Guidance

Our commitment to supporting customers who need additional support

Published 5 February 2024

The service we provide you is very important to us at SLC. We understand the important role we have in supporting and enabling millions of customers each year to access and fund further and higher education courses and repay their student loan.

From considering making an application through to repaying a loan, we want you to receive a good service and have the best possible experience. We are working hard to ensure our customer vision to provide an intuitive, supportive and trusted service is the reality for all customers and we are committed to continuing to improve and adapt our services with you in mind.

What this means for customers who need additional support

We understand that some of our customers may need additional support from us. This might be because you have a health condition or personal circumstances which are making it difficult to manage your account or get in touch with us. We also know that everyone’s situation is different and changes over time and there might be times when you need extra help.

We train our colleagues to identify and provide additional support when it’s needed but this might not always be completely clear to us. If you need additional help, please just let us know when you contact us. We will seek to tailor the help we provide you to give you the support you need, and where we can, we will make adjustments to suit your needs.

Here are some examples where you may need additional support

• You have a sensory disability(s), like a hearing impairment or a visual impairment
• You have a mental health condition(s) like anxiety, stress or depression
• You have a physical disability(s) or reduced mobility
• You have a cognitive difficulty(s) or neurodiverse condition(s)
• You’re experiencing financial hardship
• You’re estranged from your family, or have been in care during your childhood
• You require a family member, a friend or your university or college to help you manage your interactions with us

If you need information in a different format

We want to make sure you get the information you need from us in the format that suits your needs. You might need an alternative format if you are visually impaired or have another condition which makes our standard print difficult to read.

You can order forms and guides in braille, large print or audio by emailing us your name, address, Customer Reference Number and details of what form and format you require to:

• brailleandlargefonts@slc.co.uk
• or you can telephone us on 0141 243 3686 and we can arrange this for you

If you cannot use a telephone and need a different way to contact SLC

Getting help from us on the telephone is not suitable for everyone. There are other ways to contact SLC that may be suitable if you are deaf, have a hearing impairment or have difficulty using the telephone.

Text Service (Relay UK)

• Text relay (if you cannot hear or speak on the phone): 18001 then 0300 100 0607. Monday to Friday, 8am to 8pm and Saturday, 9am to 4pm.

Webchat

• You can chat to an advisor in your online account. Monday to Friday, 9am to 5.30pm.

Social media

• Our social media teams can support you with general enquiries and help signpost you to the right information you need.
• Twitter: @SF_England or @SF_Wales
• Facebook: @SFEngland or @SFWales

If you need more time because of your circumstances

Sometimes a bit of breathing space and time to reflect is needed. In certain circumstances, SLC can give you an extension to a deadline or spend some more time with you to provide support. You can ask for more time if, for example:

• you have a mental health condition, like depression, stress or anxiety.
• you have a visual impairment, or cognitive difficulties.
• you have another condition which means you need more time.
• you’re experiencing financial difficulties.

If you need someone to talk to SLC for you

Sometimes you might find it difficult to deal with SLC yourself, but you can provide consent for someone to talk to us for you. This can be a friend, family member, your university or college or an advisor from a voluntary organisation. You can discuss giving consent to someone else with us when you contact us.

If you are estranged from your parents or have been in the care system

If you are applying as an independent student and you think you meet the definition to be assessed as an estranged student or a care leaver, then discuss this with us when you contact us.

We know that this can be a distressing subject, but by opening up to us about your circumstances, SLC can ensure a dedicated team who will case manage and progress your application.

If you are in financial hardship

Financial difficulties can be a very distressing subject. If you’re struggling financially because you’ve been paid too much loan or grant and as a result your student finance has been reduced, you should speak to us as soon as possible.

Or, if you’ve finished or left your course, we may be able to work out a more affordable way for you to pay back the amount you were overpaid, instead of having to pay it back all at once.

Discuss your circumstances with us when you get in touch and our Financial Hardship team will discuss your circumstances and assess your case.

We also guidance you might find useful on the Cost of Living and how to ensure that you have applied for the maximum amount of funding available to you.

What else can we do to support

In circumstances where additional support is needed, our advisors will be able to flag your support needs on your account, this will be then visible to all SLC staff and we will only do this with your full consent.

This means.

• You will not have to explain your circumstances every time you contact us.
• We will be able to prepare for your needs when you do contact us.
• We might be able to suggest additional products or give additional information and support based on your circumstances.

What you can do to help us

We are committed to giving you the best possible service and the best possible experience, but we can’t do it without you. To help us do this, we ask that you:

• Treat our colleagues with respect.
• Ask for additional support and help if you need it.
• Be open with us so that we can provide the right kind of help.
• Engage with us and provide us with the information we need.
• Tell us if anything changes in your circumstances.
• Give us honest and constructive feedback.

Our commitment to you

We want to carry on making it even easier for you to use our services. Our commitment to every customer is that we will:

• Treat you fairly and with respect.
• Recognise that you are an individual.
• Treat your information confidentially and with care.
• Train our colleagues and make sure they have the skills they need to help you.
• Listen to your feedback and learn from our mistakes.
• Keep equality, diversity and inclusion front of mind when developing our products, policies or processes.
• Never stop trying to improve.