Student Finance England are the only service available to low income students who wish to access Higher Education. Therefore, the Student Loans Company have a responsibility to provide a high quality service to students who are too vulnerable or disadvantaged to access Higher Education through personal means.

Failures by Student Finance England to process applications within a reasonable timeframe and to make payments according to their own schedule negatively impacts students, particularly those with pre-existing financial commitments and/or dependants.

We are lucky to live in a time where Higher Education is accessible to anybody, and all students are appreciative of the opportunity to further their learning and future careers. However, to maintain equality, students from lower income backgrounds must be able to rely upon payments being made on time.

Last year my first payment was three months later than promised. This period of financial instability seriously affected my credit rating, put me at risk of losing my home, and caused a very high level of stress that made me question whether I should continue my degree in case further payments were delayed. Unfortunately, in the first term of my second year it has happened again and this time it is worse, as I have been told to expect my payment in December, which is 8 months after my last payment - received in April.

I'm not alone. One look at Student Finanace England's Facebook page shows many students with similar issues, desperate for answers, which aren't being provided. The internal complaints system leaves students feeling as if though their complaint has been heard, but no steps will be taken to change the situation.

There is a reason for legislation against monopoly in business, and we feel Student Finance is a perfect example of a company that, having no competition, is not under pressure to improve its service. Similarly, it appears that they only answer to a board of four independent assessors, and so repercussions to Student Finance England do not exist. Students have no other options available to them in regards to funding, and so there is no threat of a loss of custom.

We do not necessarily believe there should be more competition, but more pressure from the Prime Minister and our Government could motivate Student Finance England to make the necessary changes to their system and processes to improve their service.

When students face periods of financial difficulty, all usual avenues of relief are closed to them. At most, students can expect a small level of assistance from their University, but this is only enough to cover very basic requirements such as food and doesn't help students with bills to pay or mouths to feed. Students are rarely eligible for benefits or even assistance from charities, but generally they have financial commitments that need to be paid. Prolonged periods without any source of income put students into unnecessary debt, companies continue to make charges for late payments and, in dire circumstances, students could be forced into temporary homelessness whilst waiting for payments they were expecting to arrive promptly in September.

Student Finance England are prone to mistakes, like any company, but their mistakes can cause huge financial strain and stress to people across the country who wanted to pursue education to better themselves and their futures, but they do not have any safeguards in place to protect these students while they correct their own errors.

Maintenance loans, grants and bursaries are calculated at the level required for the student in question, and as such failure to make that payment in a timely manner, or to offer a legitimate path to follow up or expediate a payment causes students significant hardship. We are asking Student Finance England and the Government to take responsibility for this failure to provide an effective and efficient system, to discuss and implement changes to ensure a better experience for customers of these loans, and to consider a safeguard for students who are waiting for their payments to prevent them from suffering further negative consequences.

We are asking people to sign this petition on behalf of present and future students who are affected by and depend upon the service provided by Student Finance England, which at the moment is causing significant problems to those it is designed to assist.