Excess childcare vouchers after pandemic

Downdog23

Hi, I also have unused childcare vouchers due to the pandemic and my child being too old for wraparound anymore. My provider is Kiddivouchers. My employer has agreed to the refund and has written to them on my behalf. I don’t understand how a global pandemic can not be classed as exceptional circumstances. I think it is an absolute disgrace and would like to know what happens to the unused vouchers. Previous posters on this subject have said they’ve used the vouchers with PGL but PGL only accepts childcare vouchers for children going alone not when they are booked on as part of a school group, as my child will be, later this year. Also, while it is stated in the terms and conditions, it is not flagged and was not flagged during the Covid lockdown period at all. 

sheramber

Downdog23 said:

Hi, I also have unused childcare vouchers due to the pandemic and my child being too old for wraparound anymore. My provider is Kiddivouchers. My employer has agreed to the refund and has written to them on my behalf. I don’t understand how a global pandemic can not be classed as exceptional circumstances. I think it is an absolute disgrace and would like to know what happens to the unused vouchers. Previous posters on this subject have said they’ve used the vouchers with PGL but PGL only accepts childcare vouchers for children going alone not when they are booked on as part of a school group, as my child will be, later this year. Also, while it is stated in the terms and conditions, it is not flagged and was not flagged during the Covid lockdown period at all. 

Have Kiddivouchers refused your claim?

Downdog23

sheramber said:

Downdog23 said:

Hi, I also have unused childcare vouchers due to the pandemic and my child being too old for wraparound anymore. My provider is Kiddivouchers. My employer has agreed to the refund and has written to them on my behalf. I don’t understand how a global pandemic can not be classed as exceptional circumstances. I think it is an absolute disgrace and would like to know what happens to the unused vouchers. Previous posters on this subject have said they’ve used the vouchers with PGL but PGL only accepts childcare vouchers for children going alone not when they are booked on as part of a school group, as my child will be, later this year. Also, while it is stated in the terms and conditions, it is not flagged and was not flagged during the Covid lockdown period at all. 

Have Kiddivouchers refused your claim?

So far, yes

DebH123

Has anyone had any success getting their money back from Kiddivouchers? They have £895 of our money that they are refusing to give back (as others have said, apparently a global pandemic is not extenuating enough of a circumstance). It feels like theft to me, it really does!

Wendy_wiggle

Hi, I have a similar problem. I've written to my MP about it and have got nowhere! All they have basically said is unless an employer will refund, the funds will remain in the nominated childcare account!!!! 

Until the pandemic, I was in employed work with a very real need for childcare, especially for our youngest, 9 years at the time. I had accrued a fairly sizable pot of funds in the childcare account - Edenred - and decided with my employer to stop payments, I think late 2019 or early 2020. 

The pandemic then came. In September 2020 I left my employer and have worked for myself since. Of course there was a lengthy period where childcare provision was closed but also our personal situation changed and there was no need for after school clubs and a much reduced need for holiday clubs. After having to find and use childcare for both our boys their entire life up until this point, we were finally in a position where we could take care of them ourselves and work this around our jobs. 

Whilst we did continue to use some holiday activity clubs, we did not spend anywhere near the same amount of money on childcare as we had done pre-pandemic and our now 13/14 year old is not keen nor interested - nor do we actually need - childcare provision. The outcome being I now have a childcare voucher fund with £1,500 worth of childcare 'cash' available to spend but no childcare needs to spend it on!  As others have mentioned, this being hard earned money over several years, which in these pressing times of inflation and ever increasing costs when also trying to get a business off the ground and supporting our eldest at university, would be massively helpful! 

It is money we can ill-afford to have caught up in a system that provides no flexibility in terms of having it refunded, even when I have expressed - to both the childcare provider and MP - that I am more than happy to pay any due tax/NI due on it. I understand in 'exceptional circumstances' employers can sometimes help with refunds and I did explore this with mine before I left the company, but they were unable to help.  

The pandemic was a world changing event and it directly impacted the immediate, ongoing and longer term needs around childcare not just for us but I'm sure many thousands of families. It's clear there are so many in a very similar situation who feel extremely frustrated that our money, rightfully earned and managed as we were advised to do so by employers/ government/ childcare providers etc, cannot/will not be returned, given the very exceptional circumstances we and the world found ourselves in. How can it be right/legal to have money trapped in a system with no mechanism to access it if your situation - or the global one around you - changes?  

 Martin...can you help us please!!!!!!

Batman_n_Robin

We are also in the same position with Kiddicare. Voucher funds have been trapped for years, there doesn’t seem to be a withdrawal option via Kiddicare even I accept marginal rate of tax is deducted as funds get reimbursed. My past employer no longer exists and my kids are no longer kids. If there was an option for us to give the remaining unused vouchers to charity that would be at least be better than these being written back into Kiddicare’s profits.

I am sure this must be a widespread problem and a scandal in the making so investigate and intervention by Martin would be wonderful.

sheramber

Batman_n_Robin said:

We are also in the same position with Kiddicare. Voucher funds have been trapped for years, there doesn’t seem to be a withdrawal option via Kiddicare even I accept marginal rate of tax is deducted as funds get reimbursed. My past employer no longer exists and my kids are no longer kids. If there was an option for us to give the remaining unused vouchers to charity that would be at least be better than these being written back into Kiddicare’s profits.

I am sure this must be a widespread problem and a scandal in the making so investigate and intervention by Martin would be wonderful.

You would need to contact Martin through his own social media  or his ITV show.