Education and training services

Private education and training services are covered by consumer protection legislation. In case of problems, you can contact the Consumer Advisory Services if the training is provided by a company or some other trader. Public education and training are not within the scope of consumer protection legislation.

Education and training services and consumer protection

The Consumer Protection Act applies to education and training provided by a company. Training leading to a vocational qualification provided by a company is also covered by consumer protection.

Consumer protection does not cover:

  • education and training provided by a public educational institution or other public body
  • education provided by liberal adult education institutions (adult education centres, folk high schools, summer universities, sports institutes and study centres)
  • continuing vocational training or training mainly paid for by an employer.

Before purchasing education or training

  • Familiarise yourself carefully with the offer of training and consider if its content and method of delivery meet your needs.
  • Read the terms and conditions of the contract and the conditions for cancelling it carefully.
  • Find out about the conditions under which you can cancel your enrolment or drop out of the training, and the terms that are applied to such situations.

Defects in education and training

Education and training services should

  • be as agreed and presented in marketing materials regarding their content and delivery
  • be organised professionally and carefully
  • comply with the requirements laid down in legislation, decrees and decisions of authorities.

For example, education and training services are defective when the instruction

  • is not as agreed and advertised in advance regarding such aspects as its volume or method of delivery
  • its quality is not what can justifiably be expected of similar training in general

Minor changes to and deviations from what was agreed or the advance information are not necessarily defects.

In case of a defect, you have the right to

  • a price reduction that corresponds to the defect
  • compensation for any losses caused by the defect.

If the defect is substantial and it cannot be rectified, you have the right to:

  • cancel the contract
  • have the money you paid for the service refunded to you.

 

Follow these steps if the education or training service is defective or not as agreed

  • Report the problem to the training provider and try to negotiate on rectifying the situation.

  • If the problem cannot be resolved by negotiation, file a written complaint with the service provider. You can use our Complaint Assistant to do so if you wish.