Let's get back to this original question. The IFoA clearly will refuse to give anyone a penny. They would however spend (your) money on lawyers to stop students trying to get their money back via the courts. It's well worth students investigating which sections of the Law that can be used. Small claims court is for claims up to £10k but there are some fees to pay depending on size of claim. Employment Tribunal deals with complaints against professional bodies like IFoA (not just employment issues) and it has no fees but is for discrimination complaints, you'd have to show you've been treated less favourably based on a protected characteristic- age, nationality etc. Both the Tribunal and Small claims court can be accessed by unrepresented individuals but do your homework and rest assured you're not the first or the last to do something like this. Also students should tell their employers what's going on and try and get them involved.
Last edited by a moderator: May 6, 2019