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Daycare Center and Family Home Forum>Provider Changed Hours Without Notice. Breach of Own Contract?
Unregistered 08:21 AM 04-24-2016
My son has been with a provider for about a year now never had any problems. She was supposed to get married in june and found out the guy was fooling around and went off the deep end. I was out of state for job training so my girlfriend brought my son to her but was 45min late and the provider freaked out and actually yelled at her in front of my son and right there changed our contracted hours from that moment forward. I never so much as verbally agreed to the time change but my girl friend changed her hours at work to drop/pickup him while i figured out new arrangements. I have never had an issue here i always paid theres never been any issue. She didnt control her personal emotions and took it out on us and fired her only employee and raised her voice to my girlfriend a couple other times over nothing and my son who will be 5 in june says she yells at him. She claims because connor continued to go that i agreed to the time change which i did not, what am i supposed to do? Quit my job because she lost her mind? Make my girlfriend change her life? I found another provider as fast as i could of course. I told her i would pay for what i owe through the end of the month but she wants to take me to court for the entire next month my son wont be there because the contract says 30 days notice and sue me for 3x as much. In my eyes she broke contract herself by spontaneously Changing her hours without notice. Am i going to get screwed because she got cheated on and couldnt control herself forcing me to remove my son?
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Heidi 08:39 AM 04-24-2016
Legally, it depends on what your contract says. You should have a copy, read it.

As far as "going after you", it depends on the laws in your state, and again, what your contract states. Not sure how she can go after 3x what she thinks you owe her, unless you wrote her a bad check (in some areas, that can be the penalty for bad checks, never heard of it for debt).

Keep good documentation of your conversations. She may be calling your bluff. If she does take you to court, have your notes, a copy of your contract, and proof of what you did pay her.
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Thriftylady 09:03 AM 04-24-2016
It really all does depend on what your contract states. Read it over. Most of us have a two week notice clause which states we get paid for two weeks notice regardless of if you choose for your child to attend or not. But sometimes, in extreme situations even that can be worked around, but by extreme situations I am talking about abuse or something that you can prove. Bottom line, whatever you signed in agreement to, is what has to happen.
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Unregistered 09:17 AM 04-24-2016
Yeah she never gave me a copy of the contract either that i signed. I requested her to show me where it says she can change our agreed hours without notice and she said she will and sent a wink face so i expect something shady from her as i have no evidence of the original contract so she could just edit and forge my signature
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Blackcat31 09:24 AM 04-24-2016
Originally Posted by Unregistered:
My son has been with a provider for about a year now never had any problems. She was supposed to get married in june and found out the guy was fooling around and went off the deep end. I was out of state for job training so my girlfriend brought my son to her but was 45min late and the provider freaked out and actually yelled at her in front of my son and right there changed our contracted hours from that moment forward. I never so much as verbally agreed to the time change but my girl friend changed her hours at work to drop/pickup him while i figured out new arrangements. I have never had an issue here i always paid theres never been any issue. She didnt control her personal emotions and took it out on us and fired her only employee and raised her voice to my girlfriend a couple other times over nothing and my son who will be 5 in june says she yells at him. She claims because connor continued to go that i agreed to the time change which i did not, what am i supposed to do? Quit my job because she lost her mind? Make my girlfriend change her life? I found another provider as fast as i could of course. I told her i would pay for what i owe through the end of the month but she wants to take me to court for the entire next month my son wont be there because the contract says 30 days notice and sue me for 3x as much. In my eyes she broke contract herself by spontaneously Changing her hours without notice. Am i going to get screwed because she got cheated on and couldnt control herself forcing me to remove my son?
You keep saying there were never any issues but I'm curious about the bolder statement above. ^^

It seems there may have been other issues.

There are always three sides to every story......
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Heidi 09:29 AM 04-24-2016
Originally Posted by Unregistered:
Yeah she never gave me a copy of the contract either that i signed. I requested her to show me where it says she can change our agreed hours without notice and she said she will and sent a wink face so i expect something shady from her as i have no evidence of the original contract so she could just edit and forge my signature
Forge you signature? So, she's going to commit a criminal act?

