Over Charges by nursery... Totalling £900

m0nkeymrs01

I am wondering if anyone can give me any advice, my son attends nursery full time for the last nine months & we pay £820 a month!!

When he started I was told that out of that fee £100 per month was to cover early start costs which I was told occurred before 8am...fine.

Then lately it has come to my attention that on a couple of occasions I have arrived to drop DS off at 7:28 they let me straight in but make others wait outside until 7:30... I got chatting to a couple of the other mums and they told me they don't pay early charges and are allowed in from 7:30 hmmmmm.

Today I called the head office that deal with the fees and asked when "early start" became applicable and was told that it was only if the child is at nursery for more than ten hours a day. My son is never at nursery more than 10 hours a day. The lady said I would have to pay the full amount this month and then they would reduce my bill next month..huh??

Basically I feel they have been overcharging me and I have asked them to go back and check the daily registers and work out what they owe me. The woman was not convinced and said she would discuss with her manager... What do you think, am I entitled to money back?

Emmzi

what does it say on the contract you signed with them?

m0nkeymrs01

Emmzi wrote: »

what does it say on the contract you signed with them?

I am not home yet so can't check, but can they charge me £100 a month more for my child to start the same time as someone elses but leave earlier?

BitterAndTwisted

Sometimes businesses negotiate different contacts with each customer depending on individual circumstances. No-one can answer your question unless and until you have read and understood your contract.

Emmzi

they can charge you more if you signed a contract to say they can, yes.

onlyroz

You need to read your contract. My daughter's nursery has two arrangements. You can either do 8 AM - 6 PM or 9 AM - 4PM. For years I did something like 9 AM - 5:30 PM, but I paid the rate for the "full" day and was happy to do so.

Loulou2010

i would also state check your contract. i assume is it a private nursery and you may find that contracts between parents may differ. private arrangements with fees are often made.

it should state in the contract about the early start cost - if it doesnt then they shouldnt be charging you for it.

ajaney

Yes, check your contract carefully. I have been looking at Nurseries for my LO & the conditions vary greatly between different ones.

AnnaLicious_2

You'll also have to be clear as to what you booked in for. If they have booked out a space for you 10 hours a day, even if you chose to pick up your child earlier, they have blocked out time for you and staffed for your child to attend. You may have arranged for full day 10 hour sessions with early drop off (so slightly over 10 hours), but have been picked up your child before 6 pm. Either way, a nursery cannot run by charging parents for what they chose to take up on a day to day basis. This may not be the case, but it's something to consider before you go into the nursery all guns blazing.

onlyroz

AnnaLicious wrote: »

You may have arranged for full day 10 hour sessions with early drop off (so slightly over 10 hours), but have been picked up your child before 6 pm.

This is precisely it - I pay for 10 hours but only usually use 9. This is because it gives me the flexibility to be a bit early/late if I need to.

m0nkeymrs01

Hello All,

Thank you for your replies, it appears there is no contract. I have a letter excepting my son to the nursery and then the nursery invoice me each month and I call up and pay.

It is not an hour by hour system, you either do a half day or a full day or an early start... I have been being charged for an early start which I was told was for arrival anytime between 7-8am. I drop my son off at 7:30. The problem is that I have arrived at the nursery recently on odd occasion at 7:28 and have been allowed straight in meanwhile a group of parents have not been allowed in until 7:30. When I questioned this I was told it was because I paid extra... If the early drop off charge applies between 7-8 surely these parents would be left outside until 8?

Anyhow I have been in discussion with the nursery, whom in my opinion know they are in the wrong because they immedatiately offered up a system of working out how much they owed me and offered me £200 of the £900. I pressed back and said that using their own system the minimum they should be offering is £400 but that I didnt agree with the system they were using.

They have since offered me £400 and whilst £400 would be lovely, I am still no clearer on why they have been charging me so have now gone back to say that I still dont understand what their rules are and before I can accept any money I need to understand the rules.