Ace academy rip off, natwest don't want to know

kingjude

Hello experts,

I need some advice. In Feb 2011 I paid £629 to Ace Academy Tuition services for my four year old to receive extra help. At the time he was not in school as he was due to enter reception in Sept 2011. I thought I could give him a head start.

When I called they had told me that they would assess him and that it would take some time to get him going academically. I expressed concern about his age being a limiting factor. They reassured me that his age would not be a factor in his learning and that they would cater to his needs. So at that time I felt reassured and paid using my NATWEST credit card.

When the tutor (who was a teacher) came to assess my son, he said that they would have books and work ready for him that would be appropriate for his level.

He started attending and they were never prepared and they gave him books way above his level. The teacher there pulled me to the side and told me he was too young to start and we had wasted our money because all they had him do was stamp the Ace Academy logo on their books. He was the youngest in the group that had children in year 1 and year 2. He wasn't in reception yet.

WHERE DO I STAND???? When I heard this I was disappointed and I spoke to someone and they said they would have work ready for his age group. The following week when he attended they still had nothing ready for him. So we e-mailed them, called them, and no response.

I called NatWest and they said that it was too late to claim anything as it was a long time ago (like 7 months) and I told them I had contacted them and that I had e-mails and also a letter sent to me from them saying they were ready for him to start.

Can anyone help me??

opinions4u

Have you asked Ace for a full refund? What did they say?

Seven months is unlikely to come into it with Nat West. That sounds like a fobbing off. Complain. Tell them that you didn't receive the services paid for - they were inappropriate for your child's needs. State clearly that you are making a S75 claim under the Consumer Credit Act.

Your claim isn't certain to succeed. You paid for tuition and got it. So it's a quality and suitability issue - the course wasn't fit for purpose.

Search out the S75 article on this site. Here's a link elsewhere.

kingjude

My son only received some tuition and not all of it. I called them and they said I needed to talk to the owner. I e-mailed the owner but never got a response from them.

They e-mailed me later trying to get my son back so he could finish receiving the service (I think I could get my money back from them but they are not cooperative).

Anthorn

Ok here's something I know something about

First of all, why on earth would you need extra educational help for a 4 years old child? Usually extra tuition starts at around age 10 when the need arises. "Don't fix it till it's broken" applies here.

For a 4 years old child you would be better reading aloud suitable stories while the child looks at the illustrations. Also provide lots of educational stimulus in the form of drawing, writing and building materials: Crayons, water colour paints, paper, card, safety scissors, etc.

Going even further in educational stimulus, resist showing your child the "right way" to use toys. Let the child work it out. If the child asks for help only provide the minimum help you can. When the child learns something new apply praise and congratulations but if the child makes mistakes never criticise.

Getting to the claim: You paid for the service and got the service. If it wasn't fit for purpose then it's probably Trading Standards!

RobertoMoir

kingjude wrote: »

My son only received some tuition and not all of it. I called them and they said I needed to talk to the owner. I e-mailed the owner but never got a response from them.

They e-mailed me later trying to get my son back so he could finish receiving the service (I think I could get my money back from them but they are not cooperative).

I get the impression that your son didn't receive all the tuition because you stopped taking him there, not that it wasn't available. That's somewhat like booking a concert ticket and choosing not to go, so that's something of a dry well imho. The issue is with the quality of the service.