Council charge £200 for an unused free bus pass!

[Mike W68]

My local council has sent a 'Pre court reminder' to us to pay £200, because we failed to send them back my child's free bus pass after she moved schools.

 

I'll try to cut a long story short.

 

My daughter got a free photo bus pass when she went to our local catholic grammar school. A month or so into her second academic year we decided to move her to another school in a different area a few miles away. We accepted that we would have to pay her bus fare for her journey to the new school.

 

She started her new school and we were paying £5 a week bus fare. Two or three months later we got a bill from the council for £200 to cover the cost of the unused 'free' bus pass for the academic year. My wife called the council and told them we had no idea where it was and they told her to write to inform them to that effect. They said that they had written to advise us in November that we had to return the bus pass. As far as we're concerned we didn't get any such letter.

 

Another couple of months passed and we get another bill for £200. At this point, we turned the house upside down and my daughter found the pass in a box under her bed. We sent the pass back by recorded delivery and thought that was the end of it.

 

Today we have had a demand for £200, to be paid in 14 days, or they'll take us to court. My wife called the council and protested that we'd sent it back. They said said it was too late and we had to pay. They said that we had to pay for the pass to cover the period from the time she moved schools until the present and that, if we had paid by march 16th the matter would have been dropped. Again, we told them that we had never been told, whilst in the process of moving her, that we would have to hand the pass back. They told us that it says 'in the small print' on the back of the bus pass that we should hand it back in the event that she moved schools.

 

We are being asked to pay for an unused free bus pass for a journey to a school that she doesn't attend, whilst we've been paying her bus fare to another school!

 

How can I challenge this? They appear to be immune to reason. Am I imagining this, or is it crazily unreasonable? Would you read the small print on the back of a child's free bus pass?

 

If anyone can advise us how to deal with this situation I would be very grateful.

 

Kind regards

[firstclassx]

Would you read the small print on the back of a child's free bus pass?

 

Yes, in fact, surely any reasonable person would do so?

[sailor sam]

Hmm. I wonder if they charge the over 60's for not handing their free passes back if they don't use them?

[Mike W68]

Yes, in fact, surely any reasonable person would do so?

 

I don't think you need a question mark there if you're suggesting that, in fact, I am unreasonable.

 

Don't get it. I'm unreasonable because I'm complaining about having to pay £200 for a bus pass that was given us for nothing and we haven't used?

[rambo]

The £200 is because you did not send the pass back.

[jackieandwayne]

Well, I think they are being pedantic. If it were me I'd let them take me to the County Court if they felt they had a case and let the judge decide who is in the right here.