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View Full Version : why do they always try and take the p**s??



littlepixies
24-02-2009, 03:36 PM
:angry: hi guys... god some peolpe !!!

Been out of childminding work for nearly a year and on friday i finally had an enquiry...

Pick up from one nursery 12pm.... take home give lunch drop and 2nd nursery 12.30 and then collect 2.50pm bring home give dinner keep till 5pm....

I said im sorry but times are too close and as i dont drive im unable to do that.. her response was ok well what if i drop her with you from either 7,8 or 9 am depending on shift as just starting new job and then you would take her to 2nd nursery at 12.30pm and collect bring back to yours till either 5 or 6 depending...

I said yes can certainly do that! so she come over saturday to chat and look at contract... stayed a whole 20 mins... saying she was going back to work and didnt know shifts or days but it would be different each week..
said she would call again if she had any more questions which she did...
She asked how much i charge i said £4 ph.... she was not impressed but im the cheapest in new addington as most charge 4.50!
so i said based on 10hrs i would do it for £30 the day as a daily rate
she asked if she would get a discount for sibling which i said i would have both at a daily rate £50 but could go no lower and as based on 10 hours this works out at £2.50 per child per hour!!!!


in first conversation on phone she then said she may have to work weekends.. but not every!! tutut not ever said ne thing about weekends but i didnt say ne thing ..
messed me about all day sunday about coming to fill contracts ready for monday! and so at 9pm i messaged saying not heard anything about you coming to sort contracts and im unable to care for children tomorrow if they are not filled in along with childrens info...
she replied saying ok dont need care tomorrow will call tomorrow to come and sign forms...

so she then phoned yesterday and said she would definately want me to care for both and would bee round tuesday (today) to sort out paper work and that she found more regarding shits and would need care from 6am till 2pm!!! aarrrhhhh!!!! never said ne thing like this before...

so i said that i would still charge her origional daily rate of £50 as 6-7 is classed as unsociable hours and at weekends i would charge er £60 a day as its even more unsociable as its only time i get with partner as he works very long hours! she started to get the hump and i ended up getting the hump back!! she never asked about weekends, early hours or ne thing and i feel i have done as much to help regarding fees as possible so explained this and said if she was unhappy with my charges to feel free and go else where as i could gaurentee no one would do it for anything less but alot more!! and no childminders here work weekends so she would have problems their also!

well she come to day finally still not knowing days and times of work but i will be having children at some point to morrow.... and she will let me know!
She is paying all fees in advance on the morning of care and any care up to 5hrs.. is charged at £3 per child per hour and over 5 hrs is the daily rate of £50

god! it really has up set me as i offer a really good service with lots of extras.. i do my best to help those with financial issues and feel i charge a reasonable rate... but being desperate for the work and money i took this on at a really low rate!!!!

Blaze
24-02-2009, 04:00 PM
Hope you feeling better after venting! I'm quite near you...other side of Westerham.:)

rickysmiths
24-02-2009, 04:32 PM
Maybe now you have a good vent you will see things more clearly. Dont let her beat you down any more, remember that no day nursery could offer the flexibility you do anfd at the most would offer a 10% sibling discount. If you charge £4ph you should be charging £45 fot the ten hour day and at least £40.50 for the second child, that is £85.50 per day for the two. If you had 2 unrelated children for a 10hr day you would be earning £90 a day. If other local childminders are charging more than you anyway you have beeen over generous of your offer of £50 per day.:eek:


Just make sure that you make it clear in the contract that she pays you full for unused days, full for Bank Holidays that fall on a contracted day and I would charge her full fee for her holidays. What are you Late Fees?

You say you are charging £3 per child for under 5hrs why when you hourly rate is £4 you have given her a 25% reduction! and £30 for over 5 hrs. How long in advance will you know what hours she needs? What if you get another enquiry tomorrow, will you know what days/hours you have free?


Really sorry to be devils advocate but this mum is taking the mick and I wanted to prvoke your thought patterns before the settling in period comes to an end so you give yourself an opportunity to revise the contract then.:blush: :blush:

Daftbat
24-02-2009, 04:33 PM
Sounds a bit of an unorganised mum to me. Glad she is paying you in advance as i see lots of opportunity for problems. Keep her on the straight and narrow and make sure she signs all paperwork. Good luck with it - sounds like she is lucky to have you:thumbsup:

sammy
24-02-2009, 07:03 PM
Honestly be aware of her it sounds like she is messing you around already, this could be a start of things to come.

If I were in your situation then i would stick to your normal fees, say if you had them and they were hard work, could you justify getting paid £50 a day. Also next week you could get a call for someone whos willing to pay the full amount. I know you havnt had any calls, but it could still happen.

I have siblings and i charge £5.50 for one and £4.75 for the other per hour - so thats £10.25 an hour, i have them for 4 hours a week.

I have since put my rates up to £7 an hour for all my other parents, but i havnt for the siblings as im happy to do it for £10.25 an hour (i consider that cheap, and i enjoy having them, so she should be lucky).

Even though you do need the work- I wouldnt let a family haggle me on cost for caring for there children, if she thinks you are weak she will take the pee out of you. Be strong. Also if she does pay that amount, i would get her to supply the food on top.

Minstrel
24-02-2009, 07:59 PM
Honestly be aware of her it sounds like she is messing you around already, this could be a start of things to come.

If I were in your situation then i would stick to your normal fees, say if you had them and they were hard work, could you justify getting paid £50 a day. Also next week you could get a call for someone whos willing to pay the full amount. I know you havnt had any calls, but it could still happen.

