Contract for daughters dance classes help needed please

lorraine

My DD has been dancing since the age of 2 and a half, she is now ten and a half. Last september I was asked to sign a contract which I did which stated that I had to give a terms notice (3 months), now I have a problem, DH is now out of work as of Christmas and we are struggling to pay as DD does 4 classes a week, I spoke to her dance teacher last week saying she may have to give up because food comes first and I was reminded of the contract, is this legal for children to be under contract even tho a parent signed it. Other people have been threatened with court who didn't even sign the contract. Any help would be appreciated.

Lorraine

Sensemaya

3 months notice is rather excessive, but if the teacher insists on the terms and you don't pay up you are, in effect, in breach of contract. A contract is not legally binding with a minor,the contract is with yourself hence you signing it. The teacher could take you to the small claims court. Do you pay 3 month's fees upfront?

Surely the teacher will be able to replace your daughter pretty soon? I would approach her and say once her place has been filled would she be very kind enough to inform you. Your daughter has been with her a long time, so I would have thought that would have counted for something.You could also try doing a deal. Offer her one month's notice instead. Perhaps say once hubs has found a job your daughter will come back.

Must be horrible for your daughter too to give up dancing lessons.

Astaroth

Does the contract also state how many lessons she is to have? I have seen these sorts of contracts before and whilst I am no legal expert in contract law they have had loopholes you could drive a bus through.

Clive_Woody

Might be worth a trip to the citizens advive bureau and show them a copy of the contract and see what they think.

Alternatively it might be worth pointing out that if she wishes to take you to court for breech of contract, even if she is successful you have no money to hand over anyway.

Astaroth

The no money not really an issue if you "own" your property as they can always get a charge order against the property... wont force you to sell but will mean that when you do sell you have to repay them.

lorraine

Thank you for all your replies, basically I pay for a term up front so I am due to pay again at easter, here is a copy of the contract hope its readable

MrsTinks

I would write her a letter and state you are withdrawing your child from the classes due to financial difficulties. Whist you can understand that she wishes to have 3 months notice then unfortunately your current financial situation does not allow you this luxury as you are infact struggling to put food on the table. If he wishes to take this up then she is welcome to drag you to small claims court and you will be happy to explain it to a judge (Who given your circumstances even if he DID decide you had to pay up would probably let you do it at a rate of £1 per week... so for say £150 would take you nearly 3 years to repay... that would serve her right )

Sorry but putting food on your table would take serious precedent in my book and I would tell her that you'd love to give her 3 months notice but you simply can't...

Oh and that "contract" :rotfl: veeeery much doubt it would stand up in any court

Sensemaya

Busy at moment, Lorraine. But will reply tonight.

It's obviously not be drawn up professionally.

Mr&MrsSkint

I agree with previous posts, this has not been drawn up professionally. I do not think it would stand scrutiny, so yes, go to CAB and they will be able to sort it out. I also think a simple test of reasonableness would apply and this seems unreasonable to me and I've some experience in drafting commercial contracts.

Sensemaya

Started this post again. I got 1/4 way through tearing this contract apart. It's just laughable.It doesn't make sense.

The woman obviously has hall fees to pay for and staff wages, and I reckon she has been hit with an increase in hall fees since last sept. Running a business is tough, but...

Yeah...she will deduct 5% when she invoices you the next term's bill!!! And as to refuse a child entry just because, say, the parents hasn't coughed up the bill on the exact date. Heavens...even I don't get paid on every exact date, but I never refuse lessons.

If parents don't pay by half term 10% will be added and if not paid by end 20%. She should have contacted the parents way before then. If I even proposed adding % to late bills I would be out of business.It's just human nature. But I only let it go so far.

Increasing paper work? It should be easier than charging by the week.

Dancing lessons are not one to one. Students can be replaced well within the 3 month term time. If it's a good dancing school, which I'm sure it is, students can be replaced very quickly. Slots can be filled. How big is an average class? You should know given your daughter attends 4 times per week.

However...the essence of your posting is the notice period. I know some teachers require a term's notice...and many private schools do.It's a binding " simple" contract.Yep..a lot of this particular contract is crap,but whether a Judge will see it like that is a different story. If it gets that far. Notice periods can differ.

Have you spoken with other parents she has or hasn't sued? This teacher has her reputation, doesn't she?

Offer a compromise and get her out of your life. Offer notice in writing and reduce your daughter's attendence immediately down to one lesson per week. Tough on your daughter I know. If she does compromise get it in writing with payment received.

Write her a letter ( I could be onerous and ask her for her DOB!) outlining your proposals.

If she won't compromise, let her start proceedings and come back here...after consulting CAB. ( CAB didn't do anything for me btw regarding a very different matter...but worth a shot I suppose).

Astaroth

How are you billed then, for the number of classes you want to attend a week? The contract is very poor (as I suspected) and does mention about someone only having one lesson a week but does not mention about any notice period necessary for a reduction in lessons (rather than cancelling).

I suspect one option would be to simply massively cut the number of lessons being attended... say to 1 per term? Nothing in the contract seems to prohibit you doing this.