roosmommy14 09:38 PM 09-13-2014
I need advice. I will try and sum up the situation as best as possible. My husband and I needed daycare as of June 1st. Our area is VERY competitive so the first available decent daycare we found we booked. This was in December, so about 6 months prior. We signed a contract and gave a two week deposit.
As the time got closer I realized my maternity leave was longer than I thought so in email we changed the start date to mid July (contract still said June 1st) and she that was not a problem at all.
A few weeks went by and we started to setup some initial meetings to get to know her better and just got a bad vibe. Three weeks before June 1st, we politely canceled our spot. She now refuses to give us back our deposit and refuses to answer emails. We are taking her to small claims court and she is also now countersuing us for the 6 weeks from June 1st - mid July. Which makes NOOO sense.
My questions are:
1) I understand now after doing research that most contracts to hold spots are non-refundable but based on the wording above we did not believe this to be the case. It does not say non-refundable anywhere. Any thoughts on whether or not we should get our deposit back?
2) Does it make sense to anyone that she would be able to charge us for those six weeks that we were going to change the start date for? We gave 3 weeks notice for the ORIGINAL start date.
Luvnmykidz 05:28 AM 09-14-2014
To be quite honest, I don't feel you are entitled to receiving your deposit back. You gave notice and it stated that your deposit would be used for the final two weeks of care. This is usually regardless of attendance. Look at it this way, the provider held a spot for you and only made two weeks worth of money for it versus charging you a holding fee until the child began, which is what I do because of this exact situation. As far as billing for the 6 weeks due to the change of the start date. Did she state in the email that you were still responsible for the fees until the child started, since you changed the date? I'm not really sure about that aspect of it. Hope this helps and I'm sure some more experienced providers will give there take on it and explain it to you better than I did.
Angelsj 06:35 AM 09-14-2014
Based on that wording, there is no way you will get your deposit back, nor should you. She held that spot for you for several months, something almost no provider would do for you for free. Money she could have been making (for at least the six weeks) is now gone.
I would not risk going to court over this if I were you. I would offer to leave the deposit and maybe offer to pay three weeks to keep it out of court. See if she will compromise. If you decide to actually go to court, there is a chance you could end up paying the entire six weeks, since you did sign a contract to start on June 1st.
Thriftylady 06:49 AM 09-14-2014
Almost all providers will charge a non-refundable fee to hold a spot, and many just won't hold it that long, without you actually paying at least half price for the spot while it is being held that long. I am in the I just can't hold it that long camp. So honestly, I think you are getting off pretty cheap with the two weeks deposit. You have to realize that she held a spot for you, meaning for that six months she couldn't take on another child and when you changed it, she lost even more income. Childcare isn't like a store where many customers can come in and buy something, we can only sell X number of slots. You should NEVER sign a contract or give a deposit until you feel you really know the person who will be with your child all day. Chalk this up to a learning lesson, next time "get to know her better" first and reserve space later.