Parent who wont pay

[wolfy143]

I've been operating my home daycare for several years now and part of my agreement is I will work with parents for flexable payment. For example, if they get paidby weekly i will accept parents bi weekly and so forth. Anyway, a couple came to view my place, i told them the same and after hearing their sob story about the mom is in school and the dad is a contractor, i told them i will work with them but i cannot go pass 2 weeks that they can pay me weekly or bi-weekly. Unfortunately it did not work out, the 11 month old baby who is still on formula and no solid food was really attached to mommy and the first day they left him for 10 hours which i told them they need to transition the baby into daycare, not to start out with so long of a day. Apparently they didnt listen so the next day was the same too, 9 1/2 hours. All he did was cried and cried, nothing i do or dont do wasnt comforting him so i call them to come get him after like 6 hours going into the day but they werebusy they said. (working and school) so i kept him and even though his crying was getting to be, not like it was a low pitch cry, he was screaming. I tried to help out cause his mom begged me. After the end of the second day I told his parents i cannot do it for so long, meaning he misses his mommy and they should just drop him off for 10 hour, start out with 2 - 4 and go from there. So the point of my story is they said they will email transfer the fees for the 2 days and that was a frieday 3 weeks ago, nothing happened. I remind them saturday and said for sure sunday it will happened, nope didnt so the monday i called and no answer so i blocked my # and called again, the mom answerd, she said she will do it friday (2 wks ago), nope havent happened. I got really mad and send her a text asking whats going on that its been 2 weeks, she replied saying 'dont pissed her off that she will investigate me cause she spoke with professionals and there is no way a child can cry for so long and how i had to have done something to him and she will find out and sue me'....really??? so i replied go right ahead and do what u have to do, i guess u have to treatened me thinking i will back off and u dont have to pay. What can i do from here on? I worked my butt off mentally physically and emotionally for those 2 days and its the principle behind it, its not about the money. What shoud i do??

[Artsand crafts]

Sorry, but I don't think they have any plans to pay you. i think you should start charging in advance tnd even request for 2 week deposit to be applied towards the last 2 weeks of care. I charge bi-weekly in advance and have a $30/day penalty for late payment. I have not had to enforce the penalty yet in the 6 years that I have opened. When someone is not paying during the due date (Friday) I just remind them that if they pay on Monday they will be paying a lot of money in late fees,too. If someone were to pull that out, I will refuse to take the child on Monday and ask them to come back later with money on hand. I hope never have to do that.

And of course kids can cry and scream that long under stress. They are bluffing when telling you that experts say otherwise.

I think to get your money back you can hire a collection agency. I have not done it myself, but I read some ladies here have done it and could give you a better advice.

[daycaremum]

Just kiss that money good bye. She's talking out her a## with what she said to you, she's just trying to scare you into backing off like you said. In the future ask for a deposit before care starts or payment in advance. I have harrassed people by continually calling them and asking for payment, but I live in a small town and they just wanted to be left alone. Once it worked, another time it did not so I sold the items left behind in a yard sale You win some, you lose some, and then you learn how to do things better in the future. (advance pay)

[apples and bananas]

There's nothing you can do. Let it go and move forward.

I think it's great that you're willing to work with parents on pay schedules. I think that we need to be competitive, and if that's what works for you in your area then that's great.... however...

I also think that with such a strategy comes good planning. You need to accept the fact that you may get screwed for the month. If you have a client who can't plan ahead enough to pay you on time or is penny pinching or living pay check to pay check then there is a chance that your generosity will be taken advantage of and you will be out money.

I would suggest a 2 week deposit so you are never left out to dry. If you had taken a deposit in this case then you could have simply refunded (if it came down to it) the difference and you would have been paid your fees due.

As far as the 10 hour days go? You really need to tell the clients what you need not let them tell you what they need. It's a compromise between you, the client and the kid.

If they booked him in for a 10 hour day you should have addressed it before drop off.

If you called to have the child picked up then the child should have been picked up.

I am all for compromising and working with the client, but this 10 hour first day was not in the best interest of the child. And I'm sorry, but you allowing the child to stay was just as bad as the parents leaving the child there.

I hope you have some safety's set up going forward to you can be profitable in this business. But this may just have been lesson learned.

[pink]

Transitioning newbies is so difficult sometimes, I have strict guidelines on my payments first off all they need to leave me a $200.00 deposit which goes to the end payment if they provide me with two weeks notice and secondly, I always get paid in advance. My payments are due Thursday evening or Friday am before 8:00 a.m.. So far, so good. Obviously, if they cannot pay, they can't stay. Hopefully, you find a replacement soon. Best wishes to you.

[apples and bananas]

Pink... My pay date is the last day of care. But I love the idea of having payment due on the Thursday. Thanks for sharing... I may look at changing my policies.