A West Midlands-based music tuition firm is under fire for chronic absentism among its freelance tutors and protracted refund processes that have left parents thousands of pounds out of pocket. Totalling £40 an hour (excluding VAT), the services provided by Totally Rad claim to connect 200 tutors with approximately 300 schools and 5,000 families across the UK.
At a primary school in Kent, music coordinator Hannah arranged weekly drum lessons for ten pupils starting in April 2024. However, after a promising first session, subsequent lessons were cancelled due to 'personal emergencies' or, in one case, the tutor's commute becoming 'financially unviable'. A singing teacher vanished following a single day of lessons, citing a bereavement as reason. Parents who had paid upfront were left without the services they had funded.
Delays in processing refunds have further exacerbated tensions with the company. Hannah recounted advising Totally Rad to inform parents promptly and refund them immediately after terminating their contract in autumn 2024, only for the process to take 'months and months and months'. Wendy Hollands described her eight-year-old son Riley's distress at missing drum lessons he had been excitedly anticipating.
Despite claims of a mission 'all about the music', with promises of 'experienced teachers', the company's promotional material has not reflected reality for many families. The lucrative business model of Totally Rad, which offers 15, 20 or 30-minute one-to-one lessons for £40 an hour (excluding VAT), relies on its tutors maintaining a regular schedule.
When Hannah's school terminated its contract with Totally Rad in autumn 2024, the company initially resisted, suggesting the arrangement continue until Easter and even advising the school to seek independent legal advice. However, no further teachers were provided by the firm, leaving the drum kit supplied by Totally Rad still uncollected as of spring 2025.