Childcare Costs
My children have been attending an Out of School Hours Care centre for some time and the centre recently changed ownership. The new management have stated that they will now be charging us for our children's booked after school days during the school holidays.
I asked the Centre how they can charge us for a service they are not providing (as the children obviously don't attend school during holidays for them to require after care) and they responded with "The before and after school care
program is a permanent booking over the year which makes it legal for us to
charge during the holidays."
Could someone please advise me if they can actually charge us for a service which is not provided?
Hi there. The answer to your question will depend on the
agreement you have with your centre.
As you know, childcare enrolments are typically made for a set period, such as a year. The agreement for childcare services will commonly take the form of an enrolment terms and conditions document which you signed when you enrolled your children. This agreement is a contract for services, and is where you must look for the answer to your question. Terms and conditions such as these will provide details about the specific fees which you will pay for your children during the year as well as the situations in which fees can be raised. You will be required to pay the fees which are set out in the contract.
Many child care centres charge fees for days which a child is enrolled but not
actually attending due to holidays. That being said, a centre may only charge
the fees that have been specified in the terms and conditions (and as such,
agreed to by you). If no such fees are in the terms and conditions, the centre
may not change the terms of the contract by simply deciding you need to pay
over the holidays. However, it is also important to remember that such
agreements may include terms which allow the centre to charge additional fees
at their discretion, which may be the case.
Suggested way forward
Because of this, be sure to look closely at the terms and conditions. If you feel that the fees which are being charged are not specified in the contract and you are being charged unfairly, you can contact Victorian Consumer Affairs. Alternatively, you can use LawAdvisor to find a lawyer in your area who can help you review the contract. By pressing the "Take Action" button through LawAdvisor - which opens in the next month - we can help you search for experienced lawyers and obtain fee proposals for their services. Costs for legal advice and representation will vary between providers based on experience and the scope of service.
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