fees in lieu

[pecky4eyes]

Has anybody got any help with not paying their Independant School terms fees in lieu if you leave ? We are trying to fight this as we have had a bad experience and took our children out from a particular school and do not want to pay their terms fee in lieu. Any help would be appreciated.

I would imagine you signed a contract when you registerd your child and paid a deposit.

You will need to look at that contract and see what it says. It us unlikely (in my experience) there will be a get out clause.

Hopefully, Someone more in the know may be able to offer some more positive advice for you soon.

Did you make a complaint about the problems?

Did you try to negotiate about the bad experience?

Be prepared for litigation under the terms of the contract you signed with the school. Will you be able to show a clear contractual breach on behalf of the school? Do you have clear contemporaneous records of what the issue was, and the school's response, all the way through the grievance procedure? Alternatively (or additionally) can you show anything in the school's T&C's that couodbe deemed an unfair contract (eg very late notice of major fee increases that leaves parents unable to leavewithout incurring penalty)?

Schools generally do not like suing parents, but do have to protect revenue. And future schools may contact this school for a reference, which may include mention of outstanding fees.

How much moneyy is at stake? How much further stress can you take?

Well, at the school where I once worked, there was a set procedure.

First, parents got a letter from the Bursar reminding them of the terms of business to which they signed up before children entered school (a full term's notice, so notice given NOW does not expire until Easter, and full fees would have to be paid until then).

Secondly a letter along the same lines, but from the school's Solicitor.

Third, another letter from Solicitor, this time a "letter before action" - which is when it gets serious.

Occasionally, in hardship cases the requirement for a fees in lieu of notice would be waived (they know they couldn't get blood out of a stone).

Without knowing your specific problem it is hard to be more encouraging.

As others have said, it is likely that the contract you signed required you to pay one term's fees in lieu of notice. The only ways out of that would be if you could persuade the courts that this is an unfair contract term or that the school was in breach of contract. You don't say what your bad experience was so it is impossible to say whether you could use it to argue that the school is in breach of contract.