Schools need to realise CPA applies to them also

HI GEORGINA, I was reading an article you wrote in February this year “Private schools refuse to refund ‘acceptance deposit’”.

We have experienced the same thing. On top of this, we wanted to move one of our children out of her private school to a top government school. She is in Grade 9, an important year for subject choice.

We applied within the Western Cape Education Department timeline but with Covid-19 everything got pushed back. This resulted in us being notified of her acceptance at the beginning of August that she could start in September. We notified her school and said we could give the current term as notice as we were unable to give it one month earlier due to Covid-19 delaying the process.

They flatly refused, offering no negotiation. We were prepared to pay the two months left in the current term even though she would leave earlier. But they insist we pay this plus term four.

Do I have any recourse on this matter? Could force majeure (unforeseeable circumstances that prevent someone from fulfilling a contract) apply even though not in the contract? Even with Covid-19 they have had to school at home which has increased our costs, buying laptops and upgrading our data line so we can use the system the school dictates.

Georgie: Section 14 of the Consumer Protection Act is clear on cancellations: any fixed term contract can be cancelled on 20 business days’ notice. A supplier, the school in this case, may apply a reasonable cancellation penalty. Private schools are battling – last week it was reported that only 20% of parents are paying school fees, which is probably why your school has taken this hard line. Still, the CPA applies.