Parent claims refund policy is unfair for private school bus service in Brampton

A Brampton parent claims a private bus service’s refusal to provide a refund is an “unfair business practice,” while the company says the policy is stated in their agreements.

The private bus service, called Bus to School, provides transport for students who attend schools outside their catchment area in Peel Region.

Surjeet Singh said his son is in an advanced placement program at Central Peel Secondary School in Brampton, which is just over seven kilometres from his home. Singh said he paid for the private bus service in April.

When his son started to use the service in September, the family found he was late for his first class in the morning and also arrived home later than promised. This impacted his son’s ability to do extracurricular activities in the evening.

“They were dropping off the kids around 4 p.m., 30 minutes late,” Singh said. “He arrives late and exhausted for his first class, extracurricular activities are disrupted, and he suffers mental and physical stress.”

Singh said Bus to School later revised the schedule, but it still wasn’t working, so he decided to cancel the service. He asked for a refund, but it was denied.

A Bus to School spokesperson told INsauga.com, the refund policy is stated when parents sign up for the service, and they also tell parents that there will be time adjustments in the first few weeks of school. Issues such as road construction can impact schedules.

Bus to School signs a contract with a company that provides the school buses in May, and they are “on the hook” for the number of buses requested, the spokesperson said.

“Now our challenge is that if we go ahead and start refunding the money to the parents based on the first couple of weeks of issues, then suddenly the number of students per bus keeps going down,” the spokesperson said.

He said they have to recover the revenue from their expenses. The company started as a service to help students in special programs get to schools out of their area, he said. It wasn’t meant to make a profit.

He said the timings are adjusted in the first few weeks, and the bus to Central Peel is now arriving on time.

But Singh feels it is unfair to only offer refunds in May, well before the service starts in September.

“Why are they not allowing customers to cancel the service after taking the service? Why six months before?” he asked.

Singh asked Consumer Protection Ontario to look into what he called an “unfair business practice,” but was told the matter could only be dealt with through the courts.

A Consumer Protection Ontario spokesperson told INsauga.com that “neither federal nor provincial laws generally require businesses to offer refunds for services, unless the business’s own policy or contract provides for refunds, or there is evidence of false, misleading, or unconscionable practices…”

“If a bus company misrepresented its service or engaged in deceptive conduct, consumers can file a complaint with the Competition Bureau,” the spokesperson said.

Bus to School has been under fire in the past. In 2024, a group of parents demanded refunds after the Ministry of Education provided extra funding to add free bus service for some students enrolled in Regional Learning Choices Programs. The extra funding wasn’t announced until June 20, past the refund date for Bus to School.