Company takes a bite out of the student grants of 350 international students

The Tilburg-based company MyStudentFinance assists international students with their student finance applications. “No cure, no pay”, MSF advertises on its website. They also promise students they will "receive up to 1,300 euros per month”.

However, international students who have used the company's services complain that they had to pay much more than expected. The company skims money off the first payment the student gets from DUO, which is often higher than international students anticipate.

Just a loan
"I only wanted to apply for a basic grant of 300 euros," says John Nordberg, a Finnish student doing a master's degree in Leiden. He expected MyStudentFinance to cost him between 100 euros and 200 euros. However, he ended up paying MSF 870 euros because the company arranged a maximum student loan for him without being asked.

When he complained to MyStudentFinance, the company quickly replied by email that he had not said he didn't want a loan. It also referred to its general 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, but students find it misleading. "I'm really surprised that such a thing is legal," says Sarah Evink, from the National Student Association (ISO).

Authorisation
Students authorise MyStudentFinance to use their DigiD and must provide different sets of information about their jobs and their parents' income. MSF then applies to DUO for a student grant, charging a fee of roughly 60 percent of the first payment.

However, DUO warns that there is a catch. Since students apply for student finance only after they are in the Netherlands, they often receive their first payment as a lump sum covering "three or four months", says a spokesperson. MyStudentFinance, therefore, retains sixty per cent of that amount.

If students do receive 1,300 euros per month in grants and loans, the first payment can amount to around 5,000 euros, of which sixty percent is 3,000 euros. After MSF has taken that amount, students can take over the MijnDUO account.

Distressing
According to Sarah Evink, ISO has already received several complaints about the company. "It is distressing to hear that students are spending money on information that they can simply obtain for free from DUO."

ISO hopes that politicians will ban this type of commercial practice. However, this would not be easy, as people are allowed to hire others to provide services, especially if the terms and conditions specify the costs.

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 actually free."

Bank raised the alarm bells
Last year, a bank called DUO to ask why so much money was being deposited into a single company's bank accounts. At the time, DUO had100,000 euros in outstanding payments to these accounts. The bank felt obliged to warn DUO under money-laundering regulations. 

When DUO investigated the matter, it discovered that the student grants of 350 international students had been paid into approximately 70 bank accounts. "The company remained under our radar because it used many bank accounts," says the DUO spokesperson.

At the time, DUO sent a message to all students using MyStudentFinance to point out that student finance applications are free of charge. About fifteen people replied.

Report
DUO also reported the matter to the police, wondering if the company's activities were lawful. The Public Prosecution Service investigated the matter but did not proceed with a prosecution. "It may be morally reprehensible, but it is not punishable," they told the Higher Education Press Agency.

Once students have started an application process, they must complete it. Otherwise, the company can charge hundreds of euros. Early in the application process, the company also sends students a PDF titled The Definitive Guide to Dutch Student Finance. If students withdraw during the process, they have to pay 200 euros.

"It's also my fault for not reading the fine print carefully," Nordberg says repeatedly. "But I thought this was a well-meaning company that helped students. This is sneaky, though. They didn't help me. They fooled me. I hope that, from now on, international students will just go to DUO." After Nordberg complained about the situation, the company gave him a 200-euro discount.

“Arrange it yourself in an hour”
According to data from the Chamber of Commerce, My Student Finance was set up in 2023 by a Polish man in Tilburg. During their investigation, the service temporarily suspended payments to the company, but the company's owner protested, and DUO says it has no legal means to intervene.

DUO explored with the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science whether student grants and loans could be paid directly into students' own accounts. This is not yet possible, and for good reason: students with a guardian would then no longer be able to receive student finance.

The service is asking universities and universities of applied sciences to properly inform international students. Information about student finance is always free, the DUO spokesperson emphasises. "International students can arrange this themselves in an hour."

When asked by the Higher Education Press Agency, MyStudentFinance replied: "We 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."