Archive · 7 Aug 2026
Student withdraws from NEET coaching, parent wins refund
A father in Tamil Nadu paid a coaching institute to help his daughter prepare for the NEET medical entrance exam.
The money came from an education loan that the father had to repay.
Later, the daughter decided to leave the coaching course.
The institute kept most of the money and only sent back a small part to the lender.
The father was not happy, so he complained to a consumer commission, a special court that protects people who buy goods and services.
The commission said the institute was wrong to keep so much money and called it a deficiency in service.
It ordered the institute to return most of the fee, except reasonable charges for admission and one month of coaching.
The father also received extra money as compensation for the stress he went through.
The institute had said the daughter quit because the family could not pay, but the commission still said a big refund was due.
A consumer commission in Tamil Nadu ordered a NEET coaching institute to refund a substantial portion of the fee after a student withdrew from the course.
The institute had refunded only Rs 67,463 to the lender out of the Rs 1,41,049 it received, retaining Rs 73,586.
The commission ruled that the refusal to refund the substantial portion of the fee amounted to deficiency in service.
The parent was awarded Rs 15,000 as compensation for mental agony and Rs 10,000 toward litigation costs.
The institute argued the student quit the course citing inability to pay; the commission allowed it to retain only reasonable admission and one-month coaching charges.
- Who
- A parent who took an education loan for his daughter's NEET coaching, the coaching institute, and the consumer commission in Tamil Nadu led by President S. Deepa and member A.S. Rathinasamy.
- What
- The consumer commission directed the institute to refund a substantial portion of the fee and settle the outstanding education loan after the daughter withdrew from the course.
- When
- Not specified in the articles.
- Where
- Tamil Nadu, India.
- Why
- The institute's refusal to refund a substantial portion of the fee was held to be unjustifiable and a deficiency in service.
Consumer protection view
Institute's view
Refund after student withdrawal
Consumer protection view
Withholding Rs 73,586 of the fee after a student withdraws is unjustifiable and a deficiency in service, so the institute must refund most of the money.
Institute's view
The student voluntarily quit the course citing inability to pay, so the institute should not bear the loss and can retain charges for services already rendered.
- Total amount received by institute
- Rs 1,41,049
- Amount refunded to lender
- Rs 67,463
- Amount retained by institute
- Rs 73,586
- Compensation for mental agony
- Rs 15,000
- Litigation costs
- Rs 10,000
- Commission panel
- President S. Deepa and member A.S. Rathinasamy
- Course
- NEET coaching
- Ruling
- Refund substantial portion except reasonable admission and one-month coaching charges