..to think childcare provider's payment terms are completely ridiculous?

[SafferUpNorth]

Having found an afterschool club place for my DS, I must admit I didn't scrutinise the payment terms too carefully. Now I've been slapped with a 10% late payment fee twice in a row the last two months and am flatly refusing to pay it - AIBU? Here's the deal:

Their invoice for a particular month is usually issued midway through the previous month, and due on the first. So payment terms two weeks, not the usual 30 days. And if you don't pay by the first, you're charged a 10% late payment fee within a few days... even if the service (ie afterschool club service) has not even been provided yet!

So, this evening I've had an updated invoice for August care. Invoice was issued on 18 July and was due on 1 Aug. Now a late fee has been added even though the first session of the month will only be delivered on 16 Aug.

And on 16 June, I was sent an invoice (due on 1 July) for holiday club places on 31 July and 1 August. So the invoice was due two weeks before the service was delivered. By 9 July I had been issued a revised invoice with the 10% late fee added... even though the actual service delivery was still 3 weeks away!

AIBU to refuse paying the late fees?? What are my consumer rights here?

DS goes to private school and we have to pay a term's fees in advance.

I can't see the problem either - it's normal to pay in advance (in fact it's the norm for most children's activities where you pay on a month or termly basis e.g. swimming lessons) so not sure why feel this is so unreasonable.

Re "only" being given 14 days to pay - well presumably the fact you have a childcare bill to pay is not coming as a huge surprise each month? So you may only get the invoice 14 days ahead of time, but you will be aware of it coming before that ...

I don’t know why this is such a surprise. This is standard for nurseries and everything like gymnastics, swimming, ballet etc. I paid up in July for new activities starting in September. If you want the place thej you’re paying to keep it open.

Why are you not paying your invoices in time?
It seems to me you are being given a reasonable time to pay but you simply aren't paying. If you paid in time you wouldn't be charged late fees. Simple.
Childcare is paid for in advance.

You are paying a month's childcare at a time. The fact you don't actually use the service until half way through the month is irrelevant. The provider still has staff to pay and other costs. Chasing people for late payments is time consuming and incurs costs, so a late payment fee covers these costs and discourages people from paying late. Just pay on time and there will be no issue.

We only get a week to at my sons oosc. Same as his nursery when he was younger.

I think if it was in the terms then fair enough.

Have you just been forgetting to pay on time or have ou purposely not been paying on time because you actually just think you shouldn’t have to because they haven’t even provided the care yet?

Consumer rights? Really? You’ve even admitted yourself that you didn’t read the T&C properly. If you had done so though, would you have still paid late? If not, then why can’t you just pay on time to start with? They’ve obviously had to put in a 10% charge clause for people like yourself.

I bet my bottom dollar that this is going to be one of those posts where everybody goes “YABVU” but OP will keep maintaining that she isn’t.

Pay on time or find a new childcare provider with terms you approve of

"AIBU to refuse paying the late fees?? What are my consumer rights here?"

Yes, you would be unreasonable to refuse to pay the late fees. You agreed to the terms when you booked your DS into the club. You were late paying the invoice so they've rightly added late fees onto it.
Your consumer rights are irrelevant. You agreed to something, you haven't done it, you get late fees.

As a childminder, I find this so disrespectful. We have our lives to live, bills to pay; your booking is someone's income.
And next time you sign up to something like this, read the terms!!!

YABU.

At least you get an invoice. Our after school club is really bad at getting invoices to me but are very good at sending a follow up invoice trying to levy a late payment.

I've yet to pay the late payment, because every time I've argued that I'm not being invoiced in the first place and they've dropped it. To be honest, I just work it out myself now and have told them if the payment is wrong to let me know.

But that's the crux of the matter, I know when I should pay, how much it should cost and how to pay so I make it happen. I'm responsible for my childcare costs so playing petty invoice games is a bit pathetic IMO.

Our you have to pay the day you book. Or no place is secure

I pay my childminder for the month coming, and 9 times out of 10 I only get the invoice a few days before she wants paying! But I know how much she charges and work out what I need to pay ahead of time. She has bills and wants to be paid on time, like I want to be with my work. So I always pay her on time. YABU.

Most charge in advance and surcharge for late payment. Surely having missed once you would realise you need to pay on time. Is it a month's notice to withdraw?

The most likely outcome if you refuse to pay and keep paying late is they will refuse to have your child. So be careful if you’re relying on the childcare.

Yep we pay for dd after school club a month in advance. No late fee though, if you don't pay they lose their place and go back on the waiting list once you've settled up.

Count yourself lucky - I have to pay within a couple of days of booking our after school club or I lose the places. I've paid for care for the new school term in Sept already.

Not sure you're coming back.... but I can't see the issue. You knew the terms, you should pay on time.

Have you never booked or known someone who's booked a holiday then OP? I'd like to see you tell Thomas Cook they ought to wait until you've been on the holiday or at least got in sight of it before they ask for payment

Our nursery charges like that I think most do

My nursery don't even provide an invoice, but I still pay them by the 1st or there would be late fees.
I expect if I pushed it they would give me an invoice but I'm aware of the amount I need to pay anyway.

Are you having problems paying? If you talk to them they may be able to help...

Paying in advance for childcare is standard. They have to buy in the food/snacks/activity stuff in advance so need the money to do that. Also avoids problems for them when children can't make a session due to illness or the like - they've already been paid for them so don't have to deal with people trying to squirm out of these fees.

Can't really see your problem. Pay up.

When they invoice is irrelevant. You have term dates and a calendar work out days next month time by fee gives you bill put reminder on phone and pay it when phone goes off or even a day early or pick your child up yourself I think serial late payers should b excluded from after school club as obviously 10% isn't a big enough charge for people like you and that puts the price up for everyone.

The fee also stops people paying late and the club having to chase. You don't pay your mortgage late.