SUSI grant rejection - appeal?

dontbemean

Hi guys,

I sent my SUSI application as a mature, independent person two weeks ago. I hope to do a Masters course which would mean I expect to get the €2000 Postgraduate Contribution.

However, SUSI sent me a rejection letter today saying that my income was in fact €35,067 which is totally impossible. I have no special income, no gifts, no other means apart from my job. My income from my full-time job is no more than €26,500 (BEFORE tax). Where would they have gotten this €35,067 from?! I am very confused.

My question are

1) Is it worth sending in an appeal to SUSI with documents (P60 from 2012?) to support my actual income?
2) I took out a loan in Nov 2012 for €2750 - is this supposed to be assessed as part of my income? Should I provide copies of loan documents in my appeal?

Any suggestions MOST appreciated as I am naturally pretty confused & shocked...

SuSi: Reps

Hi Dontbemean,

If you feel the income amount SuSi stated back to you is incorrect then I would advise appealing. You can include your income statements to verify the income you receive.

You can find the appeals form at the following site: http://www.susi.ie/Appeals.aspx.

I hope this information helps. Please let me know if you have any further queries regarding this or anything else.

Kind regards,
Aoife,
SuSi HelpDesk.

dontbemean

Hi there, thanks for you reply!

By income statements do you mean bank statements, payslips and/or P60?

Further to this, how far back do these documents needs to go?

SuSi: Reps

Hi Dontbemean,

The documents needed would be your P60 and P21 from 2012 as this is the year the assessment is based on. It is that financial year that they calculate your award around.

I hope this information helps.

Kind regards,
Aoife,
SuSi HelpDesk.

Emmalou94

I have also been told(by a phone call) that My application must be cancelled.
I live with my grandparents who have raised me and paid for everything for me. Yet I was told that my income must be assesed on my mothers income who I never see which just sounds completely ridiculous when it is my grandparents paying for my college fees! Is this right and what can I do about this?
Also if the income had to be assessed on my mothers income (my parents are separated) is it just on her income or also the person she is married to?

Feenix

Emmalou94 wrote: »

I have also been told(by a phone call) that My application must be cancelled.
I live with my grandparents who have raised me and paid for everything for me. Yet I was told that my income must be assesed on my mothers income who I never see which just sounds completely ridiculous when it is my grandparents paying for my college fees! Is this right and what can I do about this?
Also if the income had to be assessed on my mothers income (my parents are separated) is it just on her income or also the person she is married to?

I'm in the exact same situation as this, I live with my grandfather but yet they say I must give my parents income, I have not seen them in years and they live in a different country. Bizarre situation. It seems to be a waste of time ringing SUSI, I spoke to two operators and either of them knew how to answer my question. There seems to be no alternative, either you are independent resident or you must give your parents income. Ridiculous too considering im 29.

SuSi: Reps

Hi Emmalou94 and Feenix,

If your grandparents are you legal guardians then you may apply as a dependent under their income. If you're estranged from your parents and can prove this then you can apply independently on the grounds of estrangement. To prove estrangement you need a letter from the HSE, An Guardaí or a court order that states you're estranged.

If you do need cancel your application then please email support@susi.cdvec.ie and explain the circumstance surrounding your cancelation. Also include your W reference number.

If you have any further questions regarding this matter please don't hesitate to contact me. The option to private mail is also available.

Kind regards,
Aoife,
SuSi HelpDesk.

Feenix

SuSi: Reps wrote: »

Hi Emmalou94 and Feenix,

If your grandparents are you legal guardians then you may apply as a dependent under their income. If you're estranged from your parents and can prove this then you can apply independently on the grounds of estrangement. To prove estrangement you need a letter from the HSE, An Guardaí or a court order that states you're estranged.

If you do need cancel your application then please email support@susi.cdvec.ie and explain the circumstance surrounding your cancelation. Also include your W reference number.

If you have any further questions regarding this matter please don't hesitate to contact me. The option to private mail is also available.

Kind regards,
Aoife,
SuSi HelpDesk.

If we could prove estrangement then I don't think either of us would be posting here with a query.

SuSi: Reps

Emmalou94 wrote: »

I have also been told(by a phone call) that My application must be cancelled.

Emmalou94 wrote: »

I live with my grandparents who have raised me and paid for everything for me. Yet I was told that my income must be assesed on my mothers income who I never see which just sounds completely ridiculous when it is my grandparents paying for my college fees! Is this right and what can I do about this?
Also if the income had to be assessed on my mothers income (my parents are separated) is it just on her income or also the person she is married to?

Feenix wrote: »

If we could prove estrangement then I don't think either of us would be posting here with a query.

Hi Emmalou,

I forgot to advise you previously, if you include your Mother’s income you only need to include her partners income if he is your legal guardian.

Also if your Grandparents brought you up from a young age and were in receipt of payments for you, i.e Childrens Allowance, then you could apply under their income. These cases are assessed on a case by case basis and I can’t guarantee that the application will be accepted.

Hi Feenix,

I was only advising you on your options. I was not aware what you had been informed of. Not all applicants know what is needed to prove this status.

Please contact me if you have any further queries.

Kind regards,
Aoife,
SuSi HelpDesk.

