Parents not paying for tutoring, getting beyond a joke now

There might not be a formal contract but that doesn't mean you can't enforce some boundaries. DD has singing lessons, I've never signed a contract but have to pay in advance or during the lesson. If I forget (only one time!) I get a reminder text within 24 hours and I'd lose her place if I didn't pay!

OP, are you new to tutoring and worried about reviews etc if you set a hard line with them?

Tell them they need to pre-pay, tell them the amount. The end. No prepayment, no lesson.

Yes - there's no minimum amount. And if she has a written, signed contract, she would win and be owed the money, plus her costs.

Absolutely. No payment, no session.

You are leaving yourself open to issues by not having proper terms and conditions. What happens if a pupil cancels on the day are you happy for them just not to pay? If ai paid a tutor I would expect to pay you on the first of month for all upcoming sessions due in that month

Surely the done thing is payment on the spot. Don't give them 24 hours.

@Sashavelour65 I’m sorry, but they’ve shown you they can’t be relied on. But you’ve also shown them you’re a soft touch!
Tell them your contract has changed!
Explain that obtaining goods/ services without paying as agreed is theft, and when it’s allowed to walk out of a supermarket with milk without paying…. you’ll consider it!
Unfortunately you’re learning the hard way…….

Been there, done that. Get rid of them. I was always cash at the end of the lesson but these particular parents wanted to pay by bank transfer. And didn't. I swear they did it deliberately.
Don't know when this kids exams are, but you're on a hiding to nothing if they are this summer.
I wouldn't take kids this close to the exams. They were usually wasters who have done no work throughout the course and their parents have suddenly got the mock results. Panic stations

Say you are changing your payment method from next month you are doing block bookings "term to term or monthly and bill them then they have to pay in advance, they don't have to know how the other parents pay .

You should change to payment in advance like most other tutors.

Also do you have a cancellation policy? If the client wants to cancel within 24 hours of the scheduled lesson, they should pay for your time. These parents would probably screw you over cancelling a lesson.

When we’ve used a tutor for DD we had to pay up front at the start of the month. We were text the week before payment was due to remind us of the amount and date due.

We had one session per term that we could miss and not be charged (following month would be credited) to allow for illness or holiday. Any other sessions missed were charged.

I found the above very reasonable and wouldn’t dream of not paying on time.

Take a chill pill or get new clients, they're not going to change.

100% payment in advance, I pay my daughter's singing lessons by term up front. If the teacher is sick or can't make the lesson due to her fault, she will either carryy it forward to the next term, it refund of requested.

I can't think of any other tutoring service with payment after the event. Pre-payment only, preferably blocks of ten..

Every tutor I’ve used I’ve paid upfront before the lesson. My daughter has just started with a new maths tutor and I was required to pay in advance for the first lesson, and I’ve been offered a discount if I pay for 10 lessons upfront.

Are you changing per session? I would do it in a block of 4 or 6 and get pre-payment or they'll lose their place.

When I used to tutor it was payment before I left

I think I’d just say to them, politely, that tutoring is how you make your living.
Given they have trouble remembering to pay for their child’s sessions, you can now only continue in a pre-paid basis.
If that is not acceptable you need to part ways, and good luck finding another tutor.

I would ask for 5 lessons paid in advance for those who are not being regular with their payments. I would be so embarrassed to not pay for it immediately- like a hairdresser, cleaner, GP whatever. You can't just not pay the same day.

But that’s when OP chases, so it could well be a lot longer than that if not chased.

Tell them your policy is if they don’t pay within 24hrs again you will require payment 3 days in advance of any session going forward. If not received session will not go ahead and you will look to fill their slot from your waiting list.

No, that's not true at all. I can't think of any service where I don't pay in advance, apart from one offs like boiler maintenance (and even then I pay very promptly)

It sounds like you don’t have a proper contract. You need to be clear on your terms else sometime that week is fine IMO. If you think they’ll ignore the terms then you need payment in advance and you don’t turn up and book someone else in their session.

we had piano lessons where I just paid after. Clearly I forgot some and so she just reconciled at the end of the term and I made up in bulk. I’d have rather a more timely reminder but at the same time understand I shouldn’t have put the admin burden on her and as I couldn’t check (sporadic cancellations from the teacher) I just had to pay. This agreement worked for us. But if it doesn’t work for you then write your terms as such.

Then you stop teaching them
There will be plenty of other students
I was much softer when I started but not any more.
Give 'em an inch and all that

I once forgot to pay for my hairdresser - I told her I'll send a bank transfer and went home - three hours later completely went out of my head. My dad did the same thing just a few days ago. So forgetting to pay is normal, but then rectifying it immediately is fine. I now pay her in advance of the appointment because its easier.