tutors that rip you off

[Scarlettsanangel13]

Does anyone in the NW6, NW3, N8, N14, N12 areas have experience of a tutor charging monthly in advance and then not giving lessons and refusing to give you the money back? I have had an experience recently and through an agency too. When it all went wrong though I discovered that the agency did not in fact have his full address so I couldn't go to small claims court. In fact he didn't actually live where he said he did. We have since found five addresses on different web sites. He advertised for maths and music although we eventually only had him teach English. Really frustratingly we have ended up calling the police on the advice of the tutors association. Has anyone else had problems?

What was the agency?

If the tutor is not registered with The Tutors Association, there is little else they will be able to do. I'm afraid I'm this case, you might just have to write the money off. I know I'm probably preaching to the converted, but it's really important to check on tutors qualifications, DBS, previous client references etc etc. Using a tutor who is registered with The Tutors Association , or an agency registered with them will also give you some come-back if things go wrong. You can always check an individual's or agencies membership directly with the association and names etc are published on the website.

Have you tried to pursue the small claims court against the agency?