Would like some advice please, before I ring up to harangue them again tomorrow. Sorry it's a bit long but didn't want to miss out details.
In December last year we paid a deposit of £100 to sign my daughter up for joining a local prep school this September (she'll be starting in reception then)
I knew at the time it was non refundable, assuming that was to put off people who grab places everywhere and actually decide where they want to go later. There was also a clause saying you have to give a term's notice else pay the fees if you withdraw (ie if you wait til after Easter you'd have to pay the first term's fees), again, not a problem, we were really excited about the school and couldn't imagine changing our minds.
Anyway, after Easter, we received a letter out of the blue saying that the school had merged with another school, so the school we thought she'd be at for 7 years would become the pre-prep campus, and then after Y2 DD1 would have to go to a different school campus a couple of miles away (which would be just as DD2 would be starting so we'd have children in two different places for the entire time). It's also a much bigger school, which feeds into a private upper school, which we didn't really want, and it has a religious slant that I wasn't keen on. Basically not a school we would have chosen, the two locations being the biggest problem.
I even moaned about it here
I spoke to the headteacher of the first school, she fully understood why we would probably be withdrawing DD1. I asked if we would be held to paying the first term's fees or anything as we were past the term's notice and was assured that we wouldn't be.
We got a place at another school near us (and paid another registration fee!) and I emailed the original school to withdraw her officially, this was all within a week of finding out about the merger. In my email I asked for the deposit to be returned.
Letter back to me, confirming withdrawal and saying that the matter had been passed to the bursar regarding refund of the deposit.
3 months later, had heard nothing so emailed the school again to ask for bursar details so I could take it up directly and was told I needed to speak to the finance office of the new school now. I rang them a couple of weeks ago and was told the deposit wasn't refundable, I said under the circumstances I thought it would be and they said I needed to speak to someone else who'd get back to me but was going away for 2 weeks after that day. They didn't get back to me that day, and so should be due back from their holiday now so I need to ring again and see what's happening.
Sooo, after all that, how strongly do you think I can I demand my money back?
On one hand, I knew it was non refundable, but equally the school (service?) I signed up for has been removed.
I'm not being held to the term's worth of fees, so they obviously realise that would be unreasonable.
It's a bit like putting down a deposit for a car and then being told you can have two motorbikes instead or something. Not as practical and not what you signed up for, but still four wheels..