Private schol coach services

[PattyHris]

Hi there,
I am a bit stuck with how to proceed with my request to cancel private bus services to/from school and hoping you can help.
I was refused cancellation for the bus service, due the the service being on a yearly contract.
Apparently this is in T&C when I applied for place but I must have overlooked it.
I find this very unreasonable for the following reasons:

1. The actual school withrawal is one term, how can the bus expect 1 year commitment
2. All other bus services in nearby private schools operate with 2 weeks up to 1 term notice
3. It is insensible and it doesn't take into consideration current financial and personal sircumstances.

I have valid reasons for the cancellation: financial and personal. My son hasn't been using the service from the beginning of the term. He travels by train in the morning along with his older brother who recently join the school. In addition there is no direct late coach, meaning when my son has afterschool activities 3x week he has to travel to another school to get the late coach. So afternoon coach can only be used 2 x a week overall. Can you please let me know if there is anything i can do about this and avoid paying £675 per term for services that my son is not using. The refusal came from the coach company and the school hasn't been involved yet. Thanks x

unfortunately

in the terms and conditions but I must have overlooked it. and that is the long and short of it

i have just pulled up the t and cs for my child (also private) school mini bus. term notice

but… the t&cs are a page long so hardly onerous to have a glance over

are you new to the school?

In addition there is no direct late coach, meaning when my son has afterschool activities 3x week he has to travel to another school to get the late coach. So afternoon coach can only be used 2 x a week overall.

hey this is unfair of you. I knew my child was going to be doing after school clubs and would always miss twice a week.

Presumably you knew he was likely to be doing after school clubs too?

and did he join before his older brother?

i would drop the school an email to say that whilst you appreciate you should have read the terms… a year’s notice is unreasonable and ask for their thoughts

You’ve signed a contract with the bus company. Whether you can get out of it depends on what the contract says, which we in Mumsnet do not know 😬

Basically you’ve ordered a service and now have changed your mind and don’t want it anymore. But that isn’t how things work.

I’d ask the school for advice but they may say it’s nothing to do with them.

Maybe big brother could get the coach with him so you’re not paying train fare as well?

Not particularly helpful in your circumstances but our school runs two sets of buses, one set of which are late buses for kids doing after school clubs.

Not new to the school. My son has been going there since Y7.
My older son however recently moved for 6th form and I remember the school always reminding us at the end of each term to remember to cancel if circumstances change. Hence I was under the impression it is the same T&Cs.

and what year now?

Hey,
I did not know about the afterschool clubs. We are asked to apply for a place after Easter holiday 2023. Hence I wouldn't know what clubs will be available. The school' confirmation for my older son being accepted also is not received at that time.

Y10

what did your son do for transport in previous years?

and even though i don’t know what days the clubs are on - i know my child is going to want to do at least two clubs, especially if sporty

He used the bus services before and has regularly missing 1 to 2 days as well. The problem is that he now doesn't use the mornings either.
I just thought 1 academic year notice is unreasonable provided if you decide to leave the school you only requited a term notice.

it is excessive

go to school. no drama. just explain the notice and say you think unreasonable and would like their thoughts

the mini bus company won’t want to lose the contract with the school

Can you try to find someone who wants to take the space ?

I just thought 1 academic year notice is unreasonable provided if you decide to leave the school you only requited a term notice.

i would quit referring the school’s notice period. irrelevant. Totally separate business

thanks

I'd send him on the coach in the mornings for the rest of the year so you are not paying the train fare as well. That way you are getting 7/10 trips. Then re-arrange the travel for next year.

Thanks. I tried to encourage him to do so. Unfortunately he prefers the public transport as he is with his older brother which is poitive from fostering a sense of camaraderie and mutual support.
Also turns out is much quicker.

Also turns out is much quicker.

Oh dear - so not only are you stuck with paying for a service that your DS now doesn't want to use, but you have also discovered that you've been paying over the odds to use a slower, inflexible service to get him to and from school ever since he started there...?

If the school is easily accessible by public transport, that might go some way toward explaining why the coach company's terms are as they are.

The problem is that if several people pull out of the service over the course of the year, then it my no longer be financially viable for the company, and the outcry is going to be rather larger if the service is stopped midyear, even if people are refunded.

It's unfortunate that you didn't check the T&Cs. Although you didn't know about what clubs there would be, you presumably knew that there might be some days your son would not use it, and also that the train was a viable alternative. I can see that the gamble would have been different if you'd realised you were committing for the whole year.

Thank you.
Yes, I can understand the point about if many people pull out. However, I don't think this can happen there is always people who will use the services. I know few times there were not enough sits in the bus and kids had to travel standing up. Also all other private schools operate on terms notice. How come they can manage?
Ultimately, a balance between providing a reasonable notice period for the school coach service and accommodating the unpredictable nature of life is essential for fostering positive relationships with families and ensuring a supportive and adaptable service. Transparency and balancing eachother's needs goes a long way.

But you admit that the fact that you were contracting for the whole year was in the terms and conditions, which you say you 'must have overlooked', and that there is a public transport alternative which is cheaper and more flexible. The latter, as I surmised, may go a long way to explaining why the company's contract is as it is - and they probably also rely on the vast majority of parents 'overlooking' the actual terms, to boot.

It would be completely different if you had been reeled in with a promise that you could drop the use of the service whenever you wanted to and get a refund, but what you hen had to sign up to was not at all this.

Ours is a years contract. Not a private school, private coach company to a state school. They only let you out of it if they can replace the student. It's very explicit when you sign up.