WTF childcare fees

**Mum2Romone** · May 7th, 2011, 07:07 PM

So DS's childcare has sent me an invoice.

I pay fortnightly every f/n the right amount

A few weeks ago the fees went up... Did everyones go up?
Apparently its now $74 a day
i was only paying $29 a day 50% ccb
This is what the lady told me to pay
nOW I PAY $31 this is what she told me to pay when the fees went up, because i didnt know how to work it out.

Now when we started i paid the bond and fees in advance and have paid every fortnight so why would they send me an invoiceto pay?

i WILL have to call them monday or ask when i take ds, but im so confused and feeling ripped off, they have part payments on their statement for the fees, not full? and a estimate of the ccb not an actual amount. can anyone explain this to me ?

PLEASE I cant believe i got a bill for $140 and its for up to the 30th of this month why would that be?

**Catastrophic** · May 7th, 2011, 07:10 PM

Hmmm, maybe its not money owing it's just an invoice up until the end of this month.

Love MN ;-)

**Floweryfields** · May 7th, 2011, 07:20 PM

Our weekly fee notices have estimated ccb written on them because until you submit for the current week and retrieve the date the following week, the ccb in the system is based on the previous submission - so therefore deemed estimated.
Fees normally go up in July at most centres, so I'd say no most other's probably haven't gone up yet. How much a day did they go up? Cause that will be the amount of difference you have to pay now. So did they go up $2 per day?
Like MN said, is it till the end of the month? Or other alternatives could be your Ccb has been cancelled, for some reason.

**Arimeh** · May 7th, 2011, 08:05 PM

Ours just went up too. We get invoices for two weeks in advance

**mummy of 3 boys** · May 7th, 2011, 08:55 PM

wow $74 a day, is that a actual childcare centre??

my DS1 goes to a 'long daycare centre' and they charge $95 a day and if fee's are going up again OMG!

Does anyone know when you pay 2 weeks in advance when you first sin up what that actually is??? cause i've never been given anything to tell me why you pay 2 weeks in advance if it doesnt go towards anything, like your daycare fee's!

**Nai** · May 7th, 2011, 09:10 PM

The 2 works in advance is generally because you need to. give 2 weeks notice if you are leaving the centre. This gives them 2 weeks to replace the vacancy. If you just leave then they have the money in lieu of notice.

**Floweryfields** · May 7th, 2011, 09:48 PM

$95 wow! My highest rate is $63 for our babies room.

**danita** · May 7th, 2011, 09:56 PM

wow my 2 go to a long day care aswell and its $57 full day full fees 6 am-6pm and its brilliant, i love the centre, i could never afford $95 :0

**mummy of 3 boys** · May 7th, 2011, 10:24 PM

of course i don't pay that price, he wouldnt go if i did thats for sure lol i pay pretty damn cheap for now anyway

**Now we're 3** · May 7th, 2011, 10:45 PM

Mum2Romone I'd talk to them on Monday and get them to explain it to you. Even at 50% ccb their fees and what you are paying doesn't seem to make sense. Unless they are also deducting the CCR off what you are paying as well but I didn't think that option was coming in until July.

Mizqtie as Nai said the "bond" that you pay is held towards the notice period that you need to give when/if you decide to leave the centre which in most cases is 2 weeks.

We pay $95 as well per day for babies room and that was slightly on the lower side of average on the centres in our area. Only thing we need to provide is nappies. Several of my friends are paying $120 per day. And the cheapest in our area was $80 per day! I must say it does give me the @#!&s when government decides the cap for rebate should be based on average cost of childcare which they say is about $67 which is nothing like what we really pay. From what I've read costs in Sydney and certainly where we live are amongst the highest in the country!

**mummy of 3 boys** · May 7th, 2011, 10:57 PM

i provide everything even nappies when he was in them, its discusting and being rural you would think we could be cheaper but nope considering just about every mum around here uses the local daycare they still charge a fortune and honestly they do absolutely nothing, and mind you this is for the 'preschool' room :|

**helle** · May 8th, 2011, 03:22 AM

And to think the carers are paid pittance...
Could it be like a receipt?

**Nai** · May 8th, 2011, 07:59 AM

I get an invoice/receipt each fortnight so it could be that?

Ours is about $85 a day but I get some CCB and then the CCTR so it brings it right down. I know we do have to pay 2 weeks in advance as well.

**Floweryfields** · May 8th, 2011, 08:30 AM

And to think the carers are paid pittance...

Yeah, it's not lining the pockets of the workers that's for sure. Average junior staff earns around $13.50 hour, average senior staff ie group leaders, earn around $19.50. This is in Qld, so other states do earn more than us - we moved onto the modern award which is now federal last year and I discovered that directors in other states were earning around $6 average per hour more than I was!!! For the same job!!! We are transitioning to this award, so only get some of the pay rise over 4 years! Which also stinks! Anyway, that would be why NSW fees are so much higher than ours, so are their wages.

**Pandora** · May 8th, 2011, 08:56 AM

Cert III carers in Vic get about 44k how does that compare to other states?

We have not received anything to say ours are going up, but our centre has never raised them other than at the start of the calendar year.

Ours are currently 68/day or 330/wk for FT

**Mum2SweetCs** · May 8th, 2011, 09:14 AM

Ours also went up from $62 to $64 a day.

Also my invoice always says Im oweing them money even though I pay them via automatic direct deposit but when i looked on the dates the invoice is for the whole month in advance.

They havent said anything about taking money out of my bond so im assuming i dont actually owe them that amount.