was really annoying. I'd been to Brazil for three months to see my boyfriend and when I got back there were lots of letters that I'd not opened reminding me about it and then eventually they's sent one saying I was suspended and couldn't register for any courses or exams or go to any lectures etc until the debt was paid. I'd been in to the office before I'd gone away though and they'd said to me that it was fine as they could see they'd made a mistake and that I didn't owe them anything. It was really annoying :grump:
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    J wrote: »
    Uni's seem to be money grbbing bastards in my opinion.

    I currently owe my uni 375 quid for last months rent.

    They also want a 200 quid deposit to stay here next year even though they already have the 200 quid I gave them at the start of this. Why can't they just keep hold of that?

    If your having money troubles though speak to student support. There are often grants and things you can get that you might not be aware of and they can even loan you money if it's paid back. I got an access to learning fund loan and it was something like 600 quid but because of my circumstances I don't have to py it back.
    I'm also entitled to money from the disabled students allowance fund whicch mens I can probably get a brand new laptop and things like a digital voice recorder for lectures, as well as someone paid to sit in lectures taking notes for me - Meaning I only have to turn up 50% of the time to get the required number of attendances. (It's not for that obviously but I'll take advantage of course :D )

    Are you sure the £200 isn't some kind of admin charge?

    And seriously, if you have someone to take notes for you and you use that for a reason not to show up then you should be ashamed of yourself. I know when I was at uni there was a huge demand for people to do that, especially with subjects that require specialist knowledge as not just just anyone can make coherant notes on it. If you aren't going to make the effort then you shouldn't be allowed to use the service, and if I was your notetaker I wouldn't give you the notes unless you were actually there.

    Rachael, I'd take a printout of each of the emails with you if you go again so you can show her exactly what they said. And you ARE an adult making the enquiry; universities sometimes seem to forget that :)
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Thanks that's what I'm definitely going to do :) Will print out each email and also the account statement from student finance as proof that they are paying the university my tuition fees. Am going to do this tomorrow so will post about how it goes!
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Good luck :) hopefully it'll be a different, less arseholey person there this time!
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    It really better be!! So stressful at the end of term :grump:
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Mum

    As a mum who has seen three kids through the system, I am hoping that your mum doesn't have to find the money. I also hope you get your problem sorted, learn to manage your finances and don't let others intimidate you. Uni used to be free and should still be so you can focus on your studies.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Problem appears to be sorted!

    Went to see them today with the printouts and there was a different woman at the counter. I could see the rude woman skulking at the back..heh heh. Apparently this is a problem which has been happening a lot and not to worry because I'm all up to date with payments :) Phew.
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