30 hour funding - never went through, not told for 6 months £2500 arrears built. AIBU to say it's not all my fault?

[Rainbowloverparentx]

Nursery 30hr funding issues with nursery provider.

Hi, I have a 4 year old in a nursery setting.

To note, I have mental health difficulties, awaiting an assessment for ADHD and Autism (I'm 26 F) and a phyiscal disability.

She's been there since she was 2.5, I was eligible for the 2 year funding due to low income.

I got back into work and had to up my child's hours.

I fell into some arrears and was notified of the 30hrs for working parents. First off, I wasn't eligible, then I went onto a full time contract and applied and was eligible.

I attended the nursery to drop my daughter off and they said I needed to sign a form and then they'd be able to access the funding.

I applied in August 2023 and signed this prior to September they told me they needed it done for then for the new term.

No one told me I needed to supply a code for them to access it.

They nursery has 3 or 4 other settings, 1 was recently closed by Ofsted due to being inadequate. Our nursery manger left in August.

I had no invoice from August-Jan.

Months go by and fast forward to late December, I get a call which I miss and an email stating I'm in substantial arrears.

I reply stating I will be able to make a payment at the end of December, still, no one made me aware of a total amount outstanding.

I then was subject to an assault at work, where I required medical attention and substantial after effects from the injury. I had time off work and therefore was unable to pay.

She makes contact again and tells me she needs my child's 30hr code, as she hasn't got it and therefore from September to January. I actually did not have any additional funding and therefore my arrears accrued over £2,500.

I have signed another confirmation since then as its every 3 months and not once, did anyone ask me for the code.

I did not even know I needed a code, I should of read all the information better but I have now been made aware it is the nursery at fault.

As they have a something called a 'headcount' to check the register and who requires the funding prior to it being put in.

This means, someone could of and should of made contact with me during August/September to make me aware they needed the code.

No one ever did.

No invoices, no communication for months, which therefore I was under the assumption no further bill was needed to be paid.

I still have no figure, I just expressed my frustration to which she just apologised for and then I set up a repayment plan for what I could afford as I was threatened with them reducing my daughters hours and therefore I'd be unable to work, unable to make any further payments and just be totally screwed.

I'm wondering, am I really the one at fault here?
Is it worth consulting a solicitor or something regarding this?

Thanks, a very stressed and anxious parent.

Sorry my message sounded short, I didn't mean it to! I have adhd too so completely get how this could all happen.

Stupid question but can they not get the funding backdated? So if your child does less than the hours you're eligible for, if doesn't seem right to now have to pay 2500 - can't they use your code to claim it back based on it being a human error with manager changes and change in entitlement etc?

is your DC place at risk?

do you have alternative childcare in case this becomes difficult?

It is your responsibility to make sure your bill is paid. It's your responsibility to make sure the nursery have all they need to apply the funding. Not everyone will use the funding, they can't be expected to keep track of what is and isn't outstanding. However - I do feel that after the first month unpaid invoice they should have chased you up on that sooner. Is it billed monthly? Most are.

P.s. have you checked if you are eligible for the tax free childcare too?

Nope - very unlikely.

@Diablocircus It's certainly something that happens to me regularly, so I'm not totally surprised it has happened!

If it was noticed earlier on it would of been much better or even just an acknowledgement that this is also a bit of their error.

I can only assume its that, but now I think of it the 15hrs still is accounted for now she is 4.

Just a stress ball!

Have they explained why they stopped invoicing you?

I have completely forgotten that the 15 hrs still stands as it is, so it is likely a lot lower than that.

I don't think it's likely to work out that way, but this has helped me to think about the situation in a different perspective!

I totally agree that I held responsibility, I can't excuse that due to myself not fully reading or understanding it.

It's just more frustrating as noted that it's not been noticed for nearly 6 months. Prior to the manager leaving I was invoiced every month.

The nursery could definitely have been more helpful. My childminder would always message me if my code had expired so I could fix it.

