did i do right

[jaytravis]

dont know if you rember me posting aboiut to kids i had in the mornings well there mum owed me a fair bit of money so i text her and said i will end the contract as you will end up paying me hundreds and if you dedcide to come back you cvan , well she sent me loads of abusive texts so i sent one back saying i have ended the contract completely and can she inform tax credits as she was claiming alot of childcare . i rang tax credits last night about something didfferent at the end of the call i told themm that she is prob still claiming and that she hasnt paid me for ovewr 5 weeks and gave her name and address.
did i do the right thing after i felt tit was a bit petty but then why should she claim nearly £100 aweek and not pay me

[bubbly]

Don't feel bad. I'm sure you did the right thing. After all, you didn't deserve her abusive texts so maybe she should have thought twice about sending them. Sounds like she needed being taught a lesson. Well done you for being brave enough to take a stand.

[miffy]

Completely the right thing - she has claimed benefit which is meant to be paid to you for her childcare but she hasn't passed it on and it doesn't look as though she will.

Don't feel guilty - you are in the right

miffy xx

[SimplyLucy]

I would have done exactly the same as you have done.

Don't feel guilty, she is the one in the wrong, not you.

Chin up mate :)

[sarah707]

You did absolutely the right thing - there is a benefits anti fraud line here you could ring later as well :D

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/contactus/helplines.htm

[Jinx]

I'd have done exactly the same.
Well Done for standing up for yourself.

Jinx :thumbsup:

[Noodles]

I would have done exactly the same its so annoying when people are getting their childcare paid for and they still dont pay the childcare provider.

Well done

[angeldelight]

You were right

Why should she claim using your reg number its a damn cheek

It is her problem now not yours

Angel xx

[Cazz]

I've not started childminding yet and I'm a bit concerned now! Do people usually pay at the beginning of each week? If so, how did she get to owing you money - were you being kind and giving her some extra time? I'm a bit of a soft touch and would probably do that if someone gave me a sob story but now I'm thinking I'll have to be hard and make sure payment is up front!

[miffy]

I'd definitely advise payment in advance - can save a lot of problems

miffy xx

[wellybelly]

YES YOU DID! Dont feel awful for her, she sounds awful. At the end of the day, shes abusing the system.

[littlepixies]

yep totally!!!! i had a simular situation twice last year!

first one i had her son after school and on those days in school holidays, she went 4 weeks asa greed to not pay as she was waiting on tax credits to come through. now i had done this with other parents so found it was ok and i always got a nice big lump some at end of it. But she kept saying that the credits still hadnt come through, so i said after 4 weeks i needed some sort of payment as i had done the work and for her to keep chasing them up.
well she come round that night with some money and gave me a guilt trip story to how she had to borrow the money from her boyfriend bla bla bla
then a few more weeks went by with no money and in the end i sat her down and said look you owe me £400 and its unfair your only paying me £10 a week towards care because your insisting your tax credits havent come through, well to cut story short, i had all the abuseive txts and threats, and i got about £100 of the 4 she owed and she took her kid outta my care. That night i phoned tax creedits and gave name and details and they were going to claim back all they paid her..... she lied and had kept the cash for her self!:angry:

its so frustrating when parents take the ****.... you give them an inch and the take a mile pr 10 lol
well since then i give up to 2 weeks for waiting on tax credits to come through and on that i expect them to give me at least £20 a week as they would only be able to get up to 80% from taxcredist and would have to use wages towards it anyhow, then after two weeks they have to start paying in full

[Alibali]

Tax credits thing I would have done too, however the only comment I would make is that rather than texting about terminating the contract etc I would have written a letter so that in the event of a dispute you have reasonable evidence, and it may look a little more professional.

Hope all works out OK and they stop harassing you, especially when you had been so accommodating to them.

Ali xx

[Michelle M]

You did the right thing, I have informed Tax Credit of people claiming so dont feel bad :)

[mumtodaniel]

Yes, I would do the same in your circumstances. Hopefully you will feel better about it now. We are running a business not a charity - the cheek of some people.

Maureen

[jaytravis]

thanks i have sent a letter to her address, feel abit better now

[breezy]

You did absolutely the right thing, she was committing FRAUD!!:mad:

[susi513]

Agree you did the right thing, if she's lied to the tax credits people she's only herself to blame when she has to pay it back/gets her credits stopped. Glad you sent a letter to parent - think its good practice to do this to confirm any text/phone calls made. If you ever decide to take a parent to court to get your money you'll need copies of such letters to support your case.

Cazz - don't let this put you off. Most parents are appreciative and pay on time. But for the sake of the odd selfish Bar-Steward you might encounter its advisable to get all payments in advance. I also get a months deposit which I keep until the last day of childcare. That way if they fall behind in their payments you can give notice and put the deposit towards the notice period/outstanding payments. I also recommend having a late payment fee - its great for curing memory problems such as the parent forgetting chequebook on payday (:) oh, and welcome - childminding like anything else in life has its problems but I love it, don't ever want to be employed again! :) )

[brit_chick]

Yes i think you have done the right thing. I had the same problam with a perant & i sent her a letter about taking her to court so she agreed to pay me £50 a week back & she was on tax credits aswell.I have often been close to ringing them up! She has just got one more payment to give me then thats it. I am still thinking of giving them a ring when i have got the last payment as i still think she is getting it!