PLEASE! Need help with very difficult parents!

Hey all I really need some advise on how to handle a situation.

The mom of my full time 1 yr old girl who has only been with me for 3 months informed me last week that she was giving me her two weeks notice. Her contract was 1 year term with a summer agreement that held her spot for a minimum charge till september when she would return. The agreement also covers 2 weeks UNPAID vacation and 6 PAID sick days. My mother became ill with cancer and i have to leave next week to help her in England. I will be gone for 13 business days. I asked the parents for their permission 10 weeks ago and they o.k'd the time off.

At the end of a clients stay with me i apply their security deposit to their last two weeks if they haven't paid me already. My contract states - 10 days written notice must be given - in lieu of 10 days your 2 week security deposit will be used to cover the days and or be applied to outstanding charges.

They gave me 7 days notice stating it would have been 10 but it's my fault because i'm on vacation. Then the mom said if i knew you where going to make a big deal about it i would have told you sooner because I knew 5 days ago. (so she waited 5 days before giving me 10 days notice) Basically she yelled at me at my front door telling me that she wants me to refund her for 3 days. I also explained to her that she has been late 44 day (15 minutes or more) out of 68 days of care that I have (not yet) charged her for. $5 for every half hour. She turned and left. Today her 6'7" husband confronted me again at the front door after handing me his daughter. He threatened to take me to court, post horrible review about me everywhere - and when i said that my service to his daughter has been perfect he said he didn't care about that. he also said that he would have me and my business investigated for fraud! I'm so upset right now. I would love to give them a refund but then that just lets them walk all over me even though I'm not in the wrong - not only that but it would be like saying that their bullying and threatening confrontations at my front door - while children are present would be acceptable.

the requested amount is $159.
Their late fee charges amount to $220.

After talking to you like that they would NOT be allowed to return and NO refund!!

Sorry to hear this. They sound like real gems! It's a tough call. Personally, I'd likely stand my ground. They signed the contract, they knew what to expect. Why on earth would she wait 5 days to tell you of the termination??? In the future, if you don't already have it in your contract, you may want to address the issue of when to leave notice. My contract states that I require 1 months written/paid notice of termination. This notice may NOT be given in order to coincide with my vacation time. It must be either made 1 month before I go on vacation or on the first business day after I return. Sadly, sometimes people suck and it's good to cover that.

The fact that she actually yelled at you in front of the kids is bad enough. To send her husband to (in essence) intimidate you is appalling. Depending on where he posts bad reviews, you can choose whether or not to show reviews (here for instance). You could always rebut his reviews as well, in a professional manner. If he wants to take you to court, I don't see where they're going to get with that....they signed the contract agreeing to your terms. I'm not sure how all that works, but I would almost think that if you had to take time off work for court dates, the judge would possibly rule that they have to pay your expenses if you win. But really, would anyone with a teaspoon of brains actually take someone to court over $159??? That's just nuts.

Don't sweat this too much and chalk it up to a really sh&%ty family trying to strong arm you. DO NOT ALLOW THEM ON YOUR PROPERTY AGAIN!!! Oh, and any (I mean ANY) discussion about this issue with them should be via email so you have 2 sided documentation. It would be quite helpful to you if you could correspond via email with the mother and get this whole mess in an email. That would be pretty damning evidence if it ever came to a court situation.

Sorry to hear about your mum....I hope she's on the mend :)

Thank you so much cfred & mommabear. I really appreciate your input.

Hand them their child and all their belongings tonight with a written termination notice effective immediately due to disrespectful behaviour by the parent. My contract states I can term without notice due to gross misconduct and all monies paid are forfeited.

I do have a termination notice but I have nothing about the fees so I know they will fight me about it. .....I also naively wrote that i would give 2 weeks written notice if daycare terminates. Does that even apply if I feel unsafe with the parents? I am seriously considering using the remainder of my sick/personal days with them as they are paid per our agreement....they insist on bringing their daughter till the end of the 2weeks (7 days) which is next tuesday......

Unbelievable. They yell at you, harass you, and then have the nerve to threaten you with court because they couldn't follow a contract that they signed. I'd do exactly as Crayola suggested. Terminate care TODAY. I would be very upset if someone ever spoke to me that way, and there's no way in hell that someone would yell at me or threaten me in my own damned house.

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Originally Posted by mommarmars

I do have a termination notice but I have nothing about the fees so I know they will fight me about it. .....I also naively wrote that i would give 2 weeks written notice if daycare terminates. Does that even apply if I feel unsafe with the parents? I am seriously considering using the remainder of my sick/personal days with them as they are paid per our agreement....they insist on bringing their daughter till the end of the 2weeks (7 days) which is next tuesday......

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No one should EVER, EVER make you feel unsafe.

I have to say though, I don't know about these late charges you are telling them they owe you for. Unless you say something/charge them daily it looks like you are just throwing this at them because of what they are trying to pull.

A torontokids - Which is why i haven't charged them. I've spoken to them a few times about being late and they ignored it......it being so close to our "summer agreement" i didn't want to rock the boat...BUT I was going to request a sit down with them to discuss the terms of the agreement (the same day they gave me notice) They told me I inconvenienced them so much that no matter what i said would it make a difference (referring to me leaving to take care of my mom) When I explained the accommodations I've made for them (including the late fee I didn't charge) she laughed at me. The next day they were late again. I record it all on their & my daily log sheet.