Web Exclusive

Advice Centre: Who are we?

31st May 2007

Hello everyone, and welcome to the Advice Centre.

Let's hope there's no fallout from your freshers celebrations, but if there is, you can come and see us about it.

The Advice Centre is staffed by two professionally qualified and experienced advisers, both confusingly, called Chris - Chris (N) & Chris (R). We are open 5 days a week to help you with any problems. The Centre is on the ground floor of Fulton House, opposite the Technium Building. You can drop in between 10am and 12.30pm, every weekday morning; or ring our secretary Jen for an afternoon appointment. The number is 01792 295821. We can also arrange for you to see a solicitor - the Legal Clinic is on Tuesday afternoons.

All of our advice is independent of the University, and impartial; and we maintain strict confidentiality, not disclosing any information about you to anyone else without your permission. If we cannot help you ourselves, we can refer you to someone who can.

We have freebies for the asking! We give out free condoms to callers, as well as attack alarms, and discounted pregnancy tests are available, price £2.

Here's a flavour of what we do.

Q There are 5 of us in our shared house, but now we've moved in we're having second thoughts. Can we change our minds and go somewhere else?

A Bear in mind that if you sign a tenancy agreement, it is a legally binding document that commits you to paying rent for the duration of the tenancy. Your landlord can hold you to this, and has the right to take you to court for the full amount of the rent.

A However, don't despair. Most landlords don't really mind who occupies their properties as long as they get the rent. Could you find other tenants to take your place? You could advertise on the boards in the foyer of Fulton House, or in the departments. Some of you might want to stay and others leave. Again, find replacement tenants, and your problem is solved.

Tenancy agreements are invalidated if the landlord breaches any of your statutory rights, and this can be a way out of agreements. If repairs haven't been done, get on to the Environmental Health Department at the Guildhall, and get them to call. They will write a report, which can either provide you with a get out, or ammunition to get the landlord to do repairs.

Warning! Don't sign a tenancy agreement before all the tenants have had a chance to see the place, and agree on renting. Don't sign it either before reading the small print carefully (this is tedious but essential). To be really sure, bring your agreement to the Advice Centre, and we can check it out for you, and advise you on what is acceptable, and what is out of order.

If you want advice on talking to or writing to your landlord, we can help you to do it yourself, or do it on your behalf if you prefer. But the best solution to this problem is not letting it arise in the first place. Don't agree to rent a property out of desperation, be sure that it is right for you first. Your landlord may pressurise you to sign. Resist it. He won't risk losing a group of tenants for the sake of a couple of days delay. Better safe than sorry.

Q I've just failed my exams, what can I do?

This is a very stressful one. All that hard work and it comes to this! We may be able to help, it all depends.

First of all, have you been to see your Personal Tutor, your Course Director, or someone else senior in your department? They may have some helpful suggestions of a way forward. Whether you can resit, repeat the year, or change courses, depends on your individual circumstances. Seek help at the earliest opportunity, and try to think positive.

Appealing: it might be possible to appeal the decision. Maybe you have exceptional circumstances, an illness or family crisis. Did you tell anyone about this? This can be a possible reason for appealing a decision. Did something go wrong with the assessment, or anything else? Again, an "irregularity" can be grounds for appealing a decision. But bear in mind that anything you claim must be backed up by evidence, letters or statements from other people. Otherwise your claims won't hold water.

Don't delay: appeals usually have a deadline for responding, which can be very short. Make sure you know when it is - check if necessary, and ask for help immediately. Respond as soon as you get the decision letter. Time is precious in the appeal scenario. Come to the Advice Centre straight away, and we can advise you on making an appeal, and go with you to any hearings if necessary. It's a lot less scary when you've got support.

Still no go? There are always other options to consider, and we can talk you through them at the Advice Centre. Transferring to another course, or another programme of study might be possible. Getting some subject related work experience might improve the situation. There is never nowhere to go, you just need to stay calm & look at all the possibilities.

Here at the Advice Centre we can't work miracles, but we can give you information, tell you your rights, and give a helping hand in a crisis. Give us a try!

Waterfront Online