aurorablue
New Member
- Jurisdiction
- United Kingdom
Good morning.
I'm acting on behalf of my sister with her permission as she is registered mentally disabled. In September 2015 my sister enrolled at a local college in London to do two separate courses, GCSE English and GCSE Maths. She provided proof of her medical disability in the form if a letter from her Doctor and also supporting paperwork. Upon doing an entry exam to assess her maths ability level she was told she could not attend the daytime course that was free but there was an evening class once a week which cost £870 for the duration of the course from September to June roughly 36 possible lessons. As there was no possibility of attending the day time course due it being full, my sister paid the £870 evening course fee and £30 registration fee as she wished to progress her learning abilities. Since attending in September she has had a 100% attendance record for all classes and has thoroughly enjoying her English class which is going well and has been provided and taught as she expected.
Her Maths course however has been completely the opposite. There is one three hour class a week on Thursday evenings for a possible 36 weeks. The first three lessons were cancelled within the first month of September. Initially 'no explanation' was given and then she was later told three months later this was due to a 'lack of teacher'. Since starting the evening Maths class she has had five different teachers over the past 20 lessons (five months) and there is constant inconsistency in the lesson plan as each teacher has had a different teaching style and method and at times does not follow on from where the previous teachers has left off. Therefore students would prepair for and study one subject area and then the next lesson would start with a different teacher who would not cover this subject area but start a new area. At times two support teachers were filling in for permanent teachers and both talking over each other while both trying to teach the same lesson. The classes have also been disrupted by non attendance, late attendance and new attendies to the course in contradiction with the colleges own guidelines. Some students have left the course or failed to continue attending and not returned and some of the remaining students have signed a petition of complaint concerning the lack of consistency in the course and cancellation of lessons. Some lessons have also been shorter than expected at two and a half hours instead of three totalling a five hour loss in tuition.
My sister has written a letter of complaint addressing all these points and gave the college a reasonable period of time to resolve the teacher issues bearing in mind that only one lesson happens per week and for several weeks she was told a new teacher was being sought after.
She has now decided to give notice that she no longer wishes to attend the course as she is not benefitting from it and the learning environment is and has been inconsistent. She has a lack of confidence in the college to provide the course on a regular basis and in what would be considered a normal fashion as they are doing for her english class. The last lesson she attended last night (4th March 2016) ended in students arguing among themselves and also with the teacher concerning the lesson plan and course structure. The class are as a whole dissatisfied that some parts of the course have been missed out and some subject areas briefly looked at but rushed through. After this last lesson, she told me she is making no progress through no fault of her own and still wishes to complete her GCSE Maths but not at this college due to the specific environment in relation to the maths cours soley. It is also affecting her mental health and motivation in contrast to her english class at the same college which she loves, has had one teacher, excellent course provision and was also completely free. She is now concerned that she has spent £870 on a course that has been patchy in attendance and tuition in relation to the colleges obligation to provide the course and still wants to attend and complete her English class which she is enjoying and doing well in.
I wish to pursue the college for a refund of the fees for the individual lessons which were not provided for and taught and also for the remaining lessons she will not attend due to her lack of confidence in the colleges ability to provide a structured learning environment and course.
I have experience in complaints proceedures and also use of the various Ombudsmen services and will be persuing the matter on her behalf as she cannot cope with the issue due to her mental health. The advice I seek is as follows.
(i) Should I pursue the whole course fee of £870? At the moment I feel it would be reasonable to request a refund for the 2 untaught lessons and 14 future lessons that she will not attend based on her lack of confidence in the colleges ability to provide a suitable learning environment.
(ii) Does this situation come under the consumer rights act? Is this any different from paying for goods or services that are not received?
(iii) Considering the posibility that the college refuses to oblige and offer a refund, would it be more appropriate to pursue the matter through the small claims court if it is possible to take that route or choose the Education Ombudsman. Both will require 5 to 8 weeks in time to resolve the issue and time is of no issue. (Court fees are not applicable) as she is disabled and on benefits.
(iv) Are there any other points to consider or courses of action that would benefit her case.
A reasonable time period has been offered to the college to resolve the issues and she has followed their complaints procedure but the response was lacking and didn't answer many of her points at all and made no reference to her request for a refund. Therefore I am seeking the most effective route to recuperate some or all of her course fees and would appreciate advice on this matter.
