Repayment of unjust DUO fines could take years

Around ten thousand (former) students have received a letter from DUO: they are to be refunded fines that were unjustly imposed, as well as their withdrawn basic grant. However, it may take some time.

Student finance agency DUO has ‘indirectly discriminated’ against students for years in its fraud detection concerning the basic grant for students living away from home, acknowledged the government last year following an investigation by news agency HOP, Investico, NOSop3 and daily newspaper Trouw.

The agency mainly checked students with a migration background, and the checks themselves were questionable: at times, students were required to pay fines and repay their grants based on conversations with their neighbours.

Apologies

The previous government has offered its apologies, and the current government has decided to repay everything: both the fines and the reclaiming of the grant. This amounts to 61 million euros – 47 million euros to compensate the victims and 14 million euros for the implementation of the recovery operation.

In the last seven days, DUO has sent letters to the affected students. The entire operation could ‘perhaps even take several years’, the letter states. This is because DUO is making ‘a individual calculation’ of the amount each affected student will receive.

Some former students will receive their reimbursements soon, while others will have to wait longer. It isn’t clear yet how DUO determines the order. “This process is currently being set up”, a spokesperson said.

Feedback

DUO invites students to voice their opinions in a ‘feedback panel’ about the progress of the recovery operation. The indirect discrimination is not mentioned in the letter, which only states that it concerns an unjust decision.