Loan Approval

[Alwaysask]

I applied through a Learn Direct Centre to do one of their courses. The centre then gave me a start date for the course. Before starting the course I had to get a loan approval. Despite providing all the necessary ID documents, I have had no acceptance or denial for the funding. This can't be right or be legal. I have meanwhile missed the start-date for the course
The name of the loan company is 24+ Advanced Learning Loans. I'm tired of asking them what's happening. Can I take any action against them or the learning provider, Learn Direct?

[nemesis45]

Re: Loan Approval

Hi welcome to LB,, this a government initiative is it not.
Who are you making complaints to?
I can't see there is anything " illegal" or "unlawful" no money
has change hands.

Was this applied for through a specific college?

nem

[Alwaysask]

Re: Loan Approval

Thanks for the response.

Learn Direct is indeed part of a government initiative. Yes the loan was made through a college - a community college through which I had just completed another course. The college after much discussion put me forward for the second course. I haven't suffered any financial loss so that's not the problem. But surely there is some obligation to follow through a course starting date as given by the college or alternatively for the loan company to respond to my loan application? Either party can't just blame the other and leave me without the qualification I am trying to get which is the whole point of the government initiative in the first place (i.e. to get accredited qualifications)? Or can they?

[FlamingParrot]

Re: Loan Approval

I applied through a Learn Direct Centre to do one of their courses. The centre then gave me a start date for the course. Before starting the course I had to get a loan approval. Despite providing all the necessary ID documents, I have had no acceptance or denial for the funding. This can't be right or be legal. I have meanwhile missed the start-date for the course
The name of the loan company is 24+ Advanced Learning Loans.

24+ Advanced Learning Loans are not a company, they are part of Student Finance which is run by the government and is the same organisation that deals with student loans for full and part time university students. What process did you follow to apply for the loan?

I'm surprised to hear this because you'd just have to create an account with Student Finance, then fill the online application form with the details from your course provider. The LARA code from the college is the key here, if you enter something wrong it will immediately tell you the course is not eligible for funding, otherwise you'll be directed to a page where you have to print a declaration, sign it and send it off to them by post.

If you have a British passport, they won't ask for further ID, just your passport details. If you have another passport such as EU, you'll need to send the original passport along with the declaration to the address provided, they will return it to you by post. Once your details have been verified, they will approve the loan in principle, subject to any additional info they may require such as proof of your NI number.

When I applied for one such loan the whole process was quick and totally painless and took just a week to get correspondence with full details of the loan, however, info about the loan having been approved was already available upon logging in to Student Finance.

I'm tired of asking them what's happening.

WHO are you asking and how?

Can I take any action against them or the learning provider, Learn Direct?

Learn Direct, like any other college or learning provider, wouldn't have anything to do with Student Finance England, they would only be responsible if they'd provided with the wrong information about the course, however, had that been the case you'd have found out immediately as I mentioned above.

What sort of course was this? Was it distance learning or did it require attendance?

[FlamingParrot]

Re: Loan Approval

Thanks for the response.

Learn Direct is indeed part of a government initiative. Yes the loan was made through a college - a community college through which I had just completed another course. The college after much discussion put me forward for the second course.

It would still have been your responsibility to apply to Student Finance for the loan, providing details of the course. Normally they will only approve courses that are at a higher level than the one you took before or a 'top-up' rather than another qualification at the same level.

Did you do your first course with funding from 24+?

[Alwaysask]

Re: Loan Approval

Thank you for your very valuable information half of which I did not know!
I have provided the loan company with all the relevant information. I am a British Citizen but since I don't have a current passport I provided current, alternative ID as advised. I sent the details by recorded delivery and also paid for the ID documents to be returned to me by special delivery. All at a cost of about £15. The loan company are claiming they don't have all the documents required to approve the loan yet they themselves returned the ID documents that they asked for to me in the pre-paid special delivery envelopes I had provided.
Three times I've received letters from the loan company asking for more ID. They know that they have all the documents they require. The first course was an intermediate level computer training course which I passed in record time with very good percentage marks. The second course is a NVQ Diploma. I suspect this is deliberate stalling but what can I do next?

