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AIBU?

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Original poster

To wonder why schools use ParentPay when it's so fucking awful for parents?

84 replies

DoughnutPrincess · 01/09/2024 14:25

Yet another weekend attempt to book school lunches for the week ahead, yet more random timeout crap & having to load up a desktop because their website doesn't work properly on multiple iOS or Android devices we have in the house. I'm seriously at the end of my tether every fucking week of having to use their poorly designed, poorly implemented "product".

Does the system work better for teachers or something? I could understand why it's being bought if it's a better system for teachers/school staff, but surely I'm not the only parent who uses it and finds it an unintuitive, terribly designed and run piece of crap? Who is paying them ££ to inflict this on parents?

I've been using it for the 3rd year so far and we have years of having to use it for school lunches ahead 😭

OP posts:
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BooseysMom · 05/09/2024 14:35

Hollowvoice · 01/09/2024 16:23

In the case of many schools round here, ParentPay is the choice of the catering company, so schools using that company use that system.

Just wondering as my DS is in the last year of primary will we have ParentPay in secondary? Also lunches in his school are provided by an external catering firm and we select from them, not ParentPay. I have never heard of lunches being booked thru PP.
Thanks

Original poster
DoughnutPrincess · 05/09/2024 08:20

CasperGutman it's interesting to hear that I'm not the only one being nagged constantly about single click payments but upon reading your post I was hoping to hear a trick for dismissing the aggressive setup noise (since we don't pay on it at all) i.e. Not having to say "no" every fucking time

Disappointed 😫

OP posts:
CasperGutman · 02/09/2024 16:35

It's annoying, and the website is poorly designed. I always want to pay with a credit card (I use it for everything, for the points) and I'm heartily sick of all the nagging to set up one click payments (which can only be from your bank account). Add to basket, go to basket, ignore great big "set up one click payments" button, click tiny "use another payment method" link, etc.

The interface for ordering meals on the mobile site is frustrating in that it always seems to open up showing a random date several weeks in the past, forcing me to scroll across to get to the next week. Why can't it just default to today's date? Or Monday, if I'm using it at the weekend?

That said, although it's poorly designed it does generally work pretty consistently for me. I've only had a problem once, when trying to use it at 9am on the first day of a new term. It's pretty solid otherwise.

NeverDropYourMooncup · 02/09/2024 16:17

Fizbosshoes · 02/09/2024 14:56

I find it annoying thst you can't transfer a balance between DC.
DD had about £12 on her school meal account for about 4 years....which I wanted to transfer to DS ....but had to get a refund and then add which I feel like is an added layer of faff.

I also hate operoo, does anyone else have that?

Edited

To be fair, on the first fullday back for all staff, we hate everything computer based.

Fizbosshoes · 02/09/2024 14:56

I find it annoying thst you can't transfer a balance between DC.
DD had about £12 on her school meal account for about 4 years....which I wanted to transfer to DS ....but had to get a refund and then add which I feel like is an added layer of faff.

I also hate operoo, does anyone else have that?

sunseaandsoundingoff · 02/09/2024 10:32

Ozanj · 01/09/2024 14:33

Download Edge or Chrome on your phone. Like most apps it only works on browsers the developers use.

Developers code for all browsers (that are recent enough to get security updates).

Also if you're using a browser it's not an app.

sparklybead · 02/09/2024 10:10

OldTinHat · 02/09/2024 08:21

What is bloody awful about it is when your DC leaves school, you have a credit on your account and you can't get it refunded.

We’ve had it back no problem a number of times. It’s the school office that sort it.

DiscoBeat · 02/09/2024 09:58

We have that for one of ours. Not had the issues you mentioned but I do prefer Squid which my other son's school uses.

MrsCarson · 02/09/2024 09:54

It worked well for us.
I never picked meals ahead of time, just added money and Dd would choose what to eat on the day cafeteria style. Worked great for paying for school trips, and I had a balance when she finish school and they were quick to pay it back to me.

StripyHorse · 02/09/2024 09:39

We use Gateway. My DCs are old enough that they started before an online payment system - now that WAS a pain as I frequently didn't have the cash to hand when I needed it, we would be scrabbling round to find enough small change to pay for snack etc. Much easier to click a button!

Disturbia81 · 02/09/2024 09:36

Never had any issues with it, just use my iphone browser

cardboard33 · 02/09/2024 09:34

JasperTheDoll · 01/09/2024 17:43

Agreed about Arbor. My child's high school switched to that last year and it's awful. Even the staff hate it.

Show quote history

Same. We switched from Parent Pay (which I also disliked but could tolerate) and Parent Hub to Arbor for everything and my god it was painful to the extent that the school started sending out additional emails with everything in until the end of term as they were aware of the difficulties everyone was having and said they'd try to sort it over the summer. Fortunately we left that school at the end of term so can't say whether it has improved.

