Independent school fees

[emma123456]

We have currently 2 at an independent school. In April they sent out a fee letter with an increase of 6.5% which while steep didn’t seem totally unreasonable. We have had a letter today informing us that due to fuel bills there is a now a fuel levy of 5% for 2 out of 3 terms and this will be applied retrospectively from Sept 22.

This seems totally unreasonable. I’m amazed that this is even legal. We signed up for 22/23 fees and it’s now going to cost £1500 more. What fee increases have you seen in the last year?

any advice ?

I can't offer much help but just commenting to hopefully bump this for you. I'm assuming there must be something in the T&C's that says they can do this? Seems very steep though.

This is wrong.

Schools must not introduce fees other than at times when those parents who do not wish to pay the new amount can still give the proper notice to quit before the increase applies (there has been a court ruling on this, but the name eludes me)

@prh47bridge - do you happen to know the one I'm thinking of?

God!
My dd is at an independent school and I'd be furious if they did this!
Totally unreasonable of the school.

I think it depends on the T&Cs. From what you are saying, its not a fee increase but a fuel levy, especially if its only for the two terms - so could be all in the wording. If you are concerned I would recommend contacting the board of governors at the school. I do feel for all schools though as the bills for heating old buildings (which includes most schools) are going through the roof with the fuel increases.

Agree with Backtoreality1, haven't yet had a letter but daresay we will be seeing a lot of surcharges and levys come into play this year. I'd maybe want to see something in writing to indicate that this charge will be removed when the energy crisis is resolved. I would happily pay this if it would mean keeping the school going.

Wow! My ds independent school only out the fees up by 1% this year, and definitely no fuel levy.
Hmmm… I would be questioning how this money is being spent.

Sounds familiar but can't immediately remember the reference. However, under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, any contract term that allows the provider of a service (the school in this case) to increase the price without giving the consumer the right to cancel if the final price is too high is likely to be unfair and hence unenforceable. Calling it a fuel levy makes no difference - this is still a price increase.

Since we have two people saying that it depends on the terms and conditions, can I emphasise that this is wrong. If there is anything in the terms and conditions allowing the school to impose a price increase when it is too late for parents to give notice, that is almost certainly an unfair term and hence unenforceable. The school must either allow parents to cancel without giving a term's notice and without paying the additional charge, or they must delay imposing the charge until Easter.

I sympathise if the school is struggling with an increase in costs, but this is not the way to deal with it.

Unfortunately every school will be facing massive increases in fuel costs this year and they have to recoup the cost somehow. Calling it a fuel levy is at least being honest about where the money is going. A lot of independent schools held back on fee increases during the lockdown years, but their costs didn't magically go away, so they are struggling even more now, and many of them are going to end up closing over the next year or two. If you can afford it and you value the school your kids are at, then you need to pay, or start looking for alternatives.

How else would you suggest the school deals with it? Cut costs by cutting teachers and subjects from the curriculum, increasing class sizes etc etc? Parents won't keep paying the fees unless the school offers something different to the state school alternative. I'm not looking to get into a bunfight about state v independent, but every school is essentially a business, so needs to offer USP to customers and balance the books. It's an increasingly challenging balancing act.

Yes, schools will be facing increased costs, although it now looks like fuel costs will not be as high as was predicted earlier in the year. However, that doesn't give schools the right to impose a price increase when it is too late for parents to pull out. As I have said, any contract term allowing them to behave in this way is almost certainly unenforceable. The OP can potentially take her children out of the school without giving a term's notice and get a refund of the fees covering the rest of this term (based on the original price, not the price including this "fuel levy").

The school needs to find ways of covering any increased costs that don't stray into illegality. They can request a voluntary payment to help cover the increased costs. They can do some fundraising. They can find ways to save money that don't directly impact the service they are offering. I'm sure there are other options.

Yes schools have increased costs, but so do parents! You can't retrospectively increase the price of something, as that way the consumer doesn't have a choice, as they have already used the service. Of course they could increase their fees or charge a levy for the future and that way parents can decide if they are willing to accept the new costs or stop using the service. I do agree though that things are tough, and the reality is some schools may not be able to hang on, so are making tough decisions.

My children are in state school, so no skin in the game, but I wouldn't accept this in other situations. Imagine being on holiday and being told you had to pay more and had no choice because you were already half way through.

Just to add, schools and businesses have knows for the best part of 6 months that this winter will be really, really tough. It would make me wonder how good the schools financial planning and management really is, if they haven't factored this in in the already increased fees, and haven't fully researched the legality of their decision.
You would assume that they would try to make some cuts before sending a letter like this, in which case the question arises whether you want to keep your children in a school that's being badly managed, cutting costs and raising fees at the same time.

Is that £750/child? How many kids in the school? Say 500 - that £375,000 extra! Can the fuel bill be that in addition to the normal cost?

Yes it could easily be that and more. People always seem to imagine that schools are either sitting on pots of cash or being 'mismanaged' in some way. The reality is that most are struggling to make ends meet, having been hammered with a series of increased costs in recent years (including huge increases in pension contributions for teachers). Many have old buildings that have not been well maintained (an easy way of saving money in the short term) and they don't have the capital to do major repairs. Its a toxic complex of spiralling costs, plummeting parental affordability and a hostile political climate for independent schools.

I guess they could do what state schools are doing and just not have the heating on.