Private school charge

nounfairfine

Hi, my son was attending a private school in nursery, but now he will be starting reception in September, and has been offered a place in a public school, which we will accept. It has been offered late, because the school was oversuscribed and we had to wait until someone pulled out. I spoke to the private school to tell them that my son will not start with them in September, but they want the fee for the first Term anyway as we didn't give notice with plenty of time in advance.
Are they right to claim that? It doesn't make sense to pay that amount of money if my son is not going to attend that school! Shall I pay or can I refuse to do it?
Thanks for your advice

cattie

Is there a contract you signed saying that you had to give a certain amount of notice to remove your child from the nursery? If not I don't see how they can have the cheek to expect you to pay for a term. I'd not pay it if there was no contract agreeing to it.

nounfairfine

Apparently is in the School Terms and conditions

pinkshoes

I'd check the school terms and conditions carefully then.

You usually have to give a full term (6 weeks) notice for fee paying schools, so it is now too late to give notice for the first term.

Your only get out clause is if it appears to be an unfair term i.e. no notice period was ever mentioned to you at any point since your child has been at the school.

My son's nursery want 1 full calendar month notice, which I know as it says it in the nursery T&Cs...

nounfairfine

It is probably in the T&C, and they require one Term in advance notice. But the thing is that I was offered the place in the school now. I should have given notice in April according to their T&C, but I didn't know that I could have the place by then. SO, basically they are right in claiming the money according to their policy. But it is obviously not fair paying a big amount of money for something that I am not going to use, and I wonder if there is any way to get away with it just not paying for it, or will I get into trouble if I do that.

jacques_chirac

nounfairfine wrote: »

It is probably in the T&C, and they require one Term in advance notice. But the thing is that I was offered the place in the school now. I should have given notice in April according to their T&C, but I didn't know that I could have the place by then. SO, basically they are right in claiming the money according to their policy. But it is obviously not fair paying a big amount of money for something that I am not going to use, and I wonder if there is any way to get away with it just not paying for it, or will I get into trouble if I do that.

But you do have the opportunity to use it, and they may have had to turn down other applicants as a result. It is you that is in breach of contract here, not the school.

If you do not pay the debt will be passed to a collection agency - private schools do tend to be strict on this. The only argument I can see to reduce the amount owed is if they can allocate the place to someone else, in which case you should only pay to cover their costs in reallocating the place.

MamaMoo_2

nounfairfine wrote: »

It is probably in the T&C, and they require one Term in advance notice. But the thing is that I was offered the place in the school now. I should have given notice in April according to their T&C, but I didn't know that I could have the place by then. SO, basically they are right in claiming the money according to their policy. But it is obviously not fair paying a big amount of money for something that I am not going to use, and I wonder if there is any way to get away with it just not paying for it, or will I get into trouble if I do that.

Will they be able to fill your child's place before September? If so, I see no justification for them charging you for the term.

TonyMMM

nounfairfine wrote: »

It is probably in the T&C, and they require one Term in advance notice. But the thing is that I was offered the place in the school now. I should have given notice in April according to their T&C, but I didn't know that I could have the place by then. SO, basically they are right in claiming the money according to their policy. But it is obviously not fair paying a big amount of money for something that I am not going to use, and I wonder if there is any way to get away with it just not paying for it, or will I get into trouble if I do that.

You can refuse to pay it - "getting away with it" depends on whether they then decide to take you to the small claims court.

You could try haggling and see if they will accept a reduced amount ?

bris

It depends if the school is in high demand with a waiting list or not. If they have spare places even with your son pulling out then they are entitled to charge. If they are at full capacity and then fill your space then they can only charge reasonable expenses in re filling it.

halibut2209

Ah, I had this the other way around.

You have decided to remove your child from the private school due to no fault of theirs. Therefore you owe what the contract says. That's the risk you took by putting your name on a reserve list at the other school.

nounfairfine

Yes, it is not their fault. I decided to pull out, when I got the place in the public school. But in case that I didn't get that place, I secured a place for my son at this private school, so he will be attending a school in September anyway.
I didn't know that I have to pay for the first term if I don't give notice in advance. That is my mistake. And the reason why I am taking my son to this public school is because the private one is too expensive, but at least it was a safe option in the meantime if I couldn't get a place in a decent public one.
It was my mistake, and by the look of it, I am going to pay for it
Thanks everyone for the advice