ShakeUpYourTiredEyes · 02/09/2024 08:36

Just used it for the first time this morning and feel like I've done something wrong. Its just not great is it! Don't know if its how the school have set it up but I don't like it, I don't like anything about this transition from primary to high school though 😪

Original poster
DoughnutPrincess · 02/09/2024 08:29

So many people are reporting they can't get their money back from the parentpay platform

Do they just delete all your data at the end of the school term when children leave?!

Surely your login will still work for a little while to allow the school to sort refunds?
Or do they just wipe the data?

I find that hard to believe. If true, that's shocking?
Why wouldn't they email parents or add a warning on the account dashboard?!?

Maybe they just deactivate your account?

Would a Subject Access Request to ParentPay be able to retrieve the data they hold so that they are FORCED to give you proof of the money they're holding hostage? You can do them via email and if they don't respond, wouldn't GDPR rights deal with it i.e. report them to the Information Commissioner's Office or something?

I'll need to remember to not fall into this trap in future years by refusing to use it in the final few weeks of school, (I wish I had that fucking option now!), or just going on a spending spree buying anything with leftover £s

OP posts:
OldTinHat · 02/09/2024 08:21

What is bloody awful about it is when your DC leaves school, you have a credit on your account and you can't get it refunded.

Original poster
DoughnutPrincess · 02/09/2024 07:57

Interesting that some of you say your DCs can choose at registration, that would be so much easier

OP posts:
SunGoesIntoHiding · 01/09/2024 21:02

Not had any issues with it. I use for older DCs lunches but younger DCs are free. We also pay for trips, etc on it. However, we do not have to choose their meals nor do we have any information on what they have chosen. Our school haven’t linked it all up like that so it’s easy. The children choose their lunch option during registration if they are having school meals and not packed lunches.

RightOnTheEdge · 01/09/2024 20:38

I've never had any problems with it but I haven't had to book lunches, just pay for school trips and clubs.

My youngest is starting secondary next week so now I've got it on auto top up and they just choose what they want and pay with their finger print.

Ruelzdontapply · 01/09/2024 18:45

Try getting money back from them when your child leaves school is impossible. When dd left school there was still £20 in her account. Still 2 years later we don't have it back. Patentpay said talk to school school say talk to Patentpay. Never got anywhere with either one.

MyOtherCarisAVauxhallZafira · 01/09/2024 18:44

I just it weekdays, in the morning afternoon or evenings and at the weekends. Never seen a difference

MyOtherCarisAVauxhallZafira · 01/09/2024 18:44

I have no issue with parentpay whatsoever, I use it on a pixel phone so chrome. We also just it for booking ASC and it's great, I've been in an hour before club starts sometimes and changed from 4:15 to 5:30 pick up , or cancelled when I'm going to be out of work early and will pick him up straight from sports or classroom.

Coconutter24 · 01/09/2024 18:40

DoughnutPrincess · 01/09/2024 14:48

To the people who say it works fine, how do you choose lunches,pay etc?

We do ours every weekend for the week ahead

Often Saturday daytime, occasionally Sunday afternoon

Do you do it weekdays? The whole term at a time?

It's often showing a random website timeout. And has anyone figured out how to say e.g. on Weds no pudding needed (to avoid the waste from it being a mandatory selection)

We’ve used it for a few years now with no issues. DC don’t have dinner everyday so on a day they decide they would like dinner I just log on before 8am and order it.

DeathMetalMum · 01/09/2024 18:31

Minimum payments are set by the school though, so those of you having issues I'd speak to school. Minimum payment for high school is 1p, old primary school £2.95.

Ramblomatic · 01/09/2024 18:28

sunshineandrain82 · 01/09/2024 15:14

I'm having nightmare with it.
2 children both left the schools. Need a refund from what was left in there accounts. Can only be actioned by the school apparently. 1 child no longer appears (she left in march so that isn't the issue) but school didn't respond regarding a refund.
Other child is likely to be deleted soon, still awaiting a response for that one.

I simply can't understand why the school needs to action a refund for what is left in the child's parent pay account.

The ParentPay account isn't a bank account, it's just an admin system. The money is in a bank account controlled by the school/caterer, which Parent Pay doesn't have access to or control over.

Think of it like taking money out of a gambling account or doing an online refund - You can request it through their system, but it has to be authorised by their end.

sparklybead · 01/09/2024 18:26

Seaside1234 · 01/09/2024 18:23

I've never booked lunches on it, just put in money. In primary school the kids chose on the day, in high school they order themselves on the day via a different app. Does your school specifically ask you to book the week in advance?

I’ve just booked specific lunches for the next three weeks. There’s very little choice though so it’s an easy decision for the DC to make in advance. Pre Covid there was lots of choice and the menu was different weekly for four weeks before rotating. Now it’s just two weeks then the same again.

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