Breach of Contract or Small Claims Court?

[Razzledbrat]

Welp she did it! I didnt trust this dcm from the beginning! she always tries to get over on me and always wants my services for free so we often haggle over late fees, days kids arent here etc.! I do not have my parents pay on Monday. However, I think its time I start! Heres what happened! I care for dcm's one year old son full time and 4 yr old step son 2 days a week. Step sons summer visitation schedule was to be 2 weeks with dcm & dad in July and 2 weeks with bm in August. Sooo Dcm asks, since u will have step son 4 extra days in july do we have to pay the 4 days he wont be here in August because he will be with his mom for summer visitation. After haggling about it i agreed!! I was taking a loss but agreed to it because Ive been thru the same issues with my step daughter.

Welll.....dcm had step son for two weeks in july but I didnt get him any extra days. Grama kept him one day, aunt kept him another, blah blah Soooo i call her on it!

I feel since I didnt get him 4 extra days in July like youuuuu offered then I should still get paid for the 4 days in August.

she agreed. but I knowww she was mad. Sooo the following week, dad is on vacation.

Kids dont show on Monday, dad sends text he is staying home with them. Tuesday the kids come. Wed, gramma kept them. Thursday, dad texts again saying hes staying home with them. Friday, no call, no text. I text mom. Are the boys coming? No reply for hourssss. Then i send her a text asking if shes going to stop by and pay me on her way home. No reply. Then last night I text her again and tell her Ill be happy to come by her place to pick up my check and I had a birthday gift for the baby.

Thennnnn it started! She send me a text saying the boys wont be back because shes tired of me taking advantage of her and her money! Saying how i agreed to something then took it back! Then said she is worried how I will treat her kids since we have arguments about money etc.! OMG!

so i respond telling her Im sorry she feels that way, bleh bleh and I told her ill be filing a claim against her for 3 weeks pay, this week plus the two weeks notice plus court fees etc.

she responded and said go ahead and take me to court, the judge will just laugh at you.

OMG! I did not respond. I have a signed contract! Its good as gold! Ive been burned before but never did anything about it but this woman......makes me wana scream!

Sooo, do I file small claims? breach of contract? How does this work? I really feel sorry for the kids! Ive had the baby since he was 6 weeks old! he just turned one Im so mad yet so sad This is the kinda of woman that makes me want to stop watching kids! You get all attached to them and they rip them out of here like its no big thing!

[Heidi]

I can't help you except to say I'm sorry.

Please get payment in advance from now on, as well as a deposit for your two weeks notice.

I used to do one week deposit and pay Mondays, but decided to try two, and guess what? No one has batted an eye.

In all my years, I have NEVER gotten burned. Not bragging...just saying I've saved myself a lot of worry.

I'd call your local circuit court and ask them how to file a small claims action.

[countrymom]

yup take her to court. Its not going to hurt you. Maybe someone can chime in, but I think the first step is to send her a photo copy of what she signed and send it registered mail. Oh KEEP ALL YOUR TEXTS AND PRINT THEM OFF ASAP. Right down the times you have you even tried to contact her.

[MyAngels]

The first thing I would do is send her, via certified mail, a demand letter stating exactly what she owes you including late fees, along with a small claims complaint already filled out. Give her until a certain date to pay you, with certified funds, and remind her that you will be filing the attached complaint on the day after that day. You may also want to inform her that when you win your judgment against her in court she could be subject to bank and wage garnishments and the judgment will affect her credit for a minimum of 7 years, even if she pays it after it is entered. If she doesn't pay you then file the complaint.

Most courts will have either printed instructions or someone who can help you with the process, or both, since small claims is meant to be lawyer-free. Just call the circuit clerk in your county and ask them how to proceed.

Do keep copies of everything pertaining to this client in case you should need them.

There will be a filing fee and service fees that you will have to pay out-of-pocket, but they will be awarded to you in the judgment, assuming you win the case.

Originally Posted by MyAngels

The first thing I would do is send her, via certified mail, a demand letter stating exactly what she owes you including late fees, along with a small claims complaint already filled out. Give her until a certain date to pay you, with certified funds, and remind her that you will be filing the attached complaint on the day after that day. You may also want to inform her that when you win your judgment against her in court she could be subject to bank and wage garnishments and the judgment will affect her credit for a minimum of 7 years, even if she pays it after it is entered. If she doesn't pay you then file the complaint.

Most courts will have either printed instructions or someone who can help you with the process, or both, since small claims is meant to be lawyer-free. Just call the circuit clerk in your county and ask them how to proceed.

Do keep copies of everything pertaining to this client in case you should need them.

There will be a filing fee and service fees that you will have to pay out-of-pocket, but they will be awarded to you in the judgment, assuming you win the case.

