Oh dear - I forgot to pay the CM. How much extra should I add?

[Dysgu]

Today my (wonderful) CM sent me a text asking if I had paid her this month - and having checked, it appears that we have not!

We normally pay using a mixture of vouchers and cheque at the beginning of the month so she is only short of the cheque payment as she got the full voucher payment as normal.

We have often discussed setting up a monthly standing order/direct debit (I don't know the difference) but she has never got round to passing on her bank details before. (I do have them now so can sort that for next month.)

Anyway, I have NEVER paid late before (let alone nearly half way through the month!) - she asked me to do a bank transfer but, having tried for the last 2 hours, I cannot login (Nationwide) so think I am going to have to go to the ATM and get cash. This is not ideal for her perhaps as she might really prefer to have the money in her bank account so she can pay bills/staff. Obviously this is a reasonable large amount of cash, (I will have to use 2 separate bank account cards) so I appreciate I am possibly out even more by paying several hundreds of pounds in cash that she then may have to pay in to her account.

Anyway, and here is the point of the thread I cannot find our original contract (we have been using her for 2+ years) and so I do not know what the late payment fee is. Is it likely to be a set amount or a percentage? Obviously I have no problem with paying a late fee but she has said nothing and I wonder whether she feels awkward asking. I also think that if I send a text asking then she will say not to worry about it - but, as already stated, I know I am inconveniencing her.

Any ideas?

Could you offer to pay the cash into her bank account for her - saving her the trouble of getting to the bank? I have seen late fees of £25 or so in the past - but this has been private nursery not a child minder. I guess it would depend upon whether any of her direct debits or standaing orders have bounced thus costing her money.

I would ask her face to face "how much do I owe you for late payment fees" and see what she says. It may be awkward but sometimes direct is better than a text.

If she's not asked for it maybe she's just let you off as it was a genuine mistake? I charge £5 a day after the 5th of the month? Maybe ring and get her account details and go and pay it in her bank to save her a trip?

Oh I wish I had parents who are considerate like you. I get this all the time & they find it very hard to even say sorry! I would just ask her if there is a late fee or ask if she has had any bank charges, that you could pay if they where caused by the late fees. I would be very happy with that and a sorry and maybe a bottle of wine!

Thank you for the replies.

I have been out to get the cash and will ask her in the morning which suits her best - giving her the cash or paying it into her account at lunchtime; must admit, I hadn't even thought about that as an option!

I will also ask her directly about the late payment fee or any bank charges that she has incurred. I have taken out enough cash to allow about an extra 10% - which, incidentally, works out at £5 per day after the 5th (same as your charges, south345.)

And will set up a standing order/direct debit at the weekend!

Sorry to hear that some of you have a tough time with the parents of your charges - I think my CM (and her co-CM and their assistants) are all fabulous; that is the only reason I would trust someone to look after my girls each day. Can't imagine not treating her as well as possible - she is the only thing that enables me to work happily, knowing my girls are safe, cared for and having a great time with her.

Thanks again for your comments.

Whilst it was a genuine mistake on your part, you now know about it and need to correct it asap. So I would second that as you now have her bank details then you need to go to her bank and pay it in now! Not wait til tmrw and ask what she wants you to do - if she's busy and has co-minders/assistants there's almost no chance she'll be able to get to a bank before the weekend - so in 4 days time - and she may feel unable to ask you to go to the bank to pay it in for her. With such a busy household I'd also be very concerned (if I was her) about having so much cash in the house.

I also think you should pay her an extra £50 into the bank too - tell her what you've done and ask if thats enough to cover her late payment fees and ask her to let you know if its not.

wish all parents were as nice as you!!!!

Thank you for your comments.

In the end I gave her the cash and explained I had been unable to sort a transfer but would go to the bank at lunch time and pay it in for her if she preferred. She said not to worry and that a cheque would have been fine as the money will not be needed until she pays wages at the end of the month.

I also gave her the extra £35 - but she returned it to me via DP at the end of the day saying that she had not incurred any charges or inconvenience.

DDs had their last day with her for the year - I am off work for nearly 3 weeks so they will be home with me instead of going to her. We gave her homemade truffles and a £50 bonus as a thank you/Christmas present - this is the same as we have done for the last 2 years, although usually we buy the chocolates!

We also gave her a cheque for next month's fees so are now ahead of ourselves.

I will set up a standing order for February.

P.S. If I have the account number and sort code - how do I work out which bank to pay cash into?

The sort code is the bit that identifies the bank - like an IP address iykwim.
So when you set up the direct debit on your online banking, (or in your bank) they use the sort code to find the bank, then the account number to find the person.
Those numbers ( and perhaps her name) are all you'll need.

www.banksortcodes.org.uk/ - enter sort code and it will tell you which bank but not branch.

findsortcodes.co.uk will tell you which branch from a sort code, though it's a little harder to use as you look up first two numbers then get a list and click the right 6 digit number.

If paying cash into an account, then I don't think going to the right branch matters. Just needs to be the right bank group.

oh to have clients like you - what a lovely caring person.