Parents not Paying

Soo, i need some advise, i recently just opened my home daycare and had this little boy for two months when suddenly his mom got layed off and she pulled him from care with out notice! My contract clearly states that if childcare is terminated without notice full payment is still required, and it also stated that i need 4 weeks (which i know is more then most) notice. I stupidly have been letting these parents pay me at the end of the week for the care received that week (lesson learned) so now i am out just about $560 for the month of may, she said that she was going to drop the money off yesterday (May 15) and never showed, so i sent her a 'reminder' text and have not heard back. soooo i guess i am just wondering what i should do next? I am trying to give them the benefit of the doubt but...i don;t want to get stiffed either!

I am sorry this happened to you. It is infuriating! Since you are new, I would encourage you next time to get payment in advance, and get a two-week deposit to be applied to the last two weeks of care. That way, if someone just leaves, you have at least a two-week income while you look to replace. I'm sure I learned that advice from someone on here before I started, so I can't take credit for it. The women on here who have been doing childcare for a while are fabulous mentors. I'm still in my first year, but it's been a great year so far, and I'm sure a large part of it comes from the mistakes I DIDN'T have to make thanks to these ladies.

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Originally Posted by sara_adams04

Soo, i need some advise, i recently just opened my home daycare and had this little boy for two months when suddenly his mom got layed off and she pulled him from care with out notice! My contract clearly states that if childcare is terminated without notice full payment is still required, and it also stated that i need 4 weeks (which i know is more then most) notice. I stupidly have been letting these parents pay me at the end of the week for the care received that week (lesson learned) so now i am out just about $560 for the month of may, she said that she was going to drop the money off yesterday (May 15) and never showed, so i sent her a 'reminder' text and have not heard back. soooo i guess i am just wondering what i should do next? I am trying to give them the benefit of the doubt but...i don;t want to get stiffed either!

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I completely understand how you feel and dcm should have discussed things with you and worked something out rather than just walk out the door. In the case of lay off, you may want to be a little flexible as this was totally out of her hands. I wouldnt count on seeing that money. If she had any respect for you she would have been honest and said that should couldnt do it because of the finacial burden a layoff causes. I realize that you are in the same situation as her now with a loss of income which is why I say that she doesnt have respect or she would have realized that she has put you in the same boat as she's in. If she had talked to you about it, you could have worked something out that you were both comfortable with. In the case of money owing, dont leave that to text messages or email. You should call her directly and speak to her about it. If this came out of the blue she could be in shock.

I agree.........