Question posted in the General Law category relating to Western Cape
Good day,
I am charged a R 50 fine or penalty for late payment of a R60 for playball at the daycare. I did not know that a late payment for playball will be fined R50 per day. I did not even receive any warning (verbal or written) for my late payment.
This R50 fine is per day, meaning if I forgot to pay on a due date and paid 5 days later I will be charged a total of R250 fine. I would like to know if this is legal?
Regards, Yvonne
Message from the Attorney
Hi there and thank you for your question,
I am a practicing attorney based in South Africa and I will assist you with your question. Please feel free to ask as many follow up questions in order to clarify your question. If you have a new question, you must please open a new thread.
It all comes down to the terms and conditions ("the agreement") on which you originally contracted with Playball.
If the agreement contained a clause advising you about the penalty fee for late payment, and you accepted the agreement, OR if Playball has a policy which they tell you about BEFORE you sign up, and in the policy there is a clause advising you about the penalty fee for late payment, then they can legally charge you a penalty - as long as it is in accordance with the agreement or the policy.
So, it's not really about whether it is legal or not.
It is more about contract law, and whether that clause is contained in the contract / policy which you agreed to.
If there is a part of the answer which you need more advice on, or clarity please continue in this same thread instead of opening a new question.
Att. Patrick
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Message from the Customer
Thank you for your answer.
I have not signed a contract with playball, but with the pre-school. It was just indicated on the school's contract that playball is part of the school programme and it will be charged R 60 per month. It was indicated for the school fees that if one missed the due date there will be R 50 penalty per day, yet for the playball it was not indicated. On the school's contract, school fees are on its own page and penalty for late payment is explained there. Playball is on the last page of the contract and stated the following: Playball is part of our weekly school programme. It is compulsory for all chidren 3 years and older. An additional fee will be added to your school fees every month for this. For 2020 you only pay R60 per month for playball.
Regards,
Yvonne
Message from the Attorney
Hi there again,
Okay, so if you didn't sign up a separate contract / agreement with Playball, then a lot of what I said above about the Playball contract won't apply.
Given what you've now said about the school contract, I think that it is plain to see that the R50 penalty fee only applies to the actual school fees, and not to a third party contractor's services such as Playball.
If the Playball costs are separate from the school fees, then I do not see how the school / Playball can charge a penalty fee on late payments.
Remember, your entire relationship is governed by the contract, so they can only charge you a penalty if the contract makes provision for the penalty. If they say it does, then they will need to prove that the contract has a reasonable interpretation which allows for this.
Given that the Playball fees are seperate, and on the last page of the contract, I would say that they are completely separate from school fees, and not subject to the late payment penalty.
Message from the Customer
How should I proceed? I think of sending an email querying the penalty and stating what the contract is indicating regarding the penalty.
Message from the Attorney
Yes, you should definitely state your position in writing.
You should make it clear that the contract only mentions the penalty being in respect of late school fees.
Then, school fees can't be defined as being so wide as to include extra mural Playball fees which are payable to a service provider.
Then, pay the Playball fees but refuse to pay the penalty.