Personally, I would just tell her that if she feels like she needs to take you to court, she should go ahead and do that. If she really has a contract that says you owe her that much money, she'd most likely just give you another copy.
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Unregistered 10:10 AM 04-24-2016
The other times she yelled were after the first time. she showed up at 5:01 and was yelled at then she yelled at her for not bringing her money on pay day when she dropped off my son when for a year i have always paid her when i picked him up. I am getting a contract copy from another parent. So guess we'll see.
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KiddieCahoots 10:39 AM 04-24-2016
Originally Posted by Unregistered:
The other times she yelled were after the first time. she showed up at 5:01 and was yelled at then she yelled at her for not bringing her money on pay day when she dropped off my son when for a year i have always paid her when i picked him up. I am getting a contract copy from another parent. So guess we'll see.
Sounds like she may have been late? If so, late fees are a normal procedure in child care.
You really need to get a copy of the contract that YOU signed. That's what will be looked at in a court of law.
I'm not sure why you waited so long to obtain a legal document that you signed, making it binding?
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Mike 10:51 AM 04-24-2016
Another parents contract could be different from yours. Get a copy of yours and if anything looks suspicious, let her take you to court. If she tampers with it, she's in trouble.

Your contract is the first thing you need. If there is nothing on it about changing hours with no notice, she voided the contract.
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Leigh 03:16 PM 04-24-2016
Unless your contract states that she's agreed to be open certain hours until a certain date, she's within her rights to change her hours. Sorry, but I'm going to guess that she'll PROBABLY win in court if you didn't give the notice that you agreed to in the contract.
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spedmommy4 03:52 PM 04-24-2016
In a court of law, she has to prove you owe the debt. She will have to provide a signed copy of the contract you signed.
You should keep copies of any texts or emails exchanged proving that you gave her notice or had reason to be concerned for your child's safety.

With childcare contracts, the childcare provide is agreeing to provide a standard of care plus whatever else she initially agreed to. (Certain hours, days, etc). Even with a contract, if you could prove she wasn't providing what she agreed to you may not be responsible to pay. For example, if she was suddenly verbally abusive to your child or had in fact changed her hours from her posted ones with no notice. That said, if you were concerned with your child's well being, the judge will want to know why you didn't file a complaint with licensing.

And this is just my two cents . . . It sounds like you may have broken some of her policies but, there is no excuse for yelling at your clients, especially in front of small children.
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childcaremom 02:09 AM 04-25-2016
Originally Posted by spedmommy4:
In a court of law, she has to prove you owe the debt. She will have to provide a signed copy of the contract you signed.
You should keep copies of any texts or emails exchanged proving that you gave her notice or had reason to be concerned for your child's safety.

With childcare contracts, the childcare provide is agreeing to provide a standard of care plus whatever else she initially agreed to. (Certain hours, days, etc). Even with a contract, if you could prove she wasn't providing what she agreed to you may not be responsible to pay. For example, if she was suddenly verbally abusive to your child or had in fact changed her hours from her posted ones with no notice. That said, if you were concerned with your child's well being, the judge will want to know why you didn't file a complaint with licensing.

And this is just my two cents . . . It sounds like you may have broken some of her policies but, there is no excuse for yelling at your clients, especially in front of small children.


I am glad that you've pulled your child.

As for the other, as everyone says, it will all go back to the contract. My contract states a two week notice for any changes except in case of emergency. Until you have a copy of yours with her, it's all guesswork.
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Thriftylady 05:49 AM 04-25-2016
I wish I could beat it into people's head that contracts are important and you should always keep a copy! Especially given that rarely are two people's contracts the same. I know in my daycare I list the contracted hours, the rate and other things that are individual to each family. No two families have the same contract. You need to find a copy of the contract you signed. As far as saying that she forged your signature, I find that unlikely. I don't think most of us would go to that time and trouble. If you didn't sign or get a contract when you signed up, that is an issue. You should have asked for one! I admit when my kids were little, none of my providers did contracts. But they are important. It takes out the he said/she said. Everyone KNOWS what the arrangements are. Going forward (with your new care) make sure you have a copy of the contract after it is signed by both parties. Here, my parents bring it back signed, I sign it and the next time I see them they get their photocopy. So often at first drop off they have their copy if not sooner. It is good business practice, and childcare is a business arrangement for both parties. For a provider, doing bad business is just as bad as providing bad care IMHO, because people talk and word gets around. People don't want to work with bad business people.
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Tags:breach of contract, change of hours and contract
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