Late Again & Again!

[busymomof2]

Okay so I have this 2yo dcg for almost 1 month. From day 1 dcm has been an hour late picking her up. The first week I did not charge her a late fee ($5 for every 15 minutes) because she stated she did not know...although it is in my contract that she signed & initialed each section. I was trying to work with her since she was a new family. The second week the dcg was out ill all week...she did pay for full week. Then when she came back dcm told me she had godsister to pick up dcg. She picked her up on time a couple of times but not the whole week. I finally told her that she was going to be charged the late fee...I know I know I should have from the beginning. So I charged her late pickup plus late payment fee (she also forgot to pay me). She always has an excuse of why she is late picking her up. This week she was late AGAIN. She said she got a late text stating godsister couldn't pick her up plus on her way to dc she got a ticket. Plus she did not pay me for the week either. I am to the limit with her. As of right now she owes me $20 late pickup fee and $10 late payment fee. I told her this morning and she didn't say anything. She brings the 2yo at 7am and doesn't want to pick her up till after 5pm. That is not acceptable especially with this child. She is a handful...she hits, scratches, pulls hair, gets into everything, doesn't listen and just is a walking tornado. I want to terminate but 1.) I want to make sure I get what is owed to me, 2.) I feel bad because I know this is perfect location for her since she drops of son on next street, 3.) I hate confrontation. I don't understand how parents think it is okay to not pay? What if their employers didn't pay them? And how do they think it is okay to be late? What if I kept them waiting an hour outside my door for DC to open? Help!

[Blackcat31]

In my experience the only reason parents think it is okay not to pay us is because, well, we let them. I know that sounds harsh, but really if we didn't always have such big hearts we wouldn't always buy their sad stories. It is so hard to enforce payments. Like others on this forum, I have a "No Pay, No Play" policy. I also require payments on a pre-paid basis only so this does not happen much.
Have you thought of prepayment options? Might work out for you in this case. If mom has to pay up front (all previous weeks payments AND late pick up fees) then you can sort of protect yourself a bit.

[busymomof2]

I do have a prepayment. They have to pay on Monday for the week that is about to happen. She paid on Friday for Monday and said she would pay me the remainder on Tuesday. Well that was when she was late picking up dcg and forgot to pay me as well. This morning did she have a check/cash in her hand....nooooooo. And this is the second time in the short time I have been watching her child that she has had a late payment. This afternoon if she doesn't pay me...owes me another late payment fee. And tomorrow if she does not have check in hand with the balance including late fees I will not watch her child. Pray for me because I tend to be a push over and feel bad and end up caving in. I guess I need a backbone. LOL Should I give her an invoice outlining the charges and a copy of the contract highlighting late pickup and late payment fee, and no services without balanced paid?

[missnikki]

... I finally told her that she was going to be charged the late fee...I know I know I should have from the beginning. So I charged her late pickup plus late payment fee (she also forgot to pay me). She always has an excuse of why she is late picking her up. ... I told her this morning and she didn't say anything. Help!

May I ask, WHY the child is at your house right now?!? Come on, you have us behind you- tell her very firmly before she starts in with her daily round of excuses-

"I am sure that there was SOMETHING keeping you from getting here on time, and SOMETHING ELSE keeping you from paying for your daughter's daily care while you are gone, but I must say that the reason does not matter. You have used my service and agreed to my terms, and I will be enforcing the fees and penalties if that's the way it has to be. The only option is to pay me $____ for the late pick-ups, and $___ for the late payment, and we can go on from there. I am sure this is as embarassing for you as it is frustrating for me, but we need to resolve this right away so I can continue to care for your daughter."

[Blackcat31]

Giving her a copy of your policy with the payment part highlighted would be a great idea. It is soooo hard sometimes to be in this business. It does seem like the longer you do it though the better you get at having a backbone. It is really a sad situation when a parent doesn't see the person who loves and cares for their child as a priority. I would definitely tell her this is what you owe me (late fees and all) and you have *** days to pay me. No services until she pays IN FULL. If she doesn't, I'd term her because otherwise she will continue taking advantage of you. I would be really leary of letting her make payment arrangements though while you continue caring for her child because that never seems to work out in the providers favor. If she ends up not returning, at least you won't have to worry about late pick ups and payments anymore. Sometimes, I write it all down and either say it or give them the letter. Either way, you get the message out there. Sometimes a phone conversation is less confrontational too. Good luck! I'm rooting for you!! Be firm!

[Unregistered]

I get paid Friday for the FOLOWWING WEEK you know why if they dont pay Friday at pick up they owe a 25 dollar late fee and they have to have fee plus late fee BEFORE the child enters into my Daycare Monday morning period this way there is NO I will pay you later etc.. I do not charge a late fee for picking up late but if there is reoccuring late pick ups then they are no longer allowed to attend my daycare.

[MarinaVanessa]

And this is when you enforce the "no pay, no stay" policy. If you don't already have this in your policies you should really think about adding it now. If she comes on Monday and doesn't say anything about payment then YOU need to ask her for it before she thinks to leave. If she doesn't have it then a simple "Oh, well then she can't stay. That's the policy". This includes all late fees. If she owes you a late fee this is still a debt and needs to be paid before she will be allowed to stay.

[marniewon]

On Friday, at pick up, I would hand her an invoice laying out all the charges, including the charge for next week. Let her know (and reinforce it with a note somewhere on the page) that this money (all of it!) is due Monday at drop-off, or there will be no care for her child that day.

