Need advice desperatly! is my daughters coach allowed to hold my personal property until u pay her all the fees I owe her?

[lauramichelle21]

My daughters coach will not give me my jacket back, does she have the right to do this? I took my daughter out of the club as she was being bullied by another child. I acknowledged that I owe fees which I have asked for account details to pay the money off weekly as I cant afford to pay it in one. I had asked another mum to pick it up and the coach wouldnt let her. Im sure she has no right to keep my jacket but I dont know what to do next, I have messaged her several times asking for my jacket and she just appears to be ignoring me.

Notagain has given good advice.

Op, you sound like hard work.

Nancy66 - I would tighten up my credit procedures and not let the situation get that far. All the clubs my children attend have very strict payment criteria. If I was in arrears, and certainly if didn't pay for weeks and week ands weeks, then the children would no longer be allowed to attend the session.

I certainly wouldn't use withholding personal belongings as an aged debt technique. Sounds like a very odd approach.

but there isn't actually any evidence that the jacket is being held in lieu of fees, that is just her assumption due to lack of response. While the coach may not have made any efforts to return it , nor has the op to collect it in person. How long has elapsed between leaving it and now ?

If you can't get hold of her then why not turn up to a session as you know she'll be there.

If your daughter hadn't been bullied then how would you have paid for the sessions? Sounds like it is more about the money than the bullying.

Why the hell did you run up a bill of two hundred quid!? If you couldn't pay for the classes, your dd shouldn't have continued to do them. The instructor probably imagines (as I would) that the bullying is a red herring to avoid settling the bill.
If the alleged bully is no longer attending the class, what is your problem with the class ATM, apart from the outstanding amount you owe?
She's wise to keep some sort of collateral against you refusing to settle, I'd say.

Are you texting her demanding your jacket back. Or offering payment. If the first then I'm not suprised she's ignoring you. Your dd went to a lot of sessions without payment.

Legally, she's stealing and needs to take you to small claims court if she wants her money. She probably doesn't want to pay court fees, debt collector fees, or have the court offer a worse repayment plan than she has in mind.

However, you aren't exactly covered in glory either by owing her $200.

You're lucky she hasn't messed your credit score yet.

The legal issue is if a lien applies. It is not necessarily straight forward. The moral issue and solution is pawn your possessions to raise £200 and pay what you owe like an honest person would.

If you removed your daughter because she was being bullied how have you accrued £200 worth of fees?

No she cant retain your jacket
But you cant refuse to pay outstanding fees
I imagine coach is making a point(badly) about debt you owr

I'm not sure how it can be theft if OP has not gone to retrieve her jacket in person? She left it behind and has not been back to the club to collect it. Surely it isn't the coach's responsibility to bring it to the OP's house? Likewise, the coat wasn't taken from her, but left behind (and is now presumably in lost property).

£200 is a massive sum to have incurred. I thought you were going to say about £30-40. Once it crept over £50, you should have stopped your daughter's lessons.

Judging by the title of this thread, it seems the OP wants us to pay the fees.

Is the jacket worth a lot of money?
You really need to prioritise paying back the money you owe quicker and in larger chunks than dragged out weekly installments.
If the coach said pay what you can she was presumably being kind for your dd's sake and optimistic it would be a short term blip.
She might not have got your messages. Go and face her and sort out this mess about the money owed first.

There are two issues here, they are not the same thing.

Regardless of how much money you may or may not owe without a court order and a bailiff she cannot keep your jacket.

Personally I would send a letter, recorded, giving 7 days to return it or you will report it to the police. Point out that theft is a criminal matter not a civil one and does she think it is worth getting a criminal record?

And yes I would report it if it wasn't returned.

I would hope the police would tell the op off for wasting police time!
Do people really go through small claims courts and CAB over jackets left at cheerleading venues?
Maybe should be more careful about where she leaves her coats in future and cough up some fees!

I'd put money on the OP not returning....

Maybe she read the comments and thought "I'll get me coat..."

MissOtis

Legally, she's stealing

No, she is not "legally" stealing in any way shape or form. There is no dishonesty and while this may not be the best way to resolve a business debt, it is most definitely not theft.

MissOtis that was brilliant so it's no wonder I didn't think of it

£200 is a LOT to owe. Maybe she will need to sell your jacket to pay her bills with instead of with the fees you owe her.

You've made no attempt to retrieve your jacket in person and haven't had the manners go in to see her about the fees you owe.

I'd suggest you do so and bear in mind that she's been accommodating in allowing you to build up this level of debt and you should prioritise paying it off as soon as possible.

Don't think op will return. Hope she talks to couch face to face like an adult pays the £200 and gets her jacket back