Fee for school meals app refund 'unfair'
GettyA £10 fee linked with having money refunded from a recently shut schools pre-payment app has been dubbed "unfair" by parents.
The app, called sQuid, allowed parents to load money on a card so children could pay for things at school such as meals, but it ceased its UK operations earlier this month.
Cockermouth School in Cumbria said it was told about the closure four weeks ago and that parents would not be charged for seeking refunds from their sQuid accounts, but this changed last week, it said, when the refund fee was confirmed.
However sQuid said the fee was always in its terms and conditions.
The school, which has agreed to cover the refund charge for parents, said: "We don't believe our students should be disadvantaged by the company's stance on the issue".
'Unsustainable' business
Martha Davis, a parent with two children at the school, said it was not fair the school was having to pay the fee.
"It'll add up and it'll be a considerable amount for Cockermouth school and that's money that would have went to our children's education," she said.
The school said it was talking to sQuid, which was widely used in schools across the country, about the situation.
The firm said the decision to withdraw from the UK was due to adverse trading conditions which had made the business "unsustainable".
It said it had planned an "orderly exit" so schools would have time to find alternative providers.
The company said it understood why some schools and parents were upset about the refund fees "even though those charges are clearly stated in our terms and conditions".
"It remains our intention to complete our exit from the market responsibly and with the least impact on all concerned," a spokesperson said.