Students demand a fees refund
A GROUP of students’ unions have written to the competition watchdog, urging it to “take action to uphold students’ rights” over tuition fees and rent payments amid the pandemic.
The open letter, backed by student leaders at 19 universities, calls on the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to demand blanket fee refunds as a result of Covid disruption.
The Department for Education has confirmed that all remaining students in England will not be allowed to return to in-person lessons on campus until mid-May at the earliest.
The letter says: “This year, students have been paying full tuition, despite most having lost key parts of their educational experience and many having been sold a promise of ‘blended learning’ that has not been delivered.
“Hundreds of thousands of students have been left with no viable route to redress on any meaningful scale, and as far as we can make out the CMA has completely ignored the issue.
“Almost all students have experienced a diminished experience in comparison to that which was originally promised.
“Most have been denied access to campus facilities and services, many have had practical material components of their course removed or dramatically changed, and hundreds of thousands have been asked by the Government to not return to campus accommodation that they are still being charged for.”
The Office of the Independent Adjudicator (OIA) received 2,604 complaints from students in 2020 – the highest number ever received in a year.
But the OIA, which can offer partial tuition refunds, has stressed that there is a time lag in complaints reaching it as students have to raise the issue with their university first.
A CMA spokeswoman said: “We are sympathetic to the situation many students find themselves in, but this is a complex area legally and consumer enforcement action may not be the best or quickest solution for students’ problems. The issues caused by lockdown can vary a lot between different cases.”
The Daily Express has launched a crusade to ensure students get a fair deal during the pandemic.