Did you ever agree or pay their daily rate before? Was only thinking that if you had always only used free hours, you can suggest that you never agreed to a contract for the daily rate.

I think it is more complicated than people on here are making out as many companies have a duty to not let their customers get into debt without clear and often notice. Leaving this for 4 months is negligence on their part, especially as you are low income and have disabilities.

I really think you need proper solicitor advice rather than mumsnet. Hope you get it sorted.

Slightly surprised you didn't know about the code. It's well known. As well advertised and mentioned regularly everywhere. However that solve your problem now, ask nursery for repayment plan.

Potentially. Initially did 3 days, they've said we now have to drop to 2.5 days. Still way below the 30hrs

Yes that is the bit I would be focusing on. You haven't said you aren't to blame. I would also leave your personal issues out of any arguement you have with the nursery. I would enquire as to why they have only just sent you demand for payment after 6 months. If it were my child's nursery they'd be phoning me up daily and then refuse entry much much sooner than that

I agree with your last point. It's almost not about the code. It's about them not saying "hey, you're building up a debt here" in a timely fashion

Prior to this we had 15hrs at 2.5 due to my income (Single, on UC) but was trying to get back into work, then did so upped the hours and paid the top up.

Was invoiced each month, I was self employed prior to going onto a full time contract, so my wages fluctuated, I accrued some arrears and this was communicate very early on and addressed/arranged.

I can't remember the full order and there's been a few instances of lack of communication with the nursery, but the manager left and I applied.

Then I never got any invoice moving forward until I had this contact stating I was in substantial arrears and my child's place was threatened.

I have expressed all of this to them since we have used the service, they were aware and mostly really great. So I didn't want to stress them out in an already stressful period of the manager leaving and the other nursery going into special measures.

I did what I was told to do, I didn't see any notification of any further communication until I was notified for the code and I scrambled to find the page again as it wasn't in my HMRC or email and I had to Google it.

Honestly this may be really straight forward for most, but to me at least, it's a complex process with a lot of steps. I wish they'd just said something when I signed the paper at the nursery confirming I had eligibility which I thought I did.

My terms haven't changed as I have stayed in employment above the threshold.

Ah, such is life I suppose.

Okay.

So first of all, you applied for your 30 hour funding in August and you were eligible? The code would have been in a message in the childcare part of the government gateway portal. They also usually email it to you. The government then email you again as a reminder to renew.

Codes for September should be generated in August or earlier. Codes for January should be renewed/generated in December or before.

Has your code 'expired' yet? Or is it expired but still in the 'grace period'? You should renew and provide the code now for the nursery's headcount (this will only work for a renewal, if you haven't gone over the grace period. If you have to create a new code, it likely wont be accepted now.) which will be happening now in January. That should stop you accruing anymore arrears.

Then, if your code has been (and is still) valid all through September to now and your child started with the nursery with a correctly valid code... You could try to contact the local council's early years funding team and see if they could possible honour the funding that you should have had. They may not. But it's worth a try.

The codes are entirely a parents responsibility so yes you are liable for these arrears. But the nursery really should have realised they didn't have your code when they did their headcount in September/October.

As a single parent who works full time with disabilities, I barely notice anything like that. I don't use Facebook or watch aerial TV.

I live inside a very scattered and busy brain lol.

That's definitely something to bring up with them, why the invoices stopped and why there was no prior warning when what you owed was in the £100s. It should also be a good argument for a payment plan.
To be honest it sounds like the sort of thing I might have done - I'm autistic and have issues with information processing, but oue nursery proactively asked for the code, and I did check my childcare account messages carefully due to overlooking or misunderstanding things in the past.

@Rainbowloverparentx

PLEASE READ

You should have supplied the code to the nursery every few months. However! The nursery have a responsibility under the EYFS framework to supply you with regular invoices and to make sure that these are clear and transparent. They should state explicitly where your funding is applied to your bill and how it is reduced because of said funding. They did not do this.