Thank you in advance for your help and advice.
I'm acting on behalf of my sister with her permission as she is registered mentally disabled. In September 2015 my sister enrolled at a local college in London to do two separate courses, GCSE English and GCSE Maths. She provided proof of her medical disability in the form if a letter from her Doctor and also supporting paperwork. Upon doing an entry exam to assess her maths ability level she was told she could not attend the daytime course that was free but there was an evening class once a week which cost £870 for the duration of the course from September to June roughly 36 possible lessons. As there was no possibility of attending the day time course due it being full, my sister paid the £870 evening course fee and £30 registration fee as she wished to progress her learning abilities. Since attending in September she has had a 100% attendance record for all classes and has thoroughly enjoying her English class which is going well and has been provided and taught as she expected.
Her Maths course however has been completely the opposite. There is one three hour class a week on Thursday evenings for a possible 36 weeks. The first three lessons were cancelled within the first month of September. Initially 'no explanation' was given and then she was later told three months later this was due to a 'lack of teacher'. Since starting the evening Maths class she has had five different teachers over the past 20 lessons (five months) and there is constant inconsistency in the lesson plan as each teacher has had a different teaching style and method and at times does not follow on from where the previous teachers has left off. Therefore students would prepair for and study one subject area and then the next lesson would start with a different teacher who would not cover this subject area but start a new area. At times two support teachers were filling in for permanent teachers and both talking over each other while both trying to teach the same lesson. The classes have also been disrupted by non attendance, late attendance and new attendies to the course in contradiction with the colleges own guidelines. Some students have left the course or failed to continue attending and not returned and some of the remaining students have signed a petition of complaint concerning the lack of consistency in the course and cancellation of lessons. Some lessons have also been shorter than expected at two and a half hours instead of three totalling a five hour loss in tuition.
My sister has written a letter of complaint addressing all these points and gave the college a reasonable period of time to resolve the teacher issues bearing in mind that only one lesson happens per week and for several weeks she was told a new teacher was being sought after.
She has now decided to give notice that she no longer wishes to attend the course as she is not benefitting from it and the learning environment is and has been inconsistent. She has a lack of confidence in the college to provide the course on a regular basis and in what would be considered a normal fashion as they are doing for her english class. The last lesson she attended last night (4th March 2016) ended in students arguing among themselves and also with the teacher concerning the lesson plan and course structure. The class are as a whole dissatisfied that some parts of the course have been missed out and some subject areas briefly looked at but rushed through. After this last lesson, she told me she is making no progress through no fault of her own and still wishes to complete her GCSE Maths but not at this college due to the specific environment in relation to the maths cours soley. It is also affecting her mental health and motivation in contrast to her english class at the same college which she loves, has had one teacher, excellent course provision and was also completely free. She is now concerned that she has spent £870 on a course that has been patchy in attendance and tuition in relation to the colleges obligation to provide the course and still wants to attend and complete her English class which she is enjoying and doing well in.
I wish to pursue the college for a refund of the fees for the individual lessons which were not provided for and taught and also for the remaining lessons she will not attend due to her lack of confidence in the colleges ability to provide a structured learning environment and course.
I have experience in complaints proceedures and also use of the various Ombudsmen services and will be persuing the matter on her behalf as she cannot cope with the issue due to her mental health. The advice I seek is as follows.
(i) Should I pursue the whole course fee of £870? At the moment I feel it would be reasonable to request a refund for the 2 untaught lessons and 14 future lessons that she will not attend based on her lack of confidence in the colleges ability to provide a suitable learning environment.
(ii) Does this situation come under the consumer rights act? Is this any different from paying for goods or services that are not received?
(iii) Considering the posibility that the college refuses to oblige and offer a refund, would it be more appropriate to pursue the matter through the small claims court if it is possible to take that route or choose the Education Ombudsman. Both will require 5 to 8 weeks in time to resolve the issue and time is of no issue. (Court fees are not applicable) as she is disabled and on benefits.
(iv) Are there any other points to consider or courses of action that would benefit her case.
A reasonable time period has been offered to the college to resolve the issues and she has followed their complaints procedure but the response was lacking and didn't answer many of her points at all and made no reference to her request for a refund. Therefore I am seeking the most effective route to recuperate some or all of her course fees and would appreciate advice on this matter.
Thank you in advance for your help and advice.
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