To not pay this invoice from nursery?

It’s not usual for people to keep details of their comings and goings for every day, surely?

My calendars would likely show if something different happened on a particular day eg had to work so had an ad hoc nursery day.

I wouldn't find this hard at all.

That said, I would not only want to see the confirmed booking and invoice but also proof of payments from the contemporaneous paperwork to ensure I hadn't already paid for these days.

Our electricity company tried this (one famed for its customer service) and I painstakingly went through old bills and meter readings to show we had already paid.

Indeed. I'd want proof that I didn't actually pay for any extra days at the time!

You'd need a full statement of accounts - days attended and days paid for which I doubt they'd be able to send you.

If OP put her daughter in nursery for an ad-hoc day there will be a reason for it. It tends to be quite difficult to book ad-hoc days as nurseries are full. Maybe she was asked to work (in which case there will be a record at work); maybe she had a personal engagement (in which case there's likely a message trail of it being organised; and potentially photos or social media posts).

I have 2 children who spent 4 years each in nursery. i can remember that in that time the older child had precisely 2 ad-hoc sessions and the youngest had none. They are now both in their 20s and I can tell you roughly when the oldest child's ad-hoc sessions were. If I went looking for old messages I could find the exact days.

OP mentions that the accounting at the nursery was awful, so it seems rather odd that she didn't check everything extremely carefully at the time. But she's not saying that. She's saying "they can't expect me to pay after 2 years, can they?".

How did the nursery even come to realise that some random days from 2 years ago hadn't been paid?! How did that oversight even come to light?

I'd reply with something like: "Good afternoon, I was confused to receive your invoice, baring in mind that it concerns dates over two years ago. I'd like to know how this oversight came to your attention, and why it wasn't raised in a timely fashion within a month or two of the dates in question. I have no recollection of my DD attending on the dates you claim, so would require clear, impartial evidence of her attendance, before I can move forward with any admission of liability."

No, don't pay. Fuck em. They sound hopeless and even as if they might be grifting a bit (how many invoices for vague 'ad hoc days' have they sent people hoping some will bite?).
I would not have the time or the inclination to trawl my memory/social media etc to try to find evidence of dates two years ago, not when they were consistently so disorganised.

This is a point, if they were extra days surely they or you have some record of the booking?

I would leave it and if they chase again then respond like PP suggested asking for evidence she attended the sessions they are charging you for.

As PPs have said, tell them to forward clear proof of your child having attended on those days, and proof that you have not paid what was due.

Obviously there's no need to go looking through old phones 😄

I agree with PPs that you should ask for both evidence that she attended and evidence that you haven’t already paid for those days. They should be keeping records for several years so they should be able to provide the evidence, but if they can’t or can’t be bothered then I wouldn’t pay

I’d want to pay them if it were genuinely owed, but you asked them what it was for and they couldn’t be bothered to specify the number of days you owed for or specify the dates. I’d expect them to apologise for their delay and be specific about what the money was owed for, but if they can’t be arsed as a business who have caused this problem then there’s no need for you to play detective as a customer who hasn’t even received an apology for their shoddiness.

ignore them OP, and if they want to chase it then they can make the effort to give you the relevant information that proves when you used extra days and that you haven’t already paid for them.

E

Have you other children in the nursery or due to go to the nursery ? If so I’d just pay up, it’s only two days not two months they’re billing you for.

No way would I be paying that. I would ignore and if they pester I would ask for exact dates and times, which key worker etc. The burden of proving it is on them

Yes I would want proof from their own records that she was in, pick up and drop off times or emails from me asking for the ad-hoc days. I would be inclined to let them take me to small claims court if they want my money!

To people saying check an online diary.
We have a paper family planner calendar that we throw out at the end of the year.

I would throw the ball back into their court - ask all the difficult questions.

a) Please provide copies of all invoices related to that date and the 2 or 3 months either side (as they are known for being rubbish)
b) Please provide proof that child was in nursery those days - copy of signing in book.
c) provide a copy of your account, detailing all invoices and payments to date from when DD started

If their accounts weren't in a mess, that would be fairly easy. However, I'm guessing they may struggle. If they do provide it, and you can be bothered, I bet you could find a load more queries for them!

Ffs no not from two years ago. Lots of people wouldn't have that information. My work stuff gets wiped each year and I'm not in a habit of putting stuff in my electronic diary, nor would I go through hundreds of whatsapp messages from 2 years ago to try to guess what was happening on a particular day.

If they have reasonable evidence that your DD was in those days then it's reasonable for them to want paying for it, but unreasonable for them to expect for you to magic up the money on-demand 2 years later.
(a) ask them what evidence they have that these ad-hoc days took place - can they show an email from you or completed request form that you signed?
(b) what evidence do they have that these days weren't included on any of the subsequent invoices?
(c) if they can prove to your satisfaction both of these then you can offer to pay the outstanding amount at £5 per month because you don't have budget for this unexpected expense. Given how hopeless they clearly arecit may take them 3 or 4 years to assemble the proof.

Like the time my nursery gave me a bill for £1.5k one week before Christmas because THEY had invoiced me wrong. I was paying ridiculous amount anyway, so threatened to leave and they’d have lost even more money!

What absolute nonsense.

I would write to them saying that due to their inefficient accounting and delayed invoicing you are not prepared to pay for these “adhoc” days you do not believe your child was in their care. Your schedule was X Y Z and these days are outside of your normal schedule. Please can they provide written evidence of your child’s attendance.

You can still see edited posts you know. Were you referring to the part where I said OP needs to be sure the nursery wasn't confusing her child with another? It does unfortunately happen.

But do you really don’t remember if you owe any money? It’s not that complicated after all, presumably you paid X per month for your usual days and you will know whether you’ve sent her for any additional days and if you’ve paid for this at that time?

I don't keep an diary but I would check my google map history for those dates. That might give an idea of whether you might have used the service or not. Otherwise I will email them and state that you are unable to verify the dates and given previous issues with incorrecting invoice you would like them to provide proof that your child did attend these sessions. If they were consistent and always correct with there invoicing I would pay it without question but there accounting system seems chaos.