So, me again...

This post is regarding to my post dated check family. I did bring up that I would not be able to do post dated checks anymore, but if they wanted to write in the memo line not to cash until XX date, I'll hold the check until then.

They are supposed to pay me on the 1st and 15th (Husband payday). But they have not been for a 3 months.

They have actually been paying on DCM's pay days. So August I was paid the 12th and the 26th. I issues invoices on the 22nd, though I gave DCM her's on the 26th once her post dated check cleared.

The invoice was very clear that payment was due on the 1st and 15th this month. Usually if it's going to be a problem for them DCM tells me. I haven't gotten any word about being paid, so last night I talked to DCD, told him that payment was due on the 1st and I haven't been paid yet. He said he'd talk to DCM... I asked him if we needed to change they're payment due date to be on mom's Paydays? He said that might be best as DCM pays me out of her checking account that he's not on. He again said he'd talk to DCM.

At pick up DCM was in a hury, and didn't say anything about payment, but did say that they were off to meet up with DCD, so I figured he hadn't talked to her yet and didn't say anything. This Morning at drop-off mom didn't say a word about payment.

It is now 8 days past their payment due date. On 8/1 I had mom sign a new contract that explained payment late fees, late pick up fees going up, and confirming their payment due date was still going to be the 1st and 15th of every month. She had a chance to change it then, to say something then, but did not.

Her next pay day is tomorrow.

I'm trying to get my Daycare to start running like how I want it. I need to be paid. My Policies followed. I need to know when I'm getting paid. This whole not paying and them not saying anything about not paying me isn't working for me. I want to say something, but this is one area I have very little backbone. But want that backbone bad.

I only have 3 daycare kids (out of the 6 I can have) and have been having terrible luck with starting families - finding out they lied during interview/don't want to follow policies.

Losing this family would be bad, as we can NOT really afford to loose the money, but Devil's advocate - I'm not making any money (Since I haven't been paid yet) off them so I'm basically working for free, and I'd rather not work at all then work and not get paid.

I want to send a text (mom is a BIG text person, I get more follow through when I text vs speaking with her) about payment being past due.

So I need advice,

Should I just text "Hey DCM, payment for daycare was due on the 1st, please don't forget to bring payment at pick up today thanks!" And leave it at that?

Or "Hey DCM, payment is past due for the care of DCG, please don't forget to add $175 in late payment fees ($25 per day payment is late) when you bring payment this afternoon at pick up, thank you."

Or "Hey DCM, as of today your daycare bill is past due. Payment was due on the 1st and no other payment plan has been discussed. Payment is due at pick up today. If we need to discuss another payment schedule please let me know."

At pick-up today I will be addressing payment again face to face. I am planning on turning away at the door at drop-off tomorrow if they do not bring payment by tomorrow morning. DCM gets paid tomorrow. She can turn around and go to the bank and get me cash with DCG, come back and pay me, and drop DCG off.

I want to be reasonable. But I want to make it clear that this will not happen again. If payment due dates need to be changed than I can work with that. But I need to know when I'm getting paid so IF they don't pay on time I can/will hold them accountable.

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I would text and say.
Hey mom, I still haven't received tuition that was due on September first. Balance is $ (however much the fee is including late fees up to today). If you don't pay until tomorrow add $25. Because payment is so late I will need it in cash so it credits to my bank immediately.
Thanks. See you at pick up.

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At this point I would enforce no pay, no stay. I know you want to be reasonable, but you have been. You are being taken advantage of. Let mom know in person that dcg can not come back until nalance is paid in full. I would give her a break on the late fees, telling her what the late fees are and then tell her, "Just this one time I will only charge you one $25 fee." Due in cash tonight/tomorrow.

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I like this one.

I would maybe add in that she can't drop off tomorrow without payment, but that depends how badly you need the income. You definitely do need to set a too late date though, whether it's tomorrow morning, or later if you prefer, but I wouldn't wait much longer.

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No pay no stay would fix the problem. I know you're trying to work with her but the most important part of your post is that you want your policies followed.

This is dcm's issue she is technically paying late and not making an effort to be in line with the payment due dates. She is under the thinking of "what's a few days" if you are still getting payment. I think you can expect the same from her, meaning she can either budget her finances better to pay you on time or early. My biggest issue with this is that the payment is late. What happens if termination happens on her part or yours? Would she be able to pay the notice period and whatever late payment that she is paying?

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I would enforce the no pay no stay rule and charge her the late fees. You've been more than reasonable and she keeps testing you. If you let it slide this time next week she's gonna test you again.

