Thousands of students have filed lawsuits against universities over months of disruption to education due to lockdowns and staff strikes.
About 20,000 students Student group request Take action against universities that have charged full fees even though they were unable to provide in-person tuition.
Legal teams allege that universities across the UK have breached contracts with students during the response to the COVID-19 pandemic and during strike actions by university staff since 2018.
Universities have canceled classes, moved online, and denied or severely restricted physical access to campus facilities such as libraries, study spaces and laboratories.
Solicitors Asserson and Harcus Parker have teamed up to help members of the Student Group Claims to claim thousands of pounds of financial compensation from their respective universities.
They seek damages from students to reflect the difference between the market value of services paid and the market value of services provided.
“If you paid for services and did not receive what you paid for, you deserve compensation. We promised students access,” Asserson partner Shimon Goldwater said in a statement Saturday.
“During the strike action and pandemic, they were unable to provide this, but were still expected to be paid in full,” he added.
“Students often take out large loans to pay for the education and experience packages they never received. We are working with Harcus Parker to help students find fair compensation for the disruption of their academic lives and the ruin of their college lives. We want to be able to get ,” says Goldwater.
Pre-claim letters have already been sent to 18 universities seeking damages on behalf of current and former students at those institutions. These include University College London, LSE, King’s College London, University of Manchester, University of Leeds, University of Birmingham, University of Warwick and Cardiff University.
UK students pay £9,250 ($10,300) a year for undergraduate courses and more for postgraduate courses. International students pay up to £40,000 ($44,700) per year.
“Like any consumer, if they receive services of lesser value than they paid for, they deserve compensation,” the Student Group Claim wrote, adding that more students are signing up “every day.” He added that there are
He argued that the university was “financially prosperous during the COVID period” and “can afford to meet its legal obligations and cover student losses.”
The legal team said, “No other service provider is immune from canceling services or replacing them with lower-value alternatives without offering a price cut.”
“Access to state-of-the-art facilities and world-renowned face-to-face teaching are decisive factors when choosing a university. And often for months, universities have largely failed to provide financial compensation to their students.
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Owen Evans is a UK-based journalist with a particular interest in civil liberties and free speech, covering stories from a wide variety of countries.