We are seeking guidance on how to dispute an invoice for a one full term notice fee with a school.
How to Dispute The School One Term Notice Fee
closed Comments
- 1
- 2
That makes sense then. Cheers
Just write it like a normal person. These chatgpt things are very off-putting.
OP wants to sound smart - just like his kid is.
@MS Paint: Not very smart really
In the last line OP quotes conditions of withdrawal
"one term notice penalty," …. which they are disputing?
How many times does the OB community ask..
What do the terms and conditions say?Fair Trading whom OP has approached no doubt will ask the same
OP sounds like a professional whinger.
Has complained about everything (no doubt grossly exaggerated) except the brick walls
you wouldn't say that if they were one of those people that texts like this and refuse to use any punctuation but maybe those people would not use AI anyway and just subject us to their word vomit
@ginormousgiraffe: That's true, however it's not hard to just write in a clear, concise way without using chatgpt.
@brendanm: Consider that it is not hard for you, but may be hard for others. Consider that the reasons it is hard for others may not be quick to fix.
@jacross: Yes, I can easily see a picture where OP is from certain cultural backgrounds that are overly obsessed with children's school performance as they wish them to improve their social mobility beyond what OP was able to
If ChatGPT uses grammar like this:
Parents only knew about the increase was receiving the additional payment request
Then it is not as intelligent as I have been led to believe
Thank you for your reading.
Use Real Intelligence instead of Artificial one.
written by chatgpt.
That makes sentence. Cheers.
Nah, ChatGPT is smart enough to use paragraphs.
But seriously, I appreciate it when people go to the effort of using AI to polish, especially when English might not be their first language.
It is a tricky legal question. Were the school problems sufficient grounds for the OP to terminate the contract?
What happens if the parents refuse to pay, claiming school did not meet obligations? I guess you wait to see if the school takes you to court, then prepare your argument, with legal advice?
Why don't you ask ChatGPT for legal advice?
@nobro25: Yeah I'm surprised the comments here aren't flooded with ChatGPT. But I guess if you want a job done properly…
In response to the following:
Just write it like a normal person. These chatgpt things are very off-putting.
ChatGPT suggests:
Got it, I'll dial back the 'ChatGPT' style and communicate in a more natural way. Thanks for letting me know your preference!
As for OP's actual problem, the ChatGPT response ain't that bad…
When disputing the invoice for the one full term notice fee with the school, it's essential to present a clear and compelling argument supported by evidence. Here's a suggested approach:
- Emphasize the Lack of Transparency
- Address the Impact on Education Quality
- Highlight Unfulfilled Promises
- Request Reconsideration
- Mention Regulatory Complaint
- Offer Compromise
- Document Everything
In summary, your response should be thorough, factual, and assertive, while maintaining a professional and respectful tone. By presenting a compelling case supported by evidence, you increase the likelihood of reaching a satisfactory resolution with the school.
Nah, no emojis
TLDR;
OP enrolled their child to a top IB school
Principal and experienced teachers resigned from school
School increased Fees but OP thinks the quality of education has dropped due to experienced teachers leaving as above
OP wants to dispute the fees
IB school and principal resigned in March…
Cranbrook?
it is not Cranbrook, but we dodged it when we were searching for a new school last month.
That's a private school right?
I knew a guy who went there, Clarence is his name.Does Cranbrook have Irritable Bowel? News to me…
Fair trading…lol.
Better than writing an OzBargain post… Oh wait
Why not name the school?
I am not sure I should name the school while it is still under dispute.
I don’t think you should either. I want to know but it’s not in your interests just yet. Depending on how the matter is resolved, you can consider naming them later.
I would bow to AI if we put OP's text in ChatGPT-4 or BING Co-pilot, and it can reverse engineer the name of this elite IB school in Sydney.
@kiriakoz: Well the same I do with most of the info I get from reading 'rant' posts in OZB forum, i.e., Nothing :)
@DelhiBelly: I learn things from rants actually. Stuff about life and other people's situations… I guess your point still stands.
But my 1 star review is already typed out I just need to know where to paste it…
Did your child attend the school in Term 1? If so, pay the money.
As a parent; you don't get to choose the teachers who will be allocated to your child's class. The Principal rarely teaches any classes and is just an administrator.
This is not about choosing teachers. There's very clearly some sort of drama happening at the school that's degrading the teaching quality. That is a justifiable cause to refuse to pay, and contact the authorities and media to investigate. All the remaining current staff need to be reprimanded for lack of transparency during whatever transition is happening. This is not what OP signed up and paid for. This is not what the child deserves. Ludicrous to spin this into "u just mad u can't choose teachers, also principal irrelevant lawl, pay yo money".
The Principal rarely teaches
The principal at my kids school taught IT. They never bloody turned up as too busy with other priorities. FFS I should have claimed compensation.
Yo también hablo español!
That makes more sense. I would not want to pay for Term 2 if my child was not actually attending that term. A few things here - the one term notice period is common across all private schools and they are usually very strict on it - even putting debt collectors on it to chase parents.
Have a read of an ACAT decision - https://www.moores.com.au/news/recent-acat-decision-doubt-ca… If the situation is similar; you may want to take this to VCAT or NCAT.
Things of note in that decision
- not sufficient notice given for fee increases
- Court ruled that fee may be ok if the withdrawal was done during a year as the school may have already allocated fundsAgain, need to see how this aligns with your situation
thanks for the advice and case, understanding the one term notice is clearly in T&C, but we will definitely go to NCAT to have a try.
Further reading - https://www.smh.com.au/education/private-school-enrolment-co…
Found the following paragraph interesting in the context of OPs message
“Historically, it’s been near on impossible for parents to demonstrate loss or impact on their children in terms of high teacher turnover, executive instability or the flow-on consequences of poor governance and bad school management, unmanaged bullying or just poor delivery of education.”
