Unreasonable School Mum Demanding Refund Y6 Leavers

[Noodlenoo69]

A Y6 leavers do was planned in October 2019 and due to take place in July 2020 all payments were made by December 2019. Due to Covid-19 the event was cancelled and rearranged with majority of parents agreeing the new date November 2020. Two parents were unhappy after falls out in school between December-March decided didn’t want their kids to attend and left the social media group arranging the event and blocked other parents. They are now seeking a full refund using COVID as an excuse. This has lead to threatening behaviour and the threat of legal action against the parents who have collected the money. The event has not been cancelled just rearranged and would cost all other parents more once split or those that have arranged. Anyone any thoughts on whether there would be a case? All payments were made in good faith and no paperwork signed?

everyone wants to dig heels in with what’s gone on

OK, but that's silly. Just refund them and move on. Why make any more drama out of it than there's already been? As for it costing the other parents more, it's £60 between 26 people so an extra £2.30 each; an end to this must surely be worth that.

Some people fail to appreciate the organiser would be left having to fork out £60 from their own money - or chase all 28 of the other parents for their £2.14 or whatever it is, and inevitably having a few of them act like entitled pricks as if the organiser does this as a paid day job.

OP - If I were you I'd tell them that you'll ask for a refund from all the other parents and pass on what you manage to recover.

@Collaborate

Some people fail to appreciate the organiser would be left having to fork out £60 from their own money - or chase all 28 of the other parents for their £2.14 or whatever it is, and inevitably having a few of them act like entitled pricks as if the organiser does this as a paid day job.

OP - If I were you I'd tell them that you'll ask for a refund from all the other parents and pass on what you manage to recover.

If the organiser is foolish enough to re-arrange to another date without gaining the agreement of EVERYONE involved then that is their look-out.

Everyone paid by December? How elaborate is this leaving do?

Some people fail to appreciate the organiser would be left having to fork out £60 from their own money

Tough. Everyone should have been refunded when it was cancelled at the start. The organiser made the decision to rearrange it for a date without everyone's agreement.

Will the venue not issue a refund bearing in mind it is so far in advance and Covid related rearrangement?

Would the event still have cost the same if the 2 had never been going? Would the other 28 have said it was too expensive if they'd known it was £32 rather than £30 right from the start? If it would have gone ahead without them I'd refund and think it would be a better event without them and worth the small extra cost but I totally get why no one wants to refund them.

No ideal solution unfortunately

I don't think they should get a refund if costs are not recoverable. The fact so many think they should is what puts so many people off stepping up to be involved in organising events and why it always boils down to the same few.

Saying that, I'd probably ask the other parents for the £2 extra to refund and if any say no, cancel, refund everyone and plan something new for those who want be involved.

I think it is not worth the hassle - people like this always think they are right, they won't learn and digging in will only convince the they are right.

If I were being bloody minded though I would tell them they may feel free to pursue their refund of £1.07 each from each individual person.

Sounds hellish. Do people really want to continue the 'leaving Y6 events' into November?

I would pay off whatever needed to be paid off, split anything left between all those who had contributed and draw a line under it now tbh.

By November, there will likely be more fallings out and drama and if you get into a 'let's give them their money back to keep the peace' (tempting) or a 'we're not giving your your money back, take us to court if you like' (lunacy) it will set a precedent for the next few months.

Are you able to cancel the event and get refunds for everyone? Would that have been a possibility if you hadn't rearranged it?

Frankly - it is shit for them as they have spent £30 on an event they can't/won't send their child to, and which was reorganised despite them saying they had no interest in a reorganised event.

It is shit for you/whoever organised it, as now you or they potentially have to refund the £60 out of your own money and then run around trying to recoup £2.50 or whatever from ALL the other parents. Which, let's face it, almost certainly won't happen, so the organiser will be down if they do refund. Arguably, though, they should not have reorganised the event if they knew some people would not attend without considering refunds.

Frankly, I would try to cancel it altogether if it was me. By November the children will have all moved on and settled into secondary anyway.

@sunrainwind

I don't think they should get a refund if costs are not recoverable. The fact so many think they should is what puts so many people off stepping up to be involved in organising events and why it always boils down to the same few.

Saying that, I'd probably ask the other parents for the £2 extra to refund and if any say no, cancel, refund everyone and plan something new for those who want be involved.

Why not? They paid for an event that was cancelled. It’s not like food was already purchased. The event was cancelled so the venue has to refund the organiser. If you buy a dress you can’t wear that’s tough as you have the physical dress and it’s not the retailers lookout where you planned to wear it, but if you purchase tickets fir an event that cannot take place you are entitled to a refund.

Unfortunately the organiser decided not to take the refund but to reschedule without getting everyone’s agreement first.

@Ihatemyseleffordoingthis

I think it is not worth the hassle - people like this always think they are right, they won't learn and digging in will only convince the they are right.

If I were being bloody minded though I would tell them they may feel free to pursue their refund of £1.07 each from each individual person.

They paid the organiser not the individual participants. It’s the organiser’s responsibility.

"The event was cancelled so the venue has to refund the organiser."

Not necessarily true. Many places will not refund, only reschedule.

"They paid the organiser not the individual participants. It’s the organiser’s responsibility."

Not if they were only the person who agreed to have the money in their account for the purposes of bookings. If its a collective WhatsApp affair it is far from clear where responsibility - legal, or ethical - sits.

What I would say though is that the collective are way more likely to pay back the "banker" if they are £60 out of pocket than the people who are wanting the refund.

I think it's very unclear from the OP who is being unreasonable here.

Not necessarily true. Many places will not refund, only reschedule.

That would go against UK consumer law unless it was the customer who had cancelled. If the venue cancelled due to not being allowed to run because of Covid they are legally liable to offer a refund.

I booked an event that was postponed but not cancelled due to Covid, but the rescheduled date wasn’t suitable for me so I asked for a refund and got it.

Give the refund.

What is the event? Did one parent pay for it from contributions from the parents. So if that one parent refunds the £60 they are relying on the goodwill of the remaining parents to pay them their share of £60.