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?

If you want to play hardball with them then gather as many parents as you can to work together who:

1 Don’t pay the £40 next month.
2 Collectively send a single email explaining you are £40 in credit for the Nov activity that didn’t take place so haven’t paid the £40 this month. “If our understanding of the situation is incorrect, please advise”

Relations may sour with the nursery in which case you all have two options:
A) Suck it up and pay up - your action above may be enough to ensure it never happens again or
B) A second collective email or meeting saying you are unhappy at the turn of events and hint / say outright that other parents in the community should know before choosing the nursery that this is how they operate but you would like to resolve it before it becomes a big public issue. (If parents are asked to remove their children I would get the local press involved but you will need to ensure you can demonstrate that the nursery being opaque and underhand is the issue rather than parents being difficult.)

I work in a nursery and don’t believe this is fair. In your shoes I would get a few other parents behind you and complain about getting a refund. Make sure you email them so it’s in writing. They can’t charge you for an activity that hasn’t taken place. All the other things about lack of government funding etc (whilst true) are irrelevant in this case. At our nursery the parents are on a group WhatsApp chat. I would maybe post on there to make the other parents aware and go from there. You shouldn’t be paying for something that hasn’t taken place. It’s very cheeky of them to charge you in the first place.

So the activity is running for 5 months dec-apr. But they’ve charged you in nov, so the nursery should not charge you in April as by then you will already have paid the 5 payments due. If this happens then this is annoying but not unreasonable. If the nursery still expect you to pay in April then yes this would be unreasonable.

My thoughts as well.

Her explanation was clear as glass… people are just acting thick and can’t seem to understand OP when she says things in a really obvious way because it’s not how their nursery bills them.

Honestly it’s been baffling to read the replies and I’d have been a lot more ‘abrasive’ than OP has been.

She’s paid in November for November. There’s an added charge for an activity on her November bill. They have not done the activity. She has been told they will do it in December but will be billed the amount for the activity again on her December bill. As it is November she likely doesn’t know if they will do the activity in March and not be billed for it as she doesn’t have those bills yet. The manager has said they didn’t do the activity, that was paid for, because of x… but x is a lie so OP is annoyed.

X=???

Yep I said this earlier

wait to see if do the activity x the amount paid by April

I think you should look for another nursery, I would not be happy leaving my children with a manager who is aggressive, who charges for activities that did not happen. What else would they be prepared to lie about?

Personally, if this is a nursery you're otherwise happy with, I'd call this £40 the cost of keeping you cool, calm and collected. At the end of the day, the nursery years are mercifully short.

To me, it doesn't seem unreasonable to be charged in the bill for December, for an activity that will take place in December.

In that case. You are not being unreasonable in the slightests. I'd find a different nursery, but I know it's difficult for your children having that change.

All the other things about lack of government funding etc (whilst true) are irrelevant in this case.

How are they irrelevant, though? IF a nursery is basically forced to make up an excuse to charge for the extra funding that plugs the gap, whilst not being allowed to explicitly state the truth, how else do they go about it?

Have the other parents not complained because they haven't noticed, don't want to rock the boat or have understood the tacit reality?

X is an unknown excuse. You don’t need the specifics when you can surely imagine something… it was raining on the planned day (but it didn’t rain), there weren’t enough children booked in (but nursery was full), the court/pool/forest school was closed (but it was open). Not hard to imagine without needing exact details.

Just store it away and when your bill comes in for the final months payment when your children leave for good deduct it from the final payment.

So shall I use my imagination to form an opinion on this situation? Seems nonsensical.

Her question wasn’t on whether the lie sounded legitimate or not. Her question was whether to pursue it or accept it, knowing it was a lie.

YOU do not need an opinion on the lie itself to answer OP’s question.

OP’s answers have been entirely appropriate to streams of people not reading the thread properly.

@Jeronnemo Do you have a history of falling out with people? Just wondering…

It’s perfectly understandable and OP has explained multiple times.

She pays £40 per month, per child, for an activity that takes place Dec, Jan, Feb, March and April. She pays on the 1st of the month for that month’s attendance and activity. This year they charged for the activity on 1st November, but the activity did not happen in November. She will continue to pay on 1st Dec, Feb, March and April, so had paid for an extra month.

Read the thread. It’s not unclear.

Ay eye? Is that you??

Honest review on daynurseries.co.uk. Include pros and cons, highlighting inaccurate billing, not refunding and refusing to communicate with parents.

She has been charged for an activity that they are never going to do.

1st Nov payment was for activity in Nov.
1st Dec payment was for activity in Dec
… and so on until April.

Nursery didn’t do the activity in November, but won’t refund the activity money, and OP will be charged again in Dec and onwards.

Is it part of a chain? If so, I would contact head office.

If it isn't resolved then I would just not pay the last installment and explain you've already paid 5 fees for the 5 months. It's very unlikely they will kick you out, especially if you have 2 kids there

Good luck on Mumsnet!

Is it part of a chain? If so, I would contact head office.

If it isn't resolved then I would just not pay the last installment and explain you've already paid 5 fees for the 5 months. It's very unlikely they will kick you out, especially if you have 2 kids there

Are you for real? You condone nurseries adding imaginary charges to bills to cover ‘inadequate’ funding?

Yikes.