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I get how you feel, because I'm barely scraping by cashwise right now and we'd crash and burn if anybody pulled their kids. But--

You can't afford to lose her, but you actually have lost her. You're working for free. Pay-wise, it doesn't matter if those kids are staying with you or not. If you draw a line in the sand and she pulls the kids, you have that much extra time to search for a legitimate, paying arrangement with someone else.

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No pay. No stay.

Every. Single. Time.

They will keep doing this, because you are allowing it.

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Hi DCM,
As per the contract you signed on the August 1 Johnny's tuition payment was due on the 1st of the month and late fees would be applied for each day late. Please bring payment in full this evening and the $175.00 in late fees.

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Telling them "no postdated checks" then saying "if you want to write a memo I'll hold it until then" is the same thing. Right there you enforced a policy and broke it.
That shows them they can continue to do whatever they want. I would absolutely charge them a late fee, only take the payment in cash, and not let them come back until it's paid. When they do it again (which they will) DO NOT allow them to drop off their child until they pay...ON TIME, every time. Paying that late, and not caring about the fact that you are taking care of their child all day is complete disrespect and I would not advise letting it go that far anymore. I totally understand the "I need the money" aspect, but as you said, you're not getting any money from them. I'm sorry if this came off as rude at all, I just can't believe these people would put you in this position, but people will treat you the way you show them they are allowed to treat you. You need to put on your game face, and tell them this is unacceptable and if they can't follow the rules, they can go find someone else to pay whenever they feel like it

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It is not rude, it's what I need to hear.

I'm a natural people pleaser. It's hard to sand up for myself. My family constantly call me the marshmallow, it's that bad. My DH and Mother-in-law are my stand in backbone. I'm getting better. I've found my backbone with new families, hence why they're "Not following policies/Not paying/2 month old not taking bottle and mom wanting me to bottle train" havent gotten them anything other than the door, when before I would have just quitely delt.

My current families have only known me as soft. But 2 out of the 3 are happy with my change in attitude and have fallen in line without a peep. Both these families have been with me 2+ years and had always paid on time, if they were a few days late they'd be horrified and pay me + a Starbucks coffee or chocolate treat. I've never had to say anything about payment to them.

The DCF that has been here for 3.5 years even said it was about time I updated my policies and I stood up for myself. (This family is my awesome family) When they had money trouble a year ago, they told me that they shut off their home phone and Internet, so call cells if I needed to talk to them, all while handing me their monthly payment.

I want them to fall in line, but don't want to beat them with the rule book all of the sudden when they are used to my weak backbone. I mean, can I just whip out my policies and snack them with it and go "It's on! Now!" Or do I wean them into it by telling them that this is how it is, last weak backbone, last month to straighten up, or they are getting hit with my policies?

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It sounds as though you really do need to beat them with the rule book. You've put up with way too much for way too long already and rather than appreciate your kindness, they're still thumbing their nose at you. She signed the new contract so she knows what your payment policy is. You spoke with her husband about the overdue payment so he knows they owe you money and yet neither parent has acted to get you that check - or even had the courtesy to talk to you about it. They don't need to be "weaned in to it"; they already know what your payment policy is; they're choosing not to respect it. I agree with the others when they said, "No Pay/No Stay".

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DCM said she'd pay tomorrow at drop off. I fully intend to follow through with the "no pay, no play" part of my policies if she does not.

She did say that she'd pay me tomorrow and on the 23rd. So I straight out asked her if she needed to change payment due dates. No response yet.

I will have a new contract for her tonight. And will explain that if she is unable to pay on her current due dates than we will need to figure out another payment schedule for her. To keep in mind that my new policies are in effect, which includes late payment fees, and I will have to start charging them in the future if she doesn't pay on time.

Wish me luck with the backbone...

Also: the post dated checks. I've been told that dating the check with the current date means I can cash is anytime regardless of what the memo says. The memo is a suggestion not law, where as the date on the check is law and no bank will cash a check before the date that's writen on the check.

My understanding of my states bad check law is I'm not protected legally if I take a post dated check. If a take a check with the current date on it, and hold it, and it's bad, than I can sue and press charges for 3x the amount of the check (not to exceed $1000) plus late payment fees that are stated in my contract. That's my understanding anyway...

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There are many misconceptions about postdated checks. Generally, checks are considered legal tender when they are signed, regardless of the date written on them. You can attempt to cash a post dated check as soon as you receive it and it is up to the bank's discretion whether or not to cash it. Many will.

