NotoriousREV

Me and MrsREV are having a row.

On Monday this week, I picked my son up from the nursery. When I got out of my car, the clock on the radio said 6:00pm and the Radio 1 news was just ending. By the time I'd been in, gathered him and his belongings got him strapped in the car etc. it was 6:05pm.

On Tuesday evening, there was an invoice for £5 waiting for me for late pick up (there is a clause in the contract that says they can fine £5 for pick-up after 6pm).

I called and said that as far as I was concerned, it was 6pm on the dot so they said they would check the CCTV () and they called me back and said that according to the CCTV clock (which is sync'd manually with the speaking clock, yes I did ask) I was 3 minutes and 45 seconds late.

Now, given that I'm convinced it was 6pm on the dot and that I already hand over £3500 a year (including paying for Bank Holidays that I can't even utilise) I've said I'm not willing to pay the £5 and they've retaliated by giving us a months notice (although they say they are willing to discuss the matter).

This hasn't been a drawn out argument, it literally been 1 call to them and one returned call and I've been very polite.

So, the question is:

Should I abandon my principles and pay up for a quiet life?
Should I stick to my guns and start looking for another child care provider?

Dazza01

Mmmmm good one, lets see, is the nursery giving the stardard of care you expect to your child ? if yes and your happy then pay up and think off it as 2 less drinks for MrsRev when you take her out (or yourself ) if however there not up to scratch take your £3500 elsewhere, as it YOUR hard earned money there taking off you.

Bug Eyed Peas

If your child is settled in the nursery then I personally don`t think it would be beneficial for you to move him/her.
I do know that they have to keep 2 members of staff on site due to health & safety reasons.
So, I would cough up IMO, £5 is a small price to pay for the happiness of your little un

Ant

P.S my little uns nursery was £10 for 15 minutes, so I think you`ve got off lightly Hence I was never late.

Sonic'

I would take a look at the treatment and care you have been receiving for putting BabyRev in that particular Nursery, if you have overall been happy with them then I would pay the fiver and leave BabyRev there

If there are other Nurseries that have places, and can provide the same or better care then look into those and sack this one off

I will say that in my experience a lot of Nurseries have a late charge, the one my Nephew goes to the charges are astronomical, and I have been asked to collect him on occasion due to his parents not being able to collect him on the dot, when struck in traffic coming home from work

They pay 500 quid a month too, and they charge something like 5 quid for every 3 minutes (might be more, as they have to have 2 staff stay over)

IIRC doesnt the Radio 1 news finish at 6pm on the dot?

lpski1

for the sake of £5, i'd pay them and make sure i was on time next Monday

NotoriousREV

The standard of care is fine (though not exceptional) but their customer service has always sucked. The Manager has always been a stroppy cow and I wasn't impressed when they wrote in a report for our 2 year old child that he was "a bit silly and didn't do as he was told". He's 2 for crying out loud.

NotoriousREV

I should point out, to ensure this is a balanced thread, that I'm a pretty stroppy customer at times

Sonic'

Are you sure it wasn't you that stayed at the Nursery that day instead of BabyRev

Shark Man

Ask then to ring the speaking clock whilst your there and able to see the CCTV clock.....Then sue the BBC for running late.

Anyhoo, Radio 1???

I, personally would pay it and make a written complaint to tell them that as a paying customer, paying £3.5K+ a year that running the place like it were a traffic warden waiting besides a car ready for the ticket to expire is not in their best interest for keeping their clients happy.

There has to be a degree of lee-way with regards to not everyone's watch being on the exact same time, a cut of 5mins AFTER the pickup time BEFORE fining is sufficient IMO. It's not a council car park FFS.

For example, as a business we close at 5:30pm. However customers do often pop in and out for drop offs and collections right up to 6:00pm and beyond. Even though we're physically closed, with the office being the only room on site unlocked (as thats where we exit after setting the alarm). We allow it, its in our best interests to, and whilst we're on site there's no benefit fobbing off customers saying f**k off we're closed mate.

Obviously look round first for alternative care though, seeing its probably run by women, they'll get the hump and start bitching just because you complained, as if you not entilted to do so.

Bodgit

You say when you got out of the car the clock on the radio said it was 6pm. in which case you were late. pick up by 6pm means one second after 17:59:59. Just pay up as you were in fact late. Would you expect a train that is due to leave the station at 6pm to still be on the platform as you left your car at 6pm according to the news?

Playsatan

iTrader: (2)

Only you know if you were late or not.

If you were, pay up.

If you're sure you weren't tell them to stick it.

MrShades

Pay up for being after 6pm - it's the fair thing to do.... but next week don't pick him up until 6:45 and get 45 minutes for another fiver, just to show 'em!!!

scoobynewbie72

iTrader: (1)

I have to agree with this way of thinking, what can u get next time for ur fiver

mart360

Mountain.....molehilll....

tightfisted b*gger

if you can afford to lob £3.5k at them for looking after little sebastian

why complain about a fiver...






























































on the other hand....













































approach the wicked witch, and claim infringement of human rights... persecution over time etc.....









lol



Mart

Diesel

Does this manager own the nursery? If not, bypass - £5 is petty for being a couple of minutes late and a charge that an owner would probably rather ignore once.

