Refusing to pay class fee

[slowlyburningcalories]

My DD attends a playgroup where they ask for £5 a week (paid termly) and a £30 'membership fee' which entitled the child to a bag, a t-shirt (should be worn at classes) and money off various other baby events and classes.

We were given our 't-shirt' last week. Its size 3-4 which is the only size they will print them in apparently, the class age is advertised as 18mo - 4yo, and DD is 21mo, tall but the t-shirt drowns her. There is no way she can play safely on slides or swings, trampolines etc

AIBU in paying for the classes, but withholding the membership fee until they supply a t-shirt which fits DD?

I would just send her in a normal t-shirt until it fits.

Agree with sunscorch: pay up, and send in a different T-shirt until it fits.

You plan on withholding a £30 membership fee because the cheap t shirt doesn't fit?

Or cut the logo off and appliqué it onto a t-shirt that does fit.

the only size they offer is 3-4yrs

so i'm paying a membership fee for something she can't wear for another 18months?

and the class age is 18mo - 4yrs - why don't the organisers offer a t-shirt on smaller sizes?

Surely she just does n't wear the tshirt until it fits If they want her to in the emantime then they supply a smaller version. Perhaps compomise on one the same colour ? If she is attending then you can't really withhold the money for the sake of a couple of quids' worth of tshirt.

so i'm paying a membership fee for something she can't wear for another 18months?

No, you're paying a membership fee for membership. The t-shirt is a perk.

YABU
Withholding the fees is not necessary and may cause hardship for thr playgroup.
Send her in another t-shirt and suggest they find another supplier.

"and the class age is 18mo - 4yrs - why don't the organisers offer a t-shirt on smaller sizes?"

No idea. Ask them. It's a very good question.

If they organised a second T-shirt, then the registration fee would be £5 more, and everyone would then have 2 T-shirts which would be only likely to fit for half the number of years in the class. Or if their income from registrations became insufficient, the subs would go up (they may be on very tight margins).

Sod's law means, BTW, that the logo T-shirt will mysteriously acquire a large permanent stain the first time it is worn, so it's not something you an be precious about.

Hecate - I did ask - the helpers said it was the owner who made that decision, so I have emailed the owner of the playgroup - I hasten to add I have paid the term fee for the classes, I just resent paying additional for something which doesn't even fit DD

find a playgroup that doesn't cost so much for things you cant use.

and more to the point probably won't fit her until the last term!

and they sell the classes by saying every child is given a t-shirt to wear. Ins't fair to DD is the other kids are all wearing the same things and she isn't!

If it is a local group then I can understand why they won't print smaller ones as even many 2 yr olds would cope with a larger size and presumably they only get given one over the span of a membership, so not cost effective or easy to source. If a franchise then they probably just haven't ordered some (similar to above) and could do so. We had Fittot t shirts that never fitted but it really didn't matter and nor did I even think to moan !

If they offered a t-short when child joined and then had to pay for any additional I could decide whether to buy a smaller of bigger but they don't - just this effing huge one which would probably fit my 5yo nephew!

What are all the other children wearing?

the other kids are wearing the t-shirt or the smaller ones are wearing the class belows t-shirt (6mo - 18mo) which is smaller, different logo which we can't have as we didn't join that class!

i think i would take in more material than was left! BUt good idea. It just Annoys me that i am being shoehorned into this - i joined the classes knowing there was a term fee and a membership fee but was told i would be given a t-shirt to fit DD (and they saw her at the time) but wasn't told she'd have to put on about 10lbs and grow 15cm for it to fit!

Am i the only one wondering what kind of playgroup charges a £30 membership fee AND a whopping fiver per session??

OP, can't you just tumble dry it a few times?

Something like TumbleTots?

the whole front is a plasticy logo - reckon tumbledrying would knacker it?

yup - T tots

Ah I was wondering if it was TT....

compared to waters babies £'s its cheap!

The membership fee covers the bag (which I assume does fit your child?) and discounts as well as the T Shirt. No one pays £30 to get a T Shirt.