Your debt with us

There are 3 common ways to get into debt with us:

• We paid you too much Student Allowance or another payment you get from us (an overpayment). This could happen if you didn't tell us:
  • your correct income before we paid you
  • about a change in your circumstances.
• We paid you money for something which you agreed to pay back. This is usually for something you really needed and couldn't afford at the time, e.g. a:
  • washing machine
  • school uniform, or
  • rent payment.
• You get a benefit from Work and Income that you're not allowed to get while you're studying. For example, you're studying full-time and get Jobseeker Support.

If you want to get a breakdown of your debt, you can. How you get the breakdown depends on whether you get a Student Allowance from us or not.

• If you get a Student Allowance, contact us.
• If you don't get a Student Allowance, contact our Client Support Debt Management Team.

We'll talk you through the debt and how it was created, and give you a breakdown of it.

If the debt breakdown is quite complex, it might take a few days to get this for you. It may be best for us to give it to you in writing as well. If this is the case, we'll let you know when you contact us.

How much you repay and how you pay your debt back depends on whether you get a Student Allowance or not.

If you:

• get a Student Allowance, we can set up repayments to come out of your Student Allowance.
• don't get a Student Allowance, you can make your own arrangements to pay back your debt.

If you think we've made a mistake with your debt, you can contact us.

We will:

• explain why you have a debt
• consider any new information you give us
• discuss the review of decision process if you still disagree.

There is support on the Work and Income website to help you budget, deal with debt and manage your money.

This includes information about:

• budgeting support
• MoneyTalks - a free financial helpline
• joining a MoneyMates support group, and
• talking to a financial mentor.

If you want someone else to talk with us about your debt, you need to fill out a form to nominate them as your agent.