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?

I got a plumber out within an hour just before Christmas. I put this down to a) them having done lots for us over the years and b) having their invoices paid immediately on receipt.

It isn't OK to let this stuff slide but I'm in agreement with all saying an immediate, sincere apology and payment could possibly have turned this round.

But it didn't slip her mind. It couldn't have done given she knew she was going back to work and knew when the setting in sessions were. If you remember those two things then you remember that you need to pay for the childcare. There is no way she forgot she was going back to work and therefore needed to pay for the childcare.

I quite understand that you’re upset. this seems like a stressful and unexpected situation, especially when you're preparing to return to work. While it’s your responsibility to pay invoices on time, it's reasonable for you expect at least a friendly reminder before something as drastic as terminating the contract. A quick message about the overdue payment might have resolved the issue without escalating it.That said, as others have said, childminders often have strict policies regarding payments because their income is tied directly to their ability to plan and budget. If the contract stated that late payments would lead to immediate termination, she may have felt justified in enforcing it. Was it so stated?
You could try reaching out to her, acknowledging the delay, and asking if she’s willing to reconsider. If this relationship isn’t salvageable, though, it’s worth reflecting on whether her communication style and strictness are compatible with your needs going forward. I think neither of you are being YABU, I can see both sides.

Childminder probably has a long list of parents to chose from and the lack of payment singled you out as potentiallyunreliable.

Hopefully you'll get a space elsewhere if the local childminders don't share information between them about potentially unreliable payers.

One of the reasons childcare is so expensive is that we're forced to factor in late payments and non-payment of fees; it's so common.

A regular scam is to book in settling in sessions, then fail to pay or show up when the contract proper starts.

I lost my compassion and understanding for these people a long time ago, and so did the decent parents who appreciate me.

So the settling in sessions are this week so I haven't actually seen her since November.

The contract (I checked) says £10 a day (including weekend and BHs) for every day payment is late and childminder CAN terminate contract on day 5.

I've phoned her and she said she'll call me back after work.

The op has broken the contract by depriving the cm of the benefit of the contract to her....ie not paying. The cm has not broken it as she only withdrew care for non payment. A contract has mutual benefits to both parties you can not force someone to provide a service that has not been paid for as per the contract. Are you suggesting a cm just keeps working unpaid?

Exactly. OP did NOT forget to pay it. The child had settling in sessions this week, there is no WAY you could "forget" it. In fairness to the OP she is not claiming that she forgot she is saying "for one reason or another" she did not pay. She chose not to pay but yet expects the childminder to REMIND her to pay when she didn't forget in the first place. So what she is saying is the childminder should have sent an email telling her she has to pay now even though she knows she has to pay now because their child starts this week.

Absolutely batshit behaviour. If your child is starting this week you make SURE you are paid up and ready. You do not send a child to be minding when you have not even paid the invoice which clearly states LAST day for paying was Jan 1st.

This was not an omission of payment, it was a deliberate decision not to pay "for one reason or another" and this is the consequence of not having enough respect for the childminder to pay within the ample time given or at least send an email to say why not and try come to an agreement.

You’d best pucker up and prepare to kiss arse then.

I actually can’t believe you think it’s reasonable not to pay her.

Well that sounds clear cut then.

If you're very contrite you might get a second chance.

she has messaged this morning to say she's terminated contract as invoice is 5 days late.

Which ties in with her contract then.

We're you spending your bank holiday working? The op knows she has to pay should she expect to be told to pay a parking ticket more than the initial bill she's an adult who is responsible for her own finances.

Your in breach of contract. She terminated as per the contract. I would have done the same.

What a sensible person. You can't pay on time, with a month's stated warning, presumably longer in that you would have organise the childminder longer in advance than just that pay month. All this for a service that is important to you.

All you can do is find alternative childcare and realise that if having childcare is important, than paying is too.

Did you apologise?

And I hope you gave a better reason than between this that and t'other 🙄

Contrition, grovelling, and offering as much payment up front for the next few months as you can afford so she’s assured you won’t mess her around again. The fact she’s willing to call you back is a good sign.

So why do you think she's being unreasonable?

She's followed the contract and you obviously have the childminder on the brain if he's doing settling in sessions this week and yet despite that you still didn't think oh yeah I need to pay her and instead it took her contacting you for you to even consider that she might need paying...

The few times over the years that I have been late paying the childminder or dog walker I have felt absolutely mortified. I have no wish to waste their time in having to chase me for an unpaid bill. It is disrespectful. If you have someone you value looking after your children or animals you need to treat them like gold dust. Do not blame the childminder for moving on. It could be blip because of Christmas etc, but why should she risk it.

Any The Last Kingdom fans who remember the grovelling scene with Aethelwold and Uthred?

That's the OP, that is.

Or it should be if she wants childcare next week.

Surely you can see it from her side. You haven't bothered to pay before you've even started, you're going to be one of the ones she will have to chase for a payment.
You've shown yourself early and she wants no part in it, I don't blame her.
Your issues aren't more important than her wages.

So her contract, which you signed and presumably read, and quite recently too, explicitly laid out the consequences of late payment, and she invoiced you in plenty of time, and you knew very well your DC was starting this week, but you still just... didn't pay, and were shocked when she exercised the terms she explicitly told you about and you voluntarily signed up to.

You have literally nobody to blame but yourself.

I'd be very apologetic during the call if I were you.

Just want to say OP, I appreciate you coming back to the thread and being honest about the contract. I hope it gets sorted out.

The more I read the OP's 2 posts and the way it is worded, I think this is a reverse.