Increase for trip out to local play centre made without explanation

[The Jungle]

Hi all,

would appreciate another viewpoint on this. My son goes to a childminder who sent his January invoice at the end of December, as per usual. It wasn't until I actually looked at it properly that I realised she has increased the payment for attending the local play centre.

It is not the money that I am quibbling, as my son has been going for well over a year and it is a very good price, what I would like to know is can she increase the fee without informing me as to why; the actual price is £1.75, she charges £1.95 and has just increased it to £2.00.

Thanks in advance

[mama2three]

Fee increases , per se , should really have the notice period mentioned on your contract. However if this is in effect an 'expense' which is passed on to you then maybe it has actually increased - eg bus fare or entrance fee etc.
I have to say that I would be charging £2 also , I certainly wouldnt be faffing around with the odd 5p on an invoice.
If you otherwise are happy with the care , your child is happy and well cared for , then I wouldnt quibble over 5p.

[LauraS]

Fee increases , per se , should really have the notice period mentioned on your contract. However if this is in effect an 'expense' which is passed on to you then maybe it has actually increased - eg bus fare or entrance fee etc.
I have to say that I would be charging £2 also , I certainly wouldnt be faffing around with the odd 5p on an invoice.
If you otherwise are happy with the care , your child is happy and well cared for , then I wouldnt quibble over 5p.

I agree with this.

Strictly speaking, the childminder possibly should have given you notice (depending on what is in your contract. If the contract just mentions covering the cost of outings but not the specific cost, then notice wouldn't be relevant) but I can't beleive that any reasonable person would seriously expect four weeks written notice for a 5p increase - the childminder probably didn't have four weeks notice from the soft play centre. What should she do during the notice period? Absorb the cost, or stop attending the soft play centre?

More realistically, the childminder should probably have mentioned it to you. She obviously didn't. She probably isn't a devious criminal mastermind, out to rob you of your spendy buttons with hidden fee increases and sneaky surcharges . It's probably just that she meant to mention it, but when you collected was too busy retrieving your LO's things, telling you about his day, packing his stuff up and thinking of a hundred and one things she still had to do. You clearly trust her to look after your most prized possession, so I'd just give her the benefit of the doubt on this one.

[pinky33]

From your irreparable I see your a Childminder yourself,so surely you know a Childminders stance on this. There was also an identical question on *****/mumsnet so maybe looking there will give you some insight into what people feel about the issue of paying for groups.

[pinky33]

Irreparable was meant to say profile (damn prodictive text)

[mum22]

Irreparable was meant to say profile (damn prodictive text)

predictive text never fails to make me laugh at least once a day

[Bananabrain]

Childminders are not really obliged to tell parents 'why' fees are increasing. Their costs go up just as other people's do. However, it is good practice and customary to give notice of fee increases [certainly with all the childminders I know]
I have recently put my fees up and gave my parents almost two months notice of my intention to do so. That way, they have a choice and time to find alternative care if they want to. I think it is only fair to give notice of any increases.
Having said that, I include all toddler/ outing costs in my fees. The only thing that isn't included is nappies. This is pretty much standard where I am.
It very much depends on what your contract says, yours probably says that parents agree to pay outing costs? If so, as previous poster has mentioned, the childminder may not have had notice herself of soft play session increases?

[blue bear]

You say the actual cost is £1.75 but you are charge £2, is the difference for a snack or something else she buys for your chikd at the swift play centre?

[caz3007]

I include the costs of all outings and the toddler group we go to. I only have one full timer and mum wanted me to take her to a play session at our local sports centre and she offered to pay for this and she adds an extra £1 towards a coffee for me.

[bunyip]

5p ?

Is this real?

Is there honestly a dispute over 5p or are we missing some other, bigger issue bubbling under the surface that actually carries some real significance?

[The Jungle]

Childminders are not really obliged to tell parents 'why' fees are increasing. Their costs go up just as other people's do. However, it is good practice and customary to give notice of fee increases [certainly with all the childminders I know]
I have recently put my fees up and gave my parents almost two months notice of my intention to do so. That way, they have a choice and time to find alternative care if they want to. I think it is only fair to give notice of any increases.
Having said that, I include all toddler/ outing costs in my fees. The only thing that isn't included is nappies. This is pretty much standard where I am.
It very much depends on what your contract says, yours probably says that parents agree to pay outing costs? If so, as previous poster has mentioned, the childminder may not have had notice herself of soft play session increases?

Thank you for all your replies, as I stated I was never quibbling the amount it was the reason, so thank you bananabrain for clearing that up. I have only recently become a childminder and there are so many areas to get your head round, for me the financial side is the biggest so to have advice on these areas is very helpful.