Query with CM bill

[Cmq]

Our childminder closed one day this week my child wasn't going that day anyway as DP had a day off work but we had paid for the day. Her policy is to refund if she is closed, we haven't been refunded that I can see. I don't want to cause any bad feeling as she is lovely and my child enjoys going there and if this is the done thing I will accept it but it somehow feels a bit off To have paid for care we could never have recieved 😕

Was she definitely closed to all the children? Just ask her, it may be an error, or it may be that she could have been available for your child, but you booked the day off.

I never mind parents querying bills.

Does she charge monthly?
Are you sure the refund isn't on next months bill?

This is the next bill and have no refund for that session. I have asked her probably for the best just don't want to create any ill feeling

Am I right in thinking you booked a day off in advance that you had to pay for but then cm closed unexpectedly (& had your lo not been away you wouldn't have been charge) so now you're hoping/expecting a refund. If that is all correct then IMO it's just jolly bad luck that the 2 coincided and you shouldn't get a refund. It could just have been coincidence but she may have needed a day off and was waiting for someone to be away so as to minimise her losses. Whatever the reason I wouldn't refund not would I even think to offer it (no different to parents getting in their dates before mine & not being paid - annoying but c'est la vie

The policy that we have is that if she is closed we don't pay for the session if we Dont send our child when she is open we pay . As she closed I didn't think it would matter if we were expected there or not but if that's not the case then I will pay. The closure wasn't premeditated so She wouldnt t have been able to care for my child on that day if it had my OH been at work.

What has happened in the past? Has she ever shut after you booked a day off before then refunded you?
Many cms don't charge if they book a day off but will charge you If after you have booked time off they get a day off I don't think its fair for you to ask for it back, you haven't lost out on your original plan after all.
if you do a 40 hour week and pay for 8 days holiday its around 2.50 a week so the cost of one day in the scheme of things is very small and if your good to her you will probably find she does extra for you, if you had an emergency would you be grateful for her help?I do favours for all my parents often unpaid im not sure I would be so keen to put myself out if someone who already had the day off suddenly asked for a refund because I had unexpectedly shut, its a 2 way thing.
If you were off then the other mindees rang in sick giving her an unplanned day off would you then expect a refund?

Is it that you pay when you take a day off and she is open, or is it simply that you pay if you take a day off. If it's the latter and you booked first, then your bill may be correct. My contract specifically states it relates to my availability.

I guess I will just accept it, never happened before so don't know the usual policy for this. If the other mindees just weren't in then it's completely different (this has been the case and haven't questioned it) as she would have been able to look after my child but I have now paid for a service I never could have recieved. I will pay though if that's what is expected.

You can only ask, if she's professional she won't mind clarifying whether you should have been refunded that day's charge.

I agree. I would still ask. I accidentally billed for bank holidays this month, which I don't work or charge for. One of the parents pointed it out and I corrected the bills no problem.

Do you know for sure that she was off? Or whether she just didn't have any kids that day? I probably wouldn't question it tbh! It's just one of those things. It's like me, I'm a nanny, my holidays are half chosen by me and half by the parents, it's like when it comes to Christmas, it's like we both want the other person to ask first because we don't want to use all our holiday up on the same time. That's when the fairest is to split Christmas.

TALK TO HER!!

Truly, it sounds like an oversight and she shouldn't mind in the least if you query it.

I'd hate to think that one of my parents felt she had to ask on a parenting board instead of checking with me! Your childminder is far more likely to know how this happened than we do.

We have a "who blinks first" policy when it comes to holidays. If DH books a day off, then that day isn't charged to the parents. If they book a day off when they'd normally be in then they pay. However, you can sometimes get a situation where one parent books a weeks holiday, then another maybe takes a long weekend and suddenly he's down to one child. In that case if he's likely to need a day off for something then it makes sense for him to then book that day off, so the remaining child isn't charged for as the service isn't available to them.

Actually,I'm with you OP.
You booked your child out for the day but expected to pay as your child's space was still available.
However, your CM then closed for that day unexpectedly so your child's space was no longer available .
So, according to your contract, you shouldn't have to pay.
I'm a CM and based on these facts, I wouldn't charge.