Childminder terminating contract

[hoolahoolay]

Surely I'm not being unreasonable. So my son is due to start with a childminder next week when I go back to work after maternity leave. We have settling in sessions this week

So she sent the invoice for January out early December and she said to let her know if there were any errors, the due date on the invoice was 1st January. For one reason or another we haven't paid it and instead of reminding us she has messaged this morning to say she's terminated contract as invoice is 5 days late.
Surely she could have sent a payment reminder.

WTF can I do now?

It's not draconian to expect terms of the contract to be upheld. Leeway was given, but it probably didn't need to be.
It's on the parent to read the terms of the contract they sign. I'm paid £6 an hour, it's really not worth the agro when I've got a waiting list of parents who will pay.

And how do you think the contract will help the OP? Even if the childminder has broken the terms of the contract, the only thing that might allow the OP to do is get out of the contract. It won't make the childminder take the child.

Surely the contract will say payment in advance and it is OP who has broken it.

You had the invoice early December so you should have paid it then. I wouldn’t want people who pay late

you can either contact her and beg and she if she will reconsider or you have to find someone else

let this be a lesson to you

YABU. Supposing all her clients didn’t get around to paying her ‘for one reason or another’? Her business would fail. She’s providing an important service; paying her for it needs to be a priority.

A nursery would probably have sent you a reminder and put up with a slightly delayed payment once, but their fees would be much higher. You’ve gone for the cheaper option and are not valuing it. Good on the childminder for valuing herself.

I’m self employed and have recently sacked a client I was quite fond of, but they never, ever paid on time. When I was working for them it meant I wasn’t working for anyone else so it had a big impact on my finances.

Going straight to cancelling a contract without any warning or reminder, for someone who is completely new to parenting, has never experienced the pay upfront or lose out culture. I work in a industry that is notorious for non-payment and where MN regularly says 'ask for a payment plan if you can't afford it'. We would still give people a reminder to pay before refusing further services.

I wouldn’t have given notice after one late payment, even if it was the 1st payment.
But I’d be giving notice if it happened again.
Having been self employed in the past I spent a fair amount of time chasing late payers. And it was always the same ones.

Yes - we need to read the contract to know its terms. The only times I’ve paid in advance are travel tickets on public transport and plane. I paid an advance deposit for renovation works, bought a car and paid a deposit first. Everything else is done by invoice after the job - self employed plumber for example recently on a one off basis ( invoice after and paid after the invoice) or on contract, paid end of the month to the business with a contractual agreement signed. This was the case for my mother’s card home - paid end of month. Electricity etc is paid afterwards. Even filling up the car can be paid at the cashier.

@Basketballhoop OP had over a month to pay - she shouldn't need to be reminded.

Being a new parent doesn't mean you can just get away with not paying your bills on time.

If you like her I would pay now, then apologise and offer to pay upfront by standing order going forwards. Take her worry away and make yourself a better opportunity than the next person on her list.

A childminders entire client base is "new parents" (we don't even know if the OP is a new parent to be honest). If we had to make endless allowances for that reason we'd be fucked.

A standing order rather than a DD.

Lots of people have given you lots of examples of services you pay for in advance. It's not unusual at all. Even if you haven't personally experienced it.

YABU to not have paid her and especially over Christmas. People don’t work for free and you not paying her is already a huge flag that you do not respect her. She was right to terminate the contract.

You now need to look for someone else and please do make the effort to be more respectful in future.

@ButterCrackers I know lots of small businesses who require payment upfront - dog walkers, dog daycares, people offering blocks of exercise classes or terms of activities for kids.

Generally the T&C's will say something like "payment is due in advance at least x hours before services commence. If payment isn't made on time we will charge a late fee of x/you will lose your place. If you are struggling to pay then please contact us to make alternative arrangements".

I completely agree with the Childminder. She is running a business and doesn't want or need clients who pay late.

It probably wasn't though was it? Some people just think they can waft through life letting others wait for them along the way until they have time to pay them

If you don't know that invoices need paying by their due date then I don't know what to tell you.

Oh yes that's exactly what you want to do - sue the child minder!! That will get you a great reputation in the CM community 🙈
If it's anything like where I live it's a small community and CM talk.

Decent people and companies pay their invoices before Christmas, knowing that it’s easy to forget what day it is in that funny in between period.

Can you imagine? The OP would never get a child minder again.

I think it is fairly safe to assume she is, or she would have been aware of this problem.

I don't disagree that she should have paid the bill on time. I just think that a little more understanding as a one-off on a first bill could have been granted. 30 seconds to remind a new customer. Then if still not paid, fair enough to terminate.

What rock are people living under where they’ve never paid for anything in advance? I’m going back to work in March and I’ve had to pay the entire first months nursery fees in advance. I had to do this when I returned to work with DD too, at a different nursery. It’s fairly standard for childcare certainly where I live as it is seen as securing their placement.

Same here. They have a whole group and talk and meet regularly.

One mum had a massive falling out with my friends childminder and she struggled to find another one because of it.

OP just needs to be honest say shes sorry and if the space hasnt gone she will pay immediately. Otherwise, look for another childminder.

I feel for the OP but this is a business with many waiting customers

The terms of payment will be outlined as will termination conditions. Five days late for the first time with no work done, as it’s a new client, would be surprising to see in a contract. The op should check their contract and get legal advice if necessary. CM have to follow their contracts like any other business.