Court-ordered refund still unpaid

Ten months after the Barbadian court ruled that the Barbados Cosmetology School refund Sherline Gabriel her tuition fees, the aggrieved 40-year-old has not received a single cent.

Gabriel, a St Lucian, said the money was supposed to be paid to the court in monthly instalments starting in November last year and ending in January, but her monthly trips to the court at St Matthias have all been in vain as no funds have been paid in.

The student is depending on the $2800 to help with the care of her youngest child who is here with her and provide funds for regular living expenses including bus fares.

She hopes that highlighting her plight in the media once again would lead to principal Pearl Francis giving her back her money as ordered last October 16.

Last April, Barbados TODAY highlighted the plight of Gabriel who came on a student visa to complete 15 months at the Cosmetology School. However, after paying almost all of the full course fee, she found out that the school had no accreditation and her efforts to recover the $2 840 she paid for tuition had reached a dead-end since Francis was refusing to budge.

Following an outcry from outraged Barbadians, she was able to hire the services of a lawyer to take the matter to court.

Gabriel said that following the court ruling, and after venturing to the court from her Redman Village home with no luck, she has even taken it upon herself to contact Francis to plead with her to refund the money, but her efforts have failed.

Gabriel is still on a student visa and will soon be completing a scholarship for cosmetology studies at the Career Development Institute (CDI). But, the mother of three said she is desperately in need of the money owed to her since she is not working and has to attend to the needs of her child.

“I need my money because I have to take a bus to school, I have models doing and when you are doing models you have to provide all the products and everything. I have a young baby to take care of and I have nursery to pay, so it is inconveniencing me and every time the lawyer tries to call her regarding the money she would say she does not have money, she is not working, she doesn’t know she has to go to the court house with the money?

“It is always a story with her and I cannot be waiting so long for my money that was ordered for her to pay me by the court. I did not do anything wrong. I went to the lady legitimately and I did everything I was supposed to do from scratch and she was at fault, so I don’t know why she is continuing to hold on to my money,” Gabriel said.

The woman said it is unfair that before starting class at CDI last September, she had to pay yet another 300 for a student visa. She added that she believes the Immigration Department should be equipped with the necessary information to advise overseas students coming to the island not to hand over their money to any institution that is not accredited.

Gabriel said that travelling to another country to live while studying is financially taxing. However, she said paying to attend a school as a non-national and then finding out that the course would not be accredited on completion, was a major blow.

“I believe if the Immigration Department was doing their work properly, they would have known that this lady does not have the requirement to be teaching or to have non-nationals coming in to go to her school. It is hard for people when they leave their country and come to another to become victims of these kinds of things. I feel bad and it is kind of frustrating because every time they call her it is a different story.

“It is my money, why is she not giving me my money back? I don’t think I have to be sympathetic with the lady to get my money. It is ten months already since I took her to court and she is not making an effort to pay and I know she still has classes going on. I am not working, it is my boyfriend that is helping me, but it is hard. But I am still trying and I will soon finish at the other school,” she said.

Gabriel said she is now being advised by her attorney that the possibility is high that she may have to return to the court with the case in an effort to get her money from Francis. However, Gabriel said she does not have any money to pay another set of legal fees.

“The lawyer was asking me for another BDS$750 to go back to court to file for a default in payment and I do not have that money. And basically, when I look at it, it does not even make sense paying that kind of money again because all the legal fees I have paid in all was  BDS $1 405 in taking the lady to court. So when I look at it, it isn’t worth paying any more money because I cannot afford it,” Gabriel said.

Barbados TODAY’s efforts to contact
Francis proved futile. (anestahenry@barbadostoday.bb)