A tale of two tenants...with very different rent charges
AIMEE Woolford and Thomas Doogan are first-year students at Bournemouth University. They are both studying biological sciences, have returned home to their parents in Hertfordshire to complete their third term – but have been treated differently by their accommodation providers.
While 19-year-old Thomas, who lived in accommodation provided by iQ, has paid 50 per cent of fees due for this term, iQ has said it will return this money in February next year.
In contrast, Aimee, 18, and fellow stu- dents who until recently lived in accommodation provided by The Student Housing Company (owned by GSA) have had to fight to get a 50 per cent reduction.
Thomas says: ‘It was a massive relief to hear I only have to pay 50 per cent now, and get that money back next year.
‘Students like myself are having to deal with a completely different third-semester dynamic and knowing accommodation money is no longer an issue is a great help. I’m glad I no longer have to worry.’ Aimee, however, has until the end of the month to pay 50 per cent of the third-term rent due on her accommodation.
She says The Student Housing Company’s halving of the rent is ‘better than nothing’.
But she does not believe the company would have been so generous if students had not set up an online petition urging it to play fair – and using social media to highlight its initial intransigence.
She is also angry that students at other universities – Portsmouth, for example – who rent through The Student Housing Company, have had all their third-term rent waived.
Aimee’s mother Sarah, who helps her daughter with the rental costs, says she was startled by the company’s initial ‘lack of compassion and care,’ but believes common sense has prevailed.
She adds: ‘Of course, it would have been nice if The Student Housing Company had waived all fees like it has done at other universities. But a 50 per cent reduction is significant.’ On Friday, Nicholas Porter, founder and chairman of GAS, told The Mail on Sunday: ‘We have strived to provide the most fair and balanced range of financial solutions that we can for our students during this unprecedented time.’
He also confirmed that where commercial obligations permitted, additional financial support had been provided to students at specific locations.