would you believe ds (5) or the childminder? childminer took ds and the children elsewhere

[user1469643462]

It is the summer holidays so ds has to be with a childminer, for 3 days a week. I pay her for the actual care she provides, then i pay for any visits to places on top of that, they were supposed to be going to the zoo today and i had paid £21 for ds's zoo ticket and i know that isnt loads but tbh with the cost i had already paid for her to look after him it was almost today's wages! ds goes there with 2 boys and a little girl aswell all around the same age give or take. Ds got home and was telling me all about his trip to the local museum (which was free) i did not have a problem with that he seemed to have had a great time. I phoned up the childminder and asked if she could just paypal the money back over and she said that she had no idea what i was going on about and that she took them to the zoo I know children do love to use their imagination, so i was a bit undecided, ds kept going on about the objects he had seen and told me a story about a man showing them the kids bit. ds has never been to this museum and it was just odd how well he was explaining it. I would love to phone the other parents but tbh i dont actually know them! it's all very odd...

Yeah it's the image 53rd linked to (of the leopard from the zoo website) used as background with the text and price etc superimposed. But then maybe some unartistic zoo employee was tasked with producing a template for cash-fare tickets and came up with that... It's not impossible. A ticket bought on the gate might not have a barcode since they're going to let you in straight away.

I agree "peak date" looks dodgy though, never seen that before - only ever seen "peak Rate"

What I find weird is that, according to the mum of the other girl, CM did take the Tuesday kids to the zoo. So she'd know exactly what the tickets look like. She'd have to be all kinds of daft to make a fake ticket that looked nothing like a real one.

Know this is from ages ago (20 years!) but it does show the type of info that should be there (charity number, unique ticket number etc.)

OP - what did she actually say when she handed over her home made ticket? And what did you say? I feel sorry for your poor DS now because this must have been a confusing experience for him. You've been super unlucky as far as I can see with your choice of cm. I've never used one but every one I know of is fantastic at their job. If I were you I would have to be thinking about whether or not to register this as a concern with Ofsted. I don't even think she perhaps intended to dupe you out of 20 odd quid, but to go to the lengths of a mock ticket is duplicitous, not a good trait for someone responsible for children. Crikey oh Riley!

Nope that's not real. They definitely scan you in so it needs a barcode.
Sorry OP as it really messed up your childcare. Wouldn't you think she'd just admit it and apologise?
I also think the other parents need to know they're being conned.
I feel sorry for childminders out there - she's not doing reputations any good is she?

Ah I went a few weeks ago and thought I might still have either the email or ticket but I don't!

I booked online and it definitely looked nothing like that! If she booked online it will have just been an email with a barcode on it.

I think the tickets you get are almost like receipts when you enter the zoo? I think.

I don't think she went on Tuesday either...

Yes, tickets on the gate are def receipts.

She didn't go to the zoo. She's probably never been to the zoo. If she had, she'd have a better fake to scan from.

OP - I'd go back to her and say that you both know she's tried to defraud you out of £22. So I'd ask for that back and say you won't shop her to the police.

But I'd shop her to Ofsted instead

Cross posted with pp who've been recently and say that's really not the ticket you get given if you pay on the door. Crikey. What on earth is CM thinking?!

I still can't get my head around the Tuesday thing though - she must have a real ticket to work off so why would she make a fake that looks nothing like it? Unless she really is THAT stupid.

Is there anything on the back of the ticket?

Is it printed on card, thick paper, or normal paper?

Yet the other parent you spoke to said their child was taken to the zoo the day after? So, surely she knew what the tickets looked like!

I would report to your local council, around here they are the sort of central register for childminders. Ask for their advice on what to do. Not read all of thread so don't know if previously suggested

I've always found the set up atChester Zoo weird with tickets. You queue up to buy a ticket on the day and pay, they give you a barcoded slip of paper and then you walk through to an open space where you can visit the gift shop, go to the toilets and explore the elephant house.

After this there is a barrier manned by students staff with scanners and little screen/till things. Here you can hand in your just bought ticket, your printed at home ticket or your membership card, all of them have a barcode that is scanned on entry. I assume this system allows them to record how many people are in the zoo.

I find it implausible that they would have this system and then design such amateur tickets that could be so easily copied and force the barrier staff to manually add extra people,slowing the lines when adding a barcode would be so easy?

I have an annual chester zoo membership card so can't help with what a daily one looks like. It is definitely £22 walk up fee for a child in peak season - I was there on Weds.

She could have given you a photocopy of the front of the ticket so the barcode could feasibly be on the other side that she hasn't photocopied. Even bearing that in mind though the type face / font doesn't look the same as any used on their website and definitely not on any of the membership documents so I would be sceptical. Also not sure why she would cut it out if she had photocopied it.

It's actually quite sad that she had to lie. For that one lie she had to tell so many to cover it up, not a good way to go.

But OP when you sit and talk with her, try to get her side of the story too, it could be that she was desperate. It in no way excuses her lying but she could be in some difficult circumstances for all we know. She does need to be put right though so she doesn't do something like this again.

As for the showing her this thread, I think that would be total humiliation and you shouldn't do it. We all know what she did, I think it would be embarrassing enough for her that you've found out let alone hundreds of others on a website.

If she booked online and got an email confirmation, she should be able to forward the email to you...

Yet the other parent you spoke to said their child was taken to the zoo the day after? So, surely she knew what the tickets looked like!

But we don't know for sure that she went this day either.

I'm sorry OP but I do think you should think about letting the other parents know. This is theft.

Did she just randomly decide to give you the ticket today, without you asking further questions?! That shows she knows you're suspicious, probably with good reason.

Chester Zoo's response arghhhhh

If she booked online it would also have been cheaper, not £22.

Pickle has the zoo responded?

Oh my goodness, I'm also wasting my life here. How does the cm think she'll get away with it?! I don't get it. Why try and fake a ticket, she must have known you were suspicious and might would check it. You can get emergency childcare but I bet it's very expensive.

Get yourselves over to the continuation thread - it's all kicking off over there:

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/2698622-to-think-this-is-a-fake-Chester-Zoo-ticket-Seriously-is-it-fake?msgid=62670862