Childminders - do you accept childcare vouchers?

[pecanpie]

Just trying to think ahead really for when DD leaves current nursery to start school - I'm going to need cover before and afterwards and want to know if childminders are happy to take childcare vouchers as payment. Thanks in advance!

Most CM's I know do take vouchers I take
Care4, Fidelity, Accor and (urghhh) Compushare - prev Busy Bees but will refuse from Sept when current mindees using them leave.

If you plan to use vouchers they are valid for 12mths from date of issue, it may be worth saving some up for your 1st months fees as many CM's ask for payment in advance.

some will accept vouchers and some won't. I think that it is odd for a CM not to accept vouchers.

atwork, why will you refuse from sept? (apologies to pecanpie for mini hijack!)

Busybees/compushare have been fairly useless at paying recently

Lots of cancelled/lost payments; lack of communication between them & parents/CMers

Not a good experience tbh

Just what AntirrhinumMajus has said, fed up of the mess ups, One of our parents work has just switched over providers so as soon as I can I will not take Compushare.

I have had delayed payments, can't get through on the phone line, can't log in to redeem, had someone elses vouchers t/ferred to my account, which means I had to pay back and had to wait again for mine, totally pants. And quite frankly havn't got time to sit on hold for eternity, or the mental brainpower to do their jobs.

Thanks all for your feedback. Phew - not with Busybees!

arghhhhh I'm with computershare/busy bees . I've had difficulty setting up with them. I've decided not to start until next month and save this month's pay for next month iyswim so even if they are weeks late on getting it in my account, I'll have a month to get it to the cm. Does that sound like it will work? I've never used vouchers before. I don't have a choice as to which voucher service to use, I'm afraid. It's the only one my employer subscribes to I would be so if a cm or nursery just didn't accept them because it's not like I have another choice to go with a different company!

I accept vouchers but the parent did what you intend to do starexpat, so I'm never left without it. Even with the best companies there are delays at some points.

I think that's the only way, because they even admitted it would take "a few days" to get to my acct and then "a few days" to get to cm's account. So saving a month at first so there is always a month's worth in the account is the only way to be sure

Silly question but how do the childcare vouchers work..... I've always wondered

jazee - the employer takes money out of the employees pay before tax is taken out of the rest of their pay. They employer then gives the pre-tax amount (up to £243/month) to the voucher scheme. The voucher scheme puts it into the employees account with them.
Then the employee (mother/father) allocates it to their cm/nursery/nanny... other ofsted registered body who has also registered with the voucher scheme.
They can choose usually to either do a direct bank transfer using the voucher scheme or a paper voucher that will be mailed to them in the post.
I've heard too many stories of the voucher company being a bit delayed with things. SO, I've decided to pay it all myself the first month but have the money taken out of my pay pre tax anyway and left that in my voucher account.
Now, I've set up 12 recurring payments of £243/mont to my cm's bank account (she's registered with them, too) to occur on the 26th of each month so that I am SURE it will arrive to her account BY the 1st of the month and there will always be a month's extra in my account so if there ever were a problem I'd have enough to cover it, iyswim?

Does that long winded rambling on explanation make any sense?