Received deposit BUT waiting on signed contract - argh

[Suzie_Homemaker]

So without the signed contract there really is no agreement and if they change their mind you would legally need to return money (if no receipt given stating non-refundable)? Am I right?

Not quite.

Without contact there no agreement about service to be provided and terms so you be unlikely to enforce paid notice period. But you can keep money in some circumstnaces but it not the non-refundable that make it non-refundable, it what the receipt for that make it non refundable.

If you take any money, you have to provide the service which it paid out for. If client cancel that service before it provided, then the money must be returned even if it say non-refundable.

My son explain this me long time ago.

So you can write receipt and say it for enrollment fee and non-refundable, and then keep money if they don't start because you did enrol them. Or you can write receipt and say it to hold place for daycare and non-refundable and if they change mind, you keep money. But if you write receipt for daycare service and never provide that service, even if the receipt/contract say non-refundable, it be hard to win in court of client demand money return because plenty of notice of change mind given.