[busymomof2]

Okay so I wanted to let you all know what happened. I geared up for it, had an invoice with policy highlighted and ready to tell her this morning if not paid in full I wasn't gonna watch her child. However, yesterday evening she made a special trip to my house, paid the tuition for the week, all late fees PLUS next week's tuition as well. She didn't say a word to me other than here is the money and then left. I'm glad I got what was owed to me and also don't have to worry about next week $ (other than late pick-up fees that I KNOW will occur) but I was kind of hoping she wasn't gonna pay so I could terminate. Is that bad? I just don't like to deal with this every day (is she gonna pick her up on time? Is she gonna pay?) It is stressful. I even stopped getting the dcg ready for pickup because when mom is late she looks out the window and watches for her. How sad is that! Do you think it would be okay to terminate anyways? What would you do? We don't really communicate because I think she is mad.:confused:

[MommyMuffin]

I know a provider who will write a letter stating what is owed and contract information and she mails it to the parents so that she doesnt have to confront them and she has had success with it.
I agree with OP that you have to be upfront or they may walk all over you!


Off topic:
I wanted to tell a story, When I had my daughter in a daycare, we always paid on time and I always budgeted money for daycare.
So one monday my husband dropped her off at daycare and I had given him the checkbook to pay her. Well I went and picked her up that day, the provider said nothing about payment so I assumed that hubby had paid. It was a snow storm that night and when I got home after picking up daughter(took an extra 30 min cuz of the storm) I got a call from the provider that since the check was not given to her today that she was going to add a late fee unless brought to her tonight. Well my hubby went out in the snow storm and delivered that check to her as we did not have any extra money to pay a late fee. I was so angry at her...she could have mentioned something at pick up..told me to bring it in the morning...been even a little considerate that it was not done on purpose and it was a snow storm for crying out loud.
That is my story, I know its off topic but I just had to share!

[Unregistered]

Okay so I wanted to let you all know what happened. I geared up for it, had an invoice with policy highlighted and ready to tell her this morning if not paid in full I wasn't gonna watch her child. However, yesterday evening she made a special trip to my house, paid the tuition for the week, all late fees PLUS next week's tuition as well. She didn't say a word to me other than here is the money and then left. I'm glad I got what was owed to me and also don't have to worry about next week $ (other than late pick-up fees that I KNOW will occur) but I was kind of hoping she wasn't gonna pay so I could terminate. Is that bad? I just don't like to deal with this every day (is she gonna pick her up on time? Is she gonna pay?) It is stressful. I even stopped getting the dcg ready for pickup because when mom is late she looks out the window and watches for her. How sad is that! Do you think it would be okay to terminate anyways? What would you do? We don't really communicate because I think she is mad.:confused:

You may not have to terminate. She might start picking up on time now. I have found that once the late fees/late payment fees, etc, start getting enforced, that kind of behavior stops. Good luck!

[Blackcat31]

It is stressful. I even stopped getting the dcg ready for pickup because when mom is late she looks out the window and watches for her. How sad is that! Do you think it would be okay to terminate anyways? What would you do? We don't really communicate because I think she is mad.:confused:

I would maybe just tell her that you feel the relationship has gone beyond repair and it probably isn't healthy emotionally for you to continue providing services for her. You shouldn't have to make any excuses. It is your business and if you are stressed out by a client then it seems only right to eliminate the thing that is bothering you. Of course, this would only be true if she is really getting under your skin and you do not feel as though it will change. If you can't go back, then go forward.....

[MarinaVanessa]

I'm glad I got what was owed to me and also don't have to worry about next week $ (other than late pick-up fees that I KNOW will occur) but I was kind of hoping she wasn't gonna pay so I could terminate. Is that bad? I just don't like to deal with this every day (is she gonna pick her up on time? Is she gonna pay?) It is stressful.

You said it all right there. You got paid and you were dissapointed because you were hoping to terminate?? Sounds to me like you actually have the upper hand now, sort of. At least you now have all of your money paid up and even 1 week in advance. Why not give her a 2-week termination notice tomorrow or Monday? She already paid for next week so that's covered and make sure that next Friday she pays for the last week in advance.

[Live and Learn]

If you really want to term I would go straight to her bank and cash her check so that if she gets mad she doesn't stop payment.
I agree with MARINAVANESSA.

[Unregistered]

I have a very similar situation going on with my daycare right now. I have been watching this 1 yr old DCG that is very sweet for about 4 months now. DCM has paid me late 2 out of 4 months so far. This last week DCF came to me saying he didnt get paid from work and would have the payment by the weekend. Monday came and still no payment so when DCM came i mentioned to her that the payment was not in for the week. she tells me that she left payment with DCF on friday and she was out all weekend on a trip so it was his responsibility and he should have given it to me friday at pick up. I told her i would wait for him that night to make the payment and she left. a few hours later i get a very nasty text from DCF saying that if i have a problem with payments to please only talk with him and not to harass his wife because she keeps going home to cry after dealing with me and that he doesnt understand how i cant have patients with a family in this harsh economy. so now i am flipping out because i have had nothing more than patience with this family and by now i am ready to show them the door. I am just waiting for the rest of my payment before giving them my termination letter. the only reason i kept her this long was because i was very low on children and would hate to take another financial hit but at this point i rather not deal with the added stress.