University ignored my letters

phobos_2

Last year I started my first year at university, but due to personal circumstances I had to quit after 3 weeks. (fortunately, I am starting his year again, at another uni).
I received a letter from my first uni about 3 months ago. It said that I owe them over 400 for the three weeks and if I think I will be unable to clear this sum, I should contact the number above. I did so the following day. One of the consultants told me that I should send an email to a person who deals with such cases and he gave me the email. I sent it the same day. Nobody responded that email and after 2 months another letter (with a later date) came, where the same person who wrote the first letter told me that I have to repay the sum of over 400 and that I have seven days to pay and if I think I will be unable to clear this sum, I should contact the author of the letter on the number above. I tried to call her couple of times, but she never answered. I decided to send her a letter describing my situation suggesting splitting the sum into installments or suspending the repayment or anything she would come up with to help me clear this sum. She did not reply to my letter.
This Friday I received third letter, where I was informed in bold fonts that I have seven days to clear this sum and if not this will be passed to a recovery team and I will have to pay 80 administrative fee on top of my 400. She also wrote if I think I will be unable to clear this sum, I should contact the author of the letter on the number above.
So, it’s the third letter with the same content (with a bonus 80 on its way). I am completely clueless. I understand that I should repay the sum because of all the costs of my studying for the three weeks. The thing is, I lost my job two months ago, my partner’s employer reduced her hours. All I can afford is 15-20 a month.
Can they really charge me with additional costs? I contacted them twice over the telephone, twice in writing. Should they really pass my case to their recovery department, or is something wrong in this situation? What should I do now?

urg123

Hi

Just wanted to bump this - not sure of the answer.

urg x x

ladybez

Not being an expert but my gut feeling is to write to the person detailed in the letter outlining what has happened, including you suggestions for payment and send it recorded delivery, which means it would be trackable but you must do it today.
Good Luck.

Aytoun27

You need to double check what the university rules are, I work for a Uni where students get their fees refunded if they withdraw in the first two weeks of a course, after that they're liable for the money. However, each university is different.

They should have explained all this to you (or given you the printed information) when you enroled and again when you told them you were withdrawing from the course. And of course they should have answered your letters.

So, you may have grounds to argue that you shouldn't pay the extra charges as the admin fouled up. It might also be possible to argue that you shouldn't pay the £400 if you weren't told that you would have to pay it when you withdrew from the course, but they may insist, if,for example, it was in the literature they gave you and you didn't read it, or if you just stopped attending and didn't tell them that you were leaving the course.

I really hope you manage to get this sorted out, start by checking the rules on withdrawal and take it from there. (In some uni's the reason you withdrew may have a bearing, but not in all).

Aytoun

phobos_2

Thanks for your advice. I sent them a letter saying that I had not received any information about repaying my fees neither during enrollment nor on quitting the uni, so I am not going to return any money. They replied that they apologise and admitted that I don't have to pay any fees due to their error in their database :T

Lottebear

From experience Universities seem to be really bad at this, my husband is being chased for money he doesn't owe, they have made a mistake we have written and emailed and got no where, if you can I would go an see someone this seems to be the only way to get someone to listen