CM Club: Being paid incorrectly rant!

[KaySamuels]

Grrrr! Parent of sibling mindees has paid me wrong. Booked me for wed morning 6.30-8am, wed aft 3-8, and fri morning 6.30-8 - she then told me last week wouldn't need me wed morning (should still pay full tho as has booked it).

Got my money this morning sends it with kids as they just walk down the street to mine (are 9 and 13), and she has paid me for wed aft and fri morning but not for wed morning and not for tea fees on wed aft. Am so frustrated , why do parents try it on like this???

I mean it, why do people try and skimp and scrape with the personthey trust to look after their dcs? It really is beyond me!

I probably won't chase it up (adds up to £9.50) but will be sending her an invoice with other hours she has booked and amount to be paid at end of each week to avoid this 'mistake' happening again!

Message withdrawn

Yes, this parent is quite hard to pin down and I often let things slide as she is so hard to get hold of. I mean really hard, I see her every few months . Think will invoice her and pop it thru door with her receipt.
They should run assertiveness courses for all childminders when they register

Oh also her hours this week are so low I got paid less than if I hadn't had kids!

i would invoice her next week(i invoice every week so i know where i am) and add the amount she underpaid ou by, including what she should have paid for not using the day she decided not to send them..the cheek!

stick an invoice through her letterbox every week. i always invoice by email monthly but then they all pay direct into my account so dont usually have any problems.

Yes I have a few pay me by standing order as they use the same hours each week, others that I tot up their amount end of each week and they write me a cheque. This one is my problem and I think I will have to start invoicing her for hours booked with a weekly bill total, that way no getting out of it.

Am going to let it go this week as it's the first week I have charged full fee (new contracts kicked in this week), but from now on no getting away with it!

Kay, perhaps the mother does not realise she has to pay for the Wednesday afternoon she booked, then cancelled. As you say, you don't see her that often, so she may just not be aware that she has to pay for it.

Invoicing is the way to go I feel, and if you make it an itemised invoice (thus showing cost of tea) it is easy for the parents to see what they are paying for. You can also include a section on the invoice for special announcements and notes... so can highlight things that crop up - such as payment for cancelled dates.

I saw this parent less than two weeks ago so she could sign new contracts and had to read and sign a letter saying she agreed she would pay full fee for hours booked. Had to book a time with her to come over (which she changed 3 times). That's why I'm cross. She knows what she has done she is very intelligent and often tries it on. I am her 13th childminder , and have looked after her kids the longest out of all of them.

sorry nick that sounded a bit harsh, didn't mean to bite your head off, have given her benefit of the doubt many times but it is now wearing thin tbh

Thats ok Kay, I was giving the parent the benefit of the doubt, should she have been a first timer - however, clearly she is not and it does make you wonder why 12 other minders stopped accepting her children!

As she has now signed the contract, you need to be firm in making that contract stick. Bill for outstanding hours, invoice for current week. Be firm... failure to pay bills = no childcare, plus a debt!

When someone's trying it on with our nursery, they send a letter to all the parents, emphasising the problem (late payment, etc). The other thing you could do is put a cut off date on when hours can be booked for each month. Anything extra on top of that has to be paid at time of booking. I used to pay DS's childminder's extras whenever I booked them so kept everything square.