Where’s my refund?

In December 2020, I applied for admission to university. I received communication that I had been accepted. On the 31st December, I made a payment to the university not only for the registration fee of US$50 but also a semester fee of US$ 1,079.

Consequently, by the 10th of January, unforeseen personal issues cropped up. I knew I wouldn’t be able to study online. I immediately notified the university via Whatsapp. They acknowledged it. Subsequently, I have been inundated with calls and emails to register, to join zoom classes etc.

Upon enquiry, I was told that I should ignore them. I was asked to write an email informing them about my decision. Which I did. I followed every protocol the university website stated.

My battle is to get my refund. Last week Thursday, I spoke with the financial department. A man there was extremely rude to me. I reported his actions in an email to the Distance Learning’s Head.

I was informed that the university only ever makes payment once a week on a Thursday and that by 18th February, I should have received notification but I have received no proof of payment. This being 6 weeks now from start of refund process. I am at my wits’ end as I am being pushed from pillar to post. I am being fed platitudes upon platitudes. All I ask is for my refund.

The good news is that this university has a policy on refunds. They also have a web site that describes the process and you’ve followed those instructions properly. That’s all the good news.

The bad news is that they’re useless. And at least one of their staff is rude. And escalating the issue to a senior manager seems to have no effect. That’s not the level of professionalism that you have a right to expect from a company that took a large amount of your money.

Back to the good news. I’ll contact the head people at the university and make it clear that they should show that they can adhere to their own procedures and treat their customer with the respect they deserve. As a high-level institute of education, they should be able to learn a lesson, don’t you think?