Brig | October 2011 Martin & Co denies receiving Stirling sets £27,000 Stirling students’ complaints tuition fee for rest of Aya Kawanishi the UK students News Editor day, Stirling University failed students Zsuzsanna Matyak from disadvantaged backgrounds by etting agency Martin & Co de- News Editor setting its degrees cost at £27,000. We nied that any written formal are fully against tuition fees, and this complaints were received, de- he University of Stirling has decision by Stirling puts degrees there Lspite claims from Stirling stu- become one of the most ex- as expensive as the worst excesses of dents who rented a property from them pensive universities in the the English system.” between 4 August 2010 and 2 August UK after announcing its Professor Gerry McCormac, Prin- 2011. T cipal and Vice-Chancellor of Stirling decision to charge £6,750 per year, Former tenants of 23 Chandlers Court instead of the current £1,800, for stu- University, said they had no choice. Stirling, Dominique Maske and her flat- dents from England, Wales and North- “The University of Stirling has always mate, wrote to the agency on a number ern Ireland from 2012. This makes a believed that access to higher educa- of occasions regarding issues they had four-year degree cost £27,000. tion should be based on ability, not such as the lease document and the con- Hand in hand with the significantly background or the ability to pay. As dition of the flat. increased tuition fee comes a new a result of the new funding arrange- In a statement, Managing Director of range of scholarships and bursaries ments, Scottish universities have no Martin & Co Stirling, Imtiaz Ahmed, for both Scottish and rest of the UK choice but to charge fees for students said that they have “not received a for- (RUK) students, and the encourage- from the rest of the UK. mal written complaint from these ten- ment of “suitably qualified” students “It is worth emphasising that these ants” and urged them to have it put to enter directly into second year – a costs are not incurred up front. Like forward and looked into. Although, Miss move that, the University hopes, can other Scottish universities, Stirling re- Maske said that she and her flatmate ease the financial burden potentially mains free at the point of entry, with were not told about a formal complaint saving £6,750 for the unlucky freshers. students repaying the fees when they procedure of Martin & Co. The University of Stirling’s stand- enter employment and have an income However, Maske, a final year under- point on the tuition fee rise for RUK exceeding £21,000 a year.” graduate student at the University of students was debated at the University Stirling at that time, wrote her first Court private meeting on 12 Septem- complaint to the Stirling office of Mar- ber. The debate revolved around three £4,950 tin & Co on 4 August 2010, the day they main issues: fair access that students moved in, concerning the condition of should get, reputation of the institu- Local letting agency Martin & Co Picture: Rajmund Bakyoni more per annum to the property. tion as some argued that setting a A number of issues were present, ac- broken door handles. They were fixed that the problem was “caused and never lower fee could suggest that teaching is be paid from next cording to the then-postgraduate stu- the next day after being reported along- reported by the old tenant”. The window at lower quality and last but not least, dent, such as broken door handles, the September side other problems. was repaired a week after the move in the development of a good bursary and window that would not close, stains on He also defined the unknown sub- and on the same day it was notified. scholarship system. the couch, marks on the carpets, marks Luke Fenton, President of Stirling stance on the mattress topper as “a The Housing (Scotland) Act 2006 Eventually, the £6,750 fee was on the wall, an oven covered in residue University Student Union, said, “It permanent mark” and said “it did not states that it is the landlord’s duty to agreed taking into consideration the and unknown marks on the mattress is unfortunate that the University of require replacing”. ensure that the property meets the re- cost of teaching on different courses. topper. Stirling has had to raise its fee for rest pairing standard at the start of and dur- At the University, teaching on a so- She said, “It just wasn’t clean. It didn’t of the UK students. However, I also ing the tenancy. The repairing standard cial science undergraduate course, look like professional cleaners had come “The main reason why think that Stirling has set a fee