Am I overreacting or is my complaint justified?

[JenniferT31]

I would like to get other Mum’s advice and/or opinions on this situation because I’m getting really fed up! Apologies for the long one but please stick with me!

So I applied for a local nursery for the September 2024 term at the beginning of July after attending an open day and paid a registration fee of £100. Since then, I have heard absolutely nothing from my chosen nursery. I have called them several times and was told each time I would get a call back from the manager which never came.

Fast forward to last week, I received an impersonal copied and pasted email from their head office saying my daughter has been given a place to start week commencing 16th September and I will hear from my chosen nursery very soon to arrange settling in. So I wait to get a call or email all week but nothing comes. Friday comes round, and I’m greeted with a bill in my inbox for a ridiculous amount of money from the nursery. Amounts I have no idea what they’re for and they even had the cheek to put the £100 fee I’ve already paid on the bill too! I emailed them back immediately asking what these amounts were for. Have I had a response? Nope! I’ve tried to call and it just rang and rang.

I’ve got to the point where I’ve had enough and no longer feel comfortable putting my daughter in their care due to their lack of communication. The fact that they have sent me a bill without the decency of having a personal conversation with me, to answer any questions I may have and make me aware of any charges on top of my funded hours is honestly disgraceful and the more I think about it, the more mad I get about it.

I have drafted out an email to their head office to make a complaint which I plan on sending tomorrow. Does anyone have any idea where I may stand with the situation? I haven’t even accepted the nursery place in writing or signed on any dotted line - so they’ve just assumed I’ve accepted and sent me a bill?? If I decline the place, can they still charge me what’s on the bill, or charge me an early termination fee? Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated and also please let me know if I’m overreacting or is my complaint justified. This is my first born and it’s the first time I’ve had to deal with a nursery so I don’t have anything to compare it to. Please help!

Didn't you accept the place by paying a deposit?

Communication sounds terrible anyway so I'd cut my losses and look elsewhere.

Often the lack of communication at this stage is already a bad sign. Do they have your bank details? You may need to read carefully all the correspondence with them. If they sent you T&C's read them carefully. Otherwise don't pay.
Often the paid amount by councils to nurseries for free hours is not enough to cover their costs, however the nursery has agreed not to charge extra to parents unless say you opt in optional activities and so on.
Alternatively, you can report them to the council who they get the money from for the funded hours. I know of some cases where an investigation happened and the nursery had to pay back the parents. This can be a lengthy process.