To refuse to pay this nursery charge

[Jeronnemo]

2 children in nursery. Been really happy there. A few niggles but nothing major. This month's bill had a £40 per child charge for an activity that they only do in winter. It usually kicks in in December through to April but this time they've charged it early. The issue is that they've not actually done the activity yet. I spoke to the manager about it and she was very abrasive and came out with some absolute nonsense about why it was on the bill. She lied and expected me to just suck it up. I'm livid but the conversation is over as far as she's concerned and if I push it any further, I risk being asked to leave. Do I just write it off for the sake of peace and my blood pressure?

What the OP meant us that the charge is applied monthly when the activity occurs.

She will be charged again in December for the December activity - fair enough.
But the charge was added in November also despite the activity not occurring.

It is actually theft by the nursery.
The OP is not great with semantics but it's still not rocket science to figure out.

I would actually be very upset by this. If it is a nursery chain, go higher up. If anything independent nursery, there should be a body that can be alerted about shady business practices.

Another parent emailed them earlier in the week. No response yet. They have a history of quite simply not replying to emails. What are you supposed to do? I've spoken to the manager in the past and said, just checking if you've received my email and you just get, oh yes, I have, sorry I've not replied, I'll do it today...and then nothing.

If that's the case then surely you need to take your children out and find a new provider?

You assume right.

I would call it fraud.... serious but not sure where you go with it. Ofsted or council.
If they do this to all parents they bring in a hefty 'bonus'!

Keep written accounts and notes and dates of conversations.

Respectful communication and questions from a group of you hopefully can be met with a satisfactory outcome.

It might be that the centre will continue the activity for an extra month and consider it prepaid in November..
Good luck.

You say it’s an in house activity so presumably no additional costs for the nursery? Are parents able to opt out of this activity or is it compulsory? I suspect some parents don’t pay the £40 and that’s why they decided to charge for Nov but only do the activity from Dec. To be honest I can’t think of what the activity would be that it incurs extra costs for them but is done in house and only in winter.

if parents are not able to opt out of the activity the smart thing for the nursery to do to avoid all non payers and queries would be up their daily fees by £1 a day all year round and add the activity to the the list of things their fees include.

It's compulsory. There is no opt out. I'm more than happy to pay it usually.

Exactly. Waiting lists are so long they are totally irrelevant where I live. And you’d be straight out for being a pain in the backside.

If you are paying for an activity which will tske place eventually, that’s fine. If you are paying for an activity that will not take place, ask for a refund. Drop the aggression now though.

I’d be really cross in your shoes, especially after being lied to, but I’m not sure what you can do. You could try not paying that element from the december invoice

Surely if this was the case the nursery manager would have explained this to the OP when she queried it. Sounds like that didn't happen but she was fobbed off with an excuse.

Then you have had £40 added to your annual nursery fee. At less than a pound a week on top of the fees I would let it go but gently ask the manager via email to clarify how many months they will do the activity this winter. Not to get into an argument but to let them know you are aware you have paid for something you haven’t got so they don’t make a habit of it.

I didn’t understand your post to start with (I’m not thick) but I do now.
What sort of nursery charges £40 extra per child that requires no additional resources or staff? That sounds madness but without knowing what the activity is, it’s hard to tell. Especially as you can’t opt out of it.
You’ve said you didn’t quite understand the manager’s explanation but you must know roughly what her excuse is?
Unless they’re intending to put an extra activity on the end of their usual run - with November’s money paying for it then I’d be angry too. Not sure I’d just let it go either.

She knew it takes place in December though, if she expected it to take place in November and didn't clarify at the time then that's on her. Getting mad at everyone else because she didn't understand is mad. Its her own doing.

What do you think I didn't understand?

I'd definitely be putting it in writing and sending an email like a PP said just clarifying how many months they'll be doing this activity but they have you over a barrel really, it's not easy to find alternative child care.

I wouldn't be pleased at all with the way they've handled it and lied and would be looking to find alternative child care.

Sorry OP can't believe people don't understand what happened here. I agree with you & would not pay the extra £40 for the next month. If you go above the manager, to the owner, you will probably have more luck. That happened at our nursery over different things. The owners sort it out when needed & the manager gets told off, rightly so if she didn't have the children do a specifically charged for activity in the month you paid for it.

She sounds sneaky and evasive. Also, you are at risk of being asked to leave if you challenge her?! I mean, you say you are (broadly) happy with the nursery, but honestly? Leadership sets the culture. I'm not sure I'd want that sly energy around my kids.

What is the activity @Jeronnemo and is it once a month it happens or weekly over those months

Sorry if I missed it but is the charge every month for the activity ? But your saying that one of the months it wasn’t actually provided?

or is it a one off charge that they’ve just billed earlier than usual?

OP, it’s a bit daft to get annoyed at posters having to tease out the pertinent details of the situation by asking questions about it, because you didn’t provide the full explanation in the first place. I don’t think you’ve even said WHY the activity didn’t take place.

I Would write them an email saying “it’s my understanding that monthly invoices are to cover services to be provided for that month. Please advise me if this is not the case for X activity as I am aware that X activity did not take place in November for whatever reason.

Can you confirm if November’s sessions have been postponed till ?March and that the breakdown in March’s invoice will state this?”

Obviously I would be wanting to ensure that the activity DID then actually take place in March instead of November, rather than line be added to March’s invoice saying “yoga sessions postponed from November.”

Op knows this. When someone questions her she just replies with "thats not what happened" or " I dont know how i can be clearer" instead of just answering the point the poster has asked.

@Jeronnemo No. I pay in November for November. For everything. Attendance and the activity

Well, maybe not for this particular activity. It may be that traditionally, you have paid for that activity in the same month but something has now changed whereby that particular activity now needs to be paid in advance. In which case, there is no problem unless they charge you in Feb if the activity only runs Dec, Jan, Feb as then your Jan payment would cover the activity in Feb. Sometimes things change for various reasons, have you considered this possibility (not withstanding the rigid thinking of only being able to pay for things in the same month).

Why should she have to repeat herself multiple times. She already has. They should read the thread.