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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Dance school refusing refund or credit for lessons cancelled in lockdown?

51 replies

Dancingqueen24 · 08/12/2020 00:10

My daughter’s dance school asked families to continue paying during Lockdown#2 saying it was an admin nightmare otherwise. I and the other families did so. I was happy to support the school and it was a goodwill gesture.

Last week the school announced that the lessons would be rescheduled for the next few Saturdays. We can’t make any of them. I queried what the position is and was told if you miss the rescheduled lessons there’s no refund or credit available.

It’s not about the money really. It’s the attitude. I’m upset that there was goodwill and flexibility on my side, but zero on the school’s side. And the teacher is immovable.

It’s got me thinking. Am I being unreasonable to feel like this? I’m not sure it’s even lawful to withhold a refund or credit in these circumstances? So not sure why the teacher is being so inflexible.

Yes AIBU - just accept these lessons are lost!

No YANBU - the dance school should compensate in some way

OP posts:
Cygne · 08/12/2020 09:00

@ivfbeenbusy

YABU

They've given an alternative - you can't make it - that's not their fault? 🤷‍♀️ they can't reschedule to a day to suit everyone's needs

They've given an alternative on a different day. OP's contract is for lessons on Thursdays, OP is not asking them to reschedule nor, I suspect, are other parents who will presumably have made arrangements to keep Thursdays free. Therefore they are not complying with the terms of their contract and it is their fault. If they want to keep their clientele they really should be flexible.
DreadingSeason2020sFinale · 08/12/2020 09:08

Don't let this go OP. You have paid for lessons you could not use to help them stay open through a difficult time. Now you are still paying lessons but they aren't providing the service on the agreed days. You pay for Thursdays. Not Saturdays. Why should they keep getting paid by people who they are preventing from using their agreed service?!

Simplyunacceptable · 08/12/2020 09:08

I was going to say YABU because it’s not their fault you’re busy when the lessons you’d normally be attending are but then read they’re normally on a Thursday. They should stick to the usual schedule. My DS goes to football and we were credited for the 4 lessons he missed that had already been paid for.

GU24Mum · 08/12/2020 09:13

What do you want to do about next term's lessons? If you're potentially willing to ditch them and move to a different ballet school, you can be more bullish with them though as you've said it's the principle rather than the £, then I'd leave rather than try anything more formal.

If you want to stick with the lessons on balance, I'd ask for a compromise from them - will they knock something (probably not the full amount) off next term's fees.

If you love the lessons and wouldn't want to move somewhere else, then you've probably got as far as you can without sour img the relationship.

Billben · 08/12/2020 09:23

I wouldn’t be happy about this either. I don’t sign my children up for clubs that happen on days I fully know that they wouldn’t be able to attend. So I would either not pay for Thursday’s lessons to recoup the money or expect a refund.
My DD’s kickboxing lessons were all done through zoom. Yes, it wasn’t the same as being in the gym but it was better than nothing. Wonder why your dance school didn’t do this?

AlphaJura · 08/12/2020 09:23

Our dance school continued lessons via zoom for a reduced price. Anyone who wasn't able to do that didn't get a refund for the term, but were told it could be taken off next term's.

AwaAnBileYerHeid · 08/12/2020 09:25

@ptw1234 not compatible in any way at all. If you buy something from a shop, you are advised upfront whether it's a refund, credit note etc before you buy. That's the contract you enter into. What the school is doing is not the contract that the OP entered into. Completely different. She paid for a.speciric service and the company isn't providing the service advertised. I'm not sure how you can't see the flaw in your comparison?

Alethiometrical · 08/12/2020 09:36

I think both of you are in a tough position. You are being offered catch up lessons, but on a day that’s not convenient.

But you have to weigh up - do you want this dance school to still be there post-pandemic? If you do, let it go, and support your dance school.

The arts are on their knees and artists don’t make much money in the best of times. If your children’s dance teacher is well-qualified, she’ll have worked long hours in training etc and probably doesn’t earn a great deal now. If your children enjoy their classes and are being nurtured in a creative atmosphere, that is down to the expertise of the dance teacher. This is worth more than the cost of a few missed classes.

If you can afford it, let it go.

notdaddycool · 08/12/2020 09:44

YANBU, you were very flexible to help them and now they should be to help you.

ivfbeenbusy · 08/12/2020 09:48

What would be the point of offering the credited lessons the same day/time as before? That just means they don't get paid for those weeks either 🤷‍♀️ - they have to offer them on a different day - but it's not convenient for you? Find it hard to believe that you can't do any of the next 4 weekend days rescheduled lessons?

BlackCatShadow · 08/12/2020 10:05

@PTW1234

I think you are being unreasonable, they have offered you rescheduled sessions, you can’t take them. You cut your losses.

It’s similar to returning an item, and only being eligible for d as store credit. If you don’t use the credit before it expires. You cut your losses.

I would say more like being offered credit at a different shop that you never go to. 🤷‍♀️

I don’t think the OP is being unreasonable but may just let it go for ease of life.

DreadingSeason2020sFinale · 08/12/2020 10:10

@Alethiometrical

I think both of you are in a tough position. You are being offered catch up lessons, but on a day that’s not convenient.

But you have to weigh up - do you want this dance school to still be there post-pandemic? If you do, let it go, and support your dance school.

The arts are on their knees and artists don’t make much money in the best of times. If your children’s dance teacher is well-qualified, she’ll have worked long hours in training etc and probably doesn’t earn a great deal now. If your children enjoy their classes and are being nurtured in a creative atmosphere, that is down to the expertise of the dance teacher. This is worth more than the cost of a few missed classes.

