When did it become ok to steal?

We paid early in June to sign big N up for preschool. The owner took our money and we set up work schedules and visits to Grandma to accommodate the schedule. Then, right before the classes start, the owner changed the schedule multiple times and the school no longer worked with our schedule. We had to scramble to find something else. I explained our situation and asked for the money back over the phone, twice, and she agreed to mail a check. She never sent it. I called again a few months later and left a message. Again, nothing. I finally drafted a letter outlining the facts with a time frame to respond and I sat on it for a bit. I emailed her once more and she tells a story about mailing a check, for a different amount, to the wrong address.

The fact remains, she kept our money for six months with no attempt to return it. And now she wants us to pay for her canceled check fee for a check she never wrote. Did she lose the registration paper work with our address? Did she toss it out when we left assuming she could keep our tuition?

1. She charged us $180 for tuition, but she says she wrote a check for $160.
2. She got wishy-washy and changed her schedule 2 times within 2 weeks of the start of preschool, and she wants to hold us to a contract that she herself did not intend to keep.

No, I'm sorry. Stealing is stealing. Holding onto money that is not yours, ignoring requests and phone calls and then lying about it is wrong. Either she really is disorganized or she is stealing. However, the simplest solution is typically the correct one.

This is for a preschool? Are you kidding me? Seriously?

What ever happened to honoring your commitments or doing what you said you would do.