Common sense should be applied when applying rules, but this is rapidly going out the window when money is involved in this country

Your ultimate goal should be to keep the kids happy though.

D

Jerome

I'd pay up, albeit begrudgingly.

They have to draw the line somewhere. If they start letting people off if they are a couple of minutes late, they will start being 10 minutes late etc.

A woman I work with is charged a lot more than that if she is late picking up her son. It gets more expensive the more late she is, so a fiver is a relatively small amount.

Lastly, I wouldn't trust Radio 1 for their timekeeping either.

negri

from what time are you allowed to pick him up ?

if its from 5.30 -6 then pay up as its you who is really over 30 mins late .

if its lik5.50 - 6 . tell them you will be taking your son and business else where .

Chip

Does whatever company you work for not pay you for staying home on bank holidays then?

You could always do the best thing for your child by either yourself, or Mrs Rev staying home and bringing the child up properly.

Finding good childminder is far better than a nursery as the child would get more attention and learn more if they are on a 1-1 basis. Most childminders take kids to softplay etc so they would still have plenty of interaction with other kids.

Or just pay the £5 and forget about it though if I was in your shoes I would be, like yourself, really pissed off with the situation and would remain that way.

Chip

David Lock

It would tee me off but it always grates when you've been caught out like this!

I parked in a free show-your-disc local car park last week and guess what. I literally forgot to put disc in window and Mrs Hitler was writing out ticket when I got back Similar feeling. You just have to swallow hard and cough up and resist brick-through-window thoughts.

Of course what nursery should do is to pay their staff till 6 and ask parents to collect at 5.50. So mum is 5 mins late and no harm done and good relations are maintained. But some jobsworth hasn't thought that through - it's called common sense. A rare commodity these days. d

Sonic'

The supermarkets have, they now close the doors around 15 minuttes before actual closing time thesedays, the upside to this is that you can go into them half an hour before the officially open, so that you can get to the till and pay for your goods bang on the opening time

DazW

iTrader: (1)

Play them at their own game ...pay the £5 but in 1p's ...she'll waste more than 5 minutes in the bank queue!

Diesel

As will you getting em!

Life mnay be getting 'too short' at this point [although I'm a good one to talk]

D

falkster

It is pathetic but if you were meant to pick your child up at 6 then they are within their T+Cs (I presume it explains in writing)

Pay the fiver but make sure they understand youre not happy.

They have the upper hand cos nursery places are few and far between keeping in mind your child is settled so a move could unsettle him!


On the other hand my usual thoughts are saying f**k 'em and find somewhere else and dont pay your last months bill!! They wont go to small claims for months money!!!

StickyMicky

we should have a whip round and all paypal him 50p

Wish

iTrader: (2)

Pick him up five mins early and call it quits



If you feel you were not late, stick to your guns on this one ....... Fek em
Dont be bullied if you really do think you are right.

Aaquil

If the place is good and your child likes being there just accept it and pay because the hassel and possibility of upseting and unsettling your son is not worth £5 or the so called 'principal' its things like this you may think back to and regret in later years. Also do not make a fuss about it give them the benefit of the doubt. It may seem crazy but people can be quite weird and you do not want anyone taking it out on your kid because they feel you were 'taking the p*ss' (I am not saying you were but you know what I mean). Also change the time on your watch/clock in your car to match theirs as well to avoid probs in the future.

I know how you feel we get things at my sons school that p*ss me off as well (he is 7 years old).

CrisPDuk

You were late, so pay up.

For the record the BBC's radio news programmes generally start on the hour and are in the region of 3 minutes long, so their CCTV is correct.

If I were you I'd get your clock set properly Don't take it for granted that where ever your radio is getting it's times from (if it is a live update type) is correct, have you never noticed that it's impossible to get a Windows based PC to stick to GMT times

NotoriousREV

Hardly the same thing. If I book a hotel room for 2 nights, I don't expect to be told that I can only use it for 1 but still pay for both. I know they have to pay their staff for bank holidays but that should be taken into account when setting the fees which is how businesses do it, generally. You wouldn't expect ASDA to charge you when you didn't shop there, would you?

How do you quantify "best thing"? Dylan is at nursery 2 days per week and is thiving there. The rest of the week he's with MrsREV, me or both of us. His development after starting nursery was fantastic, the opportunity to mix with other kids of varying ages and starting education has been nothing but beneficial. How many 2 and a half year old kids do you know that can count to 20 and recognise about 50% of the alphabet? Some of it is down to mine and MrsREV's effort but he also loves learning in a nursery environment.

I personally disagree. A nursery with a good staff to child ratio is the best thing, IMHO.

I'm letting MrsREV deal with it now. She'll be pouring oil on troubled waters, she's far more diplomatic than I. I've said the only way they'll get £5 out of me is if they agree it will be donated to a kids charity.

NotoriousREV

Radio 1 news starts at 17:45 and lasts 15 minutes