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?

And the OP could have paid on time even easier

Presuming you have tried contacting them and apologising profusely.....Just take it as a lesson learnt. With your new childminder (when you find one), pay the invoice as soon as get it. You can set up a recurring payment for a certain date and then you can just forget about it.

I'm sure the childminder knows what is in the contract though.
Can't imagine why you assume a poorly paid woman must be wrong though. Wouldn't possibly be misogyny.... would it?

Delighted to hear that your take on morality doesn't include being law abiding
What else? You're a bit short of cash on your weekly shop, so it's ethically OK to steal a loaf of bread? You're in a hurry to pick up a child from school, so it's morally fine to speed along a residential street?

The OP probably knows now that she made a huge mistake, has caused herself and family unnecessary stress, hopefully it’s a life lesson learned. You don’t sit on your arse and do nothing until something like this happens, and you certainly don’t rely upon someone else to be your reminder.

There’s a good reason why some people’s lives are less stressful, less challenging than the lives of others. Being a good organiser and prioritising “things that must be done” is a good start.

I'm guessing one of you is a lawyer, and it's not "Dotto." Lol

I can see why she decided to terminate. You have had over a month to pay and still haven't coughed up. I would have paid the invoice as soon as I received it or I would set up the payment to go out towards the end of December. You didn't do either and don't really seem to have a reason for not paying. If you forgot or didn't have enough money then it doesn't sound like you will be a good customer, especially as you seem to think it her fault for not chasing you up. Why should she do that?

> Is it just me?

It is not

I once worked with someone who forgot to attend a job interview, and was angry that the prospective employer wouldn't reschedule. She was honest with them but:-

"It wasn't my fault I forgot!" 🙄

Absolutely. I see it all the time. My client base includes nurses, partners in city law firms, high earning finance types, teaching assistants and so on. I can guarantee my best payers are those who earn the least.

My worst payer at the moment is the SAHM who dabbles in fashion and has just spent upwards of 2 million on her new house.

You assume woman and poorly paid - right back atcha with your accusations. They are on you and not myself. I suggest that the op checks their contract in case the cm is on breech.

OP said "she" so not an assumption, and childminders are poorly paid. I know because I am one.
May I ask why you did not suggest OP read her invoice more closely?

‘…for one reason or another…’ means either

‘so many things were more important to me than paying you that I just didn’t do it’

or

’we didn’t have the money at the time, but we do now’.

Either of those is a sound reason to decide against getting into a business relationship with you.

Look at this the other way around
OP has pad on time
But on the day, the CM says that "for one reason or another" she can't take the child and refunds the money
Whose side would you be on there?

And which of your non DD bills do you need the 'grace' of a reminder?

You're definitely supporting @Fluufer's point that responsible adults don't need reminders

It's funny these parents never need reminding to drop their child off to me.... just paying seems to be the sticking point!

I have a current family that pay late every single fecking month. It's tiresome reminding them and thankfully for the parents I've had the child long enough that we're have a bond and I would feel sad to give notice. But I wish I hadn't let them get away with paying late that first month, I wish!

It's certainly hardened my approach and next time I won't be so forgiving so I applaud the CMs stance.

Clearly @TheEyesOfLucyJordon does not work in finance or business!

What are your payment terms and conditions? The childminders I know are not poorly paid. It’s a good job with a solid client base - the childcarers I used were qualified. They were well paid and there was a solid contract.

I see the OP has gone to ground.

I’m guessing CMs are in demand wherever they are?

If I don't get my self assessment return and tax payment to HMRC on time, I wonder if I will be able to avoid a fine if I tell them that 'for one reason or another' I haven't paid my tax? 😆😆

The child minder didn't issue a single reminder. No, I know; she doesn't have to. But she just could have: relatively easily.

And the OP could have very easily set up a reminder/alert to pay whether on a phone/computer/piece of paper stuck in a prominent place, whatever. You know act like a responsible adult, the issue of childcare is clearly an important one so why be so lackadaisical about it? The OP remembered perfectly well when settling in sessions were scheduled for and even that didn't seem to prompt a thought about paying the invoice.

Treat people as you would wish to be treated and if you would want paying for something in a timely fashion without having to remind the other person to do so then have the respect to do so when the situation is reversed.

Is that your opinion that the cms weren't poorly paid or theirs?

I think given how desperately oversubscribed most childcare settings are these days it was incredibly foolish to not bother paying the (first!) bill promptly as you've obviously come across as someone who doesn't prioritise paying on time which is I imagine even more essential for a childminder who has a limited number of places and therefore a limited number of payments coming in to support herself.
She probably has a wait list of people who will probably pay on time and she doesn't need the hassle of chasing payments, especially for a new customer with no established history.
Were you expecting to be able to drop your child off without having paid?

@Nanny0gg

It would not have taken the childminder a great deal of effort just to send out a reminder on 2 January. Should she have gone down that route, all this would have been avoided.

What’s the ‘all this’ that would have been avoided? The childminder has absolutely avoided what she wanted to avoid - to wit, a flakey client. Whatever the OP is dealing with would have been avoided by paying on time.

All that might have been avoided by the childminder sending a reminder is a thread on MN.

Well, at least until the OP got herself ditched next month.

The one that I had pay late then just left with no notice, then fobbed me off with excuses until she moved away and left me hundreds short.

Unlike big business or local authorities who have powers beyond us mere mortals to pursue non payers and fine them I have no idea where she is to get my money back.

So yeah, she had a lucky escape.

I would apologise, grovel, promise to pay her TODAY, ex0lain it was an oversight.
Start asking around on local Facebook groups or check out local nurseries