AIBU to be frustrated chasing unpaid Girlguiding subs Every. Single. Term?

[brownieleader]

I run two Girlguiding units who started back this week. Like every term, subs are due before the first meeting of term.

So please tell me why I am still waiting for about 15 children’s subs!

I am a volunteer. I do not want to chase you for money. I want to spend my prep time planning fun trips and activities for your children.

So if you are one of these parents who forget to pay despite several reminders please tell me how I can get through to you! I won’t turn children away for non payment, but equally I have a 2+ year waiting list so perhaps I should….

And if you are a parent who always pays for your children’s clubs on time thank you!

We are in a very diverse socioeconomic area and there is no correlation between who haven’t paid and those who might struggle to pay. But if anyone does struggle, if they let us know we can access funding from county.

Anyone who hasn’t paid by next week is being named and shamed in the parents WhatsApp group

I pay for Scouts, Cubs & Beavers subs by standing order, have since they started years ago. I’m always irritated by the reminders the leaders have to regularly send out to chase subs & the apologies each time as to why. Some of the parents I know well, rarely pay their kids subs & aren’t struggling financially to the point of being unable to pay. One parent happily admits they’ll pay when requested & try to see how long they can manage to not pay. The leaders are fab & regularly say if issues talk to us as we have discretion funds etc to access so kids don’t miss out. Football is exactly the same, subs rarely paid & named & shamed in WhatsApp group.

Well done on getting action so far OP!

As some.others have mentioned, for your remaining 3 I think you need to be specific in targeted emails/WhatsApp messages to individual parents if you haven't already done so - "We haven't received payment for Sally, we require this by X or her place will be offered to the next on the waiting list. If you are experiencing financial difficulty bla bla bla" - there may well be parents who think they've paid and don't realise that generically worded messages relate to them.

Definitely agree automated payments are the way forward!

I run a dance school and every month there are late payers that have to be chased and reminded. I’m currently still owed about £1000 for overdue april invoices that should have been paid already. The knock on effect is that I have to pay all bills related to the business first before I can pay myself, meaning that a large overdue number of invoices results in my not being able to pay myself own household bills, as well as the additional hours of admin spent sending out reminders either taking up class planning time or eats into what should be my personal time. OP- I completely understand your frustration.

I think it says in our t&c from dd gym that if the monthly payment isn’t in the child wont be allowed to attend sessions