@MrHyde: thanks for sharing this article. I am not sure how far I would go since there is no such relevant case in NSW. I might be the first one to challenge it, who knows. lol
Why? The OP said you have to pay 1 full term for pulling the kid out as part of the T&Cs. So OP needs to cough up for term 2.
You clearly haven't given a terms notice then have you???? Pay up.
no, not a full term notice. But I will fight first, paying up is the last option.
What does the contact you signed say?
one term notice as per T&C.
what does it say about fee increases, staff turnover, or guarantees about continuation of the same principal?
I see what you did there.
Tell them they can chase you for it. You will say you will defend it in small claims and let the media know why. They will offer to settle it for a smaller amount. Then you can decided what to do. It hardly seems like other parents are beating down the doors and you've denied someone else from attending.
It hardly seems like other parents are beating down the doors and you've denied someone else from attending.
That doesn't help! Isn't there some law about penalty charges needing to reflect actual costs?
If the school was able to fill the place from a waiting list mid-year, that would be reason enough for not paying the penalty.
You're obliged to pay what you agreed to pay. But you'd think they'd refund you anyway to avoid you exposing the situation at the school. And you'd better make sure what you say is true too or they could sue you for defaming them.
Yes but in this situation it sounds like they are not providing the service they agreed to deliver.
I bet when it comes down to it they won't care if OP tries to publicise the state of things at the school.
If your child attended in Term 1 then fail to see what ground you have. Similarly, most of these schools have a policy to give a terms notice which you would have been full aware of upon enrolment. Everything else you write is hot air and clutching at straws really.
yes, I am fully aware of it when signing up the enrolment. with what the school changed and their deceptive conducts, I think I need to argue back before giving up.
your agreed to pay for school terms. If the school isn't meeting standards, then you need to make a complaint and withdraw asap (without incurring a pently).
You can't just leave, i assuming your kid has another school line up already?@JayOZ: i don't see how the principal departure would warrant services not promised. If you child safety was a concerned (bullying ) i can understand that leaving asap would have been understandable. Have you spoken to other parent of the child class on how they feel about the principals leaving?
High School or Primary School?
Thanks for the info.
My kids were always getting Irritable Bowel at primary school.
Some subjects give kids the sh*ts.
There are IB primary schools in Victoria
Really?
My kids didn't learn Investment Banking until high school.
Seriously…. what is ib?
There is - PYP.
I have some stories about that school and have always wondered why anyone would pay good money to send their daughters there.
Back to your predicament, I'm sure you've already met with senior management and their finance person; they all came back telling you no dice; you gotta pay them. If not, try to set up a meeting with them to present your case and see if you guys could reach an agreement on getting the fees reduced, not waived. That would be a more realistic option, as the school would be afraid to set a precedent by waiving your fees altogether.
thanks, we did, and were declined. we are trying with other option.
Tara
So we're talking around $8k here.
sorry, missed your question. It is not Tara.
MLC?
Nah, MLC's principal has been there since 2018.
Not Monte, Redlands, Queenwood, Newington, Trinity or Santa Sabina either. I was bored lol.
@mini2: Westbourne College?
Pride themselves on STEM and the principal (or ex principal) has a DPhil in Physics.
rich people issues
haha, rich ppls might not dispute or just send their lawyer to sort it out.
Well for people whose kids go to daycare, private schooling is often like half the price or less… so its not exactly an exclusive club.
You pay for education provided by the school.
You don't pay for specific principals and teachers.
I stand by the School.
The school is :
- Still operational.
- Still teaches the required cirriculum.
- Still has teachers covering subjects.
- Still upholds their duty of care to the students.
he school is still operational.
Let's not set the bar too high!!
Schools can & do whatever is necessary & expected of them to educate their pupils.
You're acting like you were expecting the teachers & principal to somehow be bonded to the school to educate your child, which makes zero sense…
You already know what your agreement with the school entails -re scheduled fee payments. Up to you whether you want to fight to avoid paying it.
"Additionally, the tuition fee for 2024 increased by 20% without any prior notice or communication."
What does your agreement with the school say about the 2024 increase? Assume you knew about this at or before the start of term, so if you had issues with it, that would have been the time to exercise any rights you may have been afforded under the agreement in perhaps withdrawing your child.
Don't see how you can raise this as a valid issue after already paying for a term..
It's not like there's a contract stating that a certain SLA level has to be maintained, whether it's a percentage staff turnover, staff minimum experience requirements, or your enrolment is contingent on the current principal staying for x years.
The fee hike thing…I dunno; I'm not buying it. They generally send an e-mail by early December telling parents this is the price hike for next year; here's the rationale, take it or leave it.
I feel OP is fighting a losing battle. I had to do something similar to the OP years ago; the school and I just talked it out and reached a compromise over the payout. I didn't have to pay the full balance, and they got rid of a disgruntled customer, so it's a win-win situation.
My argument is the school is no longer the same one we enrolled with.
My kids have different teachers every year.
Does that mean the school has changed?Changing teachers part way through the year isn't ideal.
@jv: Only once in my experience,thankfully.
I can see why the OP might be unhappy with the value he or she derives from the instiuation if staffing problems are interfering with its ability to perform its primary function.
TsunamiSurfer is an infamous bootlicker, ignore them.
Misleading and deceptive conduct, you signed the contract on the basis of the promised stem classes/lab and it never happened, so you relied on that for your child
promised stem classes
I'm guessing they weren't promised but highlighted as future opportunities. They also take time to implement. Shit like this doesn't happen quickly. Boxes need to be ticked and resources need to be put in place.
- 1
- 2
This reads like it was written by chatgpt.