childcare.co.uk I don not believe it!!!

[amirose]

Just logged in to my childcare.uk and went to send a message and guess what YOU NOW HAVE TO PAY TO SEND MESSAGES :crying: :crying: :crying:

1 Year childcare.co.uk Gold Membership £29.99
The best value and most popular option.

6 months childcare.co.uk Gold Membership £18.99
Superb Value. Very popular option for 6 months full membership.

3 months childcare.co.uk Gold Membership £9.99
Great value. Get 3 months access to everything for under a tenner!

1 Month childcare.co.uk Gold Membership £4.99
All our Gold Member features for under a fiver a month!

Its been a great site for me 4 of my mindees (2 sets of siblings) have come from there and I guess I would pay the membership fee but if parents have to pay it too then its going to put them off :(

Its been interesting to me to see the number of parents who are not aware of the *************.gov.uk site - I think I am going to contact my local schools and ask them to a put a link to the ************* site in their next newsletter as this is obviously free for everyone to use.

[Pudding Girl]

oh!

:(

Does that include if a parent messages you and you need to reply then? If so will be removing my listing as I can get free advertising in lot sof other places.

[amirose]

oh!

:(

Does that include if a parent messages you and you need to reply then? If so will be removing my listing as I can get free advertising in lot sof other places.

I have read their help page and it looks like anyone - childcare providers or parents - have to now pay to send and reply to messages :(

[Pudding Girl]

Well they won't be around for long in that case will they, parents don't want to have to pay for info they can get from yell or chis or netmums etc for free

[aly]

Well they won't be around for long in that case will they, parents don't want to have to pay for info they can get from yell or chis or netmums etc for free
what is chis?

[Shirlwith3]

what a cheek I have just updated my details & put please call me for more info, there is no way I am paying that especially when you might get the odd enquiry from there like others have said CIS is where most parents go for childcare

Shirl

[Polka Dots]

I hope not but it sounds like Childcare.co.uk have mislead us well and truly. :rolleyes:

[deeb66]

I have just sent them a message asking them to delete my account.

I have no intention of paying to receive or send messgaes and I don't want the parents to think I am ignoring them.

Have to say I am a little cross :mad:

[Shirlwith3]

On their home page there is nothing to say you have to pay for sending messages, which I think is a cheek they have not even bothered to email everyone to inform us:mad: :mad: .

Think I will conplain as I have had 2 enquiries form there lately one of which signed contracts with me.


Shirl

[Pedagog]

Well they never mentioned that when we all joined did they?

[Polka Dots]

I'm not paying [can't afford too] and I don't want any parent thinking I can't be bothered to return their message. The website is very unclear about the fees they charge. I'll be asking for my details to be removed.

[wilksy]

I have also just sent a message asking to be removed from their site! :angry:

[aly]

are these the same people that are the forum friends?

[Pauline]

are these the same people that are the forum friends?

Yes it is Aly

[Richard]

Hi Everyone

I wanted to introduce myself as the owner and founder of childcare.co.uk

I launched the site in January 2009 and I personally have invested over £100,000 of my own money in setting up childcare.co.uk

Our initial launch phase was from January 2009 until 1st April 2009 where we operated the site for free at great expense in order to achieve critical mass of both childcare providers and parents.

Whilst it would be lovely to be able to offer all of services totally for free forever, this unfortunately is not possible and we have certainly not intended to mislead anyone. Right from the start we said in our terms and conditions that charges would be introduced for some services in the future.

The feedback from both parents and childcare providers has been very positive even with our charges which we have kept as low as possible. It remains free to advertise your service on childcare.co.uk and to read messages that are sent to you.

This means that it is still possible to actually gain new childcare business without paying us a penny as messages sent can contain email addresses and telephone numbers.

For example a parent could send you a message asking for details of your services and they can include their phone number and email address. You could respond and gain a new customer without paying us anything.

Our fees are are low and even if you have to pay us a small fee in order to achieve new business that brings in new custom and earnings for you then surely that can't be negative?

A lot of people seem to think that just because a service is operated online on the internet that it should be free and it is easy to forget how much it costs start and run any business.

Large numbers of childcare providers and parents are now paying for our service and the majority of our feedback continues to remain very positive.

I am sorry that a small number of people think that childcare.co.uk should remain free forever but it simply isn't possible to operate a business of that nature long term without an income stream to cover the costs and overheads associated with the website.

