Signed Contract but Only Attended 10 Days – Facing Full Tuition Payment Dilemma in France

[Jormaine]

Hi everyone, I’m an 18-year-old fashion student currently facing a major issue with tuition fees after deciding to withdraw from my program. Here’s my situation:

This year, I enrolled in a Bachelor of Fashion Business program at a private fashion school in Paris. The academic year officially started on September 24, 2024, with an orientation that included a presentation of the program, exams, and the school’s app, along with a team-building activity in the afternoon. Due to social anxiety and being generally introverted, I decided to skip the team-building event after meeting another classmate who told me it wasn’t necessary.

Classes began on October 1, and I initially got along with a small group of classmates. However, as an introvert, I found it hard to integrate fully, and over time I started feeling excluded. I even tried to join conversations, but they were brief, and I often felt left out. Eventually, the discomfort started affecting my mental health; I felt anxious, sometimes wanted to cry from frustration, and even started dreading school. As a result, I began missing classes and even took a few days off when I got sick. When I returned, my classmates seemed to distance themselves from me even more, possibly because of my absences.

With all of this, I came to the decision that staying at this school would likely harm my mental health. I wasn’t integrating well, and I was struggling to keep up with some classes in French. So, I decided to look into transferring to a different school that might be a better fit.

When I informed the head of studies and the admissions manager about my decision, they were confused and seemed not to understand my reasons. The admissions manager insisted that the school is affordable compared to other fashion schools and mentioned that many students come to this school after experiencing issues elsewhere. My concerns, though, weren’t with the school itself but rather with the lack of an English program and my own challenges in integrating socially.

The main issue now is the tuition. The full yearly fee is 7,500€, and I had already paid 750€ as an initial payment. The school is demanding the entire 7,000€, citing a clause in the enrollment contract that states:

Art. 2: Any schooling started is due in full.
Art. 3: Only withdrawal in the event of failure of the examination necessary for admission allows the reimbursement of tuition fees committed.

When I asked if they could reduce the amount since I had only attended about 10 days of classes, they refused, saying it wasn’t possible because I had signed this contract. My bank advisor even connected me with legal services, but they only suggested trying to negotiate.

I met again with the director, who also didn’t budge on the tuition. I felt pressured during this meeting, as the admissions manager encouraged me to pay on the spot. I tried to transfer the entire 7,000€, but it didn’t go through, so she instructed me to make smaller transfers until I was able to send 4,000€ total. She then asked me to go to the bank and complete the remaining amount as soon as possible.

After leaving, I called my sister to explain what had happened, and she was furious that I had paid so quickly without fully exploring my options. She thinks I should consult a lawyer to see if I have any grounds to negotiate the fee given my limited attendance.

I’m now feeling lost and overwhelmed. I haven’t told my family everything yet, and I’m unsure how to move forward. If anyone has any advice on whether it’s possible to negotiate a partial fee or if it’s worth seeking legal help, I would be extremely grateful. Thank you for reading, and I appreciate any guidance you can offer.

Doesn’t sound like there is any legal reason why you should be exempt from paying in full. Unless you engage proper legal advice with regards to the contract I’m not sure what else people can tell you.

You've got three choices:

1. Cough up
2. Engage a French lawyer specialising in contract law to try and get you out of it
3. Do a runner back to (presumably) the UK and hope that they don't go to the hassle of enforcing any judgement in the UK under the Hague Convention. Even if they don't enforce the judgement it will almost certainly trash your credit rating.

Is it worth seeing if you can defer your place and start again next year? Would give you some more time to work on your French.

Firstly,

1. the law is not designed for empathy or understanding- it takes a set of facts and applies rules (from historical, social and moral, and intellectual/philosophical perspectives) to them in order to ensure equity and consistency.
2. contract law is important to ensure that a buyer/seller gets what they want - in this instance.

You are liable for the full payment for the year.

There is no rule saying you cannot attempt to negotiate with them. No one here can say how amenable they are too it, nor their history on negotiating payments. If you had perhaps come to them a lot sooner etc then unimaginable this would have made a small difference (as in buyer beware and cooling down periods).
For me your best bet would be to ask if you can restart your year next year and put the fees towards that. That your health (get a doctors letter!) has impacted your ability to do it but that you want to do it.
Otherwise pay up. I don’t know what your sister is doing giving you the idea that it is unfair.

Then before starting concentrate on overcoming the issues that caused this. Studying anywhere will be hard emotional work and it will do you good to prioritise this for now

Option 4. Put your big girl pants on, get the support you need and ace the course

I think this is a very good idea. Focus on your French this year. Maybe next year you could sell your place on the course or do the course yourself.

As a fellow introvert I'm sorry for the position you find yourself in and I do empathise.

My experience in life has taught me that the only way for me to deal with discomfort/anxiety at being in unfamiliar situations and mixing with groups of people I don't know is to power through. The absolute worst thing I can do is avoid as that feeds the anxiety and makes the whole thing worse.

This may not be applicable to you, but I want to share it in any case.

Unfortunately, realistically you only have two options - pay the fee or resume the course. You would be best advised to start arranging a payment plan for the balance rather than trying to find ways to not pay, unless there is specifically a clause in the contract that allows withdrawal without payment for ill health/disability and you can get medical evidence that they would accept to support this.

I have so much sympathy with your situation. I have a daughter who studied abroad. She had an amazing experience exceeding for one semester which she spent in Spain when she experienced similar
isolation and mental health issues to you. She stuck it out but I have never been more worried about her and I think you should give yourself some grace for having taken a brave decision to call it a day.

