About this case

iStudent Complaints was contacted by a student who, after receiving permission from their Private Training Establishment (PTE), urgently returned home to their country of origin to visit family.

The student had been advised that he would be able to return to study without any additional steps. The student was then prevented from returning to New Zealand due to COVID-19 restrictions. During this time the student was advised that they would be able to return to study once COVID-19 restrictions had been lifted without any additional steps.

Once the COVID-19 restrictions had been lifted, the student contacted the PTE to confirm their return to study. He was advised that the PTE had recently changed ownership and the new owners would not recognise the student’s enrolment and the student would be required to re-enroll and pay full tuition fees despite the representations previously made by the PTE under the old management.
 

How we helped

The student contacted iStudent Complaints regarding this dispute. The iStudent Complaints facilitator contacted the PTE who confirmed their new position. Once the iStudent Complaints process had begun, the PTE decided to reconsider their position regarding the student’s enrolment and requirement to pay for additional tuition fees.

Outcome

The PTE recognised the unfortunate situation that the student was in and offered to reduce the tuition fee by 90%. The student gladly accepted this offer and was re-enrolled shortly thereafter. The student began their travel arrangements back to New Zealand and the case was closed as resolved.