to think this is a fake Chester Zoo ticket? Seriously, is it fake!?

[user1469643462]

Yeah, I think we all know now, but is there like a 1% chance any form of ticket looks like this!?!?

This is basically a follow on too

I would suggest calling CM first and foremost, but only say your DS won't be in for the rest of this week, don't mention anything else.

I would then call OFSTED and say you have proof she was lying and explain the whole debacle.
They will then get in touch with her directly, possibly today. She will have a duty to inform the other parents what is happening and why. If she has any decency she will just admit the truth up front warts and all.

I don't know how swiftly the police would deal with this and whether they would take it seriously. I think, but may be wrong, I think they would leave it with Ofsted.

Sorry pressed send too soon, leave it with Ofsted or refer to local safeguarding team.

.

As others have commented it is highly likely this is not the first time she has done something like this.
If she looks after 5 kids that's an extra £110 each time.

If she lies about this what else could she be lying about?

The danger she has put those children in by lying about their whereabouts is disgusting when her job places her in such a privileged position.

A CM needs to be honest, open and reliable. She is none of these and the sooner all of those children are taken out of her 'care' the better.

Ok it could just have been one lie that got completely out of hand, but she had plenty of opportunities to come clean but the fact she continually lied and went as far as to produce a fake ticket says a lot.

I'm sorry for the stress you're going through OP.

Oh wow. You poor thing OP, this is actually quite upsetting. A few people have got carried away and forgotten that actually you're in the middle of this shit storm and it's not a laugh.

You need to report her to Ofsted and your local council ASAP.

I also think you should email her (so you have it in writing) with confirmation as to why you are removing your son and that you have reported her the following reasons (list a timeline of events).

This is truly shocking, as I said on your previous thread I had a childminder for years for my DD and never once did I doubt her over anything.

I hope Ofsted will do their own investigation into this CM, they may even get outside services involved as it's unlikely it's just you she has deceived.

Good luck

I wonder how many times she's pulled a scam like this before.

Applejack- if every scam has been carried out as poorly as this I would think (hope) none, but who really knows?!

Best wishes OP

Sorry, OP, what a shit situation

Ridiculous thing for CM to do. What the hell is she thinking? What a mess.

She must be either very devious or just doesn't think!

To change parents for a high profile day out and then not go would leave her wide open for children to grass her up to their parents! Anyone over 2 would get excited about the zoo and tell their parents-anyone very small (less than 6 months?)-I'm not sure it's worth giving the cm £22 to take them anyway?!

OP-what was it the other parent at the childminders said when you spoke to her about it? Was it that their child had gone the day after (Thursday 28th?) and really enjoyed it but it was a shame your child wasn't in that day?

That's the odd bit. It's obviously not a wide scale money-making scam if she IS actually taking other chicken?

What??? She's taking chickens now?? I always thought CM stood for childminder. You live and learn.

Ha ha-oops, children, not chicken. Though, that does take things to another level.

Do chickens still cost £22 to get in? What if you book in advance online?

Shall I tweet CZ to find out?

They won't allow chickens I wouldn't have thought. Unless it's a guide chicken maybe

I think calling the police is a bit OTT, just remove your children from her care.

I reckon what we've all lost sight of in our excitement is that OP has been treated like shit by CM, as has OPs DS (accused of lying when he wasn't!) and that she's now screwed for childcare and has been stolen from. Sorry you're having to cope with the fallout OP, it can't be much fun for you.

Yes rollon that's the bit I don't get. The mum of the other child said they went on Tuesday and her daughter enjoyed it. That makes me wonder if maybe this was a mix up initially (i.e. she accidentally billed some kids from the Wednesday group as well) but then she dug herself a massive hole covering it up. But going to the lengths of making a fake ticket is a crazy thing to do if it was an innocent mistake.

SamKate has summed up my feelings exactly.

Agree police is OTT. Ofsted is the way to go if OP wants to report this.

Wow. Just, wow.

Speakers my as someone that has been on the receiving end of a false allegation the police most certainly would follow it up. Action fraud would assess it and allocate the investigation to a local station for investigation.
In my cas all it took was for me to produce emails proving the person that made the accusation was telling lies but even so it still involved a trip to the police station and interview under caution for me.
The value of this alleged fraud? £19.58!

OP: I want to report my child minder.
Police: Ok, what has she done?
OP: She told me she was taking my son to the zoo and I gave her £21. Turns out she didn't take him to the zoo and won't give my £21 back.
Police: ???

Just deduct £21 from her payment. Report her to Ofsted, DfE and whoever else needs to be informed.

like i said earlier she could have done this numerous times

i would out her in front of the other parents as theyre dropping off-if u phone her she'll just deny it

then report her-tbh the police prob wont do anything unless u say she took your child somewhere u didn tknow where he was

i still dont think they will bother

ofsted definitely and make sure everyone knows shes a fraudster publlicly

Non emergency police is not OTT if the OP can't sort it out with the CM.

If the CM continues to lie and pass of the ticket as real then she is committing fraud and so brazenly too.

Who would knock up a ticket like that, honestly? If the CM screwed up - wrong child going, got days mixed up etc she could've been gracious enough to refund and take the hit herself to save herself from upsetting a client and getting a bad reputation.

She didn't and now she is considered untrustworthy, a liar and a thief and has indeed committed fraud and obtained cash by deception.

There were many opportunities for her to come clean about this. The OP herself had left the door wide OP for her to be honest with her first line of enquiry about the trip

So yes, I would call the police and I wouldn't feel shit or OTT because if a person could so brazenly do it to me and create false flippin' evidence then she could do it to someone else who doesn't have the strength to question it.

As for safeguarding. Yes it is an issue. She was meant to be in X place but was instead at Y. What if a parent needed to collect early or there was an emergency? There's a reason you plan these things and unless the absolute extreme happens you don't change plans. I'm sure under her insurance there are risk assessments and gawd knows what that she'd have to do (I have to do it just to ensure my insurance will pay out in a worst case scenario)

So as petty and small this appears there are repercussions that are much bigger for the OP, her DS and any other children in her care.

billsykesdog I used to work on a crime desk for a police force and this is exactly the kind of thing that would be dealt with by the relevant force area - NOT by a fraud team.

Details would be taken over the phone initially, all information recorded and if there's a line of enquiry (which there is in this case - a suspect and evidence) it would then be allocated to an officer to investigate.

It would have to be recorded as a crime under the Home Office Counting Rules, couldn't just be ignored. Wouldn't go near a fraud team, would, and should be investigated locally.

When cm's are registered (by ofsted) their details are also kept by local authority (as sometimes they are emergency care). I'm fairly sure this sort if fraud would come up for dbs checks. As it should. Report to every agency quite frankly.