Having problems with private tuition

[geek84]

Hi Folks

My son has private one-to-one tuition in GCSE science. There is a tuition centre nearby who have a variety of qualified teachers in the core academic subjects, who give the tuition in small classrooms based in the centre building. The centre is run by a husband and wife. It seems quite popular since there are plenty of students who are always coming in and out of the centre, The centre does seem to be situated in a location where parents want their children to excel in school.

However, I'm not happy with the service they are providing. On a number of occasions they have overcharged me for the lessons, and when I spot their mistake, they just simply say sorry. On one occasion they cancelled a lesson without prior notice, so as soon as I got home after dropping my son of at the centre, he phoned me requesting that I pick him up since the teacher has not turned up. As you know, we all lead busy lives and don't like our time being wasted.

It also seems that most of the teachers are friends with this husband and wife team and they all teach at the same secondary school. I feel like putting in a complaint regarding the service that I have been provided but feel it will fall on deaf ears !!

Any advice greatly appreciated.

[anonymous-user]

Take your business elsewhere.

If you want to complain, is it covered by ofsted or some such body?

The incidents you cite: corrected and apologised for invoicing errors and 1 missed class due to a teacher no show, don't sound like the end of the world

[deckster]

You seem to have forgotten the important questions.

Are they any good? Has your son seen an improvement in grades? Does he feel he is understanding more at school? Does he have a good rapport with his tutor? Does he look forward to his sessions and feel that they are helping?

Tutors are two-a-penny and only as good as their results. Good tutors are hard to find and probably worth overlooking a couple of organisational hiccups.