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Trinity threat to call debt collectors

Prestigious: Trinity College. Picture: Bill Hatto/The West Australian

Trinity College has warned that the prestigious Catholic boys' school will have to call in debt collectors if parents do not pay overdue fees.

Headmaster Ivan Banks took the unusual step of using the school's latest news-letter to issue the threat.

He said there had been an increase in recent years in families failing to pay on time and "it is essential that this trend be stopped".

"The college is aware that over the last few years many parents have experienced financial difficulties and when particular circumstances are brought to our attention we have endeavoured to help," he wrote.

"This assistance can vary from extended repayment programs, discounts or even concessions.

"However, what is concerning the board is the increase in the number of families who are in arrears and who have not communicated with the college in any form at all; for last year (2014) this was nearly 50 families."

The newsletter said that as of last week, a fortnight before the end of term one, more than 200 families still had not contacted the college about fee repayment schedules.

Mr Banks urged any parents in financial difficulty to contact the bursar. He said they should be aware of a clause on the list of fees and charges that said final payment was expected by October 2 "unless prior arrangements had been made".

"Any account remaining outstanding after this date will be referred to our debt collection agency," it says.

Tuition fees at the East Perth school range from $8450 for Year 4 students to $13,350 for Year 12s.

Trinity College bursar Michael Burgess said: "At the end of the day, the school is a business and we are just doing the right thing by all of our parents who bring their boys to the college."

Association of Independent Schools of WA executive director Valerie Gould said even though schools were not there to make a profit, they had to cover their costs and fees were part of the overall budget.

"For some schools that's a large source of income in terms of paying staff," she said.

"Schools don't like to call in debt collectors, but if they're educating a child and it's a fee-paying school, they're factoring in those fees into their overall budget.

"And if they have a large number of unpaid fees, they could end up with budgetary problems."