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You can check with Tom Copeland, he's a lawyer and writes books for Red Leaf Press. If you call Red Leaf Press and ask for him, you can talk with him personally. If he's not in, leave a message and he will call you back. He's very nice and very helpful. He can answer any legal questions you have in regards to day care. :confused:
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The hassle involved in small claims court seems far more time consuming than sending their account to collections.Comment
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Well, I will be calling the collection agency above today. The parents had said they'd pay me $300 yesterday once the dad cashed his check, well I saw money, but only 1/3rd of that... I only got $100. So once all my kids get here today, I'm going to be calling them.
Meeko, what information should I have handy?Comment
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I gave them a copy of the contract, so they can see the parent is in breach of contract. And a summary of the dollar amount (fees, late fees etc) I am going after. I filled out some of their paperwork too...basically saying I understood that they were now in charge of the account/their terms etc.
I first sent registered mail to the parents demanding pay by a certain date or the account would go to collections (I allow 30 days) I let them know that $10 per day is added in late fees until 30 days and then it goes to collections.
It's been a few years since I needed them, so call them and ask what you need to send them. The office staff are very helpful.
Main thing to remember is once collections have the account...the parents cannot pay you. It's too late for them to panic and apologize and try to pay. If they contact you, you have to tell them to deal with the collections company only. I actually have this in my contract, so they know upfront that I mean business and they need to pay when it's due.Comment
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Thanks! I will be calling soon. I'm a bit nervous, as I've never had to do this before, but it needs to be done. I sent them a certified letter last week stating if it wasn't paid by the 29th I'd send it to collections.Comment
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So, if we have nothing about a collections agency in our Parent Handbook are we allowed to send their account to collections?
I have added it in and re-uploaded my Parent Handbook to my website.Comment
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You should have a contract seperate from your policies.
The contract deals with time and money only and your policy or parent handbook deals with everything else.Comment
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Can someone send me a sample copy of their contract and their policy or parent handbook. Right now, mine are both together and I'd like to seperate them all the while putting in a few new additions about collection agencies.
Please email to acebydanelle@hotmail.comComment
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My Parent Handbook details everything, including money related things.
My contract is a straightforward, to the point agreement form (provided by the state) that details who they are enrolling, what meals are included, what the hours of the business are, what days and times they will be attending, whether they will pay bi-weekly or monthly, how much is to be paid for each payment, and what is charged as a late fee.Comment
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Wish me luck, I'm making the call today. Well I already tried but forgot about the time difference! I still have to wait another hour before I can call them... I'm so nervous!Comment
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I call them and unless you live in Utah or the debt is from Utah you cannot use their services. Additionally, if you do not have a clause in your contract stating you will send unpaid accounts to a collection agency, they take their 40% out of your money.Comment
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I suggest that for any new and current clients you start requiring that all payments be done before services are rendered. For example, this Friday my clients will pay me their weekly amount which will cover next week of child care. I require a two week's notice of termination in writing and I require a two week deposit equivalent to their weekly rate be paid before they start. This deposit is used to pay for their last 2 weeks of child care should they terminate. Their 1st week of daycare and their 2 week deposit is due BEFORE their first day of daycare.
You may want to think about doing this and then having a NO PAY, NO PLAY/STAY policy. If they don't pay, their child can't come to daycare until they pay it and late fees.
Here's what I have in my policies that covers what I mentioned:
Security Deposit
A security deposit is required for each child in the amount of two full weeks of care. The deposit will serve as payment for a child’s final two weeks of care, provided that appropriate notice is given in writing. If proper notice of termination is not given then the deposit will be forfeited and payment for the final two-weeks of care will still be owed.Tuition
All full and part-time tuition payments are to be made in advance of care and are to be made payable on Fridays no later than 6:00 p.m. to cover the following week of child care. If a child is not present on this day tuition is still due.Late Payments
There is a late payment fee of $5.00 per day for full and part-time clients if tuition is not paid by Friday at 6:00 p.m. Child care services will not be rendered unless all balances are paid.Unpaid Tuition & Fee’s
If a period of one week (seven days including weekends) passes and payment
still has not been received, the contract may be terminated and the position filled.
The client will be responsible for any payments owed up to this point, any late
fees that accrue and also for the time of the child’s required two week notice even if the child has not been present in the daycare. The client will also forfeit the security deposit.
Attempts to collect monies owed, if not successfully collected, will be sent to court and reported to collections should it be necessary. The client will also be responsible for any fees and costs incurred during this process including, but not limited to, court, attorney and collection agency fees.
The client’s account will also be reported to ProviderWatch, a national child care credit reporting agency catered for child care providers to run checks on clients. Many child care providers use ProviderWatch to screen potential clients for past due accounts or to check if they have trouble paying their
childcare obligations.
ProviderWatch.com 866-267-3691.Comment
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