Rubbish nursery

[katface]

Hello everyone

I am new here and need advice. Sorry to start with such a negative first message !

I am going to be pursued for money by a nursery for non-payment of fees. My son (4 yo) was repeatedly injured at the place within the space of a few days, so after a huge bump and bruise to the head (and explanations that were total cover-ups) I withdrew him.

He was also peeing himself because they were not helping him to go to the toilet. He came home with wet pants on 2 occassions within 5 days. He is fully potty trained, goes to the loo on his own at home.

He was new there, so I had expected much better care to help him settle in.

They wanted one month notice, but as I was paying weekly and had paid for the week he was there, I refused to pay for the rest.

I had only a day to find another nursery that would take him. It cost me lots more money and time. I had no choice because I was working.

Anyone had a similar problem, where you taken to court for non-payment of fees although the nursery was at fault and negligent ?

Any advice would be appreciated please.

refugee - i look forward to hearing from you. i have no idea how to contact you and for security prefer not to post my email address on here. do you know how the contact thing here works ?

Getting back to the original post!!
I have done some work for a nursery that repeatedly has people default on money they owe, we do persue through the court, have always been successful but have one parent repaying at 50p a week will take until she's 90 I think!!
I think it would be unusual to expect you to pay more then the 3 weeks but I think most places would expect you too.

{the reason we have so many defaulters is because they are a charity and offer a lot of cheap places to people on a low salary etc. I gather that once the tax credit claim is in that's it for the year so you can remove your child/children and keep the money (you're not supposed to of course) the money is paid to the parent not the nursery, the nursery has phoned and told the tax credit office but they have been told they're not interested. Annoying for all those hassled by the tax credit people but that is what's going on -so I'm told)}

1dilemma- I suppose it depends how related the treatment of children/lie/cover up is to paying an institution who promises in loco parentis care etc. I don't know about the law tho'.

Kat- on mumsnet you have to pay a small fee to have the contact facility (!) Then the envelope symbol on the right hand side of the post allows you to message someone I think. But I'm not sure if both parties need to have the cat facility. Will do it today.

I've joined the contact a member thing- so if you click on my envelope you can private message me and I'll give you my email.
It may take time to go through though.

dilemma - the situation you talk about is different though. if someone defaults for NO particular reason other than they don't have the money or don't wish to pay, of course it is a breach of contract and they HAVE to pay up.

in my situation it is the nursery that has defaulted by providing a poor service and being negligent. i paid for the week he was there in full and of course i have proof of this to show the court. i also paid a large amount of money for a day trip, from which my poor boy came back with a large and nasty bump and bruise on the forehead and cheek. it seems that i was just paying these idiots to sit around and watch a small child get injured.

i don't know of any parent who would find being scratched on the face and being injured on the hand and face every day within the space of FOUR days acceptable. the scratches were deep, they bled. esp. when you put it in the context of other nurseries he was at (one of them for 6 months) when he had no such injuries at all. he came back from the day trip with a huge bump and bruise on his face and forehead. when i asked for an explanation, they had the nerve to say they didn't have clue what had happened.

i would have been horrified for example if after having such terrible long-term injuries the court had asked neverforget to cough up money. that just would not be fair under any legal system.

i am sure they will claim thro' the small court as it will only cost them 25 - 35 quid to put the claim in. i am happy to battle it out.

i completely understand the court's explanation to neverforget that nurseries should have a chill-out clause (as do most contracts) when you have the RIGHT to terminate a contract within the first 14 days or so without any further liability.

credit cards, insurance companies, practically every type of legal contract i can think of has the option for you to cancel within the first 14 days.

i think it is unfair and ought to be illegal for a nursery or school to chase a parent for money within the first 14 days. it is not in a spirit of fair play. it locks you into an expensive contract even in situations like mine and neverforget where the nursery is clearly at fault.

i can image there are situations all over the country where parents are not happy with a nursery fairly quickly in the first few days but they feel obliged to continue for at least a month just because they have paid a huge amount of money.

ok northern would love to chat and offload my concerns re. bad childcare, cults and weirdos with long beards !!!

i will sus it out and try to contact you this weekend. thanks : )

i guess we can still talk in code here ; )

gosh there are so many ways of describing THEM without uttering their name !

The bullying and health and safety at the gnome nursery was unbelievable. They just ignored it...and the 9/10 yr old kids in the school did things like climbing on a digger left by workman, letting off the break and jumping off it as it rolled down the hill- ( punishment/deterent? - told a story...about saints or angels or something) they set fires in village buildings, threw fireworks about, climbed on roofs, swung from bridges. School trips and camping expeditions were particularly worriesome...when swimming in lakes, potholing, cliff walking/climbing, or foreign travel were involved, because the adults "in charge" were bonkers, carefree or irresponsible.... everything was part of the children's karmic journey; so if something happened- it was meant...

Looking forward to taliking by email...

northern - i have similar stories to tell except it involved kindi children - a child nearly had eye poked out by a stick by another child - it was brushed off - so it is ok for one child to nearly blind another ?

no apology was forthcoming either from the beardies or the parents - even the women had beards or looked like they should

i am pissing myself with the concept of gnomes - oh my god - yes they believe they exist don't they ?

sorry northernrefugee - i am too lazy to right out your full name although it's a great nickname - do you prefer it to be shortened to NR or northern or refugee - or anything else ? sorry i have been shortening it at will !

"write" even not "right" !

Yup- blinding is fine if it's all part of the great karmic mystery of life...my kids have scars from their time.
There are so many other stories from people- here as well as others I know. The schools like to think they're isolated incidents.

Sometimes the gnome teacher sings a little song "kind hands kind hands" and that's it. Mostly they look the other way....

Try contacting me because if we carry on here twill be trouble at mill I can foresee it ( clairvoyantly in true gnome style of course)
Northern refugee- anything! I don't mind thanks for even asking

ok refugee - that's what i shall call you !
ok, you are right, don't wish to be banned. i disgaree with the ban as it goes aganist my principles, but will abide by it as i would like to stay around here for a bit longer. i need info. about various things and i think there is lots of useful stuff here. i have read the other threads re the beardies and MN's response. i think the law needs to be changed asap. it is absurd that we are not able to talk on the net as freely as we wish, indeed as freely as one would face to face.

i will set the chat thing up this evening when lovely son is in bed, ok ? speak later

Speak later. You could probably contact me without setting it up for yourself if you want. Click on the envelope and it should come up.

Hi Refugee

I have just changed my email options so that you can send me a CAT. Sorry it took me ages to work it out, I had CAT switched off which is why you couldn't send me anything. It should work now.

Could you please try sending me an email through CAT ? Then I will reply to you. Thanks.

ladies I'm on your 'side' as it were. I was just answering the OP about what has happened when we go to court for the money back and pointing out that it tends to be under diff. circs!!

The problem is katface (I think) as someone has allready alluded to that you will have to 'prove' that you are not paying them because of neglect rather than alleging neglect because you don't want to pay. IYSWIM

ie did you sign an accident form, do you have a copy, did you go to A&E do you have photos of the scratches? etc etc. Didi you write a formal complaint to Ofsted ASAP. I'm no lawyer but if I was the nursery I would be tempted to say you're making it up. Did you sign a contract? If so I can't see how anyone can ask for more than 3 weeks.

Hope ds is better