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Original poster

The nursery have closed with immediate effect....for good!

39 replies

AlbertCookie · 09/02/2022 21:04

We had a notification of a new post on the app the nursery use to update parents on Monday night, about 7pm

It was a letter from the landlords of the building saying that their tenant (the nursery company) had withdrawn from the rental agreement with immediate effect so would not be open tomorrow.

This was then removed and later replaced with a letter from the directors, saying that the landlords weren't co-operating with some building requirements following an inspection, meaning that council funding had been lost, so they were basically unable to pay rent and the landlords had taken back control of the building. They would unfortunately be closed with immediate effect.

A message from the manager then, to say that with regards to fees we should re-read the terms and conditions, and to email the company directly.

I'm so angry....I only paid the full fees until the end of February last week and now I face losing it all.

There are 2 points in the t&c that I've picked out, 1) Termination - either party must give 4 weeks written notice to terminate the agreement. And 2) Calculations - if the nursery is forced to close due to circumstances out of its control eg. Weather conditions or other 'acts of god' , fees remain payable.

Can anyone offer any advice, or help with trying to get my money back? Or is it lost.

OP posts:
Sexnotgender · 09/02/2022 21:05

You might be better posting in the legal section.

What a nightmare 😞

Morechocmorechoc · 09/02/2022 21:07

They have to return fees.

VodselForDinner · 09/02/2022 21:14

Are they saying that the landlord accessed the app and posted the letter?

Original poster
AlbertCookie · 09/02/2022 21:25

@VodselForDinner

Are they saying that the landlord accessed the app and posted the letter?
No I don't think so, it may have been the manager (who along with all the staff have now lost their jobs) but it just said it was from "nursery name"
OP posts:
SparkleSky · 09/02/2022 21:29

Can you request a bank charge back from your bank?

PinkPansies · 09/02/2022 21:32

For the landlord to have 'taken back control' would have taken months.

They would have known this was coming for a long time and have behaved appallingly - possibly waiting until fees had been paid I suspect, hence short notice.

Is it a Ltd company op and if so have you checked Companies House?

I would be emailing them immediately requesting a full refund.

Original poster
AlbertCookie · 09/02/2022 21:35

@SparkleSky

Can you request a bank charge back from your bank?
I paid using the gov tax free childcare system....so I bank transferred 80% of the cost to my gov account and they topped it up, and then I forwarded it to the nursery. So not sure that will be possible?
OP posts:
Original poster
AlbertCookie · 09/02/2022 21:39

@PinkPansies

For the landlord to have 'taken back control' would have taken months.

They would have known this was coming for a long time and have behaved appallingly - possibly waiting until fees had been paid I suspect, hence short notice.

Is it a Ltd company op and if so have you checked Companies House?

I would be emailing them immediately requesting a full refund.

Yes it's a limited company. No filing history, they only took over the nursery last year I think, but directors names are there and company still active.....for now.

It does feel like there may be more to the story than they are letting on.

OP posts:
LittleOwl153 · 09/02/2022 21:41

You need to get a fee return request in to the owning company ASAP. Ow much are you owed is intended the small claims limit? If it is I'd probably go down that route too as clearly they have terminated the service without notice so are in breach of contract....
I'd also get together with the bother parents and see if you can get a group case together.
Screen shot all the app pages too as they will disappear...

Original poster
AlbertCookie · 09/02/2022 21:58

@LittleOwl153

You need to get a fee return request in to the owning company ASAP. Ow much are you owed is intended the small claims limit? If it is I'd probably go down that route too as clearly they have terminated the service without notice so are in breach of contract.... I'd also get together with the bother parents and see if you can get a group case together. Screen shot all the app pages too as they will disappear...
Around the £600 mark. Yes thank you have screen shot the letters and message from manager. Unfortunately I don't know any other parents, my son had only been there 10 days!
OP posts:
andweallsingalong · 09/02/2022 22:07

@PinkPansies

For the landlord to have 'taken back control' would have taken months.

They would have known this was coming for a long time and have behaved appallingly - possibly waiting until fees had been paid I suspect, hence short notice.

Is it a Ltd company op and if so have you checked Companies House?

I would be emailing them immediately requesting a full refund.

