More than 3000 students in the UK are now part of an Asserson-backed scheme to claim money back for lost teaching time resulting from industrial action at UK universities. This means that submitting a group claim for breach of contract is now viable, and the Firm will be proceeding to apply for a group litigation order. Students at institutions across the UK lost 14 days of classes over the winter period for which they have paid tuition fees. In some cases this represents more than 10% of annual teaching time.
The universities who are responsible for any “refunds” to students have so far given no indication that they plan to offer compensation. This is despite petitions protesting against the loss of lectures and other classes signed by more than 100,000 students, and despite the fact that the universities are holding savings from the salaries withheld from staff on strike days.
Shimon Goldwater, a senior solicitor at Asserson, said: “No other service provider would get away with charging for 25 weeks of a service and cutting that to 22 with no price reduction. There is no question that universities owe students fair compensation.”
A specialist litigation funder will provide financial backing for the claim, ensuring there are no participation costs for students.
Asserson has extensive experience in bringing claims on behalf of individuals and groups against established institutions, as well as being ranked as one of the world’s leading firms in the area of disputes work.
Sign up to the group is at www.universitycompensation.co.uk
Coverage of the claim can be found at:
The Guardian newspaper coverage
The Telegraph newspaper coverage
The Independent newspaper coverage
Times Higher Education Supplement coverage
Manchester Evening News coverage
Further coverage in The Independent
Lancashire Post newspaper coverage
London Live broadcast coverage