Refunding or not refunding after school club fees

parkside_stroller

I'm interested in people's thoughts on this dilemma - particularly if you have some appreciation of the legal position (Scots Law in this case).

Our after school club is a small charity and has a dilemma - due to bad weather the club was closed for a week. There was still expenditure on staffing and other costs but unless fees are retained for the week there would have been no income. Parents pay by monthly subs - usually standing order in advance.

Majority of club committee members think that the parents should not get a refund - net result of giving refunds would be that the club would have to consider putting up fees to ensure they had a nest egg to cope with similar events in the future - would also potentially leave the club sailing very close to the wind financially in the short term.

Committee members are parents and of course they would also benefit in the short term if there is a refund -the majority don't want it if it ruins the club financially or results in fees going up.

I'm not sure that the existing policies of the club really took the possibility of such events into account and it may be that the club can't charge for a service it didn't open up for (particularly if parents didn't know this when they signed up). I suppose the question here might be can the rules be changed mid-term by a committee meeting (after the event however)?

Can anyone share their experiences of similar issues - particularly if you have some knowledge of the legal position (I am not asking for legal advice on the forum - only sharing of knowledge or experiences as I understand that any advice given is not legally binding).

aheaton46

If you were paid to provide a service, and failed to provide that service, you should provide a full refund. It is not the parents (customers) problem how the organisations finances are organised.

Presumably some of them may waive their rights to a refund, but they have to do this voluntarily, you can't just decide to keep their money.

halibut2209

I would expect that some of the parents would have incurred additional expenses due to the service not being provided. I can't believe there's any doubt that a refund is owed.

paddyrg

I'd offer the refunds, and then slightly increase the price of the club so you build up a small reserve for unforseen circumstances like this should they arise again...

pmduk

Why not offer the refund, with an explanation of the problems this may cause, giving parents the choice?

parkside_stroller

Yes - I don't think it's very firm ground. Would have been better if terms and conditions clearly stated no refunds when parents paid their annual joining fee.
I suspect some parents would be happy to donate money but others will want a refund. Personally I am not bothered if I get refunded - I'd rather see the club continuing to operate but your points are certainly things that had crossed my mind.
Thanks for posting - I am hoping for a few views on this to take to our meeting to help with the debate about it.

parkside_stroller

Thanks to everyone who has replied to this.
Just to clarify circumstances a little - the schools were closed therefore the parents would have had to make other arrangements for school time. The local council own the building that the after school club is in and they close all their buildings early in weather such as we had (for safety) - therefore the after school club would be forced to close 1 hour and 45 minutes before normal closing time. A bit of a mess out-with the ASC control - I think people are just hoping to resolve it for the greater good i.e. continuing operation of the club but I don't think people's rights as consumers are being forgotten. I think people on the committee think of themselves more as club members than consumers however and as the club is a non-profit making organisation they try to keep costs down for parents - you are all right in what you say, unfortunately I can see the fees going up.

AsknAnswer2

What it ultimately would depend upon, would be what was written into the contract with parents. No contract means it cannot be insisted that the fees are paid.

As a single working parent, who cannot sustain the cost of 'double care', II refuse point blank to pay for any circumstance where the service is not available for me to use. The reason being that I have to source alternative care or take unpaid time off work. Either way I pay out, so I'm not about to pay out for a service which isn't available in addition to the extra monetary loss. I simply cannot sustain that.

I will however pay for when the service is available but for any reason I am unable to use it.

In this circumstance I might consider paying as a one off but I'd want to see the financial records first because I like to know I'm not being made a fool out of.