money / consumer

We can advise students of their consumer rights. We can help students write to companies and help students if their attempts have proven fruitless. We are able to provide basic advice about paying and reclaiming tax.Students do not pay council tax unless a member of the household is a non-student. We can advise students of where they stand and how to get a council tax exemption certificate from the registration office.
We give practical advice about setting up accounts, paying bills etc. All properties must have a TV license, including all University residences. We can provide further advise on this.

benefits

We have HC1 and HC5 forms available on reception which students can pick up at any time.

Please see our fact sheets for further info.  If you have any questions regarding Benefits or you are unsure of your rights we suggest you visit the University Student Support Office webpages for further advice:

downloads

• Child Benefits
• Child Tax Credits
• Child Trust Funds
• Council Tax
• Housing benefits
• Income Support
• Jobseekers Allowance
• Working Tax Credits
• TV Licensing

debt and hardship

We issue a short term hardship loan to students which ranges from £5 to £75. Please use the form below to make an on-line application, we will e-mail you to let you know whether you have been successful or not.  Please note we do not issue hardship loans for rent or tuition fee purposes.  If you are successful you will need to come in and fill in some paperwork and have a chat with us to discuss the loan.  Students can only have 3 per academic year (1 per student, per term). If you are unsuccessful but would like to discuss this further please e-mail suadvice@essex.ac.uk to make an appointment.

We can refer students to other services which may offer a hardship fund if the Advice Centre is unable to help. The Access to Learning fund (ALF) is administered by Student Support. ALF is only available to Home students.  Home Students can download forms from the website or collect from the Student Support Office. It’s a pot of money given by the government to help the most needy students. Priority is given to student parents, those with dependents and final years. We can advise students on what being in debt to the University means.

Hardship loan application form