Student group plans legal action against 36 UK universities after settling with University College London

Over 6,000 current and former students, including 30 Indians in India, have reached an out-of-court settlement with UCL (University College London) over Covid disruptions and lecturer strikes.

This now paves the way for the Student Group Claim to bring legal action on behalf of about 100,000 other current and former students, including 217 Indians in India, against a further 36 British universities. These universities, which include Imperial College London, LSE, King’s College London, have all been sent pre-action claim letters. The case against UCL was the first case the group was bringing and had been due to be heard in court in March.

The Student Group Claim is a class action of over 170,000 current and former domestic and international students, of which 460 are Indians in India, seeking damages of hundreds of thousands of pounds against over 100 British universities for Covid and strike-related disruption between 2018 and 2022. They have instructed Harcus Parker and Asserson to seek damages for the fact that between 2018 and 2022 they paid between £9,250 and £40,000 per year for lessons that were cancelled or moved online and had restricted access to campus facilities, including libraries and labs.

The lawyers say that they should receive damages reflecting the difference between the market value of the service they paid for and the market value of the service they actually received, pointing out online degrees are far cheaper than in-person courses.

Shimon Goldwater, partner at Asserson solicitors, said: “I am very pleased that our clients have been able to achieve a commercial settlement of their claims with UCL. Student Group Claim will now turn its attention to claimants who attended other universities during the pandemic.”

Adam Zoubir, partner at Harcus Parker solicitors, said: “Students who were at university during Covid … received no compensation or tuition fee reductions. Instead, they have been saddled with eye-watering debt from fees and costs for an educational experience that utterly failed them.”

A UCL statement said it “admitted no liability but agreed to settle so the matter could be resolved amicably and without further expense, which would have meant diverting valuable resources away from teaching, research, and supporting our students”.