After a change in the way that NHS bursaries were calculated, a student found himself facing difficult financial circumstances when it was discovered he had been overpaid and the NHS Business Services Authority was to reduce his bursary to recover the overpayment. The reduction in his bursary payments contributed to his decision to withdraw from university and left him owing £1,800, which the NHS Business Services Authority later passed to a debt collection agency.
What happened
Mr A received a student bursary during the first year of his studies. At the beginning of his second year, he applied for a renewal of the bursary. At the same time, the NHS Business Services Authority was undergoing a major change in the way that it processed bursaries. This caused considerable delays in the processing of bursaries so it took the decision to simply award bursaries based on the previous year but with a disclaimer that it may be more or less than the correct amount, and any overpayments would have to be repaid in full. Mr A was not told of this arrangement.
During the university year, Mr A and the NHS Business Services Authority communicated several times about his bursary. Unfortunately the NHS Business Services Authority has destroyed all of its records.
The NHS Business Services Authority calculated Mr A's bursary the following spring and told him that he had been overpaid and it would recover the debt during the rest of term. This put Mr A under extreme financial pressure. He sent the NHS Business Services Authority additional evidence and it reduced the debt, but he still did not get enough money to pay his bills.
Mr A eventually dropped out of university because he could not afford to continue. The NHS Business Services Authority found out about this the following autumn and told Mr A that because he did not finish the year, he owed even more money (£1,800).
Mr A complained to the NHS Business Services Authority but his debt remained. He then approached us.
What we found
The NHS Business Services Authority's communication and handling of Mr A's bursary fell below the standards we would have expected to see. This resulted in considerable stress and inconvenience to Mr A, which the NHS Business Services Authority had not acknowledged.
However, we were unable to uphold Mr A's complaint that the NHS Business Services Authority was solely to blame for his withdrawal from university as we saw that Mr A could have done more and should have realised that his bursary would reduce at certain stages of the process.
Putting it right
To remedy the stress and inconvenience it had caused Mr A, NHS Business Services Authority paid him £1,000 compensation. (It reduced Mr A's existing debt by this amount.) It also apologised to him.
NHS Business Services Authority
UK
Not applicable
Apology
Compensation for financial loss