Refund Tuition Fees

Hi There,

A friend of mine attended University in the year 2009/2010 and paid £3300 for the academic year. However he was unaware that the university was actually offering the course for free at the time. Despite this they did not inform him and he unknowingly paid the tuition fee by taking out a student loan. Is there anyway he can be refunded the money or claim it back from the university? As clearly, this was a major incompetency on their part.

Thank You.