‘Termination fee’ protest by students Online campaign calls for cancellation of uni charges
An online campaign is putting pressure on Stirling University to cancel accommodation ‘leaving fees’ which they claim have set students back hundreds of pounds.
The Stirling Uni Fee page led by students William Turner, August Boukhetam Winward, Merryn Green and Cian Ireland - has collected testimonies from students who say the university’s accommodation office has asked them for fees after moving out of campus properties.
But the group claims that while university officials stated the fee was previously mentioned to tenants, it was never directly stated in correspondence regarding leaving arrangements following the pandemic.
A spokesperson for the group told the Observer: “Once Covid-19 got into full swing and we went into lockdown, the university advised us to leave if possible because they couldn’t guarantee our safety.
“A lot of people started leaving accommodation and there was no mention at that time of a termination fee or anything like that and we assumed that there would be nothing like that charged during a national crisis.
“The accommodation office then started asking people for fees, initially for small amounts, but soon people were getting charged hundreds of pounds one person was charged more than £400.
“We’ve now been sent an email that the university will be enforcing these fees by the end of September if they’re not paid, but most of us can’t reallty afford to pay that when we don’t have jobs at the end of lockdown.
“The main point is that it’s unfair to be asked to foot the bill for leaving when we weren’t in control of the pandemic.
“They weren’t a part of the contract when we signed up and the university has an obligation to tell us about any fees that would be attached to moving out, but they were hoping it would be swept under the rug.”
However, in response to the Observer, a University spokesman denied that any extra fees had been forced on students and said any charges arose from outstanding commitments.
The spokesman said: “University accommodation has remained open, and essential services have remained in place, throughout the COVID-19 outbreak to ensure the health, safety and wellbeing of our resident students.
“Those students who have chosen to leave universityowned accommodation prior to the original end date of their contract, have been granted early release from their contract.
“These students were asked to pay any remaining rent due, before beginning a 28-day notice period. The amount due for that notice period is capped at a maximum of £400, with students whose monthly rent is less than that, paying the lower amount.
“Students have not been charged extra-contractual fees.
“Students who required accommodation beyond the original end date of their contract, due to the travel restrictions in place because of COVID-19, have not been charged rent for the extension.”