Nursery Director threatened me & bad attitude!

[mrsdowd]

Hi

I am a mum of 3 children; I work part-time, husband works full time. My eldest is 8 and goes to school and after school club on the days I'm at work as I work until 5.

My other two children are 3 and 18 months. I moved them to a new nursery due to moving house they started the nursery on the 7th January 2013.

I paid the £200 deposit and £25 admin fee when they first started. But a week after they started we had some unexpected financial setbacks. Firstly our car failed its MOT costing £420 to pass it through, whilst I know a nursery wouldn't necessarily care about this it was a contributing factor.

Secondly, and the most important was that my mother unexpectedly died on the 12th January after a two year battle with cancer. Not only did this affect me and my children emotionally but financially as I had to contribute to the costs of her funeral and funerals are not cheap even the standard packages.

I informed the deputy supervisor of the nursery in person of these circumstances and explained I could not cover the full fees for a couple of months but I would be paying some money and not nothing. She was lovely very kind and said she would pass on my concerns to the nursery's secretary whom sent out the invoices.

The bills are sent the 3rd of every month a month billed in advance by the way.

Anyway on my February bill I was billed for the rest of February and it included my arrears from January there was a note written on to contact Joyce to discuss a payment plan.

I phoned her the following day in my lunch hour in work and to be frank she was very rude; not sympathetic when I broke down on the phone and explained I'd just returned to work that day from compassionate leave and my current financial circumstances. She barked at me and said she felt I had a lacklustre attitude towards my fees and that she had a board of directors to answer to. She also said that if I didn't pay the amounts they wanted when they wanted she could evict my children from the childcare! To say the least I was gobsmacked and stunned by her attitude and still feeling vulnerable from grief I broke down at work.

I was that upset by this phone call I telephoned the head office of the small chain of nurseries and logged a complaint with a member of staff whom passed on my complaint to the owner/director of the nursery. Later that evening the owner phone my mobile and basically said her secretary was not like that in anyway I had described and she practically made out that she didn't believe me.

Anyway since then she agreed I could pay £120 per week until later in this month and April when myself and my husband get paid we would pay off bigger chunks of the bill. This was in writing.

Then on Tuesday this week she telephoned my mobile asking me to go and see her in person at the nursery to discuss our arrears and bills etc.

I obliged and my husband was with me as we were picking our children up at the same time. The owner lead us up to the office and she was un-friendly; unsympathetic; said he secretary fall out was insignificant and wanted us to up the weekly contributions by another £100 per week and wanted us to make a decision right there and then!

I explained that we needed to sit down and work things out but inside I didnt like her attitude about the situation or my previous complaint.

Then she telephoned me again at work yesterday demanding an answer. I wrote my feelings about the whole situation and my previous complaint and that I was unhappy and felt the relationship had detriorated in a typed letter as a formal complaint and explained I felt that strongly I was removing my children and had sourced alternative childcare.

I then handed the letter to the desk staff last night and asked for a response in writing. I also said in the letter that I will come to an arrangement to set up payment plan for my outstanding debt but one that was affordable and suitable for me and my family.

I have not received a response in writing yet BUT I was left a voicemail on my mobile this morning by the manager saying the letter was disgraceful; I'm disgusting; my family is appalling and under-handed and then she will go to the enth degree to retrieve the money and court.

Dont know what to do?! I have rang the CAB and have an appointment with them next week.

[ThePathanKhansAmnesiac]

Why have you mentioned the nursury by name nothere1? That,s not on really.

And OP, YABU.

[ThePathanKhansAmnesiac]

Nursery^.

[Wallison]

What an odd comment. How do you know the name of the nursery?

[FancyPuffin]

[nothere1]

I've obviously made a mistake as I thought this person was commenting on a nursery I know .......now I know she wasn't and her comments had nothing to do with pp .. Again sorry for your loss