that requires that the property must be wind which most of the RUK students take, in.” I’m telling Brig all this is shows that a lower than £9,000 cap is and watertight and the structure and costs around £5,000 per annum. This Asked about the issues raised, Martin needed.” so that other students do exterior of the property, including doors number can be as high as £8,700 per & Co said that there was “a very short He added, “The fee that the Univer- and windows, must be in a reasonable year on natural science courses such turnaround” between the previous ten- not go to them and make sity has set, whilst not the lowest fee, condition. as biology. Additionally, bursaries and ant and Miss Maske and her flatmate. will allow students a fairer deal than the same mistake.” Following the complaint, the 22-year- scholarships also have to be financed However, they assured that professional some other institutions. […] The Stu- Dominique Maske old and her mother, also the guarantor from tuition fees. Therefore, balanc- cleaning and inventory inspection had dents’ Union has worked hard with the of both tenants, Ann Maske, visited the ing the costs out they agreed to charge taken place prior to their occupancy. University regarding this matter, and Furthermore, the agency acknowl- agency on 11 August 2010, a week after RUK students £6,750 annually. A spokesperson of Martin & Co in the I believe without our advice and pres- edged that there was “an issue with one the move in, in order to request an in- Shortly after the University an- Stirling branch said that, he had visited sure the outcome for students would window mechanism” before the start of ventory form and a copy of the lease nounced its new fee, Robin Parker, the property before the Stirling students the lease. In the statement they claimed President of NUS Scotland, said, “To- moved in but he was “not aware” of the continued on page 2 continued on page 3 2 Brig | October 2011 www.brignewspaper.com Brig News editors: Graham Swann, Ailsa Stokes, Editorial Aya Kawanishi & Zsuzsanna Matyak News Email: [email protected] To get in touch with a sec- tion, email section and @ brignewspaper.com i.e. Stirling students vs Martin&Co [email protected] continued from page 1 Ahmed, of Martin & Co, said that they do not recall “pressurising anyone to Editor in Chief which they had not received at this move in” and “did a very good job to get Iain Blackwood point. the property ready”. Editor@brignewspaper. The agency assured that the lease Looking back on the experience with com document had been given to the tenants Martin & Co, Maske described it as at the meeting, even though the student “stress more than anything else”. Deputy Editors tenant and her mother claimed they She said that she was “very disappoint- never had the copy. Daniel Nunan ed” at the customer service of Martin & Martin & Co said, “We provide docu- Co. Jeremy Watssman ment copies to all tenants and we recall “I had a feeling that there is no one that a photocopy of this documenta- who can help you, there is no one to News Editors tion was given personally to the tenants speak to. If you go to a bank and you Graham Swann when they visited our office early in their got a complaint, then they will sort that Aya Kawanishi tenancy.” out for you because they don’t want to Zsuzsanna Matyak They added, “As we have all such lose you as customer and your loyalty. Ailsa Stokes documents electronically scanned, if But it’s completely different if you go to they had requested any further copies somewhere like Martin & Co who don’t at any time then we would happily have care. Politics Editors emailed them over.” “The main reason why I’m telling Brig Elsa Andre all this is so that other students do not Colm Currie “[We] did a very good make the same mistake. I have been go- job to get the property ing through this for a whole year and it Features Editors was stressful in my final year of univer- Anna Jordon ready.” sity,” she said. Martin & Co Catriona McGale Her mother said, “It has been one of the worst experiences of dealing with a The handle was broken when the tenants moved in It is upheld by law that the tenant must company. I am happy that our associa- Picture: Dominique Maske Music Editors receive a lease signed by both the land- tion with them is finally over. Ross Dunn lord and tenant, according to the Hous- “I felt sorry for Dominique having to Andy McDonald ing (Scotland) Act 2006. deal Martin & Co on her own. The expe- In the email obtained by Brig, Maske’s rience spoiled Dominque’s final under- Film Editors flatmate, Christelle Kitenge wrote, fol- graduate year” she said.