Private nurseries and schools face a group lawsuit over unfair contract terms filed by the Consumer Protection Commission, which says it found 63 unfair clauses in standard contracts and terms of service.

Complaints from parents prompted the checks, which ran from mid-August through September. Officials looked at 25 companies named by the education ministry, asking each for its contracts and related papers, and reviewed 1,120 clauses in all.

The most common problem: schools and nurseries refuse to return deposits and unused monthly fees when a child leaves, unless the parent gave a month's written notice first. Some contracts also let the school raise the monthly fee partway through the year, citing inflation or higher costs.

Other clauses say fees already paid won't be refunded if the contract ends early, for any reason. Some let the school end the contract on its own, without notice, and even charge parents a penalty. Another type automatically renews the contract for another year unless the parent cancels in writing.

The commission has told the companies that broke the rules to drop these clauses. Those that don't fix them face court action.

Eight companies still haven't handed over the documents the commission asked for and have been contacted again. Some contracts are being checked a second time because the companies never fixed the clauses the first time round.