I have siblings and i charge £5.50 for one and £4.75 for the other per hour - so thats £10.25 an hour, i have them for 4 hours a week.

I have since put my rates up to £7 an hour for all my other parents, but i havnt for the siblings as im happy to do it for £10.25 an hour (i consider that cheap, and i enjoy having them, so she should be lucky).

Even though you do need the work- I wouldnt let a family haggle me on cost for caring for there children, if she thinks you are weak she will take the pee out of you. Be strong. Also if she does pay that amount, i would get her to supply the food on top.

Do you mind me asking where you live? £7 an hour :eek:

Blaze
24-02-2009, 08:21 PM
Do you mind me asking where you live? £7 an hour :eek:

I'd guess at London...or maybe somewhere like Lightwater....?

Minstrel
24-02-2009, 08:33 PM
and everyone thinks i live in a posh part of the country!!! not even close! :laughing:

Shar
24-02-2009, 08:59 PM
God you are too cheap!! I'm not far from you and for the hours you are willing to do and for two children £50 is a very good price!! Good luck.:thumbsup:

sammy
24-02-2009, 09:01 PM
im in surrey, also £7 is my part-time rate, and £6 is full time (over 5 hours a day)

Minstrel
24-02-2009, 09:27 PM
oh ok - not too far from me but still, your very lucky to earn that much- good for you!

Ripeberry
24-02-2009, 09:30 PM
Grief! and i think i'm expensive at £3.50 an hour! And that includes food and playgroup fees :( And even then people think childminders are expensive!

Twinkles
24-02-2009, 09:31 PM
im in surrey, also £7 is my part-time rate, and £6 is full time (over 5 hours a day)
I live in Surrey too - obviously not the right bit though :laughing:

Good on you :thumbsup:

rickysmiths
24-02-2009, 09:41 PM
I'm in sw herts and I charge £4.50 and £5ph but there are cms 5 miles away in Bucks that are charging £6+ and just NE of me north of the M25 still in Herts they are charging £6+ per hour but I haven't heard of as much as £7 per hour.

helenlc
24-02-2009, 10:22 PM
I am near Bromley in Kent and charge £5 and dont offer a daily rate.

Andrea08
24-02-2009, 10:35 PM
:eek: OMG i have to work 10hrs a day to get £3hr = £30 a day (8am-6pm)

and the fees include everything,,food, enterance fees to outings,, pick-ups and drop-offs, toys treats,

id like to know if the cost of living is realy 50% more than in the north? to charge double at £6hr?

im moving house any for sale x x xx

sammy
24-02-2009, 10:36 PM
for the £6/7 per hour i do include food (even halal as one is muslim) nappies and wipes, and pay for trips to farm etc. I dont think its expensive, im in coulsdon. Looking back to when i charged £5.50 an hour i think they were getting a bargain.

What you have to think about is paying tax and NI on top AND the hours you spend doing paper work in the evenings- filling in daily diarys, printing off photos etc, and one weekend a month making baby food, liquidising etc - that takes alot of my precious time.

I was thinking about putting up my full time prices to £6.50 an hour.

Go on put your prices up - lol :)

sammy
24-02-2009, 10:41 PM
:eek: OMG i have to work 10hrs a day to get £3hr = £30 a day (8am-6pm)

and the fees include everything,,food, enterance fees to outings,, pick-ups and drop-offs, toys treats,

id like to know if the cost of living is realy 50% more than in the north? to charge double at £6hr?

im moving house any for sale x x xx



yes it must be, i live in a very posh area you know :) haha, no it isnt THAT posh. I also charge a minimum of £7 ph (for instance i collect and drop off 2 children (siblings) from school and take them straight home) its the same route i do everyday as my child goes to the same school and they live just around the corner i charge £14 per day and i only have them for 15 mins (if that).

I love that job!! Does every one up north charge similar to you then?

rickysmiths
24-02-2009, 10:41 PM
I include everything except nappies.

Twinkles
24-02-2009, 10:50 PM
for the £6/7 per hour i do include food (even halal as one is muslim) nappies and wipes, and pay for trips to farm etc. I dont think its expensive, im in coulsdon. Looking back to when i charged £5.50 an hour i think they were getting a bargain.

What you have to think about is paying tax and NI on top AND the hours you spend doing paper work in the evenings- filling in daily diarys, printing off photos etc, and one weekend a month making baby food, liquidising etc - that takes alot of my precious time.

I was thinking about putting up my full time prices to £6.50 an hour.

Go on put your prices up - lol :)

I'm in Redhill and took the mindees for a walk in 'Happy Valley' the other day , near you ??

sammy
24-02-2009, 10:56 PM
i know redhill very well, we go to donyngs. Im not sure where happy valley is (i know all the places, maybe i know it as something else) i havnt met anyone on here that lives that close to me :)

RedDragon
25-02-2009, 07:22 AM
I am near Bromley in Kent and charge £5 and dont offer a daily rate.


I used to live in Perry Hall Road.

angeldelight
25-02-2009, 07:27 AM
I think most of know how you are feeling

Most of us have taken on a child for less money because we have needed the job

Hope it does not prove to be really hard work she sounds like she is messing you around already though

Stick to your guns and remain firm now

Good luck hope it works out let us know

Angel xx

Blaze
25-02-2009, 10:22 AM
I'm in Oxted, Surrey...used to live in Biggin Hill & before that lived in Orchard Road in Bromley LOL