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?

Where do you live though? It's perfectly normal in the UK for childminders, nurseries etc to charge in advance for the month – probably due in no small part to people like the OP who would happily use the service and then conveniently "forget" to pay at the end of the month! Many of these small businesses are run on a shoestring, they can't afford to be carrying non-payers.

Of course you will. You'll end with a client list of people who actually pay for your services.

@TheEyesOfLucyJordon A reminder doesn't solve the problem. It creates a new one. It sets a precedent that reminders are expected and late payment is ok. Grown ups don't need other grown ups to remind them to pay bills.

Your first invoice is 5 days late. I wouldn't want you as a client either.

Yes.

I was surprised to see the childminder wanted a whole months payment upfront and weeks before the child was even about to start. She sounds a bit of a grabber tbh. I can understand a deposit for a new client to hold the place. You had a lucky escape.

Indeed - Judge Judy has covered many such cases over the years!

Nah, I'm doing enough scrolling as it is. And my point still stands

@TheEyesOfLucyJordon

I think you've said upthread that you work for a company and part of your job is to send out reminders.

That is a COMPLETELY different situation.

You will get paid regardless of how you fill your hours.

Own business, you don't.

I'll explain in numbers. Say you get paid £20 per hour. So £1 per 3 minutes. If for your company you spend 3 minutes sending a reminder, or not, you still get paid your £20. If it's for your own business, you've just gone down to £19 vs someone who pays first time. Now if as a business you need to turn every new customer in to a paying customer; you might consider that 3 minutes and £1 loss money well spent. But. If you don't, because you have a finite amount of customers you can have, and a waiting list, then that is £1 very badly spent.

This attitude is completely out of touch with reality.

Why do you need a reminder for payment when you say you know you had settling in sessions booked this week? Surely, seeing the settling in sessions in your diary were all the reminder you need to remember you have to pay. If the childminder hadn’t terminated the contract today, when do you think you would have ‘remembered’ and deigned to pay her?

Your post comes across as very dismissive of the importance of paying the childminder by the due date. Self-employment, particularly for sole traders in relatively low paid jobs like childcare, is precarious to say the least. Your childminder’s livelihood is at stake and her ability to pay her mortgage etc probably depends on receiving payments on time.

It never ceases to amaze me that parents will invariably talk about their child being the most important thing in their lives, yet some parents treat the people who they entrust to care for their precious child as unimportant. Your childminder is probably only too well aware that if you couldn’t be bothered to set up your own calendar reminder and make the payment to her by the agreed date, then it is highly likely you do not regard your relationship with her as important and will probably be someone she has to chase for payment repeatedly. Good childminders care deeply about the children they care for and I don’t blame her in the slightest for not wanting to form a bond with your child only to have to terminate the agreement at a later date if you continue to have such a cavalier attitude to payment.

How would you feel if, on the contractually agreed date, your employer did not pay you for “one reason or another,” and then blamed you for not reminding them?

> bit of credit control is part of the usual business cycle.
She has exercised the only credit control available to her - you pay late, you don't get the chance to muck her about again

But do you understand the reality of working for yourself? I was a childminder a few years ago. On occasion, I wasn’t paid and chasing monies is time consuming and awkward, especially when you have a bond with your minded child and a relationship with their parents. On one occasion, I repeatedly trusted a mum that she would pay me and allowed her time to do so. She never did, and I could not pay my rent. I had already paid for this child’s food, activities, outings etc etc so I was left hundreds out of pocket and I had to end the agreement.
I always had a waiting list and not paying the first bill on time is a massive red flag for future issues. You would hope that any emotionally intelligent parent would understand the need for both parties to establish a good relationship right from the start. Part of this is paying the bill as per the agreement. This would be more of a worry for me than the actual bill not being paid.
You wouldn’t be able to use a service elsewhere without paying.

So would setting up a standing order

Sometimes they do.

In a crazy coincidence field, I've just received a second reminder from my clinic to remind me to pay for my physiotherapy appointment on 2 January. I paid by card at the appointment and the payment has cleared my bank. I informed them of this when I received the first reminder on 3 January and have informed them again today.

I'm not planning on firebombing the clinic! Or telling them what useless fuckwits they are. These things happen 😑

Which I suggested she do, after receiving the grace of a reminder.

It is very likely that the OP is dreading going back to work and leaving her child and I sympathise. However, surely this would mean that childcare would be at the front rather than at the back of her mind, i.e. thinking about the settling in sessions, hoping that the baby will be OK with the childminder etc. Unless there is another reason why OP didn't pay by the deadline, e.g. waiting for some money to come in so that she could pay, I can't see that OP would just forget.

But paying an invoice late is?

OP you should have just paid her on time. If this is your first bill and it's late then it doesn't bode well! Childminders are worth their weight in gold and she probably has a long waiting list. She hasn't got time to muck about and chase parents who cba to pay her on time for one reason or another!

I have frequently made use of the Late Payment of Commercial Debts Act https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1998/20/contents and slapped on £70 penalties for late invoices
They tend not to be late again

Yes, and sometimes they don't. Childminders are not obliged to find out.
Not really a coincidence, given it is an entirely scenario, and nobody has been firebombed.

This OP. You have to realize it's her job she isn't doing you a favor.

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1998/20/contents
Late |Payment of Commercial Debts Act
Use it :)

A reminder doesn't solve the problem. It creates a new one. It sets a precedent that reminders are expected and late payment is ok

I couldn't have put it better myself, @Fluufer
If this was a longstanding arrangement with OP usually paying on time and then suddenly being late I can quite see that the CM may have reminded her, but it isn't; the child hasn't even started yet and already OP's shown herself to be one of those many would wish to avoid

And as so often it's very obvious who's run their own company and who hasn't ...

I had this issue with some parents. I spent years as a specialist tutor, which was my full time job, and took payment for half a term in advance.

The number of parents who 'forgot' to pay on time at the first lesson was depressing. Eventually, I had to put a clause in the T&Cs saying that if fees weren't paid on time, the lesson was postponed.

For me it showed a lack of respect and as if my income was 'pin money' or a hobby rather than a professional service (and I always had a long waiting list.)