Preschool abruptly closed down - won’t issue refund on deposit
Hey everyone, our preschool Learning to Leap recently gave us three days notice that the school was closing down at the end of this week. We paid a $1000 deposit when we started the school and I expected that amount to be returned to us, but the director of the school is not giving us back our money. The verbiage in the contract isn’t super clear about how the deposit would be refunded and since the school itself isn’t going to exist anymore, we don’t know how to go about getting the money back. Should we pursue some kind of legal action against the director herself?
Jul 19, 2018
Parent Replies
Small claims court would be a good option for attempting to recover the money. You're going to have a hard time hiring a lawyer to help you recover such a (relatively) small sum.
Also, have you double checked that the deposit wasn't credited already towards you first month of tuition? That's what our preschool did, and I think it's a common practice. The only purpose of the deposit for preschool is to discourage families from taking a spot who don't really intend to enroll, so most preschools use the deposit towards your first month of tuition rather than holding onto it until you leave.
We’re in the same situation as you about the deposit. It’s not worth the time to pursue, even in small claims court. We checked her financial situation out on White Pages. She filed for bankruptcy a few years ago. She has 34 current and unpaid tax liens, most recent one a few days ago, as well as liens from the California Employment Development Department. Even if you could find her to serve her and get a judgment, your chances of collecting on it are not good.