Now, all you can do is appeal to the university to make a gesture of goodwill and cancel some of the fees due. I'm afraid that I doubt they will. You only took 10 days worth of classes but they cannot now fill your place. Their budgeting is based on receiving full course fees from each student and if people can drop out without paying those fees, they would soon cease to function as an institution. You may just have to put this down as an expensive life lesson.

I understand your point, and yes, my actions did contribute to the situation. However, it’s not just about the effort – the program itself is also not what I expected, which has made things harder for me. I was hoping to find a solution that considers both my mental health and my dissatisfaction with the program. I’m not taking this lightly, and I’m trying to find a balance between my responsibilities and what’s best for me moving forward.

I get what you’re saying, but it’s not just about the money or not bonding with the students. The program itself isn’t the right fit for me, and that’s why I’m considering leaving. It’s not just about me being difficult, I’m trying to make the best decision for my future.

Can you evidence that the programme has not delivered what it stated it would though? Nothing you have written suggests that they haven’t met their terms of the contract.

This is a legal dispute and one where you don't have a leg to stand on. You're going to have to pay the money so the decision you have is whether to continue the course or not. Not paying isn't an option. They will pursue you for payment and that certainly won't help your mental health.

I understand that contract law is clear, and I’m not denying my financial responsibility. However, the situation is more complicated than just the contract. It’s not only about my mental health, but also that the program itself turned out not to be the right fit for me. I’m not just looking for a free pass, but I’d like to see if there’s any possibility of negotiating or adjusting the situation considering both my health and the mismatch with the program. I plan to address my issues and will approach this with a clearer mindset, but that doesn’t change that the program isn’t a good fit for me anymore.

That might be the best bet - it just might be possible to get a year written off as a Annee Blanc - it might be difficult but it’s worth a go..

TBH as at least one pp has said the French education system across the board tends to not “do” pastoral care to a great extent and may not be as sympathetic to health issues as the UK institutions appear to be…. It can very much be a case of swim or sink and the institution might not care much which way it goes as long as they get their cash.

You don't seem to understand.

You have entered into a legally binding contract whereby you have purchased something. It doesn't really matter what it is but in your case it's the right to attend a course.

The provider has made the course available in return for you paying for the course.

You have decided you don't wish to attend (the reasons for this are irrelevant).

You do not have to attend, nobody can physically force you to but you still have to pay for the course.

It's a contract - offer, acceptance, consideration - all three legal elements of a contract are present. As such you have to pay and they will take action to recover the debt if you don't (although the extent to which this will be practicable for them if you are not in the country is debatable).

Im afraid that now you are 18 you enter into these contracts as an adult so you are expected to behave as an adult and to fulfil your legal obligations.

I'm a lawyer.

Did you research the course properly? The mismatch may be due to not doing that, and that would be on you. It does sound as if they are well within their rights to demand full payment. Deferring would be your best option if possible in order not to waste the money, but if you really hate the course, you'll have to suck it up. And if you don't address the issues that caused you to not attend, they will just be the same in another course elsewhere.

You’ve unfortunately made the wrong choice of course for you. It happens. The provider is under no obligation to remit fees unless you can show you were (objectively) misled as to the content/nature of the course.

I am sorry if that sounds unsympathetic. I have been in your shoes myself and had to pay up and honour the contract. In the end I stuck it out rather than ‘waste’ the money.

What happens if you leave. Transfer to another school and you're still unhappy, you would have to pay for 2 schools.. you signed the contract, you can try and negotiate maybe with a doctors report but that's not the schools fault and they have lost money if you don't pay and no one takes your place. Do they gave a student support system or a buddy system, you won't be the first student who has found it difficult especially if you have moved to another country.

I'm sorry this is happening to you - I think you are looking at it from the perspective I only attended for 10 days so I didn't use much resources. But the reality is they gave you a space they could have given to another student - they have worked out staff fees / costs etc based on all students paying. If one pulls out and doesn't pay it could make them fall short of their budgets. It's like joining a gym for 12 months - its not the gym's fault on how often someone goes or not at all - the person joined and committed to 12 months.

Did the course significantly differ from what was offered or did you just make the wrong choice? If the former you may have grounds to challenge.
If not, they may be willing to negotiate but have no obligation to reduce the fees. You want flexibility but the whole point of contract law is that is not flexible, your obligations are clear.

I’d like to see if there’s any possibility of negotiating or adjusting the situation considering both my health and the mismatch with the program.

Sorry about your situation. It seems like you're negotiating with, and trying to get concessions from, the people on this thread. Even if everyone was really sympathetic and indignant on your behalf none of us are the people who can help. You need to talk to the university (or possibly get someone else to do that). Although as others have said it sounds like they are a business - the law is on their side and they don't really have any reason to let you off the hook and leave themselves out of pocket. Whether you attend for the rest of the year or not does not reduce their costs for the place you are occupying.

The contract is clear your reasons for not completing the course are irrelevant to the college.

You need to pay the balance as quite frankly fighting a signed contract is just an expensive delay.

If you really do take responsibility for your actions, you pay up. That's what taking responsibility means. You got yourself into this and to get out of it, you have to pay. Thats the contract you signed. And that is a reasonable compromise.

Then you go find another course or go get a job or go home or go travelling or join a circus or whatever it is that you want. But before you go live the rest of your life, you pay up.

We can have all the empathy in the world and some of us do, I too got into stupid situations as a young woman. But your case is much easier. You pay, it all goes away.

But we are not the school, we cannot make the school have empathy.

Unless you have documented everything, unless you told the school you were struggling etc, then we can help.

You're not getting it. The contract is clear, and that's it.
Your perceived mismatch with the program is completely irrelevant, besides the fact that you gave it ten days and the mismatch seems to hinge on the not making friends aspect, rather than course content.

Contract law really isn't all that straightforward.

Generally in a situation like this some kind of compromise can be reached