To not want to pay nursery registration fee?

[coffeeforone]

I have just enquired about signing DS2 (9 months) up to the same nursery DS1 (3) goes to. They said they have plenty of capacity for babies and have asked for some very brief details and £300 to register him.
I asked if there was any flexibility to waive this fee (as they offered this when we registered DS1 two years ago after we said we were trying to decide between this and another nursery). They said they can’t waive it and its the only way to secure the place for 3 months time.

They also don’t offer a sibling discount (unless both under 3) which is fair enough, so we will be paying the full time monthly fee of £1625 for DS2.
Also fees of just under £915 per month for DS1 full time (which is reduced from £1625 due to the '30 hour' funding we can claim for over 3’s).

So we’ll be paying over £2500 per month in fees. AIBU to think it would be nice of them to waive or reduce the £300 registration fee for DS2 as a goodwill gesture? I just feel a bit robbed paying it when I didn’t with DS1 and I know some of the other parents didn’t either.

Our nursery fees for full time once I’m back at work will be 3k for a 3 yo and 11 mo. With the 30 hours. North London. That said £300 registration fee for a sibling is a check.

To those querying whether a nanny is cheaper - I’ve done the math. Nope. Not when you work out the hours, extras, pension, provision for mat leave etc and pay toll costs. Joke isn’t it!

We’d have to pay a month fees up front to secure the place for second child though.

I think a nanny would be a better option. I'd go back to nannying for less than £2.5k a month plus be more hands on and flexible than a nursery.

Wtf?! I didn't know that was a thing. DD is 11 months and started nursery PT when she was 8 months as I went back to work when she was 9 months. We had to pay 1 month fees upfront to secure her place, which we did when she was around 3 months old (and we got the last lot of places in time so good job we didn't leave it longer, there is now approx a 1yr wait for the baby room!). And a reg fee, which was £50. She also had 3 'free' settling-in sessions which were each around 1hr.

Its not attached to a nursery - its part of the Bright Horizons group

I meant its not attached to a private school

Is it a deposit or an extra one off cost?

If you get your first/final fees reduced by £300 then fair enough. If it’s just £300 for the sake of it then it’s cf territory.

Christ! We paid £50 registration fee, he had two half days and one full day settling in.

They they refunded the £50 after I'd paid the first months fees.

£300 sounds ridiculous

its a non-refundable extra fee, i wouldn't mind if it was a refundable deposit

Where are you based op?

Are you in an expensive area in London or a big city?.Usually childcare costs are often tailored to the costs within that area.I.E rates,staff costs, rent of building etc .it sounds huge to me as only about the same as our joint income!

We’ve had to pay non refundable deposits for dds nurseries as part of the process to get her there. I think it was around £500.

That's a bit steep. The nursery we used was £40 registration fee and free settling in sessions, which were as many as needed (ds1 had 4 and ds 2 had 6 all completely free.)

Should add that doesn’t include any settling in sessions or visits home beforehand. Was just paperwork to get her on the list.

I do live in the south east, so a more expensive part of the UK, yes. I accept that the nursery fees are within the competitive range for the area, but the registration fee does seem to be a cheeky extra, and I reckon it can be removed at the discretion of the nursery. The thing is, I think they know £300 wouldn't sway my decision either way as DS1 is well settled and its not worth the hassle to put DS2 somewhere else, so they've got me under a barrel.

When I sent DS and DD to a Canary Wharf nursery, fees were easily this much, with similar registration fees, they didn't offer any free hours either. It was still cheaper than a live out nanny by quite some margin. On the plus side, having got used to paying so much in nursery fees, it was actually cheaper when they started private school.

Aghhhhh! As a nursery owner and manager this really annoys me. Yes, I am running a business, I make no apologies for that, but especially when you will be paying so much money in fees, I feel this is awful.
My nursery has a waiting list to September 2021, so plenty of people keen to get their children in, (in fact I’ve been offered bribes on more than one occasion!) - I charge two weeks worth of fees as a reservation deposit which is redeemable against the first month’s fees. If parents change their minds it is not refunded, but we do give five free hours of settling in sessions as well as up to three hours of 1:1 home visits if required.
This kind of thing gives private nurseries a bad name. It’s pure greed.

Bright Horizons. One of the big American chains.

You're unlikely to get them to waive it because they can fill your places any time. They wouldn't be charging like this unless they could get away with it.
You might find a cheaper independent nursery or childminder - if they're still in business. Or a nanny. But it's likely you'll stay with the nursery because you already have a child there - and they know it.

Take it or leave it will be their attitude.

OP I live in London and paid £40 registration fee- £300 is disgusting, sorry I would seek another nursery!!!

I reckon the only thing that would shift them is you giving notice because you've found a different nursery for both kids. Risky, of course.

It would be nice of them to waive it yes, but why would they? They already did once. It sucks though. Maybe it would be more of a goodwill gesture to charge it for the first child and waive for the sibling, seems a bit more palatable that way?
Our nursery had similar but it was £100 - and a refundable £1,000! Yes, a thousand pounds We asked if there was any leeway on this, and they let us pay it over 3 months At least we'll get it back in 3.5 years!

I'd move them both! What a total rip off.

refundable £1,000! sorry what>>>>???? for what????

That amount is a pisstake, and I'm in SW London, where nurseries are £££.

Have you tried negotiating for the £300 to be offset against the first month's fees, but theykeep it if DC doesn't end up going? That would be fair enough.

Do they know you think it's not on? I would let them know if not, politely.

Otherwise, you could start asking the staff if, hypothetically, they'd be interested in a nanny job....

@coffeeforone I'd look into a nanny before deciding if I was you. I've just worked out what our nanny would cost you for 5 days 8-6, it comes to £2,065 per month - this is including employer pension/NI contributions and all associated costs.

Now any paid for activities like clubs or outings to soft play etc are on top, but they can be as little or as much as you want them to be; there's lots of free things to do outside of the house.