CM CLUB: advice needed on non paying parent

[leonifay]

this is a bit long winded but please bear with me.

on the 16th of jan i signed a contract with a parent which was due to start on the 16th of feb. they didnt want a settling in period and thought the child would be ok being left.
the parent turned up on the 16th and was fine, although she didnt pay me like she was surposed to, she left and after 2 hours the child started to get distressed, i couldnt calm her down or distract her so i phoned the mum who came and picked her up. she didnt turn up the next day, didnt call or text me, so i phoned her and she brushed it off, the child was upset didnt want to come to me etc. she said she would see how the child was the following day. i said that maybe she should stay with her at mine for a little bit untill she was settled for the remainder of the week and the next week if she thought that would help her to settle with me. she didnt turn up the next day or for the rest of the week, and no phone call or text. i phonred her each day and was given the same reason. i text her on monday night asking if the child would be coming to me the following day, to let me know asap and to keep me updated on the situation. i didnt recieve any communication the following day, i was really fed up of getting up really early, just to sit around waiting then chasing this parent, so i sent a letter to the parent saying due to the lack of attendance it would be in the best intrests of everyone concerned to end the contract. there is a 4 week notice period and i would be available during this time. i also included an invoice for the first week and the 4 weeks of the notice period.

i recieced a text message today saying that a member of her family is ill, her partner has lost his job and her job isnt safe. she went on to say she would pay me for the time i worked and not for anything else.
so shes going to pay £5 on a £225 bill!

should i try to reclaim the money through the ncma or should i just leave it? this is the first time i've really had to deal with this. and i just dont know what to do!

any imput would be gratefully recieved.

I have just issued summons out of the small claims court for £400 owed to me by a parent. Why should my family and I lose out because she refuses to pay me the amount she legally owes? Same goes for your parent.

I made two offers of settlement to my parent. I also advised her that in the event that the offer was not accepted I would proceed against her for the full amount owing, which I have done.

You are well within your rights to claim the full amount from her, but you may want to consider saying that you would accept a settlement amount of X in order to end the matter amicably.

Good luck! hope you get sorted.

btw the NCMA can give you advice but as far as I know you will have to claim the money yourself.

it must be really difficult I am newly registered and now have 3 children on my books, my first i continue to have problems with regarding payment and generally not turning up (and not expecting to pay for that) however, I have chalked up my first to experience. I now insist on payment in advance, and most seem perfectly happy with that arrangement (especally those that previously used nursery as they do not operate on any other basis)

your right, you shouldnt let them get away with it, however if it was me, i might be inclined to put it down to experience

I MAKE them have a month's settling in period with no notice. Not just because their child may not like me ... I may not like their parents! So .. in this case, I would have just charged what I worked and put it behind me. I does seem like she's really messed you about though, so how about what Number 4 said and think of a settlement amount?

oh yes, i do that too, 2-4 weeks settleing in in which either party can end without notice.

Hi guys, just wanted to chip in and say that it would be easy to put it down to experience but I feel bottom line that the parent took a placement for her child that could have been given to another so you and your family have lost out on wages, I cant think of any other jobs that you wouldnt get paid what you are owed. Try writing to her again saying that you have been advised to go the legal path via the small claims court, this might just push her to settle with you and pay up but I know its not easy, sometimes it really feels us cm`s are out there on pour own, so good luck !

thankyou for all yor advice. the annoying thing is that i turned 2 other parents away once i had signed contracts with her and parents are few and far between in my area.

i have definatly lernt from this and will do things diffrently next time.
i'm going to write er another letter offering a settlement ammount, and if thats regected, its going to have to be a legal path.
its not much money i know, but its my second parent to leave within 2 weeks. the first was due to redundancy - stupid credit crunch

I'll definatly have to do a settleing in period and deposit/retainer fee along with payment in advance next time. and no amount of protesting from the parent will make me change my mind!

Oh. Yes. Forgot to say. I do take a deposit too.

same situation for me - the NCMA offered to take her to court for me but did warn me I would likely only get £10 a month or something because the court deems payment based on what you can prove is your disposable income - so she'll probably argue that she has no money and you'll get your money eventually but in £10 per month installments!!

£10 instalments is better than nothing, and tbh i need everything i can get right now
i spoke to NCMA and they have offered to take her on for me, if she refused the settlement offer (which is more than fair!) so all i need to do is fill in the pack they are going to send me and they'll do the rest

Its so worth paying the NCMA fee when something like this hapens isn't it - good luck - hope you get the settlement you need

learn something new every day! I did not realis that the NCMA would actually take the matter on for you.

good luck and let us know how you get on.