Private tutor wants me to pay up even though I did not attend

You can get tutors for less than £20 but it depends on location (e.g. London) and experience. I would expect a senior examiner or someone with a lot of experience to charge £35 or more. A good place to look for tutors is first tutors, you can that usually tutors with good feedback will charge higher than £20.

My a2 chemistry tutor is really good and has tons of good feedback and he's only 20 per hour

Reply 21

Anonymous #1

OP

I normally pay him after the lesson has finished anyway.

Thanks a lot for the responses guys.

Reply 22

keynes24

10

Original post by LightYagamiWins

My a2 chemistry tutor is really good and has tons of good feedback and he's only 20 per hour

is he/she a senior examiner? Head of department? any written publication? Not trying to disagree with you, I am just giving you a different perspective. Depends on the location, availability (perhaps a shortage on some subjects?).

Reply 23

doodle_333

19

agree with the other poster, it is entirely your fault you did not attend (and he could have been sat there for 2 hours unable to do anything but wait for you), he lost an opportunity to potentially meet someone else who would turn up and pay him and he had probably already spent time planning the session - you should pay up and not be so selfish

also, grow up a bit... there is no excuse for getting completely lost and not finding somewhere important, you can easily set satnav directions or scope the route first

Reply 24

LightYagamiWins

1

Original post by keynes24

is he/she a senior examiner? Head of department? any written publication? Not trying to disagree with you, I am just giving you a different perspective. Depends on the location, availability (perhaps a shortage on some subjects?).

Lol no he's a chemistry graduate I'd prefer someone who doesn't act like a teacher

Reply 25

keynes24

10

Original post by LightYagamiWins

Lol no he's a chemistry graduate I'd prefer someone who doesn't act like a teacher

That is fair enough. A person with more experience will be more expensive. Someone that teaches the subject also will have more resources and be more familiar with the specification. If it meets your expectations and you are getting good results I say you are doing very well for £20 per hour.

Reply 26

Lychee628

19

Original post by Boss_Rhythm

So that he can be anonymous

Ahh can you only be anonymous in relationships?
I never knew that thanks

Reply 27

Anonymous #1

OP

I've phoned another tutor and he said he'd just blocked the person and never see them again. He also said my private tutor could mess me about and if you did not turn in the first hour, then he should have known I was not coming and if the reason was genuine, then he should accept and I did contact him an hour before the lesson ended, not after the lesson ended. He also stated he would have to go to the small claims court.

Once again, I could not contact him because my phone was on searching mode, moreover, their is video evidence I was in a car park far away from his location.

Also if he was a reasonable man, he'd charge me only for the hour I've wasted, not for the full two hours.

Reply 28

keynes24

10

Original post by Anonymous

I've phoned another tutor and he said he'd just blocked the person and never see them again. He also said my private tutor could mess me about and if you did not turn in the first hour, then he should have known I was not coming and if the reason was genuine, then he should accept and I did contact him an hour before the lesson ended, not after the lesson ended. He also stated he would have to go to the small claims court.

Once again, I could not contact him because my phone was on searching mode, moreover, their is video evidence I was in a car park far away from his location.

Also if he was a reasonable man, he'd charge me only for the hour I've wasted, not for the full two hours.

I used to do private tuition and I know people that do private tuition as their main source of income. Even if you called before the lesson started it is very short notice to get someone else to cover the lesson missed. You haven't signed a contract, I doubt he will chase you for it but if I were you I would pay at least one hour and just stay away from him. Was this your first lesson?

Reply 29

999tigger

19

Original post by Anonymous

I've phoned another tutor and he said he'd just blocked the person and never see them again. He also said my private tutor could mess me about and if you did not turn in the first hour, then he should have known I was not coming and if the reason was genuine, then he should accept and I did contact him an hour before the lesson ended, not after the lesson ended. He also stated he would have to go to the small claims court.

Once again, I could not contact him because my phone was on searching mode, moreover, their is video evidence I was in a car park far away from his location.

Also if he was a reasonable man, he'd charge me only for the hour I've wasted, not for the full two hours.

He wont take you to small claims for such a small amount. Your explanation about being unable to contact remains poor. Go and find another tutor.

Reply 30

ripjonsnow

8

Original post by WoodyMKC

People in this thread need to grow up and face responsibility. Letting the guy know at such short notice probably means loss of earnings and time for him, he could have been taking on another client in that time. We have things like Google Maps and Sat Navs to help us plan routes and stuff and if OP was unsure of the exact location, it would have been wise to contact him beforehand and ask. It's not as if the tutor is just being a dick, he's an adult with bills to pay.

On the other hand, if there was no contract stating a notice period, you don't legally have to pay.

You beat me to it,
You probably wasted 2 hours of his time waiting for you.

Reply 31

champ_mc99

2

You have to pay him. It's not his fault you lost your way and had a broken phone. He took out his time to plan the lesson for you.

And whether you owe him £70 rather than £20 makes no difference since you agreed to this fee in the first place.

If it's not on contract or anything else making it official you don't have to pay him but you'd be a **** person imho.

Reply 32

DarkMagic

17

I think you should pay out of courtesy, OP. It's your fault you got lost, you could have found an alternative meeting place if you didn't know the way to his or at least planned the route beforehand. You still took up the tutor's time, whether you were physically there or not.

Reply 33

SHABANA

16

Original post by Anonymous

Hi all,

I was meant to have a tutoring session today for two hours, I did get lost on the way too his place and I could not make contact with him since my phone was on 'searching mode'-meaning I could not send or receive texts and my phone is not working properly. My account was in arrears and I just made the payment now. Further evidence I could not contact him. He believes I am lying to him.

He has text saying I owe him £70, I texted on my sisters phone because my phone is not working.

I'm not sure what to do, he doesn't have any terms and conditions and it wasn't made clear to me in any form: paper, email, verbal or written.

I'm not sure what to do.

If you did not sign up to an agreement, then legally I don't think you have to pay. However, I am going to back up what another poster on here has said about responsibility. Due of you not turning up he potentially lost 2 hours of earnings as he could have been tutoring someone else during that time. You may have a reason for it, but it is a pretty poor reason. Think about how annoyed you would be if you waited for HIM to turn up and that was his excuse.
A lot of people are saying £35 is a lot, but someone who is experienced is very justified in charging that price and you were also willing to pay that much so it isn't the issue at hand.

Reply 34

Anonymous #2

£70 are you mad!?!? I know people who charge £35 but that's for 1.5 hours not 1!!!

Everyone else charges like £20

Reply 35

Hopefulbunny

15

When and if you are in a job and are stood up by a client perhaps you will remember this. The tutor gave his time. Pay the man. You must. Its the honourable thing to do.

Reply 36

Maker

20

Just pay what you own and move on. It does not matter £70 is a lot, you agreed to it so its moot.

Reply 37

lulucoco98

8

Don't pay him, first of all it was not your fault and second of all you did not sign anything in writing. Don't be threatened.

£70 an hour???? Is Jesus giving you these lessons