CHENNAI: Holding that coaching institutes cannot retain fees for courses that never commenced, the Chennai (North) District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission has directed FIITJEE to refund over Rs 3 lakh to a minor student and his father, ruling that the institute's refusal to return the money amounted to deficiency in service and unfair trade practice.
In an order, the Commission, comprising president D Gopinath and members Kavitha Kannan and TR Sivakumhar, directed the institute to refund Rs 3,02,381 to the complainants along with 9% annual interest from August 14, 2025, the date of filing of the complaint, until realisation. The commission also awarded Rs 25,000 towards compensation and litigation costs.
The complaint was filed by a 16-year-old student, represented by his father and natural guardian M Shivakumar, residents of KK Nagar in Chennai.
According to the complaint, the student had earlier attended FIITJEE's classroom programme from Classes 7 to 10. For Classes 11 and 12, he was enrolled in the institute's ‘Pinnacle Integrated Programme’ conducted in association with Maharishi Vidya Mandir School in Kilpauk. The institute collected a total fee of Rs 9.88 lakh for the two-year integrated programme.
However, the complainants later decided to withdraw from the course and submitted a representation on February 10, 2025, seeking cancellation of the admission and refund of the fees. The decision, they said, was influenced by feedback from other parents and reports that certain FIITJEE centres in the Delhi-NCR region had abruptly shut down.
They also informed the commission that the Kilpauk centre itself had ceased operations around May 2025, and the student had not attended even a single class under the programme.
Noting that the opposite parties had been set ex parte in the proceedings, the commission held that the institute's refusal to return the fees was unjustified.
The institute reportedly took a total of Rs 9.88 lakh for a two-year integrated programme
But the complainants later decided to withdraw from the course, after hearing feedback from other parents, and sought cancellation of the admission and refund of the fees