Parents demanding refunds annoy language school Apax Leaders

Many parents have been showing up at Apax Leaders English centers in Ho Chi Minh City to demand refunds of fees they had paid years in advance.

"This is creating pressure on the business and its revenues," Thuy, chairman of Egroup, which operates Apax Leaders, said in a release Tuesday.

"Many employees have quit and the centers cannot operate to increase revenues."

Apax Leaders said it has suspended facilities in HCMC to ensure the safety of students and staff.

The crowds surrounding its centers are making Apax Leaders unable to make refunds, Thuy claimed.

But the parents said they have to show up because Apax Leaders had failed to meet its refund deadline.

The parents do not "surround" any center, but merely show up and raise slogans demanding their refund, one parent said.

"Thuy is trying to turn us victims into offenders."

Apax Leaders had made refunds in June and August but has since failed to meet all deadlines.

The company said that it had been facing difficulties and would propose a new refund plan on Tuesday, but failed to do so.

Another parent asked: "What about the dozens of Apax Leaders centers in the north? Do they not generate revenues for refunding customers?"

Thuy said the company would hold a meeting with parents this month to discuss the issue.

Apax Leaders used to be a big English teaching school brand with 50 centers and 22,000 students in 2019.

But the Covid-19 pandemic hit it hard since most centers had to be closed for a long time.

Now it has 38 centers, mostly in the north.