Nursery Fees - am I entitled to request a refund?

mrcow

lindos90 wrote: »

So...getting back to the OPs question, can they get their money back?

You need to look at the contract with the pre school, how much you pay in advance etc, and how much notice you have to give to leave.

I would have thought that you would definatly have to pay for any sessions already taken, upto the day you removed him, but the pre school may argue that they can not fill places mid term, so they would loose out if they refunded you for the rest (rather like booking a hotel ifkwim)

Sorry but no.

The nursery have broken any contract.

They were supposed to provide a safe environment where the OP could happily leave their son. The nursery have failed to provide an acceptable level of care. They have failed on many levels, including acceptable accident reporting or an acceptable level of childcare.

The OP is entitled to a full refund of any sessions that they have paid for up front. It is not the OPs fault that these sessions couldn't continue. WHo in their right mind would leave their kid with someone who thinks it's acceptable to cut soiled clothes from a child? Or to pin a kid down?

choccywoccy

choccywoccy wrote: »

we removed our son from his charity run (parent commitee run) village pre-school in Feb due to a horrific incident in which we had to contact ofsted over. They issued a welfare requirements notice as a result as they failed to meet requirments (safeguarding and welfare and organisation) They however remain open and the staff involved were never even disciplined..but thats another story.

We paid £230 at the start of the term for fees - he was also entitled to the full government funding vouchers which the setting claim back from the council for our son up until Easter. We already know we cannot have the value of the vouchers refunded and that the pre-school are entitled to keep this money if a child leaves, however we have written to the committee requesting they refund us the extra £230 and had no response at all. £65 of this was a "voluntary contribution" which was added onto the bill with no explanation as to what it was for - i did query it and was told that the nursery could not function without this - but the week after we took our son out they have dropped this anyway! :mad:

I never recieved a copy of terms & conditions or signed any contract - they were poor at keeping records - however i feel they have broken any aggreement with me to provide safe childcare for our son?? what should i do next? would small claims be good for this?

Ok - we wrote a letter on 1st May requesting an acknowladgement (we wrote in april with no responce) I had a letter back today from the chairman saying

"I have recieved your letter dated 1st May 2009 (although recieved 9th May 2009) I am still awaiting detailed legal advice. I have chased this up today and will reply to you in full once this has been recieved, i shall do this by 21st May 09 at the latest"

:mad: we said we would issue small claims court proceedings after 14 days and as today is the deadline then I guess he is just being totally pompous and trying to be clever by saying HE will respond in his own time...? can he do this? It was bank holiday on 1st May so I can only imagine thats why he says he didnt recieve the letter til 9th..however he DID have the first letter in April so has now had a month to get his DETAILED legal advice....!!:mad::mad::mad:

Any thoughts on this? how far sould I go if he comes back with a "no you cant have your money back"? We didnt sign a contract but there were some terms laid out in the prospectus - namely just giving 1 months notice but under the circumstances - THEY broke the terms by assulting our child surely his "legal expert" will tell him to just pay us and we will go away!!!!

mrcow

If I were you - i'd fill out the money claim online form right now.

You don't have to work to his timescales. It's just him trying to pull the strings.

poet123

I agree, if you intend to proceed with the SCC do it now. If you wait he will think you are dancing to his tune. I would ring him, and tell him that you feel you have waited long enough and will be taking court action. I presume you have a copy of your original unanswered letter? and that it was sent recorded delivery? Remind him that all, or many SCC cases are covered by the local press!!

choccywoccy

Thanks for that guys - I agree with you I think he is making me dance to his tune (he is an army officer and obviously used to people bending over backward for him - but in this case I am right) I have had other avenue to explore but not pushed it because I have to live in this tiny village where if the preschool were to shut down it would greatly inconvinience everyone so I would not be thanked for that...I have had a reporter from the local press contact me about this but i refused to discuss it.. and also have a few tipoffs that I COULD (in theory) give the charity commision (they submitted 8 committee member names with Nov 08's annual report - those people dont even know they are still registered as trustees!! 3 have moved away months ago, two resigned!! there is just this one man running the whole show with the two women who assulted my son...)

