CM-Charging retention fee for 4 months until my child starts in September.

[anniebigpants]

Ive been to see a childminder today,with a view to her looking after my baby for 3 days a week, and my elder child school holidays only, from early September when i return to work.
I was very impressed with her, very nice, very child friendly house, lots of activities, outings etc for children to do. Her fees are around the going rate for this area, so no problems there.
The only thing i was a bit about is, because it is 4 months away before i will need her, she wants to charge me £15 per week retention fee, starting from today until they start in September, to keep the places for them.
I have never used a childminder before, so am not sure what is normal procedure etc, is this what would be expected?

yep, she is holding a place for you and the fee is to guarantee the place

If you don't and another family want the space then you will be bumped for the new family

that is fairly standard

we paid £300 to secure DS;s nursery place and that was fairly low - some ask for a month's fees

she needs a commitment from you, or what is to stop you going elsewhere?

if she is a great childminder it will be money well spent to secure the places

oh, and it can be difficult to find CMs who will take a baby and a toddler as well

Its not a lot of money is it? I'd pay it.

Thanks for swift replies ladies.

mj-No, i dont think so, she didnt mention anything about taking it off the fees.

bibbity-I know it doesnt seem a lot, but money is very scarce at the min as we are living off just my DH wage, and the bit of MA i am getting.

that's not a huge amount - I'd charge you half of whatever your weekly fee was going to be. Every week that is. Otherwise I could be turning away alternative business, and in the end you might actually go somewhere else. Even if you did come to me, I'd have missed out on four months of income.
While you were paying a retainer, you would be able to use me if you wished (for the whole fee).

As a childminder I would be charging full fees, as I know I would be able to fill your space with someone else now. Also, I wouldnt be able to go without the income for the next few months.

£15 per week sounds very fair

If the place was already available, I charge half normal fees to retain the space, if it is not available, but becomes available before you would need it, then the half price charge, would start from then.

Holding a space, especially for that long without charging means that the CM, who is after all a business woman, will be without pay.

Would you go without pay for that long, when you could fill the space?

I would charge a £100.00 deposit, refundable in your first invoice, non refundable if you dont take up the space.

I would only charge a retainer if there was actually a free space there to use. If the space became available later, ie older child started school in August, new baby wants to start in September, I'd charge a retainer from when the space became available, and a deposit to ensure that the mum / parents were serious about using my space. I've been burnt in the past by parents saying "Oh yes, I'll need you from whenever" and I turn away other people on the basis of this , only for them to change their minds the week before their place was due to start .

What Shoshe said.

If I had an available space then, yes, I would ask for a half fee retainer to hold that space exclusively for your child. £15 per week to me sounds very low - a 3 day half fee retainer for my space would be £75 per week! The payment of this retainer would not result in any reduction in fees when your child started. If I held a 3 day space open without a retainer for 16 weeks, that would result in a loss of wages of £2,400 - as it is I would struggle to pay everything I need to pay on a half fee retainer.

However, if I did not have a free space until your child was due to start (ie, normal movement with children going to school etc in September) then I would charge you a full 4 week deposit to hold the space open for you which would then be off set against your first 4 weeks fees when your child started with me but would be non-refundable if you decided not to take up the space after all.

Thanks everyone. Sounds like she is being very fair then, charging me £15 per week. I will go ahead and pay this happily, and thank my lucky stars she is not charging me full or half fees!