Refund of prep school fees

[jcoure]

I withdrew my DS from his independent school with less than a term's notice. Under the school's terms & conditions a whole term's fees are payable if less than a terms notice is given. I spoke to them and they were willing to refund the term's fees but not the initial deposit as I hadn't given a full term's notice for withdrawal.

Has anyone had any success in getting private schools to refund their fees and deposits?

seems very generous of them to give you the refund of the term's fees I think you are being very cheeky to be trying to get the deposit back too. Remember the school is a business. If you'd booked and paid for a holiday and decided to cancel it you wouldn't ask for your deposit back if the contract said it was non refundable and a travel agent is miles more likely to resell your holiday than a school is to fill a place midway through a term

The private schools that my children attended would never waive a terms notice or (as far as I'm aware) refund deposits and I know on a few occasions did threaten legal action against parents who withdrew children with less than a terms notice and did not pay the next terms fees.

If the intial deposit is not too much I'd be tempted to leave it and be grateful they did not enforce the payment of the next terms fees. Sorry if not what you want to hear.

They are a business - you broke the contract

You have a cheek . They are already giving you back what they don't have too, don't push it by asking for the deposit as well. It would serve you right if they changed their mind about giving you back the fees.

If you left part way through a term,which term's fees were refunded?had you already paid upfront for next term? The school I worked out would have charged you for the following term though occasionally used their discretion depending on the reason for withdrawl.The school would however have kept any deposit .When you signed up for the school you would have signed an agreement to pay a term's fees in lieu of notice so if all you have had to pay was the deposit I would count yourself lucky.

Cheeky!!

Normally you have to give term from the beginning of one term ie April to leave at the end of summer term or you pay for the Autumn term too. Sometimes this is waivered in circumstances such as illness or where SEN mean they ask you to withdraw your dc. If you have got away with any less including forfeiting the deposit then you should accept it. Deposits are often only refunded if dc stays until the end of Year 6/8 anyway.

Take the refund - bite their arm off and say Thank you! And don't go asking for more, in case they change their minds and sting you for the whole lot - as they are legally entitled to do.

If you look around on here you'll find plenty of anguished threads asking whether its ever possible to get the term's fees refunded when they don't give enough notice - and the answer is usually "No chance". So take what they have generously offered.

You are lucky to get what they are offering

Oh dear - I guess you get the message. Also think you have been lucky to get the fees refunded.