when to charge for the next hour-if not contracted

[nadmaj]

Hi ya

I have got my first preschool mindee today . (They are good friends)
I have contracted to charge from 11am to 4pm- but if the parent is say between 5/10/15 minutes late in picking the child up do i then charge for another hour? or apply my late fee which is £5 per 5 minutes or do you think this is too much - but then these are good friends of mine so do i let it go but if she does it say for a week i'll contract an extra hour.

please let me know -never do business with friends!!!

[beckycoop]

Hi,

Its always difficult when it comes to money isnt it. I have alovely family starting soon and I can see we are going to be great friends.

Athough I charge per hour and part of, I wouldnt charge if they were 5-10mins late. If they did it everyday, I would say something and agree to change the hours on the contract. But thats my opinion. ;D

Personally, I think £5 per 5mins is a bit much as that is £15 if they are 15mins late and they may be stuck in traffic etc. But its totally up to you ;D

Hope you can sort it out.
Becky xx

[sarahnev707]

Hi!

I charge £5 per hour for late fees - and apply it after 10/15 minutes - like becky says, if they are late a lot I will talk to them about changing contracted hours

Sarahx

[susi513]

If they pre-book and have your agreement to collect late then you charge the next hour. Eg, they ask you the week before or when they drop off in the morning. If you had no idea they were going to be late until they haven't arrived at the agreed time or they phone you while in a traffic jam/coming out of a meeting etc then you charge your late fees.

I do waive my late fees for parents who usually collect early/promptly & don't hang about chatting ages after their booked time. Some book til 6pm then one of these goes at 3:15 on certain days, another between 4:30 & 5:20pm - I wouldn't charge these parents the first time they are later than the booked time.

[lou]

i agree if they are late constantly then talk to them about changing the contract.

i think £5 per 5 mins is too steep, as has already been said they might get stuck in traffic andbe unable to ring.

i only really raise the issue if its a real problem, if someone is late the once i wouldnt really do anything.

[janet]

as agreed with all above xxxxx

[nadmaj]

thanks everyone i would charge the £5 per 5 mins if they were in traffic I don't know how i came up with this figure i think i must have seen it somewhere - nurseries do it -i remember now.

[angeldelight]

You may have seen it a nursery my daughters nursery charge high figures if parents are late

Most of my parents are sometimes 5 min late I never say anything for that

Common sense is always the way to look at things too - some of my parents who are late run up the path and say sorry
But when you start to get someone who does not care then is the time to start saying something and maybe charging extra

I agree with everyone else

Angel xx

[michellethegooner]

I agree with the above and like Angel if they parent is not usually late and is apologetic then I don't charge, but if I have a parent who just comes whenever I am quite strict with my charges. if parents book an extra hr in advance e.g that morning I charge the hourly fee but if parent is 15+ mins late i charge £5 per every 15 mins as I think that is reasonable. I do think £5 per 5mins is a bit steep but I guess if parents have agreed in advance then it is up to you.

good luck,
michelle xx

[susan]

michellethegooner said:

I do think £5 per 5mins is a bit steep but I guess if parents have agreed in advance then it is up to you.

good luck,
michelle xx

is it a good deterant to stop them been late cause i wouldnt want to be billed a pond per minute for been late....lol i'd owe people loads of money

[susi513]

Agree with above - a steep deterrant is essential for some parents who think its okay to pop in shop/neighbours/beautician on way to collect their child while your dinner's getting ruined/first aid course you're late for/you don't have time for a bath before you go out/your daughters waiting for a lift to guides .....

I think the answer is to HAVE a high late fee included in your contracts. Then you can feel nice & generous waiving/reducing the charge for genuine cases who appreciate you. ;D

[miffy]

I don't usually charge a late fee unless the parent is consistently late picking up.

I wouldn't charge if they were stuck in traffic unless that was the excuse used all the time.

Sometimes parents pick up early or the child goes to a friend's to play after school and I still expect my normal fees.

A bit of give and take goes a long way sometimes but when you are starting an agreement you have to make sure everyone understands.

Hope you get it sorted

Miffy

[mel]

I agree with the above - its about finding something that works for you. I charge per 15 min slots so if I decide not to charge a late fee, I charge according to time over iyswim

Mel x

[rubybubbles]

I have always given a 10 mintue window for them to late pick up (unwritten rule of my own!!) as in my contract it's £2 per 15 mins (without reason/ phone call ect.)

I have only had to apply this twice (to the same parent) who was 25 mintues late both times grrr. She was not happy about it and started off on me, to which I replied about contract, possible going over numbers etc etc, after that she always made it on the dot (even before that she took the 10 mintues some people will try so stick to what works for you x)