Your consumer rights
Find out about the information a course provider is required to give you, before you make a decision about accepting an offer of a place.
Know your rights!
Find out more information about your rights under consumer law, to help you make sure you are treated fairly during your undergraduate studies.
Choosing the right course and course provider is a very important decision – you’ll be investing a lot of time, money, and effort, and it can be difficult to change if you’re not satisfied. Knowing your rights under consumer law will help make sure you get all the information you need and are treated fairly during your studies. You can find out more about this on the Competition and Markets Authority website.
A word of warning: This information only applies to students who are ‘consumers’ under consumer law. Generally speaking, if you are acting for purposes outside your trade, business, or profession, you will be considered a ‘consumer’. See the below section ‘What can you do if things go wrong?’ for organisations that can give you further advice on whether you are a ‘consumer’ under consumer law.
What should you expect when you accept a place?
Once you accept an offer of a place, a contract is formed and the course provider’s terms and conditions apply. These must be fair, limiting their scope to change the cost or content of a course.
What can you do if things go wrong?
If you think your course provider may not have met its obligations under consumer law, speak to the staff delivering the course, those who deal with student problems, or the student advice office or students' union. If you think it is still unresolved and wish to make a complaint, you should do this using the course provider’s complaints process, which must be fair, transparent, and easily accessible to students.
Alternatively, you could contact your NUS adviser, Citizens Advice (England, Wales, and Scotland) consumer helpline on 03454 04 05 06, or Consumerline (Northern Ireland) on 0300 123 6262.
These consumer helplines are staffed by trained consumer advice professionals. They will be able to advise you whether a HE provider appears to have met their obligations under consumer law or not. They can also give you advice about your particular issue and possible remedies. The Citizens Advice consumer service can also help you report a problem to Trading Standards.
If you are not happy with how your course provider handles a complaint, you may be able to refer it to an independent complaints scheme, such as the Office of the Independent Adjudicator for England and Wales, or the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman.