Late payment that old chestnut!
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  1. #1
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    Default Late payment that old chestnut!

    I have a mum who sends her child to me full time 4 days a week. I use SCMA contracts (I'm in Scotland) and have stated that payment should be made in full within 7 days of the date on the invoice I provide her with.

    She pays me in fits and starts. And always at the 11th hour when I'm just about to tell her I'm terminating the contract for non payment. I've had this mindee since December 2012 and I've only been paid in full once since then. All other payments have been £20 here or £70 there.

    I've tried providing her with statements of payments. I've given her verbal reminders about payment. I've sent her notes on her invoices about making payments on time and I've still not gotten anywhere. I know they are in a bit of financial difficulty (due to a mortgage arrears letter in the wee ones bag - deliberately left there or not I don't know?!?!?) but I'm not rolling in it either due to her sporadic perpetually late payments.

    Can anyone give me some advice on where I can go from here? I'm still waiting on £52 from an invoice dated 10th June!! Total owed up to and including this week is over £300.

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    Stop threatening to terminate the contract - actually do it! If she comes up with the full amount then take it, smile sweetly and tell her that the contract is still terminated.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Mikiec View Post
    I have a mum who sends her child to me full time 4 days a week. I use SCMA contracts (I'm in Scotland) and have stated that payment should be made in full within 7 days of the date on the invoice I provide her with.

    She pays me in fits and starts. And always at the 11th hour when I'm just about to tell her I'm terminating the contract for non payment. I've had this mindee since December 2012 and I've only been paid in full once since then. All other payments have been £20 here or £70 there.

    I've tried providing her with statements of payments. I've given her verbal reminders about payment. I've sent her notes on her invoices about making payments on time and I've still not gotten anywhere. I know they are in a bit of financial difficulty (due to a mortgage arrears letter in the wee ones bag - deliberately left there or not I don't know?!?!?) but I'm not rolling in it either due to her sporadic perpetually late payments.

    Can anyone give me some advice on where I can go from here? I'm still waiting on £52 from an invoice dated 10th June!! Total owed up to and including this week is over £300.
    Do you charge a late payment fee?

    I used to have a parent like this years ago

    It is a shame that she is having financial problems ... but their problems are not yours are they

    Not sure what else to suggest if you do not charge late fees as you seem to have covered everything here


    Angel xx

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    Tell her that her paying in dribs and drabs needs to be regular amounts on a regular date, not just when she feels like it - is she supposed to pay weekly or monthly and is she supposed to pay in arrears or advance? You need to sit down with her - offer her a payment plan that will get her back to paying whatever and whenever your contract specifies - if she can't make that commitment then give her immediate notice (you probably won't get what she owes you though). Can you afford to lose this full time mindee - have you had any other enquiries - if so I would probably sign them up and then give immediate notice with no notice period as she is surely in breach of contract.

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    Sorry, I may just be missing the point, been a long day, but....

    you are invoicing on day 0, and giving parent 7 days to pay invoice - and they are paying on the 11th hour (presumably this will be day 7?)
    Or
    You are invoicing on day 0, parent has 7 days, you get part payment by day 7 and then have to wait for the rest ?

    Are they paying in advance or in arrears?
    What does your contract and fees policy say about late payments
    (eg, mine say after 3 days I will withdraw care until fees are paid in full)
    Do you have a late fees charge? If so, have you applied it?

    Late payment I would say is the biggest bone of contention for self employed people of any profession so needs to be tackled with mum asap

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    Thanks folks. I invoice on day 0 but she never pays by day 7. We are down to weekly invoicing as I wasn't getting paid monthly or 4 weekly even though she is paid monthly and the husband is 4 weekly. In 10 months, she's never paid on time. The weekly invoicing isn't working either. I issued an invoice last Monday to be paid yesterday and I'm still waiting.

    I have never been able to threaten her with termination as she always seems to pay up when I'm about to do it. I have a face like a window pane so it's no surprise!

    I can't afford to lose a full timer right now but what other choice do I have? I have had an enquiry from an acquaintance to take a baby full time from January so might just keep it going and put up with it till then.

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    Charge her daily? No money for that day, no care?

    As for whats owed - late payment fees or no care till it is cleared and then charge her daily. Sky, BT etc would all cut you off until it is clear or work out a payment plan.

