Childminder fees during Carona

ickle_nik

I'm under a contract with a childminder, they have a mortgage. I have been given a bill for 50% while she is shut to me. She is currently working for key workers children and retained 2 existing kids and accepted 2 new ones. She does not employ an assistant. Where do I stand with regard to paying fees? If the schools dont go back until September, I can not afford to pay 50% indefinitely. I only pay her for term time.

[Deleted User]

You stand with looking at what it says in the contract and then choosing whether you want to exceed that.

Consider also your childcare needs post Corona.

Mrsn

You can chose not to pay the fees but it is likely your place will be terminated as per the terms and conditions of your contract.

How many children she has managed to keep for key workers etc or that she has a mortgage is irrelevant to be honest. The mortgage may have had hideous terms attached to the payment holiday so they have decided against doing that. The new children she has opened to you have no idea what their contract says. 

You can’t make assumptions about why she has asked for 50% towards your monthly fees, even if she eligible for the self employment grant from HMRC this hasn’t even kicked in yet and my sister who is a childminder has told me she doesn’t even expect to survive financially until July even with the measures she has put in place .... it’s not as straightforward as everyone thinks

unholyangel

If she's not providing the service then she can't expect payment. The fact it's outwith her control just means she isn't liable for your losses (such as finding alternative care), not that she can keep charging you. 

However, with childcare, parents often want to think about whether they would like their child to return to that childcare provider and what other alternatives are available (and the quality/price of them) before deciding how to proceed. 

tome87

We are in the exact same predicament, my wife is on Furlough therefore staying at home looking after the children. However our childminder is stating we need to pay 100% fees even though my child is not in her care. 

I'd like my child to return to this Childminder after this Pandemic is over however we cannot afford to pay the fees whilst my wife is on reduced pay..

unholyangel

tome87 said:

We are in the exact same predicament, my wife is on Furlough therefore staying at home looking after the children. However our childminder is stating we need to pay 100% fees even though my child is not in her care. 

I'd like my child to return to this Childminder after this Pandemic is over however we cannot afford to pay the fees whilst my wife is on reduced pay..

Someone on another board who was in the same boat as you ended up negotiating reduced fees with the nursery. If this is an option for you then it might be worth considering voicing it with the childminder. If it's not an option then you may have to choose between severe financial hardship & finding another childminder. 

What I will say is that if you are approaching the childminder to negotiate, you'll get a better outcome if you can adjust their expectations. Currently they may believe they're entitled to 100%, so would be reluctant to agree to any amount below this. While if they know they're actually entitled to 0%, they'll be more open to an offer of 50% or possibly even lower. 

If you need some help in convincing her she can't charge, try this unfair contract terms guidance.Such as the section on binding consumers where the trader defaults, exclusion of liability for failure to perform contractual obligations, trader's right to cancel without refund and also transferring inappropriate risk to consumers (the "risk" of running costs, lost wages etc is the childminders, not yours).

Failing that, ask them whether they'd still expect to pay for tv/phone/broadband/haircuts/car maintenance/whatever if they weren't actually receiving what they had paid for.