Appeal for suggestions - EMA

[reallymadwoman]

I thought this was all sorted out a month ago before I went away, but I've spent most of today banging my head against the brick wall between my daughter's college and the EMA department.

 

I know they had problems, but my daughter's forms finally came through about 3 weeks into the new term and the college authorised all her back payments on 22nd September. They have also authorised all weekly payments since on time.

 

When she still hadn't received any money 2 weeks later I spent a very frustrating afternoon being passed back and forth between the college and the EMA people but finally got a promise that she would be paid up to date within 7 days.

 

I then went away hoping the problem was solved but having arranged for my son to help out with bus fare etc if necessary.

 

Got back at the weekend to find she still hasn't had a penny.

 

I really have tried to sort this out having now spent most of yesterday and today again being passed back and forth and getting absolutely nowhere. The college say there's nothing more they can do and the EMA people say the college have to sort it out. I'm actually inclined to believe the student support officer at the college as she was at least polite and has spent an awful lot of time trying to help. The EMA people have hung up on me at least twice - I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt for all the other times I've been put on hold and the line has subsequently gone dead.

 

I could go down the usual routes of complaining etc but there really isn't time. My poor daughter now owes over £150 to me and her brother for bus fares and has only had the few pounds I can spare for spending money all term, and she's getting desperate. To be totally honest, so am I. We're on income support and most of that £150 has come out of our food budget because that's the only place it can come from and we're sick of living on beans on toast.

 

Can anyone please suggest what I could try next?

[SteveH2508]

Some colleges are making temporary financial arrangements in hardship cases to cover the EMA c*ck-up. The LSC has made some money available for this. Have you asked the student support officer if this is available? (Or whether there is any Access fund available).

 

This whole fiasco is down to HMG and their 'privatisation' policy. The colleges are pulling their hair out over it (I know - I work in an FE College). We get grief for losing students from courses but this government (spit) do not seem to care about the reasons why.

[reallymadwoman]

The college have offered to 'loan' some money but it would involve me getting up to date proof of benefits etc which I know will take forever too, and my daughter quite rightly doesn't want to borrow any more money, especially as it would involve re-applying every week until she is paid.

Basically she's already missing odd days because I simply do not have the money to give her which of course means that she won't get her EMA for that week anyway and we're now at the point where she's not going to be able to go at all for the last week and a half of term.

[demon_x_slash]

I can confirm that it's the EMA s*ds and not her college - I'm the EMA provider for my FE, and all we do is log attendance and click 'yes' or 'no' each week; that's the extent of our EMA input. They hang up on us all the time, too.

 

The only thing I can suggest is not only to keep complaining to the EMA helpline but to double-check that they have the correct bank details for her; several students of mine had digits transposed when they called up to check...

[poppynurse]

It might also be worth emailing your MP to see if they can get EMA to sort it out urgently - it's appalling that she is missing out on her education due to these toss**s.

[reallymadwoman]

There should be a piece in the local paper this week, and we emailed our MP last Friday but have yet to get a reply.

 

We've tried to confirm bank details are correct but the EMA helpline insists that the college have to contact them and of course the college can't do anything about that one. This one really is like banging your head against a brick wall.

 

Daughter has managed to get to college this week by using the £20 an aunt enclosed in her Christmas card, but I'm pretty sure that wasn't the intended use.

 

I want to strangle someone!

[demon_x_slash]

Believe me, the colleges feel exactly the same about these morons as you do. Do they tell you why you need to contact the college? Have they given any reason as to why she hasn't received it?

 

(Just trying to rule everything out, and I'm in no way saying that she's missed days, but have you double-checked her attendance with the college since Sept.?)

 

Has she received any money at all from EMA? The payment ref should start EMAMN(then a string of numbers).

 

If she's received her current money but not her backdated money, the college may want to re-send their authorisation spreadsheet in case some Liberata numpty has lost it.

 

There's going to be even more disruption soon, I predict, because Liberata (the original contractors) have been sacked for incompetence, and are being replaced with...dum dum (dumb) - Crapita, of all people. We privately think that EMA as a concept will be dumped in the next year or so as it's been too much of an embarrassment to the Gov.

 

I'm assuming that there are no travel concessions etc. to help her out in the meantime?

[reallymadwoman]

Not received a penny and though there will now be a few weeks where she's missed a day - because of not having bus fare - her attendance overall is pretty good.

 

No one on the EMA helpline will take any sort of responsibility for sorting out this problem. They basically won't talk to me or my daughter but insist that the college have to contact them to check bank details or anything else. Of course the college can't discuss my daughter's bank details with the EMA people and almost certainly have better things to do than wait on hold for three hours whilst they find someone to answer the phone.

 

We got the 'entitlement' form and daughter took it to college. College authorised back payments on 22nd October and absolutely nothing has happened since.

 

We live about 300 yards too close to the college to get any help with transport and the only other help on offer is a loan from the college which has to be reapplied for every week and involves form filling and proof of benefits.

[dorsetgirl47]

Hi Reallymadwoman,

I read your thread with great interest as we were in exactly the same position as you, did you ever get the backdated EMA if you dont mind me asking, we never did! Also the strain of having no money plus being pressured each day at college to buy art materials etc became too much for my daughter and she quit college, after being on Jobseekers for a month she was lucky to get an Apprentice Administration job at another college nearby, she wont be earning much but is a lot happier!

We are now faced with a bill of £161 for an exam that she will not be taking and was not asked if she wanted to be entered into, she was absent for 2-3 weeks due to depression, the college knew there was a problem and are now phoning and sending letters asking for the money.Do you or anyone else know where we stand ? I'm on benefits due to long term illness, I cant pay and quite frankly dont wish to, but would like to know my rights.

Can anyone advise me?

I hope you got things sorted RMW....I'm thinking of writing to my MP to draw attention to the hardship students and parents face, it's just not right!