sQuidcard (school meals) charging admin fee for refund

claircoult

Hi!
My kid's school uses sQuidcard to pay for school meals.  It's the only way they can pay for food at school.  I topped it up a couple of weeks ago and there is about £25 left in each of their accounts. Now the schools are closed they can't use the money.  DD was in Y11 and won't be going back to school at all.  I need the money back to pay for their food at home.  I emailed sQuid asking for a refund and they said they were charging a £2.50 admin fee per child.  This wasn't on their FAQ when I asked for a refund but they have since updated it saying due to the admin burden they are charging the fees.

Are they allowed to do this?

mattyprice4004

I guess it's better they charge the fee than go under, taking your money with them - it's a small price to pay.  

DoaM

Legally they can't unilaterally change the terms of the contract. Whether it's worth the time and effort for £2.50 only you can decide.

ElefantEd

Could you get the £25 for the older child transferred to a younger child's account (sounds like you have more than one)? That would mean not having the money in the short term but would save in the long term.

born_again

claircoult said:

Hi!
My kid's school uses sQuidcard to pay for school meals.  It's the only way they can pay for food at school.  I topped it up a couple of weeks ago and there is about £25 left in each of their accounts. Now the schools are closed they can't use the money.  DD was in Y11 and won't be going back to school at all.  I need the money back to pay for their food at home.  I emailed sQuid asking for a refund and they said they were charging a £2.50 admin fee per child.  This wasn't on their FAQ when I asked for a refund but they have since updated it saying due to the admin burden they are charging the fees.

Are they allowed to do this?

But what did the T/C say.

FAQ is just a list of common questions.

shaun_from_Africa

born_again said:

But what did the T/C say.

These are the current T&C's for the sQuidcard:
https://www.squidcard.com/terms-conditions/customer-portal-terms-conditions

sQuid may charge an administration fee of £5.00 for refunding stored value from a sQuid eMoney purse and we reserve the right to vary this charge. For funds credited to an international bank account, sQuid will also charge £12 in addition to the bank administration fees.

As they are only asking for a £2.50 admin fee, they are requesting less than they could.
The fee hasn't changed since at least 2017:
https://web.archive.org/web/20170706095552/https://www.squidcard.com/terms-conditions/customer-portal-terms-conditions

spannie1000

claircoult said:

Hi!
My kid's school uses sQuidcard to pay for school meals.  It's the only way they can pay for food at school.  I topped it up a couple of weeks ago and there is about £25 left in each of their accounts. Now the schools are closed they can't use the money.  DD was in Y11 and won't be going back to school at all.  I need the money back to pay for their food at home.  I emailed sQuid asking for a refund and they said they were charging a £2.50 admin fee per child.  This wasn't on their FAQ when I asked for a refund but they have since updated it saying due to the admin burden they are charging the fees.

Are they allowed to do this?

We have a similar situation with this charge being levied, however this is because the school has announced, during lockdown, that they are changing caterers, so we all have to close our sQuid accounts. There are over 1000 students at my son's school. We aren't happy!  Do they have the right to charge us all to reclaim our money under these circumstances? 

davet888

It may only be 2.50 but multiply that by the 1000's of school leavers across the country and that's some serious money (your money). This needs stopping now.

DoaM

Holy thread necromancy Batman!

Manxman_in_exile

C'mon!!!  It's only just over two months old...  you can still hear the echo of a heartbeat... 

davet888

DoaM said:

Holy thread necromancy Batman!

Its only just reared its head with me so very much alive and kicking (again)