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?

You don't say? If only you'd have told me that on page 2, I could have saved myself all this typing.

I was thinking this. I’m S/E and it goes with the territory that invoices can be paid a few days (or a few months 👿) late and you have to chase them. A reminder before cut off or first warning is fair.

However, in the circumstances a phone call, apology and request for her to let you re-hire you would be a good idea if you are serious about having her back. Maybe she has been offered a higher wage, better benefits or for some reason found it difficult or uncomfortable working with you, so the late payment was a good way to fairly break the contract without having to broach a higher wage & benefits or not being happy at work. It could be a whole ton of things not related to those 5 days late payment.

So, if Marcus in Dubai smashes a dumbbell over his physio’s milk bottle, should Tesco issue a reminder to the people in service roles or not?

I don’t think the response has been vitriolic— just overwhelmingly of the opinion that the OP should have paid the invoice on time. By not taking paying the invoice seriously, she was not taking the childminder seriously.

Sometimes posters just have to accept that they are indeed being unreasonable.

Do you require a reminder before you pay every bill? Mortgage, council tax, utilities....? Or do you just pay them on time because that's what is expected of adults?

Ok and what does the cm do in Feb and Match and April if OP is late through one thing and another? Her track record doesn't imply she'd suddenly get better at remembering to pay, quite the contrary.

Is the CM going to be reminding her every month for the rest of the contract? Which of the CMs bills should she pay late as she doesn't have a good proportion of her income available?

What parent would you rather have? A late paying one who needs reminding to pay you? Or one who pays without prompting and on time?

Post of the thread. You should have your own show 😂

Read the thread. I've stated one reminder. And one only!

Ok so she gives notice at the beginning of Feb? That's worse! The child will have settled and the cm will have lost any opportunity for other January starters waiting.

No. She gives notice NOW. OP pays NOW. And doesn't get any more chances.

The thing with the reminder is that there is ample opportunity for the OP to remind herself to pay the bill if she couldn't do it right away. Calendar and phone. Every week for five weeks, if necessary. Sometimes, as adults, we need to take responsibility for ourselves.

The childminder even gave her five extra days!

People clearly don't appreciate that childminders are beholden to strict ratios and restrictive funding. It isn't a small thing to risk a non payer. A childminder under capacity makes below minimum wage.

You have had the invoice for a long time, and you were ending mat leave AND had a settling in session coming up, so how can this not be on your mind? It's a monthly payment presumably, you could have set up a DD immediately so you didn't have to remember. Also, I don't know if you've heard about them, but we all have this device where we can set reminders for things that are important to us, so that we don't forget or rely on other adults reminding us.

In an ideal world of yes she could have reminded you. But it's ultimately you who are responsible for remembering to pay her, and you who is at fault here.

The OP asked WTF can I do now?
Pay your bills on time in future, why should anyone run around after you for a payment?

Yes.... I understand! But I'm asking about whem she's late paying the February bill on 1st Feb?

The payment was due on the 1st Jan, and OP states that the settling in sessions were due to start this week. So the payment was due a week in advance, at the start of the month that the service was being provided for. That's pretty standard. Our nursery works exactly the same - invoices are to be paid by 1st day of the month. Often the first day of the month is a Monday or Wednesday, neither of which are days my daughter attends; but I still pay on the due date for that month.

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.

Totally agree. She was aware that settling in sessions were happening, interacting that she hadn't "forgotten" about that. Just conveniently forgot the part where she needed to pay.

*interesting, not interacting 🙄

Well, then she gets her contract terminated. But my hope is that she learns her lesson from the January reminder. If she doesn't well ...... then I move towards the view of the masses. I'm not advocating for overlooking ongoing poor treatment of the child minder.

It’s one thing to cut someone slack on occasion if they’ve demonstrated to you that they are otherwise reliable, but OP established herself as unreliable straight off the bat. Why would she waste her time knowing that the space would be easily filled?

Sure, some people may send a reminder to clients or forgive a late payment, but it isn’t unreasonable not to. That flexibility isn’t something that is owed.

Yes you were unreasonable .
Pay your bills on time OP .

I'm self employed and work with children/families.

The number of people who mess me about beggars belief. I am getting better at spotting them now and it normally starts off as something like this. I take the first possible opportunity to get rid of them because I've already seen red flags.

She's possibly over subscribed and has decided you're going to be one of the parents who messes her about.

Think back ... were you prompt at replying/communicating before this? Has she had to chase you to make a decision etc before? My guess is yes.

Did you acknowledge the invoice OP? Or have you been radio silence since it was sent despite the due date passing?

The clue is that your OP is completely without apology or embarrassment. Nowhere do you mention letting the childminder down or how sorry/regretful you are. You're just pissed off that your actions are affecting you.

I didn't say that!

I'm with the childminder!

Ok but as an experienced childminder I can tell you, they don't get better! I applaud your positive thinking, but they just don't! And they are more likely to push back on other policies the cm has, around sickness, collection times, communication etc. I know it seems like a one off, and I wish it was, but honestly the most telling part is that OP isn't sorry and contacting the CM first to apologise and fix the mistake, but instead waiting for the CM to contact her. There are so many parents looking for care, it's just saving yourself the stress and headache of dealing with this parent ongoing by having a zero tolerance.

The idea that the OP didn’t pay a bill, that they had had for weeks, is somehow the childminders fault is laughable to me.

FAFO.