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?

Could you beg for forgiveness and arrange to pay a week IN ADVANCE in future to safe guard you paying slightly late?
If she is a great child minder it is worth talking to her. Maybe she will forgive you once due to you just starting back.

You could try ringing and grovelling but I suspect it’s too late now. You should have paid the invoice immediately you received it.

I would imagine she’s easily filled your place now. Of course she should not have to send payment reminders for something as important as this. You sadly demonstrated that you are not reliable payers and she does not want that hassle of dealing with people who don’t pay their invoices properly.

One of the joys of being your own boss is you get to set your own rules.

It doesn't reflect brilliantly on you, that the very first time you have to pay, you forget. And you forget for 5 days, and probably would have continued to "forget" had she not contacted you.
How did you expect this to go down, considering your child was due to have settling in sessions THIS WEEK?

Entirely your fault OP.

She's decided you'll be hard work as a client, based on the fact you couldn't even pay the first bill on time. I would find a new childminder (and pay promptly).

But the childminder is not an 'organisation'!

Suspect the OPs details have been posted in the local Childminder WhatsApp group to warn the rest to avoid.

Reminds me so much of how many people fail to collect items I sell on facebook marketplace because they've been in a car accident. At least 15 of them last year - I must live in an extremely dangerous area.......

I’ve messed up and now I’m in the shit. It must be her fault for not reminding me. 🤯

I imagine the grovelling will be of no use as it seems clear that OP thinks CM is completely in the wrong and likely reacted in kind when she got the message.

The Op isn't coming back is she?

This one's on you I'm afraid

I wonder if she finds your child hard work and was looking for a way to terminate

Why didn't you set up a standing order to pay before 1st Jan the day you got the invoice?

Or make a note on a calendar or on your mobile ?

I thought everyone knows CM's are like rocking horse shit so why were you so lackadaisical and what's with the insipid "one reason or other" excuse?

I can only second that you grovel and offer to pay 2 months upfront now and you'll set up a SO going forward.

I'm shocked how many are unwilling to accept the decision of a professional when it's their own fault that the contract with said professional has been terminated.

Sheer entitlement.

Oh sorry, missed it was the first payment. I think she thought you didn't need the place

This. It’s easy to set up advance payments with online banking. The childminder is running a business and needs to know that her new child’s parents are going to be reliable payers.

I don't know how people can be so casual about not paying on time.

If for any reason I was unable to pay someone on time it would constantly be on my mind.
I would have contacted the childminder way before the payment due date and explained my difficulties.
Depending on the reason why I couldn't pay, I would also have apologized and given a day to assure her I would be able to pay by, while assuring her that I completely understood if she needed to terminate the contract due to not being paid on time.

That said, I would have made this payment a priority and done my best to ensure I had the money available for the date it was due.

What do you do now?

You find another childminder and you pay them on time.

Look at it from her point of view.
You've not even started and already you're not paying on time. And you expect her to chase you up?

She will have dealt with enough parents to know what that may mean and she's not willing to entertain it.

Surely when the OP was at the settling in sessions 'this week' that would have triggered a thought that she needed to pay the invoice.

I think you should realise that it's time-consuming and stressful for people to have to chase payment. She shouldn't have to do that and she should be able to trust that she will be paid on time, like in any other job. If you want to keep her, you ought to apologise profusely. Good luck.

Came to say the same! I'm sure we'd have had plenty of responses if the majority agreed with her. Then again, maybe she's busy what with being childminderless 😂

If you don't chase customers for payment you won't have a business. Even the biggest companies have debt departments

I'd apologise and hope she give a second chance. Then always pay promptly.

Of course you can run a business without chasing customers. That's why nurseries, childminders after-school clubs, dance classes etc most often operate on a policy of pay before the service has been provided. Don't pay and you won't be able to use the service.

Agree with others that it's harsh, but fair.

From the CM's point of view, people that mess you around before they've even started are huge red flags.

CMs tend to have to do invoicing and chasing in their own time, time they actually want to spend with their families - so why would she choose a client she is going to have to chase and remind if she doesn't have to?

Find another childminder and take this as a reminder that you need to adhere to your side of the contract, especially right at the beginning.