Comments on: Graduate endowment to be scrapped

By: David Russell

David Russell — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 18:34:42 +0000

Being a law student I have at least managed to pick up “no contract, no liability” if little else

Bear in mind that you don’t necessarily have to have signed anything for a contract to be created.

By: Very Concerned

Very Concerned — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 11:25:08 +0000

Interesting comments
In a nutshell the SAAS and their recovery agents are seeking a debt that many people were unaware of.There are a lot of ex- students who learned about the Graduate Endowment when the bill arrived in the post.
I know of someone who is considering allowing their case to reach a small claims court as a “test case”.No contract means no liability.

David.
You state that you signed up to the Graduate Endowment when you completed your application form.I have no recollection of this.
As I said repeated requests to the SAAS for a copy of an agreement to pay have not born fruit.
Please ask friends etc if they signed a contract to pay the GE.
Thanks

By: David Russell

David Russell — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 16:37:24 +0000

@VeryConcerned:
When I filled out the online application, the form definitely said “You may be liable to pay the Graduate Endowment upon graduation”. YMMV of course!

@Louise:
Having to pay the same amount for only three years of funding does seem a bit unfair. Especially since they won’t give you extra funding if you have to repeat a year (”shortest time needed to complete your degree”) through ill-health or failing a required course.

By: Louise

Louise — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 14:40:47 +0000

I graduated in 2006, direct entry into 2nd year and I am still required to pay the fee despite the fact that I saved the government a whole years tuition! I fist heard about GE when I was in 3rd year and really tried to find out the whole story. The fact is it was not explained to me, other students or the student union. I phoned SAAS directly and they could’nt even tell me who was exempt. But now everything is in black and white and I feel like I was really tricked in 2003 when I received the confirmation letter that SAAS would pay the fees!

By: Very Concerned

Very Concerned — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 09:26:07 +0000

I am interested to read the comments that students were unaware of their contract to pay the Graduate Endowment.
You are not alone.

Did anyone enter into a contract to pay it?
Have you ever seen your agreement holding you to the bill?

I keep asking for a copy of my committment to pay a debt that I didnt know about and one that I certainly did not agree to meet.
So far no success and that is because there is not one.

The law appears to be illegal.

Thoughts would be interesting.

By: David Russell

David Russell — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 22:05:19 +0000

No, the endowment has only been abolished for students graduating after the announcement was made. If you graduated before that then you don’t get a refund, unfortunately.

By: Emma

Emma — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 18:06:54 +0000

Ok, now I’m even more confused! I graduated in 2006, didnt know about the graduation endowment fee and a week later got a £2300 odd bill in the post, telling me to pay up before April 2007 or add to my student loan. Obviously I had to add it to my student loan…

Now that it has been abolished.. does that mean that it will be taken off my student loan? So far no luck…

By: Jill Wood

Jill Wood — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 13:32:03 +0000

It’s great news for all current/future students; however those of us who have already had to pay this sickening and unjust tax will receive no benefit. The 2005/06 graduates seems to have been royally screwed with loans and endowments, which turn into loans. I for one will probably never pay off my university debt!!!

By: David Russell

David Russell — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 21:18:19 +0000

Tuition fees haven’t been abolished, the endowment has. So if you’re a Scottish or EU student who is having the fees paid by the SAAS, you now won’t have to pay the £2200-ish graduate tax at the end of your degree. If you don’t qualify for SAAS support (or you already graduated and paid the endowment), my sympathies. You can blame all the sheeple who voted Labour in 1999 and 2003.