To think that a non refundable deposit...

[cakeformeplease]

...is non refundable if I cancel the trip, not if the provider of the trip cancels?
We have, fortunately, got nearly all the money back from DS year six trip. The school has said they are keeping a significant amount of the "non refundable" deposit to cover bank charges and administrative costs.
On this occasion, given everything that's going on, I don't feel like making a fuss. But I thought the point of a deposit being non refundable was so that people committed to the trip properly, not a portion of the cost that wouldn't be returned if the trip cancelled by them.

It just makes me nervous that any bigger deposits for secondary school trips might be treated in the same way.

What do you think?

Is it the school not refunding all the money or the provider of the trip? We, as a school, have refunded all the monies we have been given back but the trip organiser has retained some of the deposit to cover admin charges. We are still arguing!

I agree with you.
That is exactly what a deposit is for.

However, if the school has incurred costs that they are prepared to itemise I think it is fair enough if they deduct something from the deposit for these.
The school shouldn't be out of pocket for these costs.

Can the bank charges etc be that much?. How much was the deposit?

A deposit for a school trip is unique and not like other forms of travel. The school arranges the trip at cost, without profit. Some of the deposit has already been spent and they can’t get it back.

It's the school refunding. I suspect that school trips will have more fine print added to the agreements-there were no such deductions from my daughter's secondary school residential.