    So daily fee + a portion of whats owed until cleared then daily fee - no payment each day, no care. Have it is payment in advance x

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    I think what BuggsieMoo suggests is a really good idea. Tell them they need to pay the days fee at drop off plus a percentage of what's owed. If they don't have the money to hand to you turn them away. I'd let them know that if they don't sort it out then the contract will be terminated.
    Good luck

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    Quote Originally Posted by Mikiec View Post
    Thanks folks. I invoice on day 0 but she never pays by day 7. We are down to weekly invoicing as I wasn't getting paid monthly or 4 weekly even though she is paid monthly and the husband is 4 weekly. In 10 months, she's never paid on time. The weekly invoicing isn't working either. I issued an invoice last Monday to be paid yesterday and I'm still waiting.

    I have never been able to threaten her with termination as she always seems to pay up when I'm about to do it. I have a face like a window pane so it's no surprise!

    I can't afford to lose a full timer right now but what other choice do I have? I have had an enquiry from an acquaintance to take a baby full time from January so might just keep it going and put up with it till then.

    You need to check your contract and your policy (that's why we have policies, to guide us as to how to handle a situation when it arises )

    If you stated you will refuse to accept child until late payment is made in full (pretty standard procedure) then do it! Parents will only start taking you seriously when you start taking control (sad, but true IME)
    If you don't feel comfortable doing that immediately, write a letter informing 'all parents' that due to payments not being made on time you will be forced from xx date to enforce your late payment procedure which will involve (if applicable) charging late charges of £x per day and refusing care until payments are brought up to date

    If you decide to 'put up with it' until January, then you are condoning her behaviour and are going to continue to stress yourself out for the next 7 months - Do you really want to feel like you do now for that long?

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    Quote Originally Posted by Mikiec View Post
    Thanks folks. I invoice on day 0 but she never pays by day 7. We are down to weekly invoicing as I wasn't getting paid monthly or 4 weekly even though she is paid monthly and the husband is 4 weekly. In 10 months, she's never paid on time. The weekly invoicing isn't working either. I issued an invoice last Monday to be paid yesterday and I'm still waiting.

    I have never been able to threaten her with termination as she always seems to pay up when I'm about to do it. I have a face like a window pane so it's no surprise!

    I can't afford to lose a full timer right now but what other choice do I have? I have had an enquiry from an acquaintance to take a baby full time from January so might just keep it going and put up with it till then.
    I don't quite understand. Why do you think that the parent paying up more-or-less on time means that you cannot possibly give notice?

    (Btw, informing someone of consequences is not "threatening" in my vocabulary.)

    The way I see it, what is going on could be summarised as follows. The constant late payments are a nuisance, and causing you financial worry and stress. BUT, you feel trapped because giving notice and losing that income altogether would cause even more financial problems, and therefore even greater stress.

    My approach would be to keep chipping away and seeking a solution with the existing client (for which there's some excellent advice already posted.) The key is to get the client to treat your payments as a priority. People for whom money is tight will pay first what they are forced to pay first, and put off anything 'soft' and quiet that isn't screaming to be paid. AND, above all, advertise for new clients, being prepared to give the late-payer notice if necessary to create space for someone more reliable. I think the baby from January sounds like a good option and a source of some hope.

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  14. #11
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    Some great advice. I agree with BuggsieMoo. Start a daily payment plan with extra added on for outstanding fees. Maybe a meeting with both parents and explain that you appreciate that money is tight but you still need tp be paid and work out a payment plan together but make them aware that if they fall behind then you will have to terminate contract and legal action may be taken to recover the money.
    You would also say that although you could charge a late payment fee, you are prepared to not implement it IF they stick to the agreed payment plan.
    Good luck

  15. #12
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    Thanks everyone. Some really great advice in there!

    I've spoken with mum tonight and sat her down to have a frank discussion. She's promised to pay in full tomorrow due to husband being paid. I've also pointed out the relevant section in the contract which informs her of my right to terminate the contract with immediate effect if payment isn't forthcoming.

    One thing she mentioned tonight was that her work use childcare vouchers (and a company I'm already registered with) so she's promised to set that up for Augusts pay. I just hope she sticks to her promises!

    Fingers crossed!?!? X

  16. #13
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    Did she pay as promised? I so hope she did as I know how distressing it is when a parent does not pay x

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  18. #14
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    Hey bugsiemoo. Sorry I've just seen this post. She did pay. We've got it all set up with childcare vouchers now so payment has been taken out of her hands. So relieved!! x

 

 

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