Hi, everyone. I could really use some advice about the situation I have been going through.
I (F32) have been living in Spain for over 5 years. I am a foreigner and work as a teacher. Before I started working for a company (that I work today), I used to be self-employed and taught private classes.
I worked on one-to-one classes and also small groups, all adult students.
In 2018, a couple, let´s call them Mary (31F) and George (30M), hired me to have group classes. I always made my students sign a contract with all the conditions, because even though I was not part of a company, I had to be backed up in case something happened.
So, one of the conditions was to get paid in advance, otherwise people could take advantage, disappear and not pay for them, so it was something that I felt really necessary, since this was my only income, my classes.
This couple had been studying with me for 4 months already, and then, they decided that at that time, they could not go on with the classes due to schedule problems, etc.
They had paid for the following month in advance, I taught them 2 or 3 classes and then they quit. I told them they could come back when they felt like it, I always offered them options to go back and continue (in person, online) but they always said: “Oh, you know, now it’s not the right moment, we will come back eventually.”
Mind you, this was 4 years ago!!
An important point here: we became good friends in the meantime. I would invite them to my house and have dinner, we would spend time together, take short trips, hang out, etc. They also became friends with my husband and I introduced them to a couple of friends as well.
Fast forward to 2020: covid came and we lost touch. We would barely talk to each other and, even though I wanted to keep in touch, they would make excuses and ditch me when I told them to hang out.
Now we are in 2022 and last Wednesdsay I received a message from Mary asking me for a refund. I confused, cause I didn’t even know what she was talking about, and she said that they decided to not have the classes and that it was their right to get a refund. I was in such shock that in the heat of the moment I paid them half of what they had told me, but then, thinking to myself, I had no obligations and they couldn’t simply decide on getting a refund 4 years later.
They used the friendship card, but for me, that ship had sunk as soon as she mentioned money that they had paid for a service that I offered and they always told me they would continue.
I did not borrow money from them, they didn’t make me a favor, this was and is my job, they hired a service, and now I feel taken advantage of. I told them I would not pay them the other half because I shouldn’t have given anything back to them in the first place.
Now Mary is posting on social media about people being scammers, and she changed the name of a group we had on Whatsapp to Scammers without Borders.
TL;DR: “Friends” (31F) and (30M) are accusing me (32F) of being a scammer when I think I’m the one being scammed. Am I being unreasonable here?
4 comments
If your contract said that people have to pay even if they quit, then you did nothing wrong. It’s a pretty common practice to have tp pay for missed appointments.
You’re not being unreasonable. For all you know they decided to ‘play the long game’ purely in order to request this refund. They must have known the terms of the contract they voluntarily signed. If they didn’t bother to read through it or ask for clarification on anything it’s entirely their fault.
You should post a scan of their copy of the signed contract to the same social media they’re using to call you a scammer, and let people make up their own minds. You’re probably going to lose the friendship, but it sounds like they initiated that process themselves.
>Now Mary is posting on social media about people being scammers, and she changed the name of a group we had on Whatsapp to Scammers without Borders.
Wow. That is some serious boomer behavior.
Its been 4 years, so I dont think you’re being crazy.
Also…how much of a refund are we talking about here? Like…would your friends need that money if shit absolutely hit the fan? I’m just wondering about the timing in terms of why they would demand the refund.
Post the copy of the contract they signed in the same whatsup group and in the other media they use. This gonna show people who is the scammer here.