I'm In Shock at My DCP
 

One of my daycare parents sends me a check in the mail from her bank that gets to me no later than Thursday or Friday. The payment is always in advance for the following week. My payment for this week never came in the mail on Friday or Thursday and it's now Tuesday and no check. I let her know if she could issue me a new check and she sends me a text today letting me know that her bank will charge her $29 and she wants me to pay it. She gives me the option of waiting until Monday and she can write me a personal check. My bad luck is that they are out of town this week so she can't give me a check sooner. Of course this comes at an expensive week for us. I'm in shock that she's not being apologetic! Why should I pay a fee for her check not getting here on time? I told her I'm not paying the fee and I'll wait until Monday for a check or cash. I think she should be offering to deposit the money to my account, instead of making me wait!

Sounds like it was purposeful. Either way charge late fees if it's in your contract, if not consider doing an addendum.

I would not pay any fees , that is crazy that she would tell you that .

Do you charge late fees for late payments ?
If so I would let her know how much to add to her personal check for a late payment.

I would add a amendment to your contract that states payments that are late due to bank error are the parents responsibility and late charges will still apply. IF they did indeed issue the payment on time, and the bank has not gotten the payment to you, they should be raising hell with their bank, not with you.

"Monday is fine. Be sure to include the late fees. Enjoy your vacation. "

This was her response to me asking her to cut another check:

So there's a charge of $29 for stopping a check. I couldn't do it over the weekend because I was out of service and I was traveling yesterday. I can do it today if you're okay with that charge or we can wait and see if it comes. Up to you. For the replacement check we can wait for an automatic one but I think that will take longer than me writing you an actual one on Monday. Up to you.

Originally Posted by Unregistered:
This was her response to me asking her to cut another check:

So there's a charge of $29 for stopping a check. I couldn't do it over the weekend because I was out of service and I was traveling yesterday. I can do it today if you're okay with that charge or we can wait and see if it comes. Up to you. For the replacement check we can wait for an automatic one but I think that will take longer than me writing you an actual one on Monday. Up to you.

Why does she need to stop the check? Why cant she simply call and ask when it will clear?

As for the fee, she is out of her mind for thinking you would pay any fees!:lol: do you have late fees? I would tell her "i wont be paying any bank fees, as making your payment on time is your responsibility. Bringing payment on monday will be fine. Just be sure to add $xx to your payment in late fees, as it will be 10 days late come monday."

Originally Posted by Second Home:
I would not pay any fees , that is crazy that she would tell you that .

Do you charge late fees for late payments ?
If so I would let her know how much to add to her personal check for a late payment.

Originally Posted by Fiddlesticks:
I would add a amendment to your contract that states payments that are late due to bank error are the parents responsibility and late charges will still apply. IF they did indeed issue the payment on time, and the bank has not gotten the payment to you, they should be raising hell with their bank, not with you.

I DO NOT accept bank mailed checks. I accept cash, personal check, or debit/credit card payments through MY cc processor ONLY.

I would tell her "Dcm no I will not be paying your bank fees. Regardless of fault, your payment is still considered late. You can pay Monday, but will need to include late fees of X for a total amount of X. Moving forward, I will not accept bank payments, cash or check on/before Friday for the following week only."

If it is an automatic payment, is she claiming it's lost in the mail or what?!

I stopped accepting this form of payment for this reason. It really wasn't the dcp's fault, it was supposed to be automatic - she had even changed it to draft a few days early but I would still get it late due to either the bank and/or the post office screwing up.

I would tell her it is her responsibility to get payment to you on time or late fees will occur. You will not pay for her to send another check - it is her responsibility to do so. Yes, you can wait until Monday but the late fee will be $_____ by then so you suggest she get the payment to you in another form ASAP. I would require her to pay via Square Cash TODAY and assure her that you will not cash the check if it does arrive soon.

This is just one more reason I went to all cash payments.

on top of very heavy late fees, I added a new policy earlier this year thanks to a family.

Payments that are 3 days past due result in automatic termination of your contract.

I had a family leave out of the country for one month without paying for their spot, but sent me an email saying they would pay as soon as they got back. NOPE, that is NOT going to happen again.