If you can afford it, let it go.

But OP and the dance school are both able to do lessons again. This isn't about supporting them through lockdown which OP did. The dance school are refusing to do the lessons on the agreed days but still want paying.
SpaceOp · 08/12/2020 10:10

I have really struggled with the way these sorts of service providers have handled the crisis. On the one hand, i am deeply sympathetic. It's incredibly difficult to continue to run a business under these conditions and many have done their best, offering zoom classes/you tube tutorials etc.

HOWEVER.... I am really starting to lose patience. I also run a small business and DH is self employed. Our income has ALSO been hit significantly by Covid. And the lack of flexibility by the DC's various activities is really starting to annoy me. DD's dance class term apparently always ends in early December (this is her first year so I haven't been through this before) so post lockdown, still no classes. I really felt that it wouldn't have killed them to offer a week or two beyond normal term in order to let the children come back. Ditto, the DC's gymnastics people did the same as your group - changed the dates and then were all surprised when I asked for a refund as we couldn't make those dates (after I'd paid throughout lockdown).

Demitri · 08/12/2020 10:13

@PTW1234

I think you are being unreasonable, they have offered you rescheduled sessions, you can’t take them. You cut your losses.

It’s similar to returning an item, and only being eligible for d as store credit. If you don’t use the credit before it expires. You cut your losses.

This isn’t even a little like the scenario you’ve described
GabriellaMontez · 08/12/2020 10:14

Yanbu.
I'd be irritated too! You showed them flexibility and goodwill and they responded with the opposite. Conveniently ignoring the fact that they cancelled the lessons in the first place!

Some businesses have thrived during this and others really havent but I'm not sure it's relevant to the issue.

MrsHuntGeneNotJeremyObviously · 08/12/2020 10:16

Small businesses need to remember that customers don't owe them a living - those customers may also have been financially disadvantaged by lockdown! While it's true that the dance teacher will have spent years training, that's true for lots of people and it doesn't mean the OP owes her ongoing financial support for her chosen career, without getting what she agreed to.

dancinfeet · 08/12/2020 10:19

Were any online sessions provided in place of the cancelled lockdown sessions? You should not have had to pay during lockdown if you did not receive a replacement / alternative service. For the scheduled termtime sessions you would be expected to pay, it's not the teacher's fault that you are unable to make them. These are two seperate issues so I would be looking at what you paid for during the second lockdown, not the in person classes that you should be rightly expected to pay for.

Buddytheelf85 · 08/12/2020 10:22

We had a similar situation with swimming lessons (in the sense that you pay for the term in advance) but the lessons carried on after lockdown at the same time, date and place - and I think that’s the crucial difference really. Also, in fairness, I think they did offer parents the option of a pro-rated refund if they didn’t want to continue after the lockdown.

Rescheduling the lessons to a different day and time is a different service, so I think they definitely need to offer a refund.

FairyAtTheBottomOfTheGarden · 08/12/2020 10:25

Depends how much you want the dance school to be there after covid really.

They've had a terrible year financially and personally I'd write it off as a gesture of goodwill rather than risk being the final straw that puts them out of business.

Buddytheelf85 · 08/12/2020 10:30

Find it hard to believe that you can't do any of the next 4 weekend days rescheduled lessons?

Do you find it that hard? Maybe OP works in retail or healthcare or hospitality (for example) and has to work weekends. Or maybe she has a partner who has to work at weekends and therefore needs their car that day. Or maybe her daughter has another activity at that time at the weekend.

Many possibilities. Either way she’s not obliged to accept a different service.

sneakysnoopysniper · 08/12/2020 10:39

They can't move the classes to another day and refuse to either refund or allow credit towards another class. Send a letter before action, there are lots of templates online of you need one.

This. It usually concentrates the mind of the recipient wonderfully but be prepared to find another dance class.

Perhaps begin with quite a formal letter setting out your case and ending with "I hope we can resolve this in an amicable way without the need for further action."

Or approach other parents with the aim of sending a group complaint.

SpaceOp · 08/12/2020 11:55

@Buddytheelf85

Find it hard to believe that you can't do any of the next 4 weekend days rescheduled lessons?

Do you find it that hard? Maybe OP works in retail or healthcare or hospitality (for example) and has to work weekends. Or maybe she has a partner who has to work at weekends and therefore needs their car that day. Or maybe her daughter has another activity at that time at the weekend.

Many possibilities. Either way she’s not obliged to accept a different service.

Yes this. Hilarious. We couldn't make the changed dates as DS already has an activity at that time.
OunceOfFlounce · 08/12/2020 12:15

You paid for lessons on a certain day, they aren't offering those but aren't giving you a refund.

I would write to them explaining you're going to use chargeback to get your money back - they might change their minds as I think this would affect their credit score.

ODFOx · 08/12/2020 12:47

I've read twice so am sorry if I've missed this: are the weekend catch up lessons in addition to the Thursday ones which your dd could attend, or have the Thursday lessons moved?
If the former then they are doing their best and although inconvenient it may be unavoidable. In this case I'd cut them some slack.
If the latter they have no right to keep your money: you paid for Thursday lessons and they are not providing that.

GU24Mum · 08/12/2020 12:47

The difficulty with some of the suggestions for OP is that if she wants a continued relationship with the dance school, then doing a chargeback/writing a letter before action etc just won't do that.