withholding school fees

[chorltonloveswheelies]

DS is currently in year 6 at a local indi school.

We have become increasingly unhappy with his education over the last year and what is happening with the management of the school. So much so we also pulled DD out at Xmas.
They are both now/about to be at state Schools.

Many other parents feel similarly and about 2/3's of year 6 will be gone by July

Fees are payable termly but we haven't actually paid the bill yet as we haven't as yet received it (Bursar's office is shockingly lax).

I guess my question is where do we stand if we refuse to pay the bill once it does arrive? DS is leaving anyway and his new school already has info on him, so there is nothing to withold.

We have sent many letters of complaint to the Head and Chair of governors but nothing ever improves. We are even now paying for DS to see an external tutor as he has huge gaps in his maths and literacy.

What is the worst that could
Happen if we refuse to pay? Expel him? With only approx 5 weeks left of term
All he'd be missing is social activities!
(They don't do SATS, and to the
Best of my knowledge no other formal assessment is done )

Alternatively we just keep schtum and
If a bill never arrives then so be it.

Not heard of anyone at the school being taken to court over fees. We're talking £3.5k so probably not worth their while.

To be clear DS has been at this
School since day 1 and we have always paid bills without question. I'm just so bloody angry now I don't feel the fee is justified.

I assume you have given the required notice to the school that your DS is leaving at the end of term? It's usual to have to give a full terms notice (on or before the first day of the child's last term) or you will also be liable for a further terms fees.

Yes they've had a terms notice

If they chase you I would pay up. Having said that with the issues that you've had with them in my experience I was able to negotiate the closing fee. The school don't really want the hassle and cost of court so if you offer something sensible they will most likely consider it.

Personally I would wait and see if the bill turns up then ignore it until it was a bit clearer what they were going to do. No point paying it because they "might" take you to court- I'd wait and see if they do and pay it if so

They will probably chase the fees but, in the meantime, you need to write to the school governors and the independent school inspection authority/Ofsted (whichever body does their inspections) outlining your reasons for removal from the school and why you feel you shouldn't pay the fees, given that their contractual obligations (to educate your child) haven't been fulfilled.
You'll need to reference previous letters/meetings and highlight what was/wasn't done.

You could also, potentially, send them a bill for the cost of the tutor if you can prove that the tutor is filling in the gaps that have been caused via school negligence. You're paying for an independent education with, usually, smaller classes and there really shouldn't be a need for an external tutor unless your child has additional education needs or you're working towards something like an 11+ exam.

As your son is leaving maybe the school are waiting until then to produce a final invoice. When you receive that invoice you could submit a reviised invoice deducting external tuition fees etc and wait for their feedback. If you simply withhold payment expect to be taken to county court in the near future.

Then you are already late paying because fees for the current term would have been due on the first day back after the Easter holidays. Or are you saying that no bill was sent in the Easter holidays for the current term?

If judgement is entered it WILL appear on most credit reports, even if you pay with a month. You can go to effort and expense to get it cancelled but better not to get a CCJ in the first place, it will affect your credit rating.

www.experian.co.uk/consumer/faq/CCJ2.html

I agree that you could write making them an offer though, suggesting an amount in full and final settlement and referencing previous correspondence regarding your unhappiness with the service.

I am still of the view that you should consult a solicitor before doing anything. If you have a case for breach of contract paying them may undermine your position.

If judgement is entered it WILL appear on most credit reports, even if you pay with a month

Read the FAQ to which you link. It says, "Judgments that have been paid within one calendar month will be removed from our records". There is a process you have to go through to get a Certificate of Cancellation at a cost of £10 but once you have done that the judgement will NOT appear on credit reports.

effort and expense

If the "effort and expense" to which you refer is getting a Certificate of Cancellation this involves filling in a one page form saying who you are, what judgement you want cancelled and, if you didn't pay through the court, supplying evidence that the debt has been paid. You send that form with a £10 fee to the court that issued the judgement. So yes, there is some effort and expense. Around 15 minutes (if that) to complete the form, £10 plus the cost of a postage stamp. There is no need to contact credit reference agencies. That is all dealt with by the courts.

I would not advise anyone to settle a debt they don't believe they owe just to avoid it affecting their credit record. Provided they pay promptly if they lose and get a Certificate of Cancellation their credit record will not be affected.

A CCJ is not a good thing to have

It means a court has entered judgement against you, ie someone took you to court to get money and a court agreed you should pay up

But whatever, disagree if you like! I do know what I'm talking about.

And ask any lender what they think about ccjs, they're not keen

Anyway, I don't care enough to argue about it so I'll leave you to it!

(And it's not just Experian, it's Equifax, Callcredit and other agencies, they'll all have it on their records. That was just Experian I linked to. But anyway I'll hide this thread now

Makes me cross that we have no right of recourse without fear of CCJ etc.

Can't imagine that policy holding in many other business contracts

You don't need to fear a CCJ. You certainly don't need to spend your life paying up because you might get one. How ridiculously compliant.

A CCJ is not a good thing to have

Of course a CCJ is not a good thing to have. However, if you pay within one month and get a Certificate of Cancellation it will NOT appear on credit records. I do know what I'm talking about. What I'm saying is supported by the Experian FAQ to which BeautifulMaudOHara linked (but apparently didn't bother to read properly). All the other major credit agencies say the same. Because that is how it works.

Makes me cross that we have no right of recourse without fear of CCJ

If it goes to court there is the risk that you will lose. However, as per my previous posts, if you pay promptly and get a Certificate of Cancellation it will not appear on your credit record. Disputing a debt does not damage your credit record even if you lose. It is only if you lose and still don't pay that your credit record is damaged.

It seems to me fairly clear. You signed a contract, you took the service and you owe the fee. Private schools do take people who do not pay to court. Why do you think you can use a service and then not pay?

We've recently removed our child from an independent school due to the head and owner refusing to follow their own policies. No bill received.
Wouldn't pay it if we did but we won't be sent one.

Interesting to read opinions who feel it it is clear cut in the schools favour by virtue of our DS not being removed to date.

Another opinion is that of consumer law and fulfilment of educational obligation by the school.

As I have stated we have always paid fees on time without question. It is only this final term we are severely dissatisfied and are questioning the fee.

We have experience of not paying school fees on account of poor service. We were chased for fees and received a county court claim. We consulted a solicitor and represented ourselves in court. We explained the deficiencies in the services provided vis-a-vis what the school indicated it would provide (simple references to the prospectus and our own written statements minuting the many meetings we had with the head and the individual teachers). The judge found that the school had not provided the service it had advertised and that we were not due to pay the fees. Further, we counter-claimed for damages in view of a missed term of education for our child. We did not win an award for damages since we had not followed the complaints procedure but the judge did say that he saw considerable merit in the claim had we complained according to the procedure.

My advice: expect to be taken to court; possibly expect to lose (worst-case scenario); but fight your corner (consult a solicitor) and don't be bullied. These schools need your fees to survive so will fight tooth-and-nail but some schools simply are not good enough and you should not be paying for mediocrity if that is not what you thought you were buying. It worked for us.