Originally Posted by Megan687:
A family was term due to non payment... they were friends of mine for about 4 years and I agreed to watch their children for 800.00 a month plus 2.50 an hour for any time that went over 8 hours a day... cheap prices for my area. Well... after hearing excuse after excuse for a MONTH! I had to term them. Needless to say, they have not paid their bill of 1,320.00. This includes their 2 week notice fee as stated in their contract they would need to pay even if they were term for non payment.
They are not responding to my emails, calls, texts, etc... it's putting a lot of financial strain on myself and my husband. Well, the mom is in the military... she has a GREAT paying job. She is getting deployed in April as well and I was wondering a way to go about getting my money through the military. My husband is a veteran and states that I should call her chain of command... anybody else have a problem like this?! I really don't know what to do... I gave them one month to pay up or I will call her chain of command... it's really all I could do...but now after they aren't responding to me, I feel like I should just make the call now.
I have a hard time with this. I have only been open for 4 months and really didn't think I would be burned by my 'friends'.
Any advice?!
I wouldn't wait a month. If she were keeping in good contact with you and talking about setting up a payment plan or something that would be one thing but if she's flat out ignoring you she obviously has no intention of paying.
If I were you I'd go down to your local courthouse and file a claim against her in small claims court. It's inexpensive and she'll be forced to respond. Make sure you tack on the filing fee and anytime you're going to spend going to court.
It's the crummiest part of the business for sure but it happens sometimes.
To prevent it from happening again in the future maybe don't let a parent get that far behind. If they don't pay don't allow them to continue dropping off their child. Add in something about delinquencies having x amount of time to be paid up for late fees will accrue and you will take them to court to recover. Every once in awhile you may hit a parent who will push the line but hopefully it'll deter the really wishy washy ones.
Good luck!