Postgraduate students at Penrhyn Road are unknowingly charged more to eat in uni cafes than undergraduates.

The Picton Room, which caters for post-grads and staff, includes VAT in the price of many items, compared with the Foodstore just around the corner and the majority of students are unaware of the extra charges.

As a student, you are not required to pay VAT whilst studying if the catering is provided by the university, even when it is sub-contracted as it is here at KU.

PHD Computer Vision student Filipe Martins, 28, said: “It is robbery. It is ridiculous that the university charge VAT and do not let students know.”

Richard Jewitt, Kingston University’s Head of Commercial Services, commented:  “As it is not possible to stop a member of staff from using the Foodstore nor a student from using the Picton Room, the price differential is a percentage split based on the mix of customers.” 

If your lunch consisted of soup with a roll and a large coffee you would be paying 30p more than if you had bought the same lunch around the corner. If you had a similar lunch every day in the Picton Room, over a year you would be £30 worse off than if you had chosen to eat in the Foodstore.

The university also charges 17.5 per cent VAT in the Picton Room, which is more than the current national rate of VAT at 15%. So postgraduates are not only being charged VAT, they are being charged an incorrect and higher rate.

With many post-grad students already in heavy debt after completing an undergraduate degree and paying expensive fees to complete further study, the benefits of being a student are not being passed on by the university at a time when they are needed the most.

MA publishing student Harriet Bourton, 24 said:  "I know a lot of students who struggle to make ends meet. KU needs to be more accommodating. They should remove the extra charges or make students aware that they are paying more so they can make an informed choice about where to eat.”

The university does not currently subsidise the prices in any of the cafes.

Jewitt said: “The money has to come from somewhere else. There are better uses and more important demands.”

Filipe Martins continued: “ KU’s priority should be to support students, particularly with necessities like food.  It's an educational institution, not a money factory.”