Company takes a bite out of the student finance of at least 350 internationals

For a hefty fee, a small company in Tilburg ‘helps’ international students apply for student finance. DUO has raised questions about it, but cannot take action: the company appears to stay within the boundaries of the law.

The Tilburg-based company MyStudentFinance mainly helps international students apply for student finance from DUO. “No cure, no pay”, MSF advertises on its website. And also: “Get up to 1,300 euros per month.”

But internationals complain that they have to pay far more than they expected. The company skims money from the first payment from DUO, which is often higher than internationals anticipate.

Just a loan out of nowhere

“I only wanted to apply for a basic grant of three hundred euros”, says the Finnish John Nordberg, who is doing a master’s in Leiden. He expected MyStudentFinance to cost him between one hundred and two hundred euros. In his case it turned out to be 870 euros, because the company arranged a maximum student loan for him without being asked.

When he complains about this to MyStudentFinance, the company quickly emails back: you did not say that you did not want a loan. It also refers to the terms and conditions, which state that MyStudentFinance acts as a representative of students ‘when applying for grants and loans from DUO’.

According to the Public Prosecution Service, what the company is doing is not illegal. Students consider it misleading. “I am really surprised that all of this is legally allowed”, says Sarah Evink of the student umbrella organisation ISO.

Authorisation

Students authorise MyStudentFinance to use their DigiD and must provide all kinds of information about their work and their parents’ income. The company then applies for the student finance at DUO. It charges a fee of 59.99 percent of the first payment.

There is a catch, DUO warns. Because they only apply for their student finance once they are already in the Netherlands, students often receive ‘three or four months’ of student finance in one payment the first time, a spokesperson says. MyStudentFinance withholds sixty percent of that total amount.

If students indeed receive 1,300 euros per month in (additional) grants and loans, the first payment can amount to around 5,000 euros. 60 percent of that is 3,000 euros. After the company has skimmed off an amount, students can take over the MijnDUO account.

Distressing

Student umbrella organisation ISO has already received several complaints about the company, says chair Sarah Evink. “It is painful to hear that students spend money on information they can simply get from DUO for free.”

ISO hopes that politicians will ban this kind of business practice. But this will not be easy: you are always allowed to hire someone to provide a service, especially if the terms and conditions state what the costs are.

DUO: “We have also received complaints from international students who felt misled. It is completely unnecessary to pay so much for a service that is essentially free.”

Bank raised the alarm

Last year a bank called DUO to ask why so much money was being transferred to the bank accounts of one company. At that moment, payments from DUO to these accounts totalling 100,000 euros were pending. Because of anti-money laundering rules, the bank felt obliged to warn DUO. Is this all above board?

When DUO investigated the matter, it turned out that the student finance of 350 internationals had been paid out to around 70 bank accounts. “By using so many different bank accounts, the company remained under our radar”, says the DUO spokesperson.

DUO sent a message to all students who were using MyStudentFinance at that time to point out that applying is free. Around fifteen responded, DUO says.

Report to the police

DUO also filed a report with the police. Is this way of working lawful? The Public Prosecution Service investigated the case but did not proceed with prosecution. “It may be morally reprehensible, but it is not a criminal offence”, the Public Prosecution Service told the Hoger Onderwijs Persbureau.

Students who have already started must complete the application process. Otherwise the company can charge hundreds of euros in costs. The company also sends students a pdf early in the application process with all kinds of information about student finance: The Definitive Guide to Dutch Student Finance. If students withdraw during the process, they suddenly have to pay 200 euros for it.

“It is also my fault that I did not properly read the small print”, Nordberg says several times. “But I thought this was a well-intentioned company that helps students. But this is sneaky. This was not help. They fooled me. I hope internationals will simply go to DUO from now on.” When Nordberg complains about the situation, the company does give him a 200 euros discount.

‘Arrange it yourself in an hour’

According to records from the Chamber of Commerce, MyStudentFinance was set up in 2023 by a Polish man in Tilburg. During its investigation, the service temporarily suspended payments to the company. But the owner of the company protested, and DUO says it has no legal options to really intervene.

DUO is exploring with the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science whether student finance can only be paid into the student’s own bank account. This is not yet possible and there are good reasons for that: for example, students with a financial administrator would then no longer be able to receive student finance.

The service asks universities and universities of applied sciences to properly inform their internationals. Information about student finance is always free, the DUO spokesperson emphasises. “Internationals can also arrange this themselves in an hour.”

In response to questions from the HOP, MyStudentFinance replies via WhatsApp: “We do inform customers of our pricing in advance, not only in the service agreement but also explicitly during sign-up as required by Dutch and EU consumer protection laws.”