The only case when the date on a post-dated check is legally binding is if the check writer has informed in advance BOTH the recipient and the check writer's bank that they do not want the check to be cashed before the written date. If this notice is in formal written format, it is binding for 6 months. If it is verbal, it is binding for 14 days.

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Are you charging for current time. If so, work with her to get ahead. So when she pays you on the first it is for the 15th to the 30th. Then the 15th is next months, first two weeks. That way she is does not owe you for work you have already done. And also, talk to her about changing pay days if that will help her get you paid on time. If you want to keep her, I would be willing to work out a pre-payment plan where she pays you so much extra each time so that she can eventually be paying ahead.

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At this point, I'd require the entire balance to be paid in cash, then term. She knew exactly what she was doing, handing you a bad check. And that's after trying to slip out without even giving you one at all. Payment will always be an issue with this family, in my opinion.

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*Anxiously eating popcorn, waiting to see what happens tomorrow morning*

Seriously, the nerve of this dcf... I would also accept cash only and then immediately term. But I do not believe they will be showing up.

I hope everything works out in the best possible way for you. Good luck!

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WOW!

I would give her a heads up text "Dcm, your check was not able to be cashed due to NSF, I will need X fees, plus the X fee for a bounced check and the X late fees at drop off this morning or dcg cannot attend.

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g

Enquiring minds want to know!

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Update:

Sunday mid morning DCM text me telling me that she just got my message that I left Saturday and called the bank to find out what was going on. She continued to tell me that her account has fraud on it and someone had spent her money. That she'd pay me cash Monday morning. I wasn't going to hold my breath but did remind her that my new policies were in effect, including late payments and returned check fees. She said ok no problem.

She did show up this morning with $300 cash. Eight dollars and fees short of being complete payment. She asked if that was going to ok and if DCG could come, that she could add the rest onto the next check (23rd), I made a "oh that's really not going to work for me face" and she responded that "or I can pay you the rest in 2 days when DCD gets paid..." I told her that would be fine, though if she brought me something from the bank stating that she was the victim of fraud that I'd be more than happy to wave the fees.

she looked uncomfortable and said she should've just made it the payment Friday in cash and we could have avoided all this trouble, that from now on she'd be paying in cash. I agreed that would be best ( didn't say anything about that I was gonna require it because it's always best when parents think it's their idea I've learned).

Told her about brightwheels pay online feature and that we can most definitely do that, since she always has her phone there would be no worry about forgetting a checkbook or having to go to the bank to get cash and run the risk of paying late and getting late payment fees. That she could pay me the morning of when payment was due without any fuss, and wouldn't have to worry about late payment fees as long as payment was authorized the day payment was due.

She said "oh that sounds great" and looked upset/unhappy when she left.

I'm going to put off terminating care with her because as long as I get paid in two days then I don't mind continuing as long as she's going to make payments in cash/brightwheel from now on. Though if she steps out of line or is late she'll get slapped with fees and the rulebook and be gone. We have enough emergency savings to last us a few months if we lose this family.

I have another child scheduled to start Thursday. The DCP's had wanted to start today, but had told me that they wouldn't be able to pay me until Thursday (also a military family). I told them no. And for some reason they thought that I wouldn't be charging them an enrollment fee because they are military..? I quoted them the amount for the two week trial period plus enrollment fee. When getting the total mom told me that she "would have to check and see if that was OK with dad. I'll have to make sure he agrees with the enrollment fee."

Made it clear when she was leaving after her interview that the price and fee wasn't an option and that the full amount would be due Thursday morning along with paperwork if they wanted child care here. She sent a text a few hours ago asking if I'd at least hold the spot until Thursday. I said yes, but if I didn't hear from them by then I'll move on. Again I'm not holding my breath.

I'm not going to stop interviewing. Though All the interviews I seem to be getting are these self entitled parents lately. Thinking that I should be able to do nanny type care, work for free or think I should be OK with getting paid after I provide care , and they're my boss and they can negotiate my rules.

I have an interview Tuesday for a 4 month old and 4 year old. I really don't want to take a baby, but than I actually know this family. The dad was a daycare kid of my mom's way back when. Our families have kept in touch and they were excited to find out that I had my own daycare and may have openings for his kids.

We'll see.

I will keep everyone updated on the current family and they're trying to make their money problems mine. I think it's been made very clear to DCM that I'm done working around they're spending problems and it will need to be paid on time every time Or no care and being slapped with fees.

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I hope things continue to improve as you continue to use your backbone!

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