Infringement disputes over refund of fees by educational institutions shall be complained to consumer associations and market supervision and management departments. The so-called consumer complaints refer to the written or oral objections, propositions and requests that consumers put forward to solve problems due to disputes with operators in the process of purchasing and using goods or receiving services due to their daily consumption needs.

What rights do consumers enjoy?

The law stipulates nine rights of consumers. Under the protection of law, consumers have the right to do certain behaviors or ask others to do certain behaviors. The nine rights of consumers are: the right to safety, the right to know, the right to choose independently, the right to fair trade, the right to claim compensation, the right to association, the right to acquire relevant knowledge, the right to respect personal dignity and national customs, and the right to supervise. For example, consumers' right to safety is divided into personal safety right and property safety right. When consumers buy, use and accept services, the first consideration is the health and safety factors of goods and services, and they don't want to get sick, injured or even life-threatening because of health and safety problems. Property safety not only refers to the safety of the goods or services purchased or used, but also includes the safety of other properties other than the goods or services purchased or used. As long as the personal and property safety of consumers is damaged in the process of purchasing or using goods or receiving services, consumers have the right to claim compensation.

To sum up, the parties concerned can lodge a complaint with the headquarters of an educational institution first, and then negotiate with the head of the other headquarters. The parties may request the other party to refund the fee according to the contract, or complain to the local education bureau, which will mediate.

Legal basis:

Article 23 of the Interim Measures for Handling Complaints in Market Supervision and Management

When the market supervision and management department finds clues suspected of violating the laws, regulations and rules of market supervision and management in mediation, it shall check them within 15 working days from the date of discovery and deal with them in accordance with the relevant provisions on administrative punishment of market supervision and management. Under special circumstances, the time limit for verification may be extended by fifteen working days. Where laws, regulations and rules provide otherwise, such provisions shall prevail. Mediation of disputes over consumers' rights and interests does not exempt operators from other legal responsibilities they should bear according to law.