Which? finds three quarters of universities breach consumer law

Seventy-six percent of UK universities have breached consumer law by failing to provide vital information to prospective students, according to research by Which?.

The consumer rights group compared the information available to students for a 2016/17 psychology undergraduate course on 50 university websites and found that, at the time of its investigation, 38 were missing at least one piece of key information, such as the number of contact hours, expected workload and up-to-date information about fees.

Around two-thirds of universities failed to provide latest information on course fees.

Four in five failed to provide clear details of any further fees which students might not necessarily expect, but would nevertheless have to pay in order to complete the course.

Which? assessed the information available in line with advice published in March by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), which sets out how consumer law applies to the higher education sector to ensure students can accurately compare courses when choosing where to study.

The research found that Canterbury Christ Church University, Glasgow Caledonian University and the University of Huddersfield were consistently adopting unlawful practices, failing to provide approximately 30 per cent of the information they are required to.

Huddersfield have since told Which? that, as from 1 October, they were fully compliant with consumer law.

Which? executive director Richard Lloyd said: “‘Students deserve to know at least the basics of what they can expect from a course before signing up, so it’s disappointing to find that a large number of universities are still breaching consumer law.

“It’s encouraging to see some providers demonstrating good practice, but we now need all universities to make better information easily available and accessible for prospective students.”

The group examined each website to find key course information for students deciding on where to study next year, including entry requirements, core modules, contact hours, workload, the teaching qualification of the university staff, course accreditation, fees and where the course is taught.

It said it will be submitting the findings to the CMA.

But a Glasgow Caledonian University spokeswoman said the claims were “unsupported and defamatory”.

“Which? has gone far beyond the remit of a consumer affairs organisation by making stark, unsupported allegations of unlawfulness on the part of universities, including GCU.

“We recognise the need to continuously improve the information we provide in line with best practice but refute the claims of unlawfulness made by Which?.”

Nicky Strong a partner at Bond Dickinson said: “The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) issued guidance on consumer rights to universities back in March this year, and made it clear that spot-checks/audits would be carried out in order to see how far their advice has been taken on board.

“While universities are already working with the CMA and other bodies to fully understand their obligations under consumer law, given the spotlight under which these issues have been placed, it is imperative that universities take heed as the pressure mounts on the sector.

“More needs to be done to ensure that the changes to the law are fully understood and complied with.

“This means that universities need to be thorough in reviewing all advertising and marketing materials, reviewing contractual arrangements and other terms and conditions, as well as training key personnel.”