Yes - I will issue SCC I think..sod him!

choccywoccy

Hi - we recieved a letter from the chairman of the commitee a couple of weeks ago - refusing to refund us on the basis that the £65 voluntary contribution was for "consumables" that my son has consumed.. (he took a packed lunch and was only given dry crackers at break time - what - did they put caviar on them or something? )he also said that as Ofsted had completed thier investigation now and not closed them down they were obviously found to have acted approprietley and therfore the service we paid for was appropriate! and no refund is available!!!!!!!!!!:mad::mad::mad::mad::mad: he said staff still had to be paid as the place was booked - staff rota done etc and they treated my sons absence in the same way that they would if he had been off sick - we wouldnt get a refund for that and we dont for this. I am so angry - the service we paid for was UNSAFE! that woman is still working there!

Ofsted have published the findings on their website - they issued three notices to improve - but they dont just close a place down - unless they continue to refuse to meet the requirements - the thing that worries me is they still believe what they did wasnt wrong!!

anyway. we issued small claims proceedings and they have issued a defence - they are defending the whole amount! (£230) it isnt about the money - it is the principal.


Now im a bit worried though - what happens next? do I need a solicitor to help me? If they win - do i pay any of thier costs? i think this chairman will turn up with somebody legal to try and intimidate me but it would be ridiculous in my mind to pay someone more than the amount we are claiming! Does anyone know if this case is clear cut enough for the judge to make a decition without going to court? what are your thoughts on which way this will go?? Im going mad here, and just want to prove my point and draw a line under it all.

sarahg1969

Find a local solicitor who will give you some advice in a free half-hour interview.

They will tell you if it's worth pursuing or not, and may well do a quick letter for you, requesting the refund for a small payment.

poet123

The case will go to court, they dont make judgments in advance.

The defendant may bring legal represntation with him, but the judge will not allow you to be harrassed or intimidated by this, so dont panic.

The thing which swings a case in your favour is coming across as reasonable, lett he defendant get mad, but you stay calm and pleasant. Walk in and offer your hand to the defendant before you start, it establishes a suggestion that you are not vindictive, petty etc, and will help you.

You will not be liable for costs whichever way it goes.

You don't need representation even if they have it.

Have copies of all correspondance, and go through everything with a fine toothcomb and plan how you will approach your case. Get the Osted info and play on it. Get witness statements from other parents if possible.

If you have any evidence which you think will sway the judge make sure you draw full attention to it. To win you will need to cover all angles they could use, and prove them wrong.

Only send your disclosure stuff through on the day of the dealine, it gives them less time to study it. Either hand deliver, and get a receipt, or send recorded delivery(if they say they havent received it the case will collapse)

Best advice, be calm, pleasant, but clear and organised. You can take a friend with you but only one person will be allowed to speak, generally the one in whose name the case is brought.

Good luck.

sarahg1969

"The case will go to court, they dont make judgments in advance."

A case will only go to a court hearing if the Defendant enters a Defence. Otherwise, you are entitled to ask for judgment in default.

"You will not be liable for costs whichever way it goes."

Not necessarily. It is possible that, if the Defendant is successful, the OP would be ordered to some costs to him.

And even if she wins, she will be entitled to fixed costs and court fees only, which may leave her out of pocket, if she does pay for some legal advice.

---

OP, my husband managed to deal with a day in Court to recover a debt (I went to hold his hand, and advise him, but was of course not allowed to "represent" him) and it he said it wasn't as scary as he'd expected it to be.

poet123

sarahg1969 wrote: »

"The case will go to court, they dont make judgments in advance."

A case will only go to a court hearing if the Defendant enters a Defence. Otherwise, you are entitled to ask for judgment in default.

"You will not be liable for costs whichever way it goes."

Not necessarily. It is possible that, if the Defendant is successful, the OP would be ordered to some costs to him.

And even if she wins, she will be entitled to fixed costs and court fees only, which may leave her out of pocket, if she does pay for some legal advice.

---

OP, my husband managed to deal with a day in Court to recover a debt (I went to hold his hand, and advise him, but was of course not allowed to "represent" him) and it he said it wasn't as scary as he'd expected it to be.

The OP has stated they have entered a full defence.

The point of the SCC is that no one is put off issuing a summons because of a fear of costs. Very rarely, and usually in cases where the judge suspects the claimant has deliberately mislead etc, will costs be awarded, and they are nominal. So, fear of costs should not deter you from continuing if you believe your case is sound.