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?

Round here any childminder could fill a place in under 5 minutes. Learn your lesson. Appreciate the value of good quality child care and pay your bills on time. And if you have extenuating circumstances and you cannot pay on time, be up front and let them know. A good rule of thumb is to remember that if you don't pay for your ticket, you don't travel on the plane. Childcare is broadly similar.

Yeah, but if it slipped her mind then that's irrelevant. A quick reminder would have sorted it.

Try a humble and sincere apology. Ask if she’s willing to give you another chance. I think the offer of paying for Feb now is a good one.

I’m self employed and typically would send out a reminder. But sometimes even after multiple letters, clients still don’t pay and you are left looking at the Small Claims Court as the only option left.

Obviously this is a hassle and with a completely new client who blots their copy book straight out of the gate, it looks like this childminder simply doesn’t want to take the risk.

Your OP doesn’t suggest that you are remotely sorry or embarrassed, just put out that you are now inconvenienced so I reckon they’ve probably made the right call.

I have a waiting list. I'm not going to waste my time on a parent who can't even pay the very first bill on time. And I'm only a new, part time childminder. The more established ones have their pick of families.
If it had been a few days, but OP had paid, you might have a point. But it's been a few days and OP still hadn't noticed - that's the problem.

Due date on an invoice means must be paid by. Not a few days later.

You had a month's notice but didn't pay. For something that important in your life.

She probably expects any further relationship would be full of chasing and complications. Other clients are easier, more grateful to have found someone who will take care of their little ones - and pay on time, or even early - when the invoice was issued was the usual for us, can't forget it then.

You've had a month to pay the invoice but haven't, and are now 5 days late with payment. This is your very first invoice; it's the invoice you should have made absolutely sure you paid, to give a good impression to the childminder. She now thinks, you are going to need constant chasing for payment and reminders, every..single..month! It's tedious and a pain in the arse if someone is having to chase payments every month. She doesn't know you on a personal level, or at all really on a professional one - so her first impressions of you are not good ones! All you can do is apologise profoundly, ask if she would reconsider, reassure her it was an oversight and you're not normally late paying any bill. If she won't budge, then it's a lesson learnt - pay invoices on time.

It's even more important to make the first payment on time, when you have no track record of actually ponying up to rely on.

Yes, late paying is common in b2b but that doesn't mean a business has to put up with it. Childminders usually have their pick of potential clients and if I were one I'd boot crappy payers in favour of decent ones every time too, because I'm not a big business with the cash reserves to absorb constant late payment.

How would you like to remind your employer to pay you?!

Would you like to chase your employer for your salary?

YABU here, it’s not upto the childminder to remind you. Lesson learnt for going forward.

My old childminder had a customer who didn’t pay for 3 months. The CM nearly lost her house as they had two children in full time care. She had to turn them away at the door and when I arrived she was in tears. Eventually she got her money through small claims court but she gave childminding quickly after that.

Your call. I just don't think that it's a great way to run a world 😳

You showed her a red flag before you even started with her and it’s probably one she’s seen before. A learning experience. Hope you find some decent childcare soon and that you can afford it ok.

I would say you will have to find another childminder and make sure you pay them on time.

She is probably worried that this isnt the best start payment wise and its easier to call it quits before she starts having your child regular.

You are 5 days late with payment and had a month's notice that it needed paying ...you had plenty of time to sort it out. Take this as a lesson learnt and try and find someone else.

No. But I have to indirectly, on behalf of all staff. If our customers don't pay us, we can't pay salaries. It's business 🤷

What are the "one reason or another"?

I agree with the minority of posters, I think the CM is bu.

I mean yes, op should have paid the bill by 1st Jan. Technically the CM had every right to terminate etc etc.

But come on. People are human. Life and routine gets shot to shit the last two weeks of Dec and genuine mistakes happen.

The CM could easily have spent 30 seconds sending a quick text, op could have been very apologetic and paid immediately, life would have gone on. CM has instead moved straight to termination which seems extreme.

I would try and find an alternative CM op.

You had a good few weeks to pay that invoice but you didn't. Why not? The childminder is not obliged to remind you. Do you forget to pay your mortgage/rent?

She has bills to pay too. I assume you signed a contract - termination info included.

The only thing you can do now is contact her ASAP, apologise profusely, offer to pay next month's in advance etc etc. Then learn your lesson.

Why not? Any other service you pay for at the time. Any invoices I receive have a payment date, and for instance the plumbing company we use for a boiler service will add an extra fee if not paid within 5 days!

The fact she even had settling in sessions recently should have jogged her memory that the bill needed to be paid. I think it's cheeky to now expect the childminder to accept a late payment. I think the childminder had a lucky escape as the OP doesn't even sound apologetic.

Why hadn't you paid it? You don't express there being a good reason. Not prioritising your childcare admin isn't a good reason.

Have you tried apologising sincerely? Not grovelling which is messy but apologising, accepting why she has her policy, explaining it's a one off, meaning it and asking for another chance.

This. Perfectly described!

If it was month 6 after a number of payments had been made on time, fair enough. But this childminder can cut the drama and trouble before it starts, especially if they’re good and have a waiting list. They have bills to pay where they will be penalised if late. Why shouldn’t they be fussy about having clients who realise the importance of paying on time?

Unfortunately it is absolutely typical in some self-employed professions to have to chase (and chase). It is in mine. And oftentimes, the larger the organisation, the slower the payment process. DWP for instance are an absolute bastard when it comes to paying.

Some PP are right in stating that in certain self-employed jobs you’d have no clients left if you took this childminder’s hardline approach. However, she possibly has a waiting list as long as her arm and can afford to do so. Or perhaps the fact that OP has failed to pay the very first invoice is a huge red flag for the childminder based on previous experience.

I’m currently outstanding £2.5k, most of which is overdue. £1k of which, I contacted the organisation a few weeks ago to chase and was airily told, oh, everyone’s off for Christmas now, we’ll have to sort it when we get back.

In my area childminders are in high demand and need to be booked months in advance (booked mine 9 months before returning to work). I am also self employed and hate late paying clients so completely understand her POV. You didn’t get back to her, you didn’t pay, she clearly doesn’t need the hassle. If you had valued her, you would have paid on time.