My student loan was paid to someone else

I am a student at Birkbeck and my September maintenance loan was paid into the wrong account — one at Yorkshire Building Society instead of my Starling account.

- By Jill Insley

I am certain I entered my correct details as I copied and pasted them, but the Student Finance England (SFE) system saved them incorrectly. SFE’s portal only shows the last two digits of the account, so I had no way to check the full details.

This means thousands of pounds of student support have gone into someone else’s account. The Student Loans Company (SLC) says I will have to wait up to 30 days for a bank recall, while being blamed for entering the wrong details.

I am a single parent with no other income apart from child maintenance, as I am starting university after being made redundant. This loan was meant to cover my rent and living costs, and without it I have nothing to live on.