Is it legal?

james_2005

Hi i really need your help.I am currently studying in University of bedfordshire and my study will be over when i hand my project in in two weeks time.when i first joined the UNI 3 years ago i stayed in student accomodation for a month.then i found a house with my other mates and left the hostel.It was fine until a year and half they sent me a letter demanding the money(over £3000) as they thought i stayed at the hostel till then.I talked to the credit control at uni and they said the payment must be paid.i talked to other staffs and lecturers about the debt and they cant do anything.It was fine for a year and they sent me another letter for the debt.I again talked to them and it was all in vain.yesterday i got a letter from then and it says that until i pay the amount my project will not be marked and thereby i wont be able to graduate until i pay the debt.they said it is decided from the board.
Can someone plz help me as i dont know what to do.I did not stay there for more than a month.Can i take any action against the debt?Is it possible to reduce the debt or anything?plz help.i am going crazy.Most of all i have no money to pay.

bringmeshoes

You may need to check the contract you had for accomodation as it's quite common for it to state that you take out the contract for the academic year and have to pay for the whole year and if you want to leave then you have to find some-one to take over your room, i know this was certainly the case when i was at uni and also the same for frieds at other uni's.
One more thing a lot of uni's also state that you can't graduate if you owe the uni money.
maybe CAB may be able to help you

Beerworshipper

Hey James,

I'm afraid the non graduating util you're square with the uni is a very common trait. Most uni's stop you even if you only owe a few pence for library fines so £3000 is going to make them sit up and notice you I'm afarid.

As for the accomodation at the hostel. That sounds harsh, how was your rent paid, if it was monthly or by semester you may be able to state that they should have brought the non payment of rent to your attention sooner and then any potential problems (e.g. you not knowing to give notice etc if it was required) could have been addressed a lot more quickly. Incidently, did your parents act as guarantor, I know a lot of universities insist on this and if they did then your parents could be liable for the debt.

The best thing to do is what bringmemyshoes has said and dig out your old contract, if you haven't got one ask the uni for a copy of the rental agreement that you signed.

Good luck.

Beerworshipper

Tigert

Hi James,

As others have said, it will depend on your contract. When I was at Uni I had to sign for a year at a time. When I wanted to move out early, I could only do so by giving 1 months notice and then only if they had someone else willing to take on the room.

I'm afraid they will stop you graduating if you owe them money.

As bringmeshoes said the Citizens Advice Bureau may be able to help. It's also worth contacting the Students Union.

Hope you get it sorted

james_2005

Thanks everyone for the replies.
I am sorry that I did not mention the problem clearly in the first post and as i tried to shorten it and i completely missed some points.I apologise killing your time again.This is the detailed verson,i apologise again

firstly i am an EU student and i came in here to join uni sep 05.the first night i had no place to stay.So i went to uni student accomodation and asked them for a room.i paid deposit for a month.they showed me the room.As i was in my room someone came and told me to sign a paper claiming that as i was staying there i just need to sign the paper.i was tired and i did that without reading it.the next day i met some friends and left the hostel.i handed them a paper saying that i am leaving and as far as i can remember they said no problem and everything was fine and i did not even claim my deposit.So that was it until i went to enrol at sep 06.they said i owe them the money. i insisted that it was wrong as i didnot stay there for the time.they did not listen to me but they stopped bothering me.i was sure that was fine.but few months ago they again blocked my university library and other account and was claming the money.i seeked advice from some staffs and lecturers and they helped me to get my account active but my debt was still there. they all are saying this is the stupidest thing but they are unable to help. So now they are saying that the payment should be paid .Plz help.

here are some points:

1.the contract was for an year(i knew that later) but i handed them a later saying i was leaving and they said fine.
2.they did not send me any letter or anything until they claimed it when i was about to enrol after an year.
3.they did not demand any money the following year when i said they were wrong and they said they will decide.
4.they got my weak point now as i am at the doorstep of the graduation and claming the money.

i am sure there is something i could do against it.plz help me.

i will take ur advice that you already suggested but can you please give me more alternatives.

thank you very much for your time and i apologise again for the lengthy and repeated post.

james_2005

Can somebody plz offer me more options?
How can I claim against their decision?
plz help me.

Tigert

I really think you need some proper legal advice. Phoning the Citizens advice bureau is the best place to start.

pariskate

Could the student union help you? They often have welfare officers or at least can point you in the right direction where to find help. Your local student union should have elected officers and also volunteers who will help you. Try in the Union building if you have one. BTW where are you at Uni?

all_change

Have you been speaking to the main accommodation people at uni, or just the people who run the specific accommodation where you stayed?

Try the main accommodation people if you haven't already:

http://www.beds.ac.uk/studentlife/accommodation

Alternatively, most universities have a student "welfare" or "support" service run by the students' union - at bedfordshire it appears to be:

http://www.ubsu.co.uk/advice%20centre/index.php

They may be able to help you with your case.

The advice to contact the Citizens' Adcive Bureau is good advice, they are excellent, although they can be very busy.

Good luck.

cat4772

James

I'm afraid this is standard practice for most universities; and the practice is of questionable ethics. I would imagine that because you signed a contract (agreeing to pay accommodation fees for your first year), you would need to seek the expert advice of a specialist in contract law about your reasons for breaking the contract. Unfortunately, ignorance is not an excuse in law.

You could also contact your academic appeals process for their advice.

Good luck.

Cat.x

GeorgeUK

Have you received a copy of the document you signed and checked what it said?

If not you could try doing a subject access request under the Data Protection Act to get all information they hold on you.

Might be worth asking some law students if this could be categorised as extortion - or if there is a university paper, writing in to get an article published about it.