Thanks for listening

Richard
childcare.co.uk

[Richard]

Further to my previous post and as thank you to our continued support from all the members of the childmindinghelp forum, I have created a discount voucher for 50% off all our different plans which is valid for the whole of April 2009. The 50% discount will also apply to renewals until cancellation.

To save 50% simply enter the discount code: childmindinghelp

I hope this gesture helps reassure you all that we very much appreciated your support and use of childcare.co.uk

Thank you

Richard
childcare.co.uk

[Pauline]

A lot of people seem to think that just because a service is operated online on the internet that it should be free and it is easy to forget how much it costs start and run any business.

I can relate to that Richard, there are lots of hidden costs in running something on-line.

Whether or not they are happy, I'm sure everyone appreciates your coming here to explain the reasons and thank you for the discount, I'm sure that is appreciated too.

:)

[loocyloo]

thank you.

i had actually just emailed childcare.co.uk, asking about this, as whilst i understand needing to have membership to cover the costs, i, along with many others were mislead, as i don't recall reading anything about membership 'in the future'.

i have only just found out about this, as a prospective parent has just contacted me, having seen my details there, but on having the impression that i would have to pay to read her message ( having read site myself, it doesn't seem to say that you can read messages without paying ), she tracked me down using our local CIS, feeling it was unfair to charge, what she called, a 'hidden' fee.

i appreciate the discount, and may take up the offer.

[Annie_T]

yea someone who had messaged me had rang me and told me now have to pay !! ... not been on since to send message lol

[Bushpig]

I have been on the site this evening and note that many of the 'childminders' are actually babysitters and nannies... is there someone who vets the entries? It looks terribly confusing and is of course, incorrect.

Otherwise it's a cool site - clear and colourful! :thumbsup:

[aly]

I have been on the site this evening and note that many of the 'childminders' are actually babysitters and nannies... is there someone who vets the entries? It looks terribly confusing and is of course, incorrect.

Otherwise it's a cool site - clear and colourful! :thumbsup:
i emailed them a few weeks ago and this person said the ones I mentioned have been changed to babysitter but only one was changed.....
that was for my local area

[Richard]

If you feel any members have placed themselves in the incorrect category then please contact us via the contact form on the website and any inaccuracies will be changed. All profiles are moderated before going live.

Thanks also to everyone has taken advantage of the special childminding help forum special 50% discount voucher off our Gold membership fees.

[deeb66]

Hi Everyone

I wanted to introduce myself as the owner and founder of childcare.co.uk

I launched the site in January 2009 and I personally have invested over £100,000 of my own money in setting up childcare.co.uk

Our initial launch phase was from January 2009 until 1st April 2009 where we operated the site for free at great expense in order to achieve critical mass of both childcare providers and parents.

Whilst it would be lovely to be able to offer all of services totally for free forever, this unfortunately is not possible and we have certainly not intended to mislead anyone. Right from the start we said in our terms and conditions that charges would be introduced for some services in the future.

The feedback from both parents and childcare providers has been very positive even with our charges which we have kept as low as possible. It remains free to advertise your service on childcare.co.uk and to read messages that are sent to you.

This means that it is still possible to actually gain new childcare business without paying us a penny as messages sent can contain email addresses and telephone numbers.

For example a parent could send you a message asking for details of your services and they can include their phone number and email address. You could respond and gain a new customer without paying us anything.

Our fees are are low and even if you have to pay us a small fee in order to achieve new business that brings in new custom and earnings for you then surely that can't be negative?

A lot of people seem to think that just because a service is operated online on the internet that it should be free and it is easy to forget how much it costs start and run any business.

Large numbers of childcare providers and parents are now paying for our service and the majority of our feedback continues to remain very positive.

I am sorry that a small number of people think that childcare.co.uk should remain free forever but it simply isn't possible to operate a business of that nature long term without an income stream to cover the costs and overheads associated with the website.

Thanks for listening

Richard
childcare.co.uk

I appreciate what you say Richard and understand that it costs a lot of money to run such a site.

I would have been willing to pay but to be honest I think it was a little unfair how you did it. I appreciate that the possibility of charging fee's was put into the terms and conditions but you did not give anyone any notice nor any warning.

Maybe it would have been better to have done a mail drop to all your account users and notify us of the intended fee's. If that would have been difficult then perhaps a polite note on the opening page so that we all would have been aware that this was about to happen.

I am more than happy to pay for anything (perhaps this is why I have no money :D ) if I think I am being treated fairly but I am sorry to say that I don't feel this way.

Again I appreciate the need to charge but it seems that as soon as you have achieved a good level of users then BANG you start charging us without notification........again I really feel this is unfair.

