Being unfairly asked to pay for an exam I did not attend, please advise

[Swooshstar]

Hi all,

I would like your advice on the following matter.

I am student in my mid 20’s.

I made preparations to book an exam (circa £100) but, in the end, opted to use another supplier who was slightly cheaper.

The timeline is as follows:

4/3/20:
The exam was booked for 2/4/20

22/3/20:
I received an email stating the exam was postponed to 17/4/20 due to lockdown

13/5/20:
Received another email offering booking dates for either 15/5/20 or 5/6/20

14/5/20:
I called them, suggesting 5/6/20 is okay, but this was more acknowledgement as opposed to confirmation

1/6/20:
Exam completed on this date, exam was passed with another supplier (slightly cheaper), was booked around 1 week prior to sitting it.

3/6/20:
Email received stating exam has been booked for 5/6/20

4/6/20:
Emailed them, informed them I would like to cancel any reservations or bookings as its no longer needed as I have already passed this exam.

5/6/20:
Received email from course supplier, requesting payment as per their terms and conditions –these were never stated to me, but are present on their website (100% cancellation fee within 14 days of exam).

They stated they had to turn others away and undertook administrative effort to book me for the exam as a way of justification. of payment.

6/6/20:
Received tax invoice back dated to 17/5/20 from course supplier.

I don’t feel at any point that I gave them confirmation to book me into this exam, nor do I feel I entered a contract.
On 14/5/20, when I spoke on the telephone, I suggested that it could be okay to book me for an exam on 5/6/20, at no point was this conversation binding in nature due to the pandemic and uncertainty surrounding this.

I feel I am being bullied into paying at this stage. When I emailed them on 4/6/20, although the word cancelled was used, it was only in response to their email a day prior to this. I was unaware at the time the exam booking had been confirmed.

I feel its unjust that I have to pay.

Please give me your advice as to next steps.

[R0b]

First of all, what does the terms and conditions say about booking and cancellation? You can't just sign up to something and disregard the terms as and when you please.

I called them, suggesting 5/6/20 is okay, but this was more acknowledgement as opposed to confirmation

I'm struggling to see how you treated this as an acknowledgment. You just wouldn't call an exam provider just to tell them that you are acknowledging a specific date that has been offered, it sounds ridiculous. The fact that you said you were ok with that exam date would be seen as confirmation that you want to book your place to sit the exam on that date. I can't see any other way that could be taken as a mere acknowledgment.

I also think the contents of that email sent to you by the exam provider may also indicate intention on your part. For example, if the email says "Dear Sir, we have the following exam dates available, please contact us to book your place." The fact you took the steps to call them and say you are ok with a particular date, would likely go against you.

nor do I feel I entered a contract.

You did enter into a contract because you said that on 04/03 you booked an exam, thus a contract was entered into. Nothing in your timeline suggests you cancelled that booking due to postponement. I would imagine the terms and conditions cover events where the exam is postponed too.*

When I emailed them on 4/6/20, although the word cancelled was used, it was only in response to their email a day prior to this. I was unaware at the time the exam booking had been confirmed.

Don't you think you ought to have informed them when you made your booking to a different supplier rather than wait 3 maybe 4 weeks to cancel? Also, you say you use the word cancel in your email but someone who simply called to acknowledge the booking date would not have needed to cancel or even notify the exam provider because they weren't really confirming their place.

Don't think you can win this unless you have some kind of concrete evidence to the contrary. However unfair you might find it, I think the exam provider is not being unreasonable in charging you the fee for the exam nor do I think they're bullying you into payment. Seems to me you have made a mistake and it's a case of learning from it and not making the same mistake. I'm sorry it's probably not what you want to hear.