Anger at ‘pay up in full’ call

Mar 24 2008 by Emma Davison, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

A HUDDERSFIELD firm which supplies accommodation for students at the university is forcing one to pay a year’s rent, although she only stayed for six weeks.

Jessica McNeil, 19, faces paying more than £3,600 – even though she has left the university – because she signed a contract that tied her in for the whole academic year.

She has had to put starting a new university on hold and will miss out on student life as her experience has put her off staying in student accommodation again.

Ubrique Investments, which owns the accommodation at Storthes Hall, Kirkburton, says Jessica is legally bound to pay the money.

But her stepfather, Simon Reynolds, says the policy is grossly unfair.

He said: “It’s an unreasonable amount for six weeks use of accommodation, especially as she has left the course, the university and Huddersfield.

“We signed a contract, but we weren’t expecting Jessica to not be staying there. At that age when you start university you don’t expect things to go wrong.

“It’s wrong that she has to pay. The company should have a policy allowing students to leave their contract if something happens.”

Jessica began studying for a fashion degree in September. But she soon decided the course wasn’t right for her and left in October.

She returned to her family home in London, which she shares with her mum Heather Dyer and Mr Reynolds.

Jessica is keen to make a fresh start and she is now applying to media courses in London.

But she has postponed going to university for a year because she and her family still face paying the money to Ubrique Investments, which trades under the name Digs.

Her contract states that she must pay for the room until the end of the year unless someone else takes on her contract, which has not happened.

Mr Reynolds said: “Ubrique’s line to us was ‘you should have read the contract’. We did, but we weren’t expecting Jessica to leave.

“She went to the university in the spirit of hope and excitement. She was going away from home for the first time and she was really looking forward to it.

“She’s shocked at what’s happened to her. It’s a lot of money and she’s upset because she feels bad that we’re having to pay it for her.

“Jessica’s not going back to college until next year because she didn’t want to be paying twice. She’s going to stay at home rather than move into student accommodation because her experience has put her off.”

About one in 10 university students drop out in their first year.

Mr Reynolds says it is unfair that his stepdaughter and other students who leave university early are being forced to shell out thousands of pounds.

He said: “Students leave all the time for various reasons, so I don’t think the correct way of dealing with things is making them sign a long-term contract.

“Most contracts for university-owned accommodation have clauses allowing students to leave in the first term. Most know by then if they’re going to happy at their university, so I think private companies should make allowances for that.”

Mr Reynolds believes that even more students will suffer in the future.

Many private companies are now setting up student accommodation with universities being more likely to recommend them instead of letting accommodation themselves.

The family paid over £2,000 to the company, but are now refusing to pay the rest and stopped the payment for Jessica’s room in February.

They are waiting to see if the company takes legal action, which they are prepared to fight.

Tracey Preston, operations manager for Ubrique, said: “When every student signs up they are told to read the full terms of the agreement and seek legal advice before signing as it is legally binding.

“As a business we are based around student life. They are looking for accommodation within a very limited period and once we’ve allocated the rooms we then turn other students looking for accommodation away.

“They go elsewhere, so it’s very difficult to find replacements for students once the term has started.

“At the end of the day we are a business. We have a contract because empty rooms lose us money. All the other businesses offering student accommodation operate in the same way.

“If the student can find someone to take their place then they will be released from their contract. We do try to release them as much as possible and so far this year we have released 35 students, but there is a waiting list.

“There are exceptions. If a student has to leave because they are seriously ill then we can release them.

“But if they’ve just changed their mind about their course then they still have to pay.”

Ms Preston added that the company would be taking legal action if the family still refused to pay.