Advice please-nursery say haven't paid fees when I have and threatening to not allow child in!

[Samdsmum]

Hi - really need some help and advice here. We have had our 2 children at nursery for almost five years between them both, and a letter was sent out yesterday to all parents saying that if fees were paid late then children would not be allowed to attend nursery. I phoned to ask why this was sent to all parents when we pay regularly and on time - I then received an email to say that as we are the late payers he was shocked we queried it and we always pay 26 days late (when in fact we always pay at least 5 days in advance) and he said he wasn't a credit agency and if we continued to pay late he would also charge late fee and if we weren't happy about this then to go elsewhere. As you can imagine we have been through all our accounts and checked and we have never missed a payment and if we have ever had a query regarding our account I have always phoned immediately and been reassured the account is up to date. Is there anything I can do - as you can imagine am VERY angry!!!!

5 days in advance is the same as 26 days late if you look at the date of the month iyswim.

do you think you pay in advance or in arrears? the owner clearly thinks the opposite.

Presumably you have evidence that you pay 5 days before the fees are due? Isn't it just a case of showing it to the nursery owner?

For example we have just paid April fees today in advance, but he is saying that we are actually paying March fees late - but we have statements showing we have made payment every month since the beginning therefore he must be missing a payment somewhere

Sounds as though he thinks there should have been an extra payment at the beginning and so each month after that is 26 days late... whereas you think your first payment was on time and therefore on time each subsequent month.
Go in and see him and show him your accounts and ask him what the discrepancy is at his end?

If you are paying in advance then your first payment would have been before your children started nursery, and your second payment would have been before they had been there a month - can you find him evidence of that?

Ask him which payment he is missing then... tell him you have evidence that you've not missed any.
I had something similar with DS1's nursery where we used to live and a payment had just been marked off against the wrong account. When I showed them my bank statement proving I paid it they were fine and apologised.

Did you have to pay a month's fees as a deposit at the beginning? You might think you were paying in advanve but it was just a deposit which you will get back when you leave?

Therefore you would be a month in arrears.

We had to pay in advance before our first child started and have not missed a payment since in the last 5 years. We have shown him payment schedules and statements - but it is mainly his attitude towards us, and was wondering if there was any complaints procedure we could take against him.

No - there was no deposit at the beginning - I know we are definately up to date because a couple of times we have received reminders about payment and when I have called they said they had the payment it just hadn't been posted on to the account and we were up to date and not to worry about it!

If this is the owner you are in dispute with, then I doubt there is anyone you can complain to.
He is entitled to lay down the terms and conditions as he sees fit.
If it is part of a chain, then you can complain to head office.

I would have thought that the onus would be on you to prove you have paid, with receipts etc.

He is within his rights to not allow you to send your children there if he believes you owe him money

some parents are very bad at paying their fees and it is very difficult to get the money that is owed

but, tbh, he doesn't sound very nice to deal with. can you not find a better nursery anyway?