I appreciate your offer of 50% reduction for forum members but I really feel that this offer has come after the horse has bolted so to speak but I am sure that those who wish to remain on the site will find it of great benefit.

Thank you very much for deleting my account promptly.

Dee

[Richard]

99.99% of our users are absolutely delighted with our service and our very generous discount to users of this forum.

We have always been fair. Everyone appreciates the significant costs of setting up and running a website like childcare.co.uk. Our advertising costs are over £1000 per day. I have invested over £100,000 of my own money in this project so far and continue to support it even with the fees that don't yet cover all the costs.

A lot of people seem to think that everything on the internet should be free but sadly it isn't. Hundreds of childminders have gained extra business from childcare.co.uk. These are paying customers using their childminding services.

I am very sorry that a tiny minority of people from this forum don't think our service is worth as little as £1.25 a month. It is still free to advertise and free to receive messages.

We will be launching some extra great new services for paying members in the next few weeks.

Once again thank you so much to the vast majority for your continued support and I am so pleased you have been able to use our site to gain extra business in these difficult economic times.

Richard
childcare.co.uk

[deeb66]

99.99% of our users are absolutely delighted with our service and our very generous discount to users of this forum.

We have always been fair. Everyone appreciates the significant costs of setting up and running a website like childcare.co.uk. Our advertising costs are over £1000 per day. I have invested over £100,000 of my own money in this project so far and continue to support it even with the fees that don't yet cover all the costs.

A lot of people seem to think that everything on the internet should be free but sadly it isn't. Hundreds of childminders have gained extra business from childcare.co.uk. These are paying customers using their childminding services.

I am very sorry that a tiny minority of people from this forum don't think our service is worth as little as £1.25 a month. It is still free to advertise and free to receive messages.

We will be launching some extra great new services for paying members in the next few weeks.

Once again thank you so much to the vast majority for your continued support and I am so pleased you have been able to use our site to gain extra business in these difficult economic times.

Richard
childcare.co.uk

As I said Richard I was more than happy to pay but I didn't like the way that you did it. If you had given me notice of the charge then I would probably have paid you double what you are asking but again I was not happy with the way you did it - it has nothing to do with how much it is!

I am pleased that a majority of your users are happy and will continue to use your site.

Dee

[Richard]

I am sorry that you feel you need to accuse me of being dishonest.

Right from the start our terms and conditions stated that our launch period was from 1 January 2009 until 1 April 2009 and after that time charges for some services would be introduced.

The vast majority of our service is still free and as a childminder it is possible to gain extra paying customers without paying us a penny.

Thanks very much to the 12 additional people from this forum who have become Gold Members in the last hour. Once again your support is hugely appreciated.

[deeb66]

I am sorry that you feel you need to accuse me of being dishonest.

Right from the start our terms and conditions stated that our launch period was from 1 January 2009 until 1 April 2009 and after that time charges for some services would be introduced.

The vast majority of our service is still free and as a childminder it is possible to gain extra paying customers without paying us a penny.

Thanks very much to the 12 additional people from this forum who have become Gold Members in the last hour. Once again your support is hugely appreciated.


What I have said is that notification would have been appropriate rather than us finding out when we try to access the messaging system which by then we would have no choice but to pay the fee or ignore the message from the parent who would then think us rude and not interested in the enquiry - this would not be an image I would have liked to portray about my business and services.

However, if you had notified me then I would have then been able to decide if I wanted to pay the fee and to be honest I probably would have as it is not a great deal of money.

I have not made any accusations Richard I have just stated my case and have voiced my full opinion after you added to the thread and voiced yours.

As I also said I am happy that a majority of your users are delighted with your service and continue to be so. Just because I do not agree with it then it doesn't mean that everyone else shouldn't either - I am entitled to my opinion the same as others are entitled to theirs.

If you are offering the service that people want and both parties are happy then so am I......each to their own.

Dee

[Pedagog]

I have to agree with Dee a simple email at the End of March telling us that as of the 1st April the fees would be applied, would just have common courtesy, and surly not to much trouble, or even a thread on here just to keep us all in the loop.

[amirose]

I appreciate your saying this was in the terms and conditions but this is technically in the "small print" it should be obvious that lots of users were not aware this was going to happen and that alone is what people are upset about and not the fact that you are now charging, I hope you can appreciate this. However I will be paying if any new parents join or email me.

[Richard]

It was very clear that our site was new and in a launch phase with charges to be introduced for some services in April 2009.