All of this. You have to give her SOME time to rectify the situation, check with your state what that time frame is. ALSO do NOT forget that when you DO get to actual filing to REQUEST all reasonable filing/court/other fees. in my state if you do not, you may not get awarded. I'd also request late fees for every day she's been late, if it is in your contract. Make SURE you have a copy of contract with the fees section highlighted.

[Michael]

Go to your county courthouse and file in small claims court. It's only around $30. I would also go to the sheriff's office in the court house and have a deputy serve it. I just did this last week and the other party offered to settle once they were served.

[Moppetland]

Sometimes you have use people as an example, and this arrogant woman is the one. Parents don't take home providers seriously. No matter what, they still think of us as babysitters and not professional child care providers. But if you consider the advice of all these posts, you will show her how you mean to be about your business. When the sheriff shows up at her door, she won't be so cocky. Of course you're in the right. You have a signed contract that she agreed to all your policies and terms. Start a paper trail also like one poster suggested. Send her a certified letter to her door stating that she is in breach of her contract and leave a copy of her signed contract with the letter. Then go from there. She will have to pay for all your expenses to put a claim in too if you ask the judge to consider it.

[Razzledbrat]

Thank you all for your help! Ill surely be using this woman as an example!

Originally Posted by Razzledbrat

Thank you all for your help! Ill surely be using this woman as an example!

Definitely!

The first time I got stiffed, it was a bounced check. The woman flat out didn't want to pay it or the fees. I called our local PD and said that this woman wrote a bad check. She was contacted by their fraud department or whatever it's called and told if she didn't make it right (It was over $300 and here if you write bad over $100 it's a crime)she could be jailed. I met her at the PD got my $$ and my late fees (Every day I charged $10) and my returned check charges.

The second time, the woman tried to stiff me a late charge. On Fridays, her hours were contracted 7:30am-12:00pm. She paid $15 less than all the other parents because of her short days. This day, she had to close on an auto loan. She asked me to keep the child til 1pm because she had to stop at bank first and then she just had to pay the dealership. I heard nothing at 1pm. Called her 1:15. No returned phone call. 2pm passed. Nothing. 4pm gets here she FINALLY shows up. I said "Where were you? You said 1pm and I allowed you that time no charge, and it's 3 hours later" She said "Oh everything took longer than I thought" I said "I called you and you could have called or texted me and I've heard nothing that is unacceptable" She huffed and gruffed and I said "know what? You gave me a time. It is YOUR fault YOU didn't call and tell me you'd run late. I would have been a lot more understanding had I had SOME communication. I had things to do today too and now can't because YOU were late. The late fee is $10 per hour for those 3 hours" She said "Do I really have to pay the late fee?" I said "Oh yes. And next time, if you need to extend your hours, you need to be sure to let me know so I can be more flexible" She said "Well no one else would do that" I said "You are wrong, most daycares charge $1 per minute after first 10 minutes of lateness" She said "Well, I don't think so and we are not coming back" I said that's fine but you still owe me the late fees and owe me for 2 weeks notice as per our contract. She said OK and left.

On Monday, she didn't show with my money. The following week, she still didn't call or show. I called her and told her that I needed to be paid. She tried to say "Well a couple times I p/u little, he had rash" I said "You know A, you can try to make up anything you want, but as you know, you still brought your child to me. If he really had a rash or you were concerned with something, I'd think you would have told me or he would not have attended. Stop thinking of reasons you can get out of paying me and do the right thing. You know your child was safe and happy here and you can't deny it" She got silent and then said "Can you meet me in 1/2 hr?" I said "Yes" And I got my money + late fees. She did apologize to me and said she just got angry I'd actually charge a fee. I said "I wouldn't have had there been better communication, but I have to charge according to contract when there is a breach or EVERYONE would just walk all over me. It's business, nothing personal" We shook hands and I told her I was sorry it didn't work out. She said "Me too"

[lovepink]

I am a provider family) and have had the worst luck with clients. No one wants to pay 2 wks down. Subsidy clients don't want to pay co-pays. Ive tried starting clients pay on the day they start, when they leave they don't give notice. Its crazy. I'm a single parent , my rates are low way to low and its hard getting and keeping clients. Any suggestions?

[Leigh]

Originally Posted by lovepink

I am a provider family) and have had the worst luck with clients. No one wants to pay 2 wks down. Subsidy clients don't want to pay co-pays. Ive tried starting clients pay on the day they start, when they leave they don't give notice. Its crazy. I =m a single parent , my rates are low way to low and its hard getting and keeping clients. Any suggestions?

I give parents up to 8 weeks to pay their 2 weeks deposit if they need it. They sign a separate contract outlining their own plan to get it paid within 8 weeks. It works out well for me, and the parents appreciate the opportunity to do it a little at a time.