Cancellation Of Contract-Problems

[Unregistered]

Hello!
We were sending our daughter to a Montessori School Daycare from the time that she was 3 months old. The first room she went to was good, the teachers were loving and there was no change in lead teacher (one aid left) for the 3 months she stayed in this room. When she started to crawl, she entered the mobile infant room, and this is where problems started.
1. the lead teacher left after one month- we were not informed, she was just gone one month even though this decision was not made last minute.
2. one aid got fired
3. 2 more aids started and quit after 3 weeks
4. the new lead teacher had nearly no experience in child care, and certainly background in child development.
5. they put the babies to sleep on their stomachs (even babies that were not rolling over yet)
6. the room was dirty, the sheet in my daughters crib was stained with mild in the mornings, before she even slept in it!
7. my daughter's face, hair, hands, clothes were covered in her lunch when i picked her up

This is a daycare center, that charges above average in our area. I did not feel comfortable sending my daughter there anymore and wanted to cancel our contract after watching this situation for 1 months. I was told that i signed up for a 1 year contract. This came as news to me, as nobody mentioned we were signing her up for one year.
We were then allowed to leave at the end of the semester, but lost our deposit (400$).

My question: We strongly believe that the daycare on pupose does not inform parents that they enter a 1 year contract. Is ths normal practice? Also, if the daycare claerly does not live up to its standard, can they still keep the deposit when you cancel the contract?

Thanks for any answers!

PS: DD now attends a fantastic new school! We are both much happier.

[Blackcat31]

My question: We strongly believe that the daycare on pupose does not inform parents that they enter a 1 year contract. Is ths normal practice? Also, if the daycare claerly does not live up to its standard, can they still keep the deposit when you cancel the contract?

Thanks for any answers!

PS: DD now attends a fantastic new school! We are both much happier.

Glad you have found a place where you and your dd are happy!

As far as signing a one year contract, I have personally never heard of that but is it anywhere in your contract that you signed saying that? If not, I can't see how you are being held to that. I guess it all depends on what your contract actually says about it.

[sharlan]

Read BEFORE you sign anything.

[Heidi]

If they say you contracted for a year, then you signed a contract, of which you should have recieved a copy.

Even though the ship may have sailed, if you cannot find your copy, send them a letter requesting a copy of your contract "for your records".

If you did not sign a contract, or this was not in your contract, then you may have a claim for a refund. First step, find out what you signed.

BTW, if conditions at this facility are such that you are concerned for the health and safety of the children there, you should really consider reporting your concerns to licensing. In most states, you can do this anonymously.

[BABYLUVER]

Hello!
We were sending our daughter to a Montessori School Daycare from the time that she was 3 months old. The first room she went to was good, the teachers were loving and there was no change in lead teacher (one aid left) for the 3 months she stayed in this room. When she started to crawl, she entered the mobile infant room, and this is where problems started.
1. the lead teacher left after one month- we were not informed, she was just gone one month even though this decision was not made last minute.
2. one aid got fired
3. 2 more aids started and quit after 3 weeks
4. the new lead teacher had nearly no experience in child care, and certainly background in child development.
5. they put the babies to sleep on their stomachs (even babies that were not rolling over yet)
6. the room was dirty, the sheet in my daughters crib was stained with mild in the mornings, before she even slept in it!
7. my daughter's face, hair, hands, clothes were covered in her lunch when i picked her up

This is a daycare center, that charges above average in our area. I did not feel comfortable sending my daughter there anymore and wanted to cancel our contract after watching this situation for 1 months. I was told that i signed up for a 1 year contract. This came as news to me, as nobody mentioned we were signing her up for one year.
We were then allowed to leave at the end of the semester, but lost our deposit (400$).

My question: We strongly believe that the daycare on pupose does not inform parents that they enter a 1 year contract. Is ths normal practice? Also, if the daycare claerly does not live up to its standard, can they still keep the deposit when you cancel the contract?

Thanks for any answers!

PS: DD now attends a fantastic new school! We are both much happier.

A parent has every right and obligation to remove their child any time they feel their child is being improperly treated, and you can actually sue them for the money they failed to return to you. No contract can legally bind you to continuing to place your child in undesirable circumstances. If you had said you wanted to remove the child for reasons OTHER than suspected abuse/neglect or breech of contract (i.e. they are no longer providing the services you agreed to) than I could see you forfeiting your deposit. Since you have clearly indicated the opposite, you should be entitled to your money back. I would be taking them to small-claims court and get my money. THEY have to abide by their agreement too, not just the parent. Additionally, if you are seeing other issues in the daycare that compromises the safety of other kids, you have every moral obligation to report it. You may not want to, but think about how you felt when your child was getting poor service---do you want that to continue (or get worse) for the other kids there? I would both sue for your money and make the call.

[Unregistered]

Thanks to everyone for the replies! I will meet with the director and owner of this daycare and talk things over. I strongly feel taken advantage of, as we did not receive a copy of the contract and were never told that we signed up a one year contract. We are not the only parents feeling this way, apparently they silently changed their policy and did not include this change in their handbook (we followed the handbook cancellation policy).

Regards to everyone!

[Unregistered]

how did it turn out

How did your case turn out? We have similar issues but nothing as bad as you are describing in the care.

[daycarediva]

How did your case turn out? We have similar issues but nothing as bad as you are describing in the care.

This thread is 3 years old. I doubt the original poster will respond. We have some parents and a wealth of knowledgeable child care providers on the forum if you need assistance.

[daycare]

thanks Diva, i was about to post the same thing.

In my area a one year contract is VERY normal. In fact, most places require you to leave a HUGE deposit at the end of the school year to secure your spot for the next school year. If you don't start, you don't get your money back.

I find that this is common in montessori due to the fact that they feel they will need to attend this length of time in order to really benefit from the program.

I had a perspective client want to enroll with me, she came to me in July. They had to call me and cancel a week before they were to start, as they did not realize that no only would they lose the $700 they had to put down to hold their child's spot for the upcoming school year, they would also still responsible for the first month in the amount of $1400. so they would loose $2100 if they chose not to attend the school come fall when it started.


All I could think about when they told me this, was didnt you read what you signed.......

[Mom2Two]

Crawling but not rolling over???

I just couldn't get past "mobile infant room," "crawling," but "not rolling over yet." Is there something I'm just not understanding here or is this...um...a little too weird?

[CalCare]

I think those are two different groups that she is referring to. There were babies that don't roll over being placed to sleep on tummies. Their own daughter had begun to crawl and was moved to the mobile room.