In the capital of Kazakhstan, a woman managed to cancel the installment plan for educational services that her child never used, reports the website infohub.kz.
According to the Committee for Consumer Protection, in early June of this year, the citizen arranged to pay for her child's education in the amount of 575,000 tenge in installments. However, the child never started classes and did not attend a single lesson.
The consumer applied to the service provider with a request for a refund. The document was handed personally to an employee of the organization at the address specified in the contract for such requests. In addition, the woman notified a company representative via WhatsApp of her intention to withdraw from the training. In response, she was offered to contact another office and fill out an application in the prescribed form, which she did.
Since the proposed form did not allow for a detailed explanation of the circumstances, including the fact that services were not rendered, the consumer additionally sent a registered letter with a claim demanding a full refund on the same day.
Despite the timely request, the money was not returned within the legally established period, and the installment obligations continued to apply. Moreover, the contract stipulated a 30-day refund period, which, in the woman's opinion, infringed on her rights guaranteed by the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
The issue was resolved after the intervention of the Department of Trade and Consumer Protection for Astana. As a result of the measures taken, the installment obligations for 575,000 tenge were terminated, as the educational services were not actually provided.
Experts recommend carefully studying the terms of service contracts, especially those concerning termination and refunds. In disputed situations, it is important to send a written claim in a timely manner and keep evidence of its sending and receipt.