The second in a series of blogs as the Student Loans Company
continues to make Maintenance Loan payments to students. A blog
by Derek Ross Executive Director, Operations
Since the start of the pandemic we at SLC have been working hard
to support new and returning students with their student finance
applications. This week, large numbers of students have
registered on their courses and learning is underway. This will
be a great relief to many, and I am delighted that we have
supported a further 143,000 students with maintenance loan
payments of approximately £323 million this week.
We continue to do everything we can to ensure that as many
students as possible receive their maintenance loan at the start
of term. To help us to process any outstanding applications as
quickly as possible we ask that:
- Any evidence we may have requested from you to support an
application is submitted immediately via the online account.
- We are immediately notified of any changes to the course
being studied, or the university or college being attended via
the online account.
- Students access their online account to
check their payment status or visit our Frequently Asked
Questions. Our contact centres are extremely busy at
present, especially on Monday’s, so try a quieter time if you
can’t find the information you are looking for online.
Some students, who applied after the finance deadline, may not
immediately receive their full entitlement. In these cases, a
basic funding package is made available to those that are
eligible with a top-up payment made as soon as their full
application is processed.
As students return to study, we are also urging them to watch out
for phishing e-mails and text messages. Just as students and
their learning institutions know that payments are arriving into
students’ bank accounts, so too do the online scammers who want
to intercept and steal those payments. The easiest way for a
student to become a victim is by falling for a phishing email or
text that allows scammers to access their personal, financial and
account information in order to steal or reroute a payment.
There are a few important tips that students can follow to help
them identify a phishing scam:
- Phishing emails are often sent in bulk and are unlikely to
contain both your first and last name; they commonly start, ‘Dear
Student’ so be on guard if you see one like this.
- Check the quality of the communication - misspelling, poor
punctuation and bad grammar are often tell-tale signs of
phishing.
- Look out for messages that are designed to convey a sense of
urgency to prompt a quick response, such as ‘Failure to respond
in 24 hours will result in your account being closed’
- Think before you click. If you receive an email or SMS that
contains a link that you’re not sure of then try hovering over to
check that it goes where it’s supposed to. If you’re still in any
doubt don’t risk it, always go direct to the source rather than
clicking on a potentially dangerous link.
We also urge students to be suspicious of any requests for
personal information. SLC, Student Finance England (SFE) or
Student Finance Wales (SFW) will never ask students to confirm
login information or personal information by email or text
message.
