Problem with nursery - advise needed

[Ptica]

My son has been attending the nursery for almost 2 years so far, full time. It costs us an arm and a leg but as we have no family arrangements, we had to choose this option. The fees are very high and my husband is a small business owner, so we often run late with the payments. However, the fees are always paid within current month and we were never late for a month or more. This month I covered the fees 10 days later (so I paid today for August) and the nursery started saying they never received my payment, so they are cancelling my son’s place. I called tha bank which confirmed the payment left my account, so I called the nursery and manager told me they cancelled my son’s place and accounts haven’t confirmed the payment was received. Also, she said it is a business and they have no depts policy . I asked what depts if I just paid as I got paid my salary only yesterday. She said they have to receive the payment by the 10th of the month - which can be challenging for us sometimes as I am getting paid around the 20th... I followed up with the email to her and accounts but they left me with no reply. I am in despair now as I paid for the month and they are not allowing him in and don’t have any childcare at the moment. Is it legal what they did?

[ApolloandDaphne]

You keep paying late and they also have a business to run so I guess they are well within their rights to cancel your place.

[TrippingTheVelvet]

You are consistently paying late. You can't do that.

[Ptica]

But can they do it from one day to another without any notice or formal warning?

[FannyFifer]

I don't think you have any come back here, fees should be paid by a certain date each month, I'd imagine this is all in your contract.

[Ptica]

We are not late every single month but I just found that harsh to terminate suddenly

[Faster]

Would you feel the same what if it was a bill you were paying to your landlord/mortgage company/utilities?
Or how about if you were owe that money each month for services rendered and the payee was late half the time?

[BobblyBits]

If you’re not paying on time you’ll be breach of your contract with them. They may let you off a couple of times - a goodwill gesture- but it’s likely they have retained the right to terminate with no notice if there hasn’t been payment. It was late so another breach. Check your terms. They too are a business and have bills to pay so need to be paid on time!

[coffeekittens]

If you are late most months with your payments then you don’t have a leg to stand on unfortunately. It’s a business not a charity, imagine if every parent paid late what would happen then? Have you checked to see if your eligible for tax credits to help with the costs?

[Namechangeforthiscancershit]

They can’t pay their staff if they are paid late. When you get paid is nothing to do with them. So yes they can terminate you.

Re the notice, check the terms but I imagine that it’s immediate if payments are behind.

[ClemDanfango]

Can you take a screen shot of the transaction in your account and send it to them as proof?
How does your self employed DH feel when people pay him late? That’s exactly how the nursery feel.
You need to work out a way to pay on time if they let your child have the place back.

[wildewillow]

Would you be happy to get paid 10 days late most months?

[Ptica]

But what about August fees? I paid in full and they don’t take my son in anymore. They are not responding to my emails. It is putting me in very difficult situation

[Namechangeforthiscancershit]

To be fair they aren’t putting you in any situation. The agreement will be that you pay by the 10th and they provide childcare. You are the one who hasn’t done that.

[ClemDanfango]

Take a bank statement to the nursery and show them you’ve paid?

[crimsonlake]

You seem to think i is acceptable to pay late and they are in the wrong?

[ClemDanfango]

It’s you that have put yourself in this situation because of your inconsistent payment history. This is the consequence, people get sick of it and sack you off.

[Fattymcfaterson]

Did you tell nursery that you were going to be paying late?

[TheVanguardSix]

Double check the details of the account you sent the funds to.
You should be entitled to a refund for the dates in August your son will not be doing.

The reality is, if you can’t pay on time, you can’t expect a place to be kept. They’re running a business.

[Ptica]

So, they are ok to take full payment, terminate without the notice and being unresponsive. I understand they are running a business and we always pay within the month, so if they pay staff from our fees they can cover as we always pay within current month. We only 4 months short before he will receive 30 free hours. It is harsh on him and us as we were there almost 2 years. I apologised to them and requested (already a month ago) to cut his days to 3 per week so we can meet their deadline payments but still didn’t receive any response

[CognitiveDissonance]

I would check the agreement that you signed when you first signed up your son. Unless they explicitly state that you forfeit all fees for the current month if you pay late then they do need the refund you for the days you've paid for that your son hasn't attended.

I have to say, in my experience most nurseries are quite understanding of things like this as long as the lines of communication are kept open. Did you ever have a conversation about financial difficulties?

[ClemDanfango]

If this had been the first time you were late they probably would have been more accommodating and tried to chase the payment for you but as you’ve been taking the piss they’ve probably had enough and decided to you let you do the running to prove you’ve paid. I’d get on to doing that if you want a chance of getting the place back. Be careful though they may just decide to refund you and give the place to a consistent payer.

[Namechangeforthiscancershit]

I understand they are running a business and we always pay within the month, so if they pay staff from our fees they can cover as we always pay within current month

It’s not up to you to decide when to pay. They worked out that they need it by the 10th and that’s the deal. You deciding it’s not really that bad because it’s the same month is irrelevant.

If you were planning to cut down to 3 days, what were your plans for the other 2? Can whoever was going to do those days help now?

[BackforGood]

I agree with everyone else.
You have admitted yourself that you have broken your part of the contract regularly.
Yes, you can get your contract out and see if they have done everything 'by the book' in terms of their notice, but you don't have a leg to stand on due to your behaviour over the time you have been with them.

[Ptica]

I checked their terms and they only say that for late payments would be late fee added but no information about termination.
2 days my DH stays with him and works at night. It is a plan until he gets 30 days free

[sillysausage16]

We have a fees policy which states our rights if you don't pay by the given slot - you wouldn't go into a supermarket and say il pay you for that later