Ask a lawyer on the topic of Contract law

Termination of study contract at private university

October 7, 2011 | 40,00 EUR | answered by Steffan Schwerin

My daughter signed a study contract with a private university. The tuition fees were supposed to be covered by the internship company as part of the dual study program.
She did not start the program, as she decided to pursue a different course of study and properly cancelled or withdrew from the contract outside of the contractual notice period. Now, the university is demanding the tuition fee for the first month.
The contract does not mention any obligation for her to pay damages in case of non-attendance or cancellation outside of the agreed notice period.
How should she proceed in this situation?
Is she required to pay the requested sum?
She does not have any income.
The deadline for payment is 21.10.11.
I am attaching the study contract and correspondence for your reference.
Thank you.

Steffan Schwerin

Dear questioner,

I will answer the questions you have asked, taking into consideration the situation described and your input, as follows:

Unfortunately, as already stated by the other party, it is as follows:

The study contract could have been revoked within 14 days of its conclusion.

Thereafter, termination of the study contract is only possible with a notice period of 6 weeks at the end of the first semester.

Therefore, your daughter is at least bound to the contract and must pay the fee for October. It can be considered a concession if only one month's fee is to be paid here.

In relation to the university, your daughter must pay.

However, it is different if the internship company wants to cover the costs of the study. In this case, it would need to be examined how your daughter can then reclaim the costs there.

This should be discussed with the internship company.

Finally, I would like to point out that this platform cannot replace a detailed and personal legal consultation. The sole aim is to provide an initial rough assessment of your legal issue based on the information you have provided from a lawyer. The legal advice I provide is based solely on the information you have provided. Adding or omitting relevant information in your description of the situation could result in a completely different legal assessment.

I hope I have been able to give you an initial overview and that my explanations have been helpful. You are welcome to contact me via the follow-up option on this platform.

Furthermore, I am of course available for legal representation. The initial consultation fee paid would be fully credited to you.

Generally, a greater distance between lawyer and client is not a problem. With the help of modern communication tools such as email, post, fax, and telephone, legal representation is also possible.

Best regards,

Steffan Schwerin
Lawyer

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