Not necessarily, business to business Leases can be brutal. One day late can be enough for the landlord to legally break in and change the locks - not that any reasonable landlord would actually do it!
mummykel16 · 09/02/2022 22:11

@AlbertCookie

We had a notification of a new post on the app the nursery use to update parents on Monday night, about 7pm

It was a letter from the landlords of the building saying that their tenant (the nursery company) had withdrawn from the rental agreement with immediate effect so would not be open tomorrow.

This was then removed and later replaced with a letter from the directors, saying that the landlords weren't co-operating with some building requirements following an inspection, meaning that council funding had been lost, so they were basically unable to pay rent and the landlords had taken back control of the building. They would unfortunately be closed with immediate effect.

A message from the manager then, to say that with regards to fees we should re-read the terms and conditions, and to email the company directly.

I'm so angry....I only paid the full fees until the end of February last week and now I face losing it all.

There are 2 points in the t&c that I've picked out, 1) Termination - either party must give 4 weeks written notice to terminate the agreement. And 2) Calculations - if the nursery is forced to close due to circumstances out of its control eg. Weather conditions or other 'acts of god' , fees remain payable.

Can anyone offer any advice, or help with trying to get my money back? Or is it lost.

How did the landlord manage to contact you? Are services covered by your credit card company, assuming you paid by card?
mummykel16 · 09/02/2022 22:14

Sorry I see you added all that information , apologies.

Original poster
AlbertCookie · 10/02/2022 07:10

@Sexnotgender do you know how I get it moved to legal? Sorry I'm a long time lurker

OP posts:
Ginger1982 · 10/02/2022 09:23

I've reported the post and asked it be moved to legal.

Original poster
AlbertCookie · 10/02/2022 10:26

Thank you @Ginger1982

OP posts:
Original poster
AlbertCookie · 10/02/2022 11:43

As an update, I emailed them for clarification and their reply states that only registration fees are refundable as this is an unforeseen circumstance.

They didn't ask me to pay a registration fee - just 2 weeks upfront which I did and which paid for his first 2 weeks there.

Their reply also states that the 4 weeks notice period begins on Monday - the day that they closed!! How can this be?

OP posts:
RedHelenB · 10/02/2022 12:52

You haven't received the service so you will ve entitled to the fees back for the days nursery is closed.

vivainsomnia · 10/02/2022 13:00

No way was this unforseen. They might have opted not to deal with properly resulting in closure, but this was not what unforseen means from a legal perspective. I'd argue this back right away.

prh47bridge · 10/02/2022 13:04

Their reply also states that the 4 weeks notice period begins on Monday - the day that they closed!! How can this be?

When do you think their notice period should start?

If the company that runs the nursery is forced to cease trading, you will be an unsecured creditor so it is unlikely you will get your money back.

Given their terms and conditions, my view is that they gave notice on Monday and that, during the notice period, the nursery will be closed for reasons outside the nursery's control, and you will therefore be liable for fees. It is possible the courts would view the contract as unreasonable, in which case you may be able to get your fees back through the courts, but it is only worth pursuing this if the company is still trading. If it isn't, attempting legal action would simply be throwing good money after bad.

Original poster
AlbertCookie · 10/02/2022 13:38

I've just re read the letter from the directors and it states:
"Despite our best efforts and significant financial and time investment to date, following the acquisition of the nursery we informed the landlords 10 days ago that we would not be able to pay rent from Feb 2022 onwards as we will not receive any funding from the council due to this and our priority was to pay the staff" .

Can I count then count this as definitely NOT an unforeseen circumstance?

OP posts:
prh47bridge · 10/02/2022 15:35

That sounds like you can argue it was in their control. However, it also sounds like they have run out of money, in which case, as an unsecured creditor, you are unlikely to get your money back.

Original poster
AlbertCookie · 10/02/2022 16:13

Ok Thanks Sad @prh47bridge

OP posts:
Rosehugger · 10/02/2022 16:18

I would still write and ask for the fees back and threaten to take them to court.

Ozanj · 10/02/2022 16:21

It seems like they’ve gone bankrupt. Get legal advice & contact your bank & do what you need to do get your money back. Sometimes if the company directors own other nurseries they may eventually offer to accept their debt on one nursery towards their new one (if there are spaces and more likely if they’re closing this nursery to open a new one) - so it might be worthwhile to look up the directors and see if that’s true. If it is just contact the Management of that nursery and ask them for help.

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