Piplings / Philip Lee - Deposit issues

[O.j]

Hi everyone, we're looking to hear from anyone who has faced similar deposit issues with Piplings Nursery. Here's our situation:

We paid a deposit based on the fees quoted for our child to attend 4 days a week. When we inquired about using the Workplace Benefits scheme, we were told the nursery participated in the scheme. However, a few weeks before our child was due to start, Workplace Benefits were having trouble contacting the nursery. After multiple chases, we finally got a response from Philip Lee, who informed us that there is an additional charge of about £200 a month to use the Workplace Benefits scheme—something that had never been mentioned before. This seems unreasonable, especially since it's meant to be a benefit for both parents and the nursery.

Because of this surprise charge, we decided not to send our child to the nursery. I requested our deposit back, as they never informed us of this extra fee (despite listing all other fees). However, Philip Lee is refusing to return the deposit and is now sending us invoices for the first few months, even though our child never attended the nursery. I have found the management to be highly deceitful and it seems like this is not the first time..

Has anyone else had a similar experience with Piplings Nursery? Any advice or shared experiences would be appreciated.

 

Thanks

[hfoster]

Appears to be a nice money spinner for them going by reviews. You probably have little chance of getting the deposit back, despite how onerous the terms might be. Being charged for services that weren't rendered however is another story.

You probably want to speak to a solicitor who does litigation and see what they would advise. 

[Sue]

You could try the Citizens Advice people in Peckham?

https://www.citizensadvicesouthwark.org.uk/