Why cant they call in sick????/

[apples and bananas]

I would send that letter by registered mail with a reciept with whatever they have paid you so far. And give a final date on the pick up of the clothes. Just to cover all of your angles.

[playfelt]

Personally I would do nothing but advertise to fill the space. If they want the clothes they left behind they know where they are and it is their responsibility to come and get them - now having said that I would hold onto them for up to 3 months or longer just in case as I wouldn't want to be accused of giving away their stuff. By sending a termination letter now then you are responsible for whatever terms you have in your contract which is likely 2 or more weeks notice meaning they have that time to come back. If you do nothing then the termination is on their part starting with when they failed to pay for the space. If they aren't paying for a space then they are not entitled to one. If they wanted it held they should have come by with payment or made contact and arrangements.

Not to belittle the situation but if the mom or dad lost their job or a close relative did and they want to help them out by letting them care for the child or grandma put pressure on them to keep the child in the familly and let her do the care they may be too embarassed to talk to you. Wrong yes but some parents are like that. I would just be moving on and act as if they were never registered.

Keep whatever money has been paid so far and there is NO receipt for care until tax time and then they have to come and get it. No way would I be going out of my way to mail them. I love doing that to families that have left during the year and especially if it was for an annoying reason or I disliked the family or whatever. They have to actually face me at the door to get their tax receipt. Law says we have to give them one. It doesn't say we have to jump through hoops and mail them one. What if they have moved in the year and now their receipt and your SIN number is in the hands of whomever - at least that is the reason I give for making them personally come and get it in hand.

[Cocoon]

Personally, I don't think they are coming back. Even if they do give them the term. letter as it is obvious that you will have problems with this family especially, if they don't communicate with you. They probably found alternative care which is cheaper then you are or even free. Regardless, I would term. them. I hope you charged them deposit.

I'm not going to follow them and ask them every single day when they are coming. If they want and need my service they should call me to make sure that their spot is still available especially, after 2 weeks of not showing.

We should run our business like a business. And shouldn't entertain such families. If you need me YOU need to follow up with me I don't have time for this.

[cfred]

Or, you can state in the term letter that they can pick up their child's clothes when they drop off your money....you know, to save them an extra trip. I doubt they'll bother with the clothes, or the money I'm afraid. I hope we're all wrong, but it really doesn't sound good.

[Inspired by Reggio]

...Keep whatever money has been paid so far and there is NO receipt for care until tax time and then they have to come and get it. No way would I be going out of my way to mail them. I love doing that to families that have left during the year and especially if it was for an annoying reason or I disliked the family or whatever. They have to actually face me at the door to get their tax receipt. Law says we have to give them one. It doesn't say we have to jump through hoops and mail them one. What if they have moved in the year and now their receipt and your SIN number is in the hands of whomever - at least that is the reason I give for making them personally come and get it in hand.

Exactly ~ I personally would do the same thing in regards to this....you have tried calling / emailing and they are not responding and have not paid for the space that makes the contract you had null and void by their failure to abide by it.

I actually have a clause in my handbook that states 'Any clothes or personally belongings left unclaimed in the program longer than 3 months will be donated to a worthy cause' ... to be honest this goes for clients still IN the program ~ if a season has passed and you have not cleaned out your cubby after a reminder to do so anything hanging around in there gets TOSSED cause some people are just 'clueless' about how much crap their child ends up accumulating in their spare clothes bin ~ stuff that is now 3 inches too small cause they've grown over the season!

BTW just wanted to add the only reason I would send a 'registered letter' in regards to this is if I was intending to sue them for breach of the contract and wanted legal proof I had attempted to contact them in regards to this issue before taking it to court for any monies owed.