99.99% of people appreciate that it is simply not possible to create and run a business without any income stream. There are significant costs for staff, offices, advertising, web design, server hosting, insurance, national insurance, business rates, utility bills etc. These aren't tiny costs but hundreds of thousands per year.

We are not a government body or a charity. Everything has been funded out of my own personal pocket, over £100,000 so far in order to try and bring a useful service for childcare providers and parents. The site continues to be supported out of my own pocket in this second phase as we continue to grow our membership numbers.

The feedback from 99.99% if people has been very positive and my disappointment continues that a handful of people from this forum remain disgruntled.

childcare.co.uk represents a new medium for childcare providers to gain extra custom from parents and hundreds of childminders have gained new paying customers as a direct result of the site.

There are several posts in this forum from childminders saying that they have found new mindees as a result of the site.

It really is such a shame that a handful of people don't think our full service is worth as little as £1.25 a month. If you are have places available that you are looking to fill then you have absolutely nothing to lose by at least trying childcare.co.uk. It doesn't cost a penny anything to advertise and read messages.

I have created a very generous 50% discount voucher for members of this forum only. The voucher code is: childmindinghelp

This promotion is not advertised anywhere else and I have done everything I can to support members of this forum and to help them gain new business.


Richard
childcare.co.uk

[huggableshelly]

its not something I've looked into as only have myself listed on the CIS/FIS site, I've never had to look for further places to advertise but have heard of a few local cm's using the childcare.co.uk site and have all gained business from there so you are doing something right for parents to have confidence in contacting those who do advertise.

I'm just lazy with advertising as not had to consider it.

[deeb66]

It was very clear that our site was new and in a launch phase with charges to be introduced for some services in April 2009.

99.99% of people appreciate that it is simply not possible to create and run a business without any income stream. There are significant costs for staff, offices, advertising, web design, server hosting, insurance, national insurance, business rates, utility bills etc. These aren't tiny costs but hundreds of thousands per year.

We are not a government body or a charity. Everything has been funded out of my own personal pocket, over £100,000 so far in order to try and bring a useful service for childcare providers and parents. The site continues to be supported out of my own pocket in this second phase as we continue to grow our membership numbers.

The feedback from 99.99% if people has been very positive and my disappointment continues that a handful of people from this forum remain disgruntled.

childcare.co.uk represents a new medium for childcare providers to gain extra custom from parents and hundreds of childminders have gained new paying customers as a direct result of the site.

There are several posts in this forum from childminders saying that they have found new mindees as a result of the site.

It really is such a shame that a handful of people don't think our full service is worth as little as £1.25 a month. If you are have places available that you are looking to fill then you have absolutely nothing to lose by at least trying childcare.co.uk. It doesn't cost a penny anything to advertise and read messages.

I have created a very generous 50% discount voucher for members of this forum only. The voucher code is: childmindinghelp

This promotion is not advertised anywhere else and I have done everything I can to support members of this forum and to help them gain new business.


Richard
childcare.co.uk

Morning Richard

We seem to be going round and round in circles and repeating ours!

I have acknowledged and accepted the need for charging the users of your site and in fact have said that I would have been happy to pay those charges if only you had dealt with it differently.

However you do not seem to recognise my grievence and that is that you didn't have the courtesy to notify your users that the charges where coming into force and that the only way we would have found out is if we wanted to access the messaging system!

[Richard]

That's not correct at all deeb66

It was very clear that childcare.co.uk would have charges starting from 1 April 2009 for some of our services. The majority of features are still free and chilminders can still use most of the messaging system for free.

When users register with us they agree to our terms and conditions which are clearly displayed on the website.

I am sorry that you did not read the section in our terms and conditions which stated charges for some services would start in April 2009.

[LittleMissSparkles]

I have emailed to request they remove my details from the website

[deeb66]

That's not correct at all deeb66

It was very clear that childcare.co.uk would have charges starting from 1 April 2009 for some of our services. The majority of features are still free and chilminders can still use most of the messaging system for free.

When users register with us they agree to our terms and conditions which are clearly displayed on the website.

I am sorry that you did not read the section in our terms and conditions which stated charges for some services would start in April 2009.

I also acknowledged that too in one of my previous posts but as other people have pointed out it is in the 'fine print'.

What I am saying is that it would have been curtious and good practice to send out a bulletin to us all or at least post something on the front page warning us this was going to happen.

If I had received/seen a message I would have then been able to decide if I wanted to pay it. As it was no member would know that these charges came into effect until they attempted to access their messaging system which kind of backs them into a corner and either having to ignore the message or pay the fee's.

