Studying and living in the UK

Complaints and consumer rights

• Informal complaints
• Formal complaints
• Taking complaints beyond the institution
• Consumer rights, Trading Standards and legal options
• Complaints relating to a disability

Informal complaints

If you have a problem with the institution where you are studying, you could start by discussing it informally with a tutor or other relevant member of staff. If your institution has a students’ union or students’ association, they may be able to advise you or raise the issue on your behalf if you prefer.

Formal complaints

If you want to raise a complaint formally, find out about the institution’s complaints policy, which will tell you how to do this. You should find details on your institution's website or in the student handbook. It is best to find out about this at an early stage, as there may be a specified timescale for making a complaint. Always keep copies of any documents and correspondence relating to your complaint.

Taking complaints beyond the institution

If you have gone through all the options offered by the internal complaints policy and are still not happy with the outcome, you may be able to raise the issue with one of the following external bodies, depending on the type of institution at which you are studying.

• Publicly funded universities and higher education institutions:
  • in England and Wales contact the Office of the Independent Adjudicator
  • In Scotland, contact the Scottish Public Service Ombudsman
  • In Northern Ireland, the University Visitor (for Queens University Belfast) or the Department for Employment and Learning
• Publicly funded further education colleges:
  • in England, contact the local agency that funds your course: either the Skills Funding Agency or Young People's Learning Agency
  • In Scotland, contact the Scottish Public Service Ombudsman
  • In Wales and Northern Ireland, contact the government department responsible
• Private sector schools and colleges: contact the organisation which accredits or provides Education Oversight of your college, which will offer a complaints scheme. This will be one of the following:
  • Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education
  • the Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted)
  • Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Education (Scotland)
  • Estyn (Wales)
  • the Education and Training Inspectorate (N Ireland)
  • the Independent Schools Inspectorate
  • the School Inspection Service
  • the Bridge Schools Inspectorate
  • Accreditation UK
  • the British Accreditation Council (BAC)
  • the Accreditation Service for International Colleges (ASIC)
  • the Accreditation Body for Language Services (ABLS)
  • the Church of England Ministry Division

There are some matters, mainly academic judgment, which may be outside the scope of these complaints schemes.

Other options which you may be able to consider include:

Consumer rights, Trading Standards and legal options

• If you have not received a satisfactory service from your education provider, UK consumer protection legislation could apply. In some cases you would have to pursue the issue yourself, while in others you could refer the issue to your local authority Trading Standards Services or the Office of Fair Trading. For information and practical advice see:
  • the Consumer Rights section of Directgov, the website of the UK government
  • or contact Consumer Direct on 08454 04 05 06 for information eg on whether you may be able recover the fees paid to the college if it goes out of business before you complete your course. 
• Your local Trading Standards office can take action against colleges which misrepresent the services they provide including providing unaccredited degrees.
• If you believe there has been fraud on the part of the college, for example if they never intended to provide the course for which you paid, then it might be worth contacting the police.
• If you believe your college or university has breached its contract with you, or failed in its duty of care, you may be able to take legal action, although courts will normally expect you to have gone through internal complaints procedures and any external bodies such as the OIA first. You can consult your local Citizen’s Advice Bureau or a solicitor for advice on whether it is worth taking legal action.
• If your college closes unexpectedly, see our information sheer Tier 4 sponsor licence problems, and colleges that close.

Complaints relating to a disability

Skill: the National Bureau for Students with Disabilities produce a helpful leaflet on making complaints relating to a disability.

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