Tips & Tricks to Effectively Manage Debtors & Fees

Part 1 - Enrolment Applications and Terms

1. Enrolment Applications

Your enrolment application is the most important set of documents and it is imperative that you put in place appropriate systems and checklists to make sure you get it right!

We have seen hundreds of these documents and the number of times that we have come across an issue is surprising. The most common issues we see are:

• Enrolling parties are not clearly identified;
• The party or parties liable for the tuition fees and charges are not identified;
• Details of split families or any Family Court orders are unknown;
• The documents are not signed by both parties, despite more than one enrolling party listed;
• Acceptance of offer forms are signed by only one party or are signed by a different party to that listed in the enrolment application.

The above list is non-exhaustive, but at the very least, you should ensure that you tick off on each of the listed items because in the event of a dispute or non-payment, they are going to be important. If an acceptance of offer form is used, make sure that it compliments your application form and refers to it!

2. Terms

The terms that are included within your enrolment application are just as important as ensuring that you have collected the details listed in the preceding paragraph.

It is good practice to review your terms every 12 months to ensure that they are current and pick up on any issues that you may have encountered in the previous 12 months.

We recommend that, at the very least, your terms refer to:

• In the event of two enrolling parties, that they are joint and severally liable for all fees and charges;
• Invoicing arrangements and when fees and charges are payable;
• Fee increases and how enrolling parties are to be informed;
• Collection and legal expenses becoming payable in the event that the account is referred to Platinum Collection Agency and Lynch Meyer Lawyers;
• any other terms that you wish for the enrolling parties to be bound by, i.e. school ethos.

If your terms are clear, then it is going to be more difficult for the enrolling parties to wriggle out of their contractual obligations in the event of a dispute.

In the next bulletin, we shall look at Part 2 - Family Separations and Negotiating Schemes of Repayment.

If your enrolment documentation is due for a refresh or there are particular terms that you would like to discuss, please phone Alice Carter of Lynch Meyer Lawyers on 08 8236 7626.

Discuss your options today