As I have said on many occassions I probably would have paid the fee's as at the end of the day it is not a lot of money and I happen to believe that the site you have set up is a good one.

DEE

[Richard]

Nobody has been backed into a corner.

Everyone can read and reply to messages for free.

Thank you for acknowledging that "the site [I] have set up is a good one"

[angeldelight]

Nobody has been backed into a corner.

Everyone can read and reply to messages for free.

Thank you for acknowledging that "the site [I] have set up is a good one"


I do not see you post anywhere else in our forum Richard?



Angel xx

[Richard]

I was invited to respond to the orignal post in this thread!

I have also paid to advertise on this forum and would like to do all I can to support it and it's members. I am not a childminder so don't really have anything to contribute to other threads but where a post makes an allegation about childcare.co.uk that I do not believe is true, then it is nice to have an opportunity to respond for which I am very grateful.

childcare.co.uk doesn't make any money, I will be happy if it breaks even as long it provides a useful service to it's members.

Richard
childcare.co.uk

[Bushpig]

As a childminder and graphic designer (career change!), childcare.co.uk is not only useful (I have only just joined, I hope my £2.50 per month brings some business in the future), but is designed really well.

It is a shame this misunderstanding has occurred, as childcare.co.uk have done nothing wrong in my eyes, but an email to members re certain big changes (especially when a free service becomes chargeable) is always good for public relations... nobody reads the small print! I know I don't, except for insurance and seemingly more important things :o

[Minstrel]

Please could I ask when the discount code will be valid till?

I am not yet reg'd but might be interested in a month or so.

[Richard]

I would be happy to keep the 50% off discount code valid for members of this forum for the foreseeable future. In the event that the offer is going to be changed or withdrawn then I will give at least 30 days notice in a forum post.

[Annie_T]

i understand the reason to charge. I was shocked when i heard about and have not paid fee's yet.

But i think a email letter should of been sent out to all members to inform when the charges were coming into effect/affect (sorry unsure which one im to use lol) along with the costs about month or least 2 weeks before hand. that way people wouldnt of been so shocked like some are now.

it may be written in the terms and condition/agreement but how many actually read things 100% .

[Richard]

The vast majority of our users read the terms and conditions as they are legally accepting them.

I myself always read terms and conditons. I would have been more surprised if fees were not introduced as I would have wondered how on earth such a website could function without any income given the substantial costs and overheads.

The fees were kept as low as possible and no members are obligated to pay them.

[LittleMissSparkles]

childcare.co.uk doesn't make any money, I will be happy if it breaks even as long it provides a useful service to it's members.

Richard
childcare.co.uk


I do not mean to sound disrespectful but I dont believe that, are you saying you do all this work on the site for no profit etc but promote and advertise it at cost to yourself

[Richard]

Yes that is true. The site is making a loss of about £450 a day at the moment. It is financed out of my own pocket.

I plan to grow the site to be the leading UK childcare site and hope it will break even by the end of year as the number of users grow.

As a parent myself I couldn't find a really good childcare website so decided to create one myself. I have been responsible for several successful businesses and see childcare.co.uk as more of a philanthropic project than a business to make a lot of money.

[LittleMissSparkles]

Yes that is true. The site is making a loss of about £450 a day at the moment. It is financed out of my own pocket.

I plan to grow the site to be the leading UK childcare site and hope it will break even by the end of year as the number of users grow.

As a parent myself I couldn't find a really good childcare website so decided to create one myself. I have been responsible for several successful businesses and see childcare.co.uk as more of philanthropic project than a business to make a lot of money.


then I wish you well Richard

[Richard]

Thank you very much. That is much appreciated.

[Annie_T]

The vast majority of our users read the terms and conditions as they are legally accepting them.

I myself always read terms and conditons. I would have been more surprised if fees were not introduced as I would have wondered how on earth such a website could function without any income given the substantial costs and overheads.

The fees were kept as low as possible and no members are obligated to pay them.

YES but You dont know if they actually read them tho do you. Some scroll through not worrying about reading them. Then this happens and you get people with different views.

Tbh i think an email newsletter should be sorted & sent to all members and any chances to be stated within the letter.


Yes that is true. The site is making a loss of about £450 a day at the moment. It is financed out of my own pocket.


how are you at a £450 loss a day? to run a shop online it cost my mate £170 a year so im bit lost at how you are at a loss £450

[sarah707]

Yes that is true. The site is making a loss of about £450 a day at the moment. It is financed out of my own pocket

This message concerns me.