Emmalou94

Ok thank you for your help! I know it is not your fault but in my opinion the whole system is ridiculous. In circumstances such as these you should be assessed on an individual level rather than one rule for everyone. Not everyone has the same circumstances at home and coming on here and virtually chatting has been a million times more helpful and informative than ringing that place! Thanks again

zoeenya

Emmalou94 wrote: »

I know it is not your fault but in my opinion the whole system is ridiculous.

I AGREE!!!! on social welfare and apparently I don't qualify because I have an 'income', sorry that 144 a week is too much, and clearly enough to fork out 2500 annually. pisstake.....

bri007

they seem to be making it very difficult to get any type of assistance, the criteria they require is very unfair. How they expect people to live with criteria on grants they have set out

Feenix

zoeenya wrote: »

I AGREE!!!! on social welfare and apparently I don't qualify because I have an 'income', sorry that 144 a week is too much, and clearly enough to fork out 2500 annually. pisstake.....

That sounds like a mistake to be honest. You cant have been rejected solely due to receiving sw.

bri007

im currently in the middle of getting all documents ready to send into susi, I need social welfare statements from social welfare, I requested them on Monday, is it still a bit soon to go down to see why they havent arrived yet?

I need all docs in by next thursday? My social welfare office are the most unhelpfull, ignorant people i ever met in my life, I dont want to rock the boat with them or they will never do it. I got the feeling when I was there on Monday they are putting it on the long finger when I said I need it this week.

Feenix

bri007 wrote: »

im currently in the middle of getting all documents ready to send into susi, I need social welfare statements from social welfare, I requested them on Monday, is it still a bit soon to go down to see why they havent arrived yet?

I need all docs in by next thursday? My social welfare office are the most unhelpfull, ignorant people i ever met in my life, I dont want to rock the boat with them or they will never do it. I got the feeling when I was there on Monday they are putting it on the long finger when I said I need it this week.

I just got a stamped letter from them to say when I had been receiving sw payments from.it should suffice, they only want the statements as proof you have been living in Ireland I think.

bri007

How long did it take to get the letter from them?

Feenix wrote: »

I just got a stamped letter from them to say when I had been receiving sw payments from.it should suffice, they only want the statements as proof you have been living in Ireland I think.

bri007

would car insurance certs be sufficient for proof of residency?

Feenix

bri007 wrote: »

How long did it take to get the letter from them?

I went in and asked. He wrote it there and then. He put the date when I started receiving it last year and the date when I stopped receiving it. According to my SUSI checklist, I had to prove I have been living in Ireland 3 of the last 5 years. So for the 2010 and 2011 I just downloaded bank statements.

bri007

I havent used my bank account in a few years, actually struggling to find any sort of proof of residency

Ireland1001

Hi, I am 19 years old and currently live with my grandparents. I have lived with them since january as I had a falling out with my parents at christmas. I have had no contact with them since. When I was applying for the grant I rang to ask what do I do about the section of parents/legal guardians, I told her my situation and she advised me to put down estranged which makes sense as since january I have be, so that was grand and then i was asked to supply documents to prove estrangement i.e gardai, HSE or court order. So I went to the gardai and they explained that the only thing i could do was get myself my grandparents and try to get my parents to write letters stating estrangement as none of the above was ever needed nor involved in my situation. So my question is could that be enough to state estrangement as I have sent the three letters in and I am just worried I wont get awarded the grant but I see no other way in proving it. I have funded my own way, got help from people but never from my parents also my grandparents have not been getting any money for me.

zoeenya

No no, I have appealed since I wrote that comment, and rejected again. Im furious and I am in the process of appealing to the the board of education and skills. If I dont get any assistance with my fees, I cant go to college, SUSI's rules are so unhumanitarian and this has to change. I will not lay down and take it. <snip>

Ecu

Ireland1001 wrote: »

Hi, I am 19 years old and currently live with my grandparents. I have lived with them since january as I had a falling out with my parents at christmas. I have had no contact with them since. When I was applying for the grant I rang to ask what do I do about the section of parents/legal guardians, I told her my situation and she advised me to put down estranged which makes sense as since january I have be, so that was grand and then i was asked to supply documents to prove estrangement i.e gardai, HSE or court order. So I went to the gardai and they explained that the only thing i could do was get myself my grandparents and try to get my parents to write letters stating estrangement as none of the above was ever needed nor involved in my situation. So my question is could that be enough to state estrangement as I have sent the three letters in and I am just worried I wont get awarded the grant but I see no other way in proving it. I have funded my own way, got help from people but never from my parents also my grandparents have not been getting any money for me.

Hi Ireland1001, its almost two years on but I would be interested in whether the "letters stating estrangement" were accepted? An 18 year old who was previously in foster care with us is now in a similiar situation, living with a grandparent.

Sup08

Ecu wrote: »

Hi Ireland1001, its almost two years on but I would be interested in whether the "letters stating estrangement" were accepted? An 18 year old who was previously in foster care with us is now in a similiar situation, living with a grandparent.

Was the grandparent assigned their legal guardian by a court?

Ecu

Sup08 wrote: »

Was the grandparent assigned their legal guardian by a court?

No. There is still contact with a parent, though not financial support.

Sup08

Ecu wrote: »

No. There is still contact with a parent, though not financial support.

Well then there may be no estrangement, an irreconcilable relationship.

Estrangement would be no contact with the parents at all.

If they were to provide HSE reports and a counsellor saying they are estranged from their parent(s) and have been in the care of the HSE then they may be eligible to apply as an estranged dependent.

Ecu

Thanks Sup08, must research further.