Originally Posted by Leigh:
Don't take this as derogatory, I'm just giving MY opinion on the matter:
All I can say is that I wouldn't refund, either. They held a spot for you, and you cancelled on them, costing them more than the $500-ish that you paid them. This would be like signing a $1000 a month lease on a home, then deciding not to move in. You still owe for what you signed for. I do KNOW that you didn't sign a written contract and didn't utilize their services at all, however, when looking at it from a moral standpoint, I feel that you owe them at least what you paid, due to your agreement to use their services. 6-6 isn't normal daycare hours by any means in my area. 7:30-5:15 is standard here. It was on you to ask about hours, for sure.
I'm not talking legal anything here, just moral. Your exchange of payment does constitute an intention to utilize services. It's reasonable to assume that you planned to use those services long term. I don't think you'd have been doing your children any favors by sending them to a new daycare for one week and then moving them, and I don't, personally, find it unreasonable for the childcare to require 2 weeks' fees to quit.
IMO, you owe them for 2 weeks. I feel that they should credit you the supply fee toward that 2 weeks (though they likely already purchased supplies for your kids). I'd have had you leave a payment of THREE weeks' tuition (first and final two), along with paying full tuition for each week after the first, regardless of attendance, so I think you're getting off pretty good with the childcare you first contracted with.
I understand that you're frustrated with the situation, and that's perfectly OK. However, imagine showing up for teaching school and finding out that they'd changed their minds about having you teach. Would you feel entitled to some sort of severance for having your agreement broken without notice? How would you feel about essentially being fired before starting your school year?
Legally, I can't say what would happen in court. I'm just saying that I feel from a moral standpoint, you owe them the courtesy of 2 weeks tuition (very standard notice period) for the spaces you contracted for.
Oh no I do agree and have never asked for a full refund. But to say it costs them more than $500 for me not showing up just doesn't hold any weight. They were free to fill that spot, probably before the week was out and if they did then they really lost very little. Actually the new Daycare offered to hold the spot for the week at no charge if I did send them there for the week. Now they didn't hold an empty spot, the spot was available on the date in question, and it was really just for My toddler as they had room for the Baby. If it was made clear to me about the refund policy I wouldn't be here right now as I know I would have no dog in the fight.
Looking around I found that a lot of day cares will charge half a weeks tuition to keep a spot empty, so that is what I thought would be fair. $180 for providing no services. This more became an issue when it was the your word against mine and the fact that because I paid the supply fee early that now that was also non-refundable.
I'm following Blackcats advice and see where it goes from there. Thank you.