To wonder how private nurseries get away with charging non-refundable deposits?

[Survivedanotherday]

First time poster here!

Just what the title says really. AIBU to wonder how private nurseries get away with charging a non-refundable deposit to get your child's name on a waiting list? Your child isn't guaranteed a place and you don't get your money back if your child isn't placed! Surely it doesn't cost anything to put a name on a list?

Nursery places are in high demand in my area so I have been told to put my child's name down at a few of them. I just feel it is daylight robbery and I am just throwing money away, money I just don't have to throw away at the moment!

Surely it would make more sense to ask for a deposit to secure the place once one actually becomes available?

How big a deposit are we talking?

Personally we charge a non refundable deposit BUT only once we have a definite space. After school club rather than nursery though which means we're booking spaces months in advance e.g. for the following term so need some guarantee people will actually take the space we're holding.

It varies where I live. The nurseries I am looking at range from £50 to £250! It's a lot of money with absolutely no guarantee.
Since everyone is advised to look at a few nurseries, there is a huge amount of money being squandered as a result since your child will obviously only be attending one of your chosen nurseries.

A deposit for a potential place is reasonable and should not be refunded to those time-wasters who are offered a place and don't take it up. It absolutely should be refunded, however, to those who aren't given a place for reasons of over subscription. Are you sure that's not what they're doing OP?

I think most nurseries around here are oversubscribed, hence why ever single nursery I have approached has advised me to register at a few, just in case. The deposits definitely are not refunded if you don't get a place by your chosen start date. If you have to put your child's name down at a few nurseries, all of which require a non-refundable deposit, you stand to lose a fair bit of money.

I have no problem at all paying a deposit, I just think the fact that it is not refunded if you don't get a space is totally unacceptable.

seems odd they would keep the deposit if they're not able to offer a place

It's outrageous, not odd!

Sounds like they are getting away with it as they will keep the dc name on their list until a place comes up. Whenever that is. But if it doesn't suit the date you need it's you that removes your dc from the list and takes a place elsewhere.

Very cheeky.

Every nursery I have approached has said the same thing and every time I asked about the deposit I was just met with, "it's our policy" with no further explanation.

I would love to hear from someone who works in a nursery setting who could explain this to me

MadeForThis I think that's exactly what is happening!

We charge a deposit to go on our waiting list but we refund it....either goes as a credit on your first invoice if you start or a cheque goes in the post if you aren’t offered a place.

I paid £30 to be on waiting lists and £150 to secure a place once available. I do tho k it’s important to stop people just putting their name on multiple lists. Our afterschool club was full and we were 40th on the list!!! Until the time came to cough up money and suddenly we had a place - all those people had changed their minds or put themselves on the list “just in case”.

It’s a business they can charge what ever they like and it’s your choice whether you use it..
I’m shocked at how my letting agent gets to charge huge admin fees for not a lot of work but they all seem to charge them.

FWIW I work in a preschool used to manage a day nursery and the introduction of the 30 and not being able to charge a top up fee has seen nurseries finding other sources of income.

Now I run a small preschool in a hall and need to be approx 90% full to pay the bills and wages. This term I’ve had 4 children not start all for valid reasons, however I’ve Previously turned people away due to believing we where full up. So I’m thinking of increasing our fee so people put their name down only if they are sure they want a place.

This used to be the case where I am in Canada but the government disallowed the practice as it prevents poorer families from accessing childcare.

There is a cost to managing a waiting list though, which I assume is the rationale for charging - although not £250! The daycare my children were at could have nearly 100 children on the waiting list for the infant room (10 places) and when a space came up the manager of the daycare would call down the list to try to fill the space. The more people on the list the more calls she had to make - some people didn't want the space at that time, some were just keeping their name on "in case" they needed it. The cost of that time will now be absorbed into fees (it is a non-profit daycare).

I agree. I paid a £50 deposit to be put on the waiting list (there’s a further deposit to pay closer to the time) when my DD was 7 weeks old and I foolishly thought that meant I would get a place. It turns out it doesn’t, they ‘might’ have a space for her next June/July (when she’ll be 16/17 months) but can’t guarantee it. I didn’t put my DD’s name down anywhere else and so I’m stuck as there’s no spaces at any nurseries/childminders until next summer. It’s ridiculous. We moved here last summer and I have already done the nursery thing with my eldest but this area is just so under-resourced.

I hear you Rainshowers! It is a bit cheeky to take people's money probably knowing that your child doesn't stand a bleeding chicken' s chance in a lion cage of getting in at your required date!
Every single nursery around here has advised to register with a few. Their Ts and Cs state that a deposit is non refundable if you cancel your place. If you have registered with more than one then of course you will have to cancel places therefore losing your money!
I think I am just going to have to take my chances and gamble on just the one nursery as we genuinely do not have spare cash to squander (who does??)

That’s the problem, people round here have loads of money and just put their names down everywhere, I didn’t realise that so now have missed out. And they put their babies down before birth with I don’t really think should be allowed either, unless you plan to go back before 6 months. Waiting lists are crazy, I have no idea what I’ll do about childcare!

Also, any activities/preschools round here are the same so be aware! I tried to put my then 3-year old down for rainbows (to start when she’s 5) and two of the groups had already closed their waiting lists for children born in 2014!

Thanks for the head's up Rainshowers!
Best of luck getting your childcare sorted. I have a feeling we are going to need it!! x

Agree with homemenu. If the deposit is too small people put their names down at lots and forget to tell us they are going elsewhere until contacted.

That's the difficulty isn't it happystory - if you don't charge anything or charge too little then people just register everywhere and don't bother to come back to you.

Problem is you can't assume that means that DON'T want the space either, as sometimes the silent ones crawl back out of the woodwork at the very last minute when you've long since assumed they've gone elsewhere!