Parents not paying for tutoring, getting beyond a joke now

[Sashavelour65]

This is where I should probably have a written agreement rather than relying on the goodwill of parents as I have done until now.

Started tutoring a GCSE pupil just after Christmas, agreed duration, rate and method of payment were agreed in a phone call before the Christmas holidays.
At the end of the lesson, we verbally agreed to continue the following week.

At the end of the very first lesson the father asked for payment methods and I sent over my bank details immediately after the lesson.
No payment sent, still nothing the next day. I sent a polite reminder, still nothing. 2 days after that I got a 'So sorry I totally forgot!' And a payment that evening with the wrong amount.

I advised on the correct amount, after the next lesson same thing happened. No payment after 3 days, so I texted saying going forward I will require payment within 24 hours of each lesson. They apologised and sent the payment and said they'd set a reminder.

The following week they sent it within 24 hours, so I thought the issue was resolved.

2 days late the week after. This time it's been 4 days and I haven't had the payment.
I've had enough now, they wouldn't do this with another paid service. I am still waiting on Thuesday's payment and I shouldn't have to be chasing up every week. Aibu to just tell them I won't be returning? I feel like they do not respect my time, I don't want to let the pupil down as it's not their fault.

You shouldn’t forget though, you know you have a lesson and need to pay for it. We all lead busy lives, I have a child, job, life, I still always pay my cleaner on time, my babysitter etc, I’d be embarrassed to have not bothered to sort money out that someone might need to buy their children food or pay their bills, it’s not right and it’s often the ones with money, maybe they have no idea about how most people live…I don’t know

Another one to say get payment in advance or tell them you won’t turn up -
Payment 7 days before lesson to secure your spot otherwise will be offered to other stunts - esp if you travel to their home to teach.

Stop people so rude and entitled get money in advance the are probly not intending paying at all

Put some terms and conditions into your agreements that they need to sign or agree to by email. State that payment must be made in advance for 6 weeks at a time. Also put into your agreement that the lessons cannot be booked until a signed agreement is returned to you and that the advance payment must be received before the tutoring sessions can begin. I would also add in that there are no refunds for missed sessions. It may sound a bit harsh and I never had my children home tutored but I have signed up for and attended plenty of block booked fitness sessions that operate similarly. It’s easier to keep track if it’s organised up front

Pre-payment on the day, obviously.

Pay in advance always. They clearly don't respect your service and terms. Not worth keeping.

We had an online math's teacher once a week for our great-grandson during Covid and we're always paying a week in advance which is obviously the only way for the OP to go to avoid being out of pocket for late cancelations or avoiding non/late payment offenders like the she is now dealing with! 🙄

It's so annoying and disrespectful. This used to happen when I did reflexology for a child. I had to drop them as a client as the parent was such a bad payer. It made me feel like I wasn't valued at all and I don't get paid to chase payments

They are piss takers.Get rid of them l bet they have done this before.

Learn an important lesson here about payments etc. Great tips from other posters.

wait until they pay then cancel their tuition - they won’t pay in advance you can guarantee it! They will turn up and say oh yes will do now/after lesson and won’t you can be sure of it!

Stop tutoring them if it’s only this family

Sashavelour65 · 16/02/2026 14:29
I do agree I've been far too lenient and so I will take on the above advice

Tell them you require payment 24 hours before lesson.

Teach them how to treat you. If you accept poor treatment and disrespect, you are teaching them that this is acceptable. You must always charge in advance, ideally a block of lessons.

Get them to pay termly, up front

Hi parent
My accountant says we have to move to termly payments in advance. From next week the fee for the next 8 weeks is £££..If we don't receive payment we will assume you do not wish to continue with tutoring sessions.

When we had a tutor we paid for a month in advance.

Get an online booking system where they have to book and pay in advance (lots of easy ones available online) or if you have a Monzo account you can request payment there and then by getting them to scan a qr code on your phone.

I used to be a cleaner amd always had a few clients that didn't want to pay. Every month was 'oh sorry, how much is it? When was I supposed to pay you?' Even though it was a fixed amount on the same day of each month 🙄

Let the parents know you've up dated your payment policy & now require 4 weeks payments up front at the start of each month. Send them an invoice with the total amount due & the date it needs paying by. Put a short note on saying if fees aren't paid on time service will not be provided until you receive the up front payment in full. & there will be a late payment charge of xx per week if you do not receive payment on time. Also I'd be writing out an agreement/contract for them to sign to say they agree the terms so they can't go back on it or say they weren't aware.

I know this might sound harsh, but you need to not give your clients a second chance re late payments.

Make it a ‘one strike and you’re out’ policy. And make this extremely clear - in writing - when they sign up with you, so they can’t say they weren’t warned.

It’s the only way of making sure you’re paid on time, as you would be in any other job.

Tell them you won't be returning and if you don't receive what you are owed within 14 days you will take them to the small claims court- tell them it's simple you'll win and it will have the costs of making the claim added (up to £300), if they don't pay then they will have a CCJ and will never get credit again.

Take pre-payment. That is taking the mick. I pay for my DS to have a weekly therapy session, it's a weekly standing order, easy peasy

So disrespectful of your time and patience. My friend is a tutor. One client would forget he was coming and be out or cancelled ŵhen he arrived. I forget all of details now but he let it go the first time. It happened a couple more times but he asked to be paid in full, and finally quit tutoring their child.

I always get paid up-front, either cash or bank transfer. Tell them you want payment before the lesson.

An update, I explained there had been a number of late payments so it would now be advance payments only. They apologised and said theyd just been really forgetful and would pay before the lesson.
It still hasn't happened so i'm just terminating the lessons now. How many times do they think they can get away with this? Sadly the woman on the waiting list didn't get back to me.