Feel school misled us to keep our money

[aevin]

Named changed as this is very identifiable. Hopefully this isn’t too long as I hope to give enough information without drip feeding. I need help please in fighting a £5k bill DD’s school want us to pay.

DD is in yr6 at a local indie jnr school one which also has a snr school on a different site and are part of a larger chain of schools. The jnr school has been great, had the same head for years and been the ideal balance of stretch and support for DD. The snr school is non selective and the academic results reflect this they’ve also had a high turnover of staff including 2 heads in 3 years. The first one was there for 10 years and the second only lasted 2 years before suddenly leaving. As you can probably tell we were less keen on the secondary school but having had reassuring answers to our concerns about staff turnover and exam results amongst other things we decided to stay. This meant we turned down a place DD had got at a selective entry school.

We need to give a terms notice to leave our current school and just 2 weeks after this deadline passed the school announced that the snr head has left with immediate effect and that a new head has already been appointed. What they haven’t told us but parents with children at the secondary school have is that a lot of teachers have also resigned and the school’s owner are putting the whole chain up for sale. Google confirmed this last bit.

We want out and have managed to get DD’s place back at the selective school to start September but of course DD’s current school are insisting we pay a terms fees in lieu of giving enough notice. My argument is they held information back until after the deadline passed so we couldn’t make a decision with full facts but I’m not getting anywhere. Can anyone suggest anything I can respond to them with to stop them just taking this money out of our bank account via direct debit?

Well the immediate stop is cancelling the direct debit with your bank. That will prevent them taking the money. I don't know that it's a good idea or not though.

Might be an idea to get this moved to Legal.

Cancel the direct debit on line straight away.

Hmmmm
I think you will have to pay it due to the contract.
Although all those headteachers sound a bit worrying, they are entitled to change the staff.

I’d cancel the cheque

I think you need to look at your contact .

I would get some legal advice. I'm pretty sure that withholding information to lure you into a contract (either signing or not terminating an existing) would be classed as a breach.

I would imagine it would only apply if they have knowingly lied to you about raised issues though.

You could offer a lesser sum in lieu of notice, given they knew the information and witheld it till beyond the date.
Might work out cheaper than solicitors fees.

Well without doubt the first thing to do is cancel the direct debit. It's an awful lot easier to negotiate from a place of strength than weakness. (You still have the money they want rather than try and get it back)

Agree with PP about breach of contract. Personally I would simply tell them no. That they can attempt to take it to court (5k would be an on-line money claim) and you can defend it on the basis that they withheld information. If it has happened as you say, then it's clearly be done to prevent people from giving notice within the required period. (Unfair terms) But I'm quite robust when it comes to matters like this, work in the criminal justice system and am not remotely concerned by 'solicitors letters' (they mean very little, it's letters from the court your need to take very good notice of) .. so if it's something you are likely to feel intimidated by, go see a lawyer for half an hour , a couple of hundred quid and save yourself 5k.

Presumably they'll try to hang on to your deposit?

Courts have upheld the unfairness of withholding important information about the school (next year's prices) until a time when it becomes impossible to quit with proper notice. If the head's resignation and the putting of the chain for sale was known to the school before the last date to give notice, I think you might have a case. Because those could reasonably be seen as important information.

(the mass efflux of teaching staff sounds a bit more gossipy, so I'd put more emphasis on head, especially if you have anything in writing that is either inaccurate or clearly misleading)

Difficulty is they have not yet got your money for you to claim back. Until they withhold any returnable deposit , presumably in the summer. They can try to take you to court for any difference but it does not sound as if they will have the means to do so unless a new investor steps in. On another note, a new head is not always bad news and some fall out of established staff over subsequent terms is normal in anticipation of or disagreeing with changes. Good luck with new school.

To get out of paying the terms fees for failure to give notice you would have to show that the school withheld information and that this information was material to the contract. If I were the school I would argue that the identity of the head is not material on the basis that the head can leave, be dismissed or walk under a bus at any time. There is also the question of whether they actually knew the head was leaving at the start of term. It may be that there was a disciplinary process under way which was not completed until after the start of term and which resulted in the head's dismissal. I am not saying they would succeed with these arguments - that would be for the courts to decide. But these are the kind of arguments I would expect the school to use.

Similarly, if the chain is genuinely up for sale, it sounds like no sale has yet been agreed. The question is whether the information is material and, if it is available on Google, whether it was actually withheld. And, as Meditrina says, the mass exodus of teaching staff sounds like gossip.

Thanks MN for moving this to legal.

The school do have our deposit but it's only 10% of a terms fees so if we have to lose one I know which I'd prefer it to be. I haven't mentioned the teachers leaving in the letter just the head departure and the timing of the letter to parents to be just after the 1 terms notice date.

I've still got 2 months fees to pay which usually goes out via direct debit. I'm tempted to cancel the direct debit and pay those final / months via bank transfer so there isn't an easy way for them to take the additional terms fee. Sound reasonable?

Cancel the direct debit. Send them a cheque for the remaining 2 months and an accompanying letter stating the pauyment is made in full and final settlement of outstanding monies due. See what happens.