Nursery won't return deposit

strange

Not sure where to post this, but here goes...

Baby strange goes to nursery A. Nursery A wrote to us in December saying they were about to be shut. Baby Strange was then booked into nursery B and Mrs. Strange paid a £100 deposit.

Nursery A was bought and is staying open. Mrs. Strange cancelled Baby Strange's place at nursery B, but a few months later Mr. Strange (me) realised that the deposit hadn't come back. Mrs. Strange phoned nursery B and was told that the deposit was non-refundable.

Mrs. Strange was not told that the deposit was of the non-refundable type and we have no paperwork, so I can't believe this is legitimate. I've written to them a month ago to request the money back but they haven't replied.

Can anyone suggest anywhere I could get assistance? I've tried phoning the Citizen's Advice Bureau but they don't answer. I don't want to phone the nursery as I'll only get angry and stop making sense.

Can anyone point me towards some legislation that I can use to motivate them with another letter? Or can anyone suggest anything useful? I really don't want to give up on this.

many thanks in advance,

Strange

Dan_Thunder

Providing that there is no paperwork that states the deposit is non-refundable then I'd send them a letter clearly stating that as it wasn't stated that your desposit was non-refundable you want your money refunded by X date.

Then state that failure to do this will involve you issuing a claim using the online claim facility of Her Majesty's Courts Service (which you can access here https://www.moneyclaim.gov.uk/csmco2/index.jsp) as well as writing a letter to Ofsted to register a complaint about the unsatisfactory way that this nursery conducts it's business and also that the local councillor from the nursery's ward will be CC'd on the letter.

vikingaero

Most nurseries that I know of get you to pay a non-refundable registration fee. As you haven't had any T&Cs you probably wouldn't know if it is a deposit or a reg fee. Get them to send you a copy of their contract.

strange

Many thanks for the suggestions. I'll give them a try.

cheers,

Strange

Nicki

Why would the deposit be refundable? Why would you think it was?

Surely the point of the deposit was to reserve your place at the nursery and compensate the nursery for not offering it to another family. If you took up the place, then it would be deducted from your first payment, if you didn't it compensated them for their potential loss in not being able to fill the place instantly.

I'm not a nursery owner or worker, just an ordinary parent and someone who knows a bit about how contracts work. I'm baffled as to why you think you should be able to get this money back though!

zippybungle

Nicki wrote: »

Why would the deposit be refundable? Why would you think it was?

Surely the point of the deposit was to reserve your place at the nursery and compensate the nursery for not offering it to another family. If you took up the place, then it would be deducted from your first payment, if you didn't it compensated them for their potential loss in not being able to fill the place instantly.

I'm not a nursery owner or worker, just an ordinary parent and someone who knows a bit about how contracts work. I'm baffled as to why you think you should be able to get this money back though!

I totally agree.

pinkshoes

A nursery is a business, so they have to make sure that all their places are filled, so someone dropping out at the last minute can potentially mean lost money for them until they find someone else to fill this place, hence the deposit...

why not move baby strange to nursery B, seeing as it'll stop you loosing £100? If they then say they can't take your child becuase they don't have space any more, THEN you can probably ask for your deposit back, because they've obviously found someone to fill their space.

jackomdj

Our Daughter is in creche & we had to pay a refundable deposit when we registered her - it is however only refundable if we give the correct notice period (2 months) when she leaves.....could be that you did not give enough "notice"

inkie

[QUOTE]
Mrs. Strange was not told that the deposit was of the non-refundable type and we have no paperwork, so I can't believe this is legitimate. I've written to them a month ago to request the money back but they haven't replied.

[/QUOTE]

The counter argument is that you were not told that it would be refundable. I wouldn't have thought that you would be entitled to the cash back - when we've done this before, the 'deposit' has been knocked off the first months fees.