Open University help please

[mrsmagoo]

I have been studying with the Open University for about 6 years now.

 

I took out and OUSBA loan to cover module fees in January.

 

I took the loan out on the understanding that I was eligible for transitional fee's.

 

I withdrew from the module in march time because it just wasn't for me,

 

on the phone the lady told me to just carry on paying OUSBA and register for my new module that starts in october

and they will use my OUSBA credit to pay for it, so I wouldn't lose anything and my new module would be paid for.

 

Now thay have decided that I am no longer eligible for transitional fees,

they said I shouldnt have been anyway it was a mistake on their part

and I must pay the outstanding OUSBA balance or they will take me to court and withhold my degree.

 

If I want to add another module then I have to pay an extra £1827.

 

I am furious, I would never have taken out the loan if I had known that I would not be entitled to transitional arrangements.

 

Is there anything I can do?

 

I really don't want to have to pay £735 for nothing.

 

TIA

[postggj]

did you start the module??

[mrsmagoo]

Yes I did

[postggj]

Have you checked what is in the T&C of the agreement you signed, or the Open University own T&C.

 

If it is not in there then i doubt they can do this

 

My Open University degree is funded by the student loans company, so i am shooting in the dark on this

[mrsmagoo]

I will have to dig out the agreement and see what it says, I didnt think of that!

[postggj]

[mrsmagoo]

These are the only T&C's I can find, I applied online. I can't see anything that I could use:

https://css2.open.ac.uk/ousbaonline/shared/termsandconditions.aspx

[Julia Haywood-Collett]

Try contacting the OU "Student's Association" (OUSA) I read something recently that they had written on "Student Debt"( in fact, if you enter "Student Debt" into the search bar on your OU personal account, it should come up). I did try to copy and paste it on here for you but was unsuccessful.

 

 

 

the gist of it was , don't panic, there is help available! They also provided links to some areas providing help! The "National Union of Students" was one such organisation!

 

 

Good luck

Edited August 7, 2014 by Julia Haywood-Collett
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