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.

@coffeeforone I’m pregnant with number 2 and our DD age 3 is also at a Bright Horizons. I’ve registered our second child at the same place and no registration fee was required. We are in the SE. You are being ripped off! Ask the manager for their head office number and when they ask why, tell them.

OnlyFoolsnMothers we asked that and I still don't really know haha

Sorry to ask but are you sure all of it is non refundable? We just changed our son’s nursery and the new one charged us £30 registration fees, £20 for uniform and £250 a refundable deposit

I would find out the phone numbers of the next nearest 3-5 Bright Horizons nurseries, and call to ask whether it is a universal payment.

If you find that other nurseries from the same chain don't charge these fees, then you can ask the nursery manager why she does.

They are a business like any other. I suppose if you have £2500 a month free to pay childcare they think you can afford an extra £300
Why not look at other cheaper ones in your area.

@Booming yep it is non-refundable - this is the wording in their terms:

^Once the Nursery confirms availability, you will
need to pay the non-refundable registration fee to reserve your
child’s place. You will also need to make payment arrangements
for the first month’s fees.^

😱 I can't belive how much people are paying for full time childcare and I'm a childminder!

Yes but you need to have the breakdown of it. As I said in our contract it clears states those figures.

Are you paying separately for uniform? In our old nursery we paid £75 non refundable fees plus separately for uniforms. We are in west London

thanks @Tobebythesea that's useful to know!

Uniforms for nursery children? What fresh hell is this?

@Booming unfortunately it is separate from the uniform. I have a 'sundry item' list which lists out the extra chargeable items individually, looks like this:

t-shirts - £5.50
book bag - £6.50
jumpers - £8
early drop off - £15.25
non-refundable registration - £300
etc, etc,

the 'deposit' is the 1st month of fees paid in advance
it says ^^You will also need to make payment arrangements
for the first month’s fees^^

I'd still double-check you don't get it back - our nursery's wording is a ""non-refundable registration fee", but you get it taken off the last month's fees when your child leaves. In their case, it just means non-refundable for any reason you don't take up the place (rightly or wrongly worded!).

£15.25 for early drop off. Ffs I pay £5 that includes breakfast.

DS doesn't actually wear the uniform so we don't pay for that at least as it's optional

It is a lot of money for a registration fee, but I hate the attitude of because they did you a favour and waived it once you feel entitled that they should do it again.

a nursery near me wanted to charge me a non refundable £50 just to be placed on the waiting list. i declined!

Really Constance, when OP has paid boatloads already, is proposing to pay tens of thousands more, and is showing loyalty to the business? I don't feel it is 'entitled', more a sense of 'you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours'. I'd feel pretty taken for granted in her shoes.

It seems a short-sighted business strategy to me. If I were the nursery I wouldn't want to miss out on £30k plus of fees because I was intent on grabbing £300 for nothing.

It is a lot of money for a registration fee, but I hate the attitude of because they did you a favour and waived it once you feel entitled that they should do it again.

I honestly don't think I'd have minded paying it first time round though. as a previous poster said, i think if they are going to waive it once only then it would be more of a goodwill gesture to waive it for the sibling.

I know you live in a more expensive area of the country but round her £2.5k pays your mortgage, nursery fees, months groceries and car running costs.

I know it's not helpful but I can't get my head around that amount of money just for childcare.

I would definitely look into getting a nanny.

I’d be checking the policy with head office as a pp suggested. That’s a lot. The only thing is seeing as they offer the full 30 hours, perhaps it will be cheaper in the long run. I imagine you can crunch the numbers.

2.5k in nursery fees. Bugger me that’s a lot. I don’t know how you pay that.
Any way back to the point I don’t expect they will waive the £300 because they know fine well that you’d want both children at same nursery. It stinks but I think you just have to pay it.
Uniform! Glad mine are grown.

I think if they are going to waive it once only then it would be more of a goodwill gesture to waive it for the sibling

But they've waved it once for your family. Why does it really matter whether it was for your first or second child?

Ultimately it sounds like they would have made you happier by never waiving the fee at all

Blimey I live on £800 pcm !!

@coffeeforone we have a Bright Horizons nursery in my area of the south east. My friend only paid £100 registration fee? Not sure on the daily rates though.