Looking for a lawyer’s perspective in Geneva — private university refused refund after visa rejection, What to do?
Hi everyone,
I am looking for legal perspectives from lawyers in Geneva.
Long story short: I applied for my sister to attend a private university in Geneva. During the admissions process, the university asked us to pay around USD 10,000. Before paying, I specifically asked whether the amount would be refunded if her student visa was rejected, and they confirmed that it would be refundable.
Unfortunately, her visa was rejected, and we provided the official SEM visa rejection letter. Despite this, the university refused to refund the money.
One complication is that some lawyers I spoke to said I may not be able to sue or have less chance to win the case because the admission was technically for my sister. However, I was the person handling the entire process from the beginning: I communicated with the university, answered their emails, managed the application process, and made the payments. My sister was sick at the time, and I informed the university about this by email. I also have written proof that the university was communicating with me directly and accepted me as the person handling the matter.
During the process, they also pressured us to pay more money, threatening that if we did not pay, they would cancel the admission and email SEM to cancel the visa process. I have these threats in writing by email. They also referred to confidential information from the SEM letter and used it against us to not refund.
When I later went to speak with them in person, the situation became very loud and unprofessional from their side. I recorded a video without consent, which I understand may be legally problematic in Switzerland, but the video shows them shouting at me and saying things that contradicted what they had written in emails.
I would really appreciate a lawyer’s perspective on whether there may be a legal basis to recover the money, especially given:
- the university’s written assurance that the payment would be refunded in case of visa rejection, followed by their refusal to refund after the visa was rejected;
- their use of confidential details from the SEM visa rejection letter as a justification for refusing the refund;
- their unprofessional conduct during the process, including sending my sister links to online courses she had not registered for and then pressuring her to pay almost USD 3,000 for each course;
- the written proof that my sister was sick at the time, and that the university knew I was handling the application, communication, and payments on her behalf;
- the threatening emails demanding additional payments for courses my sister had not registered for, including threats to cancel her admission and contact SEM if we did not pay.
I am based in Geneva and would be very grateful to speak with a lawyer who might be interested in looking at the case. there are other details to this case which i will share with a lawyer who is interested. I don't wanna sound weird but i heard Jewish lawyers are very good and they are welcome as well.
I am very angry and disappointed and would love you advice on what to do.
Thank you in advance for any guidance or recommendations.