I'm trying to think of the questions that you asked me as I can tell you're really trying to help. The first course too must have been government funded but it was quite a basic course in financial terms compared to the NVQ LEVEL THREE COURSE which comes in at nearly £2000. In your response you said, I think, that there may be some 'provisos' before the final go-ahead is given - do you know specifically what they may be?
I have never not completed nor not paid back a government loan of any kind before. Just as my previous course implies. Also, there was only a matter of days between getting a certificate for the previous course and applying for the next one - both with the very same college.

I have a provided a customer reference number, NI number, birth certificate reference number, relevant references as stipulated, a start date for the course and despite having been originally told the application would be processed in 10-15 days in nearly 5 months no approval for the funding has been given.
The question is can this situation be progressed with a threat of legal action if necessary?
If there are any points I've missed, I'll pick them up in the next reply. I'm afraid this stalling is all very deliberate!

[FlamingParrot]

Re: Loan Approval

Thank you for your very valuable information half of which I did not know!
I have provided the loan company with all the relevant information. I am a British Citizen but since I don't have a current passport I provided current, alternative ID as advised. I sent the details by recorded delivery and also paid for the ID documents to be returned to me by special delivery. ALL at a cost of about £15.

They will return them signed for and are not allow to use any pre-paid envelopes sent by you to ensure return by special delivery as suggested by the Post Office, so they should have returned the pre-paid envelope to you for future use if you sent one.

The loan company are claiming they don't have all the documents required to approve the loan yet they themselves returned the ID documents that they asked for to me in the pre-paid special delivery envelopes I had provided.

That's very odd because they said to me they were not allowed to use it and return it unused along with the evidence, by recorded delivery paid for by themselves.

Thee times I've received letters from the loan company asking for more ID. They know that they have all the documents they require.

Have they been specific in the sort of documents they require as ID and have you sent those same documents? What sort of ID are they asking for?

The first course was an intermediate level computer training course which I passed in record time with very good percentage marks. The second course is a NVQ Diploma. I suspect this is deliberate stalling but what can I do?

I can't see any reason why they would want to deliberately stall an application, they can simply reject it for whatever reason, such as you already having a qualification at the same level if that's the case, nothing would be achieved by stalling and, in my experience, they approve or reject very quickly. They rejected some of my applications straight away at the time of submission due to an incorrect LARA code supplied by the college, they followed them up with letters of rejection and removed them from my SFE account all in less than a week, also approved my other application (with an updated LARA number) in a week.

[Alwaysask]

Re: Loan Approval

Let's deal with this in stages.

1. No in 5 months I haven't had any approval or rejection of my application.
2. Yes, the loan company DID use my pre-paid special delivery envelope to return my documents to me and of course I can prove it. How could you be in a better position to know otherwise?
3. The only ID that was required was an original birth certificate which has been sent, received and returned.
4. If you are so confident in the loan company provider please explain the scenario I have outlined. Odd just doesn't cut the mustard. This is meant to be a governmental supported organisation not a back-street walk-in.
5. You may need to adjust your perceptions of applications being dealt with 'quickly' as you put it. This one hasn't arrived all. And no one up to this point including yourself can explain why. Always suspicious in my eyes when this happens.
6. Any self-respecting organisation should provide reasons for rejecting an application of any kind. It has to do this to justify it's credibility and 'fairmindedness'. It will be interesting to see how that criteria can be satisfied after 5 months and no precise explanation to me until now

[FlamingParrot]

Re: Loan Approval

I seem to have upset you with my reply, that wasn't the intention, nor did I intend to start an argument. All I posted was with regards to my own (very recent) experience with the same organisation. Obviously we have had very different experiences and I can't explain why. My application WAS dealt with quickly. Obviously I'm not in a better position than you to say what they did with your evidence, I can only tell you what happened with mine, as seen below.


If you are not happy with the way they have dealt with your application, you may wish to complain:

• Download ‘How to make a complaint’ (PDF, 146KB)

• customer_complaints@slc.co.uk

• Telephone: 0300 100 0601 Find out about call charges

[Alwaysask]

Re: Loan Approval

Is there a legal recourse available to me? It's clear from the information I have been given that breaches have been made. A complaint isn't a measure that will deal with this poor behaviour in the way I'd like. too much of my time & money has been wasted for nothing.