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?

This isn’t the right fit for either of you.

She doesn’t want to be in a position where she feels she needs to chase you up for money. She wants a client who is reliable.

You wouldn’t want to be with someone who wouldn't send a reminder and would terminate a contract, weeks, months or years down the line if you’re human and forget.

This wouldn’t have worked for either of you

My payment terms (bog standard template contract) are payment on time or immediate termination.
Why would you assume it would be anything else?
Why would a childminder use a contract that allowed late or non payment?

@ButterCrackers My terms of contract for my clients stipulate that payment must be made termly in advance and within 14 days from receipt of my invoice. If I don't get paid on time, my clients don't get my services. I've never had any complaints about my terms, and I've only ever had one late payer.

Well, what you do now is find childcare provision and actually pay for it this time.

Your VERY FIRST BILL was 5 days late? lol

Exactly. You have a contract with payment terms. Here the OP needs to explain what their contract with the CM says. Are you providing a service on a regular long term basis or a one time job?

Are you really that self centred that you don’t think you’re being unreasonable? You’re 5 days late in paying her when she invoiced you in December.

She shouldn’t have to “remind” you to pay for your child’s care in my opinion. Does your mortgage company send you a reminder to pay them each month, no, but you make sure your bills are paid don’t you otherwise there are consequences.

Good on the childminder not wanting parents who will mess her around, take this as a lesson learnt OP.

She absolutely did the right thing. You have already proved yourself to be an unreliable payer. I can't believe you haven't prioritised paying your childcare bill. It's an absolute essential bill and she gave you plenty of notice. She shouldn't have to remind you. She probably would do if you were a long standing client who was never late before in paying her but as a new client your a huge financial risk to her. I have 3 kids and have been paying childcare for 12 years and never been late with a payment.

Why did you think that the CM was going to be working for free?

Yabu I'm afraid OP. I understand why you think she should have given you a reminder but as others have said, she probably had a bad experience before with parents not paying and doesn't want a repeat. She doesn't know you well enough to feel comfortable chasing you for payment. End of the day, she shouldn't have to beg to get paid. You really should have paid as soon as you got the invoice.

Look she's clearly decided that ye are going to be a pain re payment and that you are not worth the hassle. Bit harsh maybe but she's clearly been burnt before and now takes a really militant approach.
Legally I'm afraid she can absolutely do this and you have no recourse but to immediately look for someone else .
How stressful for ye regardless of how it happened!

That seems to be what you think. Given you apparently think the contract is likely to say "pay when you feel like and nothing will happen".

Wow. Grown adults shouldn't need payment reminders. I don't blame her.

Same but different. I've set up care for my mother few hours weekly via private provider. Email with invoice comes and I pay that day.
If I didn't do it immediately (and how long does mobile banking take) then I'd forget and I don't want them not being sorted. If I'm going on holiday so may be delayed I prewarn them of this.

I think equally, the CM might have sent a reminder, heard nothing back, phoned and been told breezily, "Oh no, we're not taking the space now as my MIL will look after the baby. Thought you'd have realised given we didn't pay on time." No one needs that shit. Per a previous PP, no late payments ever, no excuses.

lol That’s not what I’ve written at all and not what I think. Tell me though why you think that the CM would be working for free.

You obviously don't value her services if you're not prioritising her payment. Good for her, no pay no play is fair. If you have a good reason for not paying maybe get in touch & explain why you've not paid then offer to pay there & then by bank transfer & promise no more late payments. Hope fully she will still have the place available & take your child. In future make sure your childcare bills are paid on time or up front. It's a wage to the Minder so needs paying on time to cover their own outgoings.

The thing is, once you do someone a favour once, it can lead to an expectation and then a demand. "Oh, CM accepted me paying late in January, it won't hurt her if it's late in April too". "What do you mean you've terminated my contract because I didn't pay August on time? You know I always pay even if late! This is totally unreasonable!" etc.

No good deed and all that. I admire the CM for sticking to her terms. Kindness and compassion just get taken advantage of, IME.

It's the first invoice and you failed to pay it on time. She may be making an assumption that you're going to be flaky and unreliable consistently, has a waiting list, and has therefore made a decision she'd rather have clients who pay on time.

As to what you can do now, you can call her, apologise profusely and politely ask her to reconsider. Or you can find another childminder/hire a nanny.

lol I’m guessing this is one of those threads where the OP won’t come back as they won’t get the response they thought they would.

YABVU…and you’re lucky you’re not at a nursery because most of them charge late fees per day your invoice is overdue!! Also what must it look like to her if you don’t pay on time…are you one of those parents who is also consistently late for drop off and pick up too perhaps??

Pay your bills on time.

Paying our childminder was always our first priority, she has bills she needs to pay which she can't if people don't pay on time. If you can't even pay the first invoice on time for one reason or another, I assume she is predicting more trouble getting payments from you in future. No one wants a client they have to keep chasing so I don't blame her for terminating.

YABU. Would you want to be paid late/have to chase up your pay?

Totally agree with the above. The way you phrased that implies you don't value her/ her service. Have more respect in future and don't mess people around.

Sorry but I think YABU to not appreciate that this is your error.

You’ve learnt the hard way that childcare is no different to any other essential bill. You have to pay it on time or else there are consequences.

I agree that some CMs might have sent you a reminder and given you 24 hours to pay before terminating, or even added a late payment fee, but she’s under no obligation to. I’d imagine that she’s been caught out before by late paying parents and you probably seem like too much of a risk.

All you can do now is contact her asap, acknowledge that it is YOUR error, and apologise profusely. Perhaps tell her that if she will reconsider you will set up a direct debit for the first of every month and even offer to pay the next month in advance today. She is of course under no obligation to reconsider and it may well be that she has already offered the place to someone on her waiting list.

If she does not reinstate the contract then you and / or your partner (if you have one) will need to take emergency parental leave until you’ve got an alternative solution.