The clients were the parents of a child who had been withdrawn from a private school without giving a months’ notice and so were contractually liable to pay the first terms’ fees. The clients were unhappy with the way the school had interacted with their son and themselves and did not wish to pay the fees – quite rightly; upon showing an interest in the school and attending an open day, they had been hounded into signing up and quickly found that security and the provision of education to their son were severely lacking in comparison to the diligence shown in the pupil recruitment process. Their son was withdrawn within 48 hours of arriving, yet they were being held to their contractual obligation to pay the first terms’ fees. We wrote to the Bursar setting out all the issues and attempting to settle but, rather than dealing with it internally, the school instructed lawyers for the purposes of debt collection. With some ease (thanks to a very reasonable lawyer on the other side), we were able to reduce the figure owing significantly. This was great as it meant that, in some way, the clients had an acknowledgement of how they and their son had been treated.
Led by: Anita Chopra
Supported by: Nicole Henham