If you are losing 450 a day that is 3150 a week :eek:

Surely there will come a time in the not too distant future when such a financial loss is unsustainable.

What guarantees can you make that our members money is being safely invested and that they are not simply ploughing their hard worked for money into a bottomless pit of debt :(

[angeldelight]

That is a lot of money

Wish I had that much to spend in a week never mind anything else ha

:laughing: :laughing:

Angel xx

[Mouse]

This message concerns me.

If you are losing 450 a day that is 3150 a week :eek:

Surely there will come a time in the not too distant future when such a financial loss is unsustainable.

What guarantees can you make that our members money is being safely invested and that they are not simply ploughing their hard worked for money into a bottomless pit of debt :(


That's a very good point. I was going to sign up as I figured that for the money it will be worth it if it brings me some work. But if the loses are that big I'd be worried about how safe my investment is.

I'll give it some more thought.

[Richard]

I'm not going enter into any further correspondence about this matter.

I am financially very well off from other businesses and run childcare.co.uk as a philanthropic project.

To make the site work at it's best, it needs a critical mass of tens of thousands of members which will be achieved in the next few months. We already have over 14,000.

Anyone who has run a large an online business will know the cost of online marketing is huge. People don't just arrive at your site by chance in the beginning. The majority of the costs are online advertising and marketing.

There seem to be some very ungrateful people in this forum who do not appreciate everything I have done to try and help childcare providers gain new work. So many of have you have told me what a great site childcare.co.uk is and how you gained new business from it. Yet a tiny few seem to want to constantly attack someone that is trying to do good.

Any online shop run for £170 will be a small project with probably no marketing costs and very low turnover. For a website that receives significant visitor numbers, you need a stable, reliable server hosting structure that itself is hundreds of pounds per month.

childcare.co.uk is safe and secure and I will continue to support it until the income cover the overheads.

I am grateful to those of you that choose to use it. Those of you who choose not to then that is fine but please don't judge me on things most of you know nothing about.

Most of our services are free. The charges for gold membership are small. No one is going to lose their "investment", this isn't Dragon's Den! In any event credit card payments are protected by your credit card issuer.

Happy Easter.

[angeldelight]

I think you have made fair enough comments so thank you for trying to explain

I also think that you know you made mistakes and by offering the discount to members you hoped to put things right?

I wish you well and if it is only a few that object then I can not see it causing you any harm anyway

I think you are right though this topic should now be left

Happy Easter Richard

Angel xxx

[Minstrel]

Happy Easter.

I can see both sides of the coin here but have not joined yet so havent felt 'conned' so to speak.

I am interested in joining once reg'd and thank you for the discount.

[Mouse]

The charges for gold membership are small. No one is going to lose their "investment", this isn't Dragon's Den!

I don't see any need for sarcasm. I have at no time been critical of you or your business, but was concerned that I would sign up to a failing business & lose my money if the site couldn't carry on with such loses. We're not all as well off as you like to tell us you are.

[melanieabigail2004]

I have read this post with interest and have removed myself from your database for the same reasons as stated that it was not clearly announced that charges were in force from April. A simple email would have sufficed and whilst it may have been in your T&Cs some of us might have read and not remembered - if you had to complete as much paperwork as we do you would understand!!

However by calling some of us ungrateful on this forum is unlikely to win you further business. Most of us make little money and even a few pounds a month can be difficult for some.

I am pleased you have funds from other sites - good for you.

I don't wish this thread to continue as I think the points have been made from both sides but wanted to add my opinion.

Melanie

[brillminder]

i found out and was not impressed , but the discount offered is now good if you get a placement throught it , so i think we have to judge each on our own needs , may be they can now send an email to those who do not know to remind on new charges lol

[Richard]

I don't see any need for sarcasm. I have at no time been critical of you or your business, but was concerned that I would sign up to a failing business & lose my money if the site couldn't carry on with such loses. We're not all as well off as you like to tell us you are.

I wasn't being sarcastic. A previous post said that they were worried about losing their investment (of membership fees). All membership fees are protected when you pay by credit card.

In the next couple of weeks there will be even more great features for Gold members and also some extra ones for free members as well. All will be designed to help childcare providers fill spare placements and earn more revenue.

I hope that vast majority that find the site helpful continue to do so and appreciate the large number of you that have taken advantage of the discount for members of this forum.

I hope this will now be the last post in this thread.

Richard
childcare.co.uk