Join the University Breach of Contract Claim

Did Covid lockdowns or strikes spoil your university experience? If so, Join the Claim to get the justice and compensation you deserve.

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Overview

Students pay universities for in-person tuition and access to facilities. However, strikes and Covid led to cancelled classes, online learning, and restricted services, so many students didn’t get the experience they signed up for. 
Universities did not refund affected students for the disruption, and legal experts think this is a breach of contract. They believe students deserve compensation for the gap between the traditional university experience they paid for and the online courses they received. 
Lawyers have initiated no-win, no-fee claims to help students get the compensation and justice they deserve. Thousands of UK students have already signed up to claim fair financial compensation. If the claim is successful, affected current and former UK-resident undergraduates could win compensation of around £5,000 each. Postgraduate and international students could receive “significantly higher” compensation. 

At a glance

Deadline

Claim still open

Total Claim value

£10 billion

You could get

£5,000 

Next trials expected

Early 2026

What do we know about university breach of contract?

  • Affected students feel their degrees aren’t worth the cost, leaving them at a disadvantage when job hunting. 
  • As well as the problems experienced during Covid, many students lost out on job opportunities due to strikes. 
  • Lawyers believe universities financially benefited from lockdowns through reduced heating and water bills and by accommodating more students via online teaching. 
  • Many US universities offered students compensation for campus shutdowns during Covid lockdowns. We believe that UK students deserve the same. 

Who is eligible to join the university breach of contract claim?

Could you qualify for a NO-WIN, NO-FEE University breach of contract compensation claim? Find out instantly with our easy-to-use checker.
If eligible, register your interest for updates and next steps. We’ll notify you if we find a regulated UK law firm to take on your case.

How to Join the Claim

Check your eligibility

Answer a few quick questions to see if you qualify to join the claim.

Register your interest

If you qualify, share a few more details and we’ll update you on the next steps.

Join the Claim

We’ll notify you if we find a regulated law firm ready to accept your case – all on a no-win, no-fee basis.

Latest updates on the University Breach of Contract scandal

  • July 2024 

    The trial for students suing UCL over Covid teaching was set for early 2026. Around 5,000 students have brought claims against the university.  

  • May 2024

    A legal action against UCL (University College London) was first heard in court. Lawyers claimed that, between 2018 and 2022, the university did not provide the service that students paid tuition fees for, and was therefore in breach of contract. 

  • July 2023 

    A judge ordered a stay of proceedings, encouraging students and UCL to enter mediation to reach a settlement out of court. Judge Barbara Fontaine said some of the claimants’ concerns were “valid”, and ruled that students could sue UCL unless it paid compensation over Covid disruption. 

  • May 2023

    A legal action against UCL (University College London) was first heard in court. Lawyers claimed that, between 2018 and 2022, the university did not provide the service that students paid tuition fees for, and was therefore in breach of contract. 

We’ll provide more updates on this case as they happen.

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Join the University Breach of Contract claim

Find out if you could join a no-win, no-fee University claim. 
It will only take a few minutes and there’s no obligation to proceed. 

Student breach of contract FAQs

The case involves students claiming compensation for breaches of contract by universities due to disruptions caused by Covid-19 and strikes. Students paid for in-person tuition and access to facilities, but many received online classes and restricted services instead, which legal experts argue violates the terms of their contracts. Despite these disruptions, universities did not refund affected students. Thousands of UK students have already joined no-win, no-fee group action claims, seeking justice and financial redress similar to what US students received.

Separate claims are being brought against different UK universities (the defendants). Cases have already been launched against:

  • Cardiff University
  • City University of London
  • Coventry University
  • Imperial College London
  • King’s College London
  • London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)
  • Newcastle University
  • Queen Mary University of London
  • University of the Arts London (UAL)
  • University of Birmingham
  • University of Bristol
  • University College London (UCL)
  • University of Leeds
  • University of Liverpool
  • University of Manchester
  • University of Nottingham
  • University of Sheffield
  • University of Warwick

The case against UCL is the first to go to court and could set a precedent for future actions against the UK universities.

Find out instantly with our easy-to-use eligibility checker.

Our simple eligibility checker provides instant clarity. Answer a few straightforward questions, and you’ll know if you could qualify to join a no-win, no-fee group action claim. If you have a potential claim, register your interest and we’ll keep you updated about this case. Your matchmaker for justice, if eligible, we’ll pair you with a regulated law firm running a suitable claim.

We cannot say exactly how much compensation you might get if the universities are ordered to pay compensation. Each claim is based on its merits and your solicitor will work to get the compensation owed to you. If successful, undergraduate claimants could receive around £5,000 each, with potentially higher compensation for postgraduate and international students.

In the UK, if a group of people have experienced loss, or otherwise been harmed by an organisation’s law breaking, they can come together to fight for justice. Levelling the playing field when standing up to big businesses, group actions prove that there is strength in numbers. At Join the Claim, we bring consumers and law firms together to ensure these group actions are as powerful as possible.

We won’t charge you a single penny. And we ensure any law firms we connect you with operate on a no-win-no-fee basis. If you win, the law firm will either take its fees from your compensation payment or recover these from the defendants. 

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Rated Excellent on REVIEWS.io

Join the claim
Clifford
Very easy to sign up, hope its sorted soon
Susan
Very easy and quick to complete the claim Everything was explained well and fees payable in etc were made very clear
Peter
So easy to sign up for the claim

In the news

A legal battle between University College London (UCL) and a group of students seeking tuition...
Over the last few years, strikes and Covid-19 have led to cancelled classes, online learning,...