Page 2 | To get a bus refund

sherryat4 · 2023-11-03T11:35:55+00:00

DD,17 is at college. We have to pay £80 month for the bus, which is organised by the college. DD passed her driving test on Monday and will now be driving to and from college. We are paying her insurance and fuel while she studies, which amounts to around £320 a month. The college has said that we are not entitled to a bus pass refund and have to continue with our monthly instalments, as the cut off point for refunds was 1st October (to give students the first month to see if college life was right for them etc) There is £550 left to pay. The only way we don't have to pay is if she leaves the college and withdraws from her course. AIBU to think this a completely ridiculous policy, especially for college students who are all taking their tests during the academic year and wont need a full year of bus travel. Admittedly I obviously didn't read ts & cs beforehand, as didn't for the life of me think that this would be the case. I am thinking I should just cancel the direct debit anyway.

YourNameGoesHere · 03/11/2023 12:23

sherryat4 · 03/11/2023 12:17

Agree. But the bus was the ONLY other option of getting her there and didn't expect her to pass so quickly, or even get a test booked before next year. Lucky to get a cancellation. It is my fault for not reading terms. It's the terms I am thinking are silly. I can see it from both sides though.

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The terms aren't silly though. You wanted a space on the bus for the whole year and the size of the bus was a direct result of the amount of people who needed a space e.g they had 30 people who needed a space so needed a bus with that many spaces.

That bus is still going to cost the same price all year even though you now don't want your daughter to use it. They don't magically get a discount because there's now only 29 seats needed.

disappearingfish · 03/11/2023 12:25

I can see your point but you bought a yearly pass with the option to pay monthly rather than upfront. I'd suck it up and keep paying, otherwise the college will end up not offering the service at all. There may still be days when she wants to use the bus, e.g. if her car is in for repair.

Silvers11 · 03/11/2023 12:28

@sherryat4 I get that it is difficult transport -wise in a Rural area and that is good news that she has passed her test and can now make better use of her time by driving herself

But yes, I'm sorry, but YABVVU to think this a completely ridiculous policy, especially for college students who are all taking their tests during the academic year and wont need a full year of bus travel. AND Yes YABU to cancel the DD and refuse to pay may more for the bus pass.

Out of curiosity, I assume that an Annual Bus Pass was the only way to get one and it couldn't be purchased as a monthly one?

RedPony1 · 03/11/2023 12:45

I am with your DD wanting to drive. I haven't set foot on a bus since i was 17 - you honestly couldn't pay me to now!

But you did get a discount for buying annual, its a shame they don't have a early buy out clause or something though.

Original poster

sherryat4 · 03/11/2023 13:02

Silvers11 · 03/11/2023 12:28

@sherryat4 I get that it is difficult transport -wise in a Rural area and that is good news that she has passed her test and can now make better use of her time by driving herself

But yes, I'm sorry, but YABVVU to think this a completely ridiculous policy, especially for college students who are all taking their tests during the academic year and wont need a full year of bus travel. AND Yes YABU to cancel the DD and refuse to pay may more for the bus pass.

Out of curiosity, I assume that an Annual Bus Pass was the only way to get one and it couldn't be purchased as a monthly one?

Edited

Yes. No monthly option and it was annual. I do totally get the reasons for the terms and I wouldn't just cancel the DD. We had to pay a deposit of 20% at the beginning and then the monthly dd's. Buying the pass was the only way of getting her to college. Didn't expect her to pass so quickly and get a test before next year. Will suggest on full days to maybe take the bus and obviously it will be there if car broken down, or severe weather days when she doesn't want to drive in herself.

OP posts:

Silvers11 · 03/11/2023 13:10

Yes. No monthly option and it was annual. I do totally get the reasons for the terms and I wouldn't just cancel the DD. We had to pay a deposit of 20% at the beginning and then the monthly dd's. Buying the pass was the only way of getting her to college. Didn't expect her to pass so quickly and get a test before next year. Will suggest on full days to maybe take the bus and obviously it will be there if car broken down, or severe weather days when she doesn't want to drive in herself.

@sherryat4 I think that is a very good compromise. I can see why the college can only put on a bus for all the rural students if it can be cost effective for a whole (Academic) year, and therefore it is unreasonable to Not Pay less than you are contracted for - but it is still a real pain having to pay for it. You are not being unreasonable to be vexed that rural living costs so much more expensive. We are not rural, but semi-rural in the Central Belt of Scotland and even our public transport is abysmal and in places totally lacking, depending where you need to get to.

storminabuttercup · 03/11/2023 13:17

YWU to not read the terms properly if everyone could just cancel whenever the collage would lose money

But I do have to laugh at all the posters saying she shouldn't be relying on driving when on another post a poster is getting grief for NOT driving and relying on public transport

ThereIbledit · 03/11/2023 13:36

Coffeerum · 03/11/2023 12:20

The terms aren’t silly, they are entirely logical. The college needs to arrange the bus since it is put on specially for the students to get into the college and not a normal running service. Therefore they need commitment on the seat in order to allow your child to use it.
If you stop paying for your seat the bus still costs the same amount and the college take a financial hit, why would they leave themselves open to that?

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This. It costs the college the same amount to run the bus all year regardless of how often your DD uses it.

Sucks in your situation, but I'm afraid that's what it boils down to.

I'd definitely look into selling the pass if she's not even going to use it occasionally.

ThereIbledit · 03/11/2023 13:40

sherryat4 · 03/11/2023 13:02

Yes. No monthly option and it was annual. I do totally get the reasons for the terms and I wouldn't just cancel the DD. We had to pay a deposit of 20% at the beginning and then the monthly dd's. Buying the pass was the only way of getting her to college. Didn't expect her to pass so quickly and get a test before next year. Will suggest on full days to maybe take the bus and obviously it will be there if car broken down, or severe weather days when she doesn't want to drive in herself.

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She might find that she prefers the bus sometimes - travelling is time that is being used up anyway, once the novelty of driving has worn off a bit she might find it's useful to spend the time working on essays, doing reading for the course and so on.