I would refuse to pay any more as the error is theirs in many ways. You could not have known that you were building up arrears as you were not invoiced. PM me if you need any help writing an appeal letter.

Speaking as a childminder, if the 30 hours wasn’t being paid by the council I would be straight on to the funding team and the parent in the first month to see where it was. I would advise you speak to your local councils early years payment team and explain what has happened. I think they will be able to help you.

Yes, you should have been aware of the code but as someone also with ADHD I know how difficult it is to keep on top of everything like this. The nursery should have made you aware of this. There are several steps to take to claim the funding and I’m surprised they let this build up.

The funding team at the council may be able to edit the headcount and backdate it. I would expect the nursery to be chasing this up in your shoes but they sound useless. I think they are at fault here, not you. Good luck.

This basically.

It's not up to the nursery to walk you through the application process and what you need to do on the gov website. You've listed many times that you struggle with administration. Gently, that's not the nurseries issue. They don't have time to be checking and chasing code applications.

When you do the forms for childcare settings it asks if you're self funded or gov funded. If you did click gov funded it was up to you to sort that, not the nursery.

Sorry it's causing you so much stress. But lesson learned check the Ts and Cs and check your emails etc.

Nursery headcount should include the name of every child who is eligible being entered on the council's portal. This would have told them you had no code because they would have been unable to add your child. They have either claimed for hours for your child without this or have assumed you didn't want to use the funding in which case they should have chased payment ages before now.
Either way their communication doesn't sound great.
It is sortable. Phone the family information service for your area on Monday and ask to speak to the funding team and explain. They might not be able to help but it's worth asking. Then ask the nursery why you weren't invoiced. The first invoice would have made it clear your child wasn't receiving funding and you could have sorted it. Even with funding you should be receiving an invoice showing the funded hours and a charge of £0. This is where nursery are to blame and the council won't be pleased to hear they are not providing invoices.

A payment plan will sort the arrears but in an organised nursery this would never have become a problem.

@kingzion - the nursery have failed to supply invoices though. They must do this as part of offering funded places. It’s non-negotiable. They have not administered the funding scheme correctly, regardless of whether OP supplied them with her codes regularly. This is OP’s strongest argument for not having to repay any supposedly accrued debt. I’d also second appreciating your early years council team and they may be able to backdate the funding/code but it certainly wasn’t clear to you as a customer that the codes weren’t being used as you WERE NOT INVOICED.

I can't imagine what this is like for someone reading my scrambling words here, so I do apologise for the lack of clarity.

You are correct, I did apply in August. I can only assume ive reconfirmed it as i have provided the code to them when asked early January. This has gone through and I can only assume it was live from August also?

I got the message on the account that welcomed and stated I could stretch it. I then did get an email to reconfirm in November which I did, I checked again today and it stated that is until February.

I just missed the message regarding the code until prompted in January. When I reconfirmed, it didn't state about the code just that I had the funding for another 3 months, so again not realised.

I had communicated a payment plan to the nursery after finding out.

My ex stated he would help out, but made communications regarding it and noted the headcount and queried how it wasn't noticed back in September/October when they had a headcount then, as I signed their document and assumed it was all kosher.

So now I'm just wondering how it's all happened.

I know I definitely hold the blame now for not providing the code but if asked earlier I could of at least had the funding agreed from November surely? But now it's fallen out of that bracket hasn't it?

I really cannot get my head around it all if I'm honest.

I am chair of a charity childcare setting. We had a similar situation. We decided that we would take the financial hit because we should have realised that we had included a child on the headcount without a valid code for them. So we did not charge the parent.

I think this is the nursery’s issue. They previously invoiced you monthly. You spoke to them about getting the 30 hours. They stopped invoicing you. Why didn’t they invoice you? Did they put your child on the headcount for the funding? It sounds like they did, otherwise they would have invoiced you. Do they not charge anything above the funded hours - snack charge etc? All parents at our setting are invoiced, even if it’s just for the 50p snack charge.

*approached, not appreciated