Am I Responsible for Daycare Charges

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? TX



My son was attending daycare for only 2 weeks about 2 months ago. I have never used daycare before (and have since then stopped) so I do not know how the charging system works.

While my son was still enrolled in daycare I decided I would try out a local baby sitter for a week, after that I decided to quit school all together, not needing child care services.

However, I did not know that I was supposed to fax/mail in a withdrawal letter (which would act as a 2 weeks notice) to the daycare. The daycare told me that every week that he is not there we are charged, and that if we did not pay it would be tacked onto my husband and I's credit.

I feel that even though it is "common knowledge" (as an administrator at the daycare told me) this should be explained and agreed to in writing. So my question is, if I did not sign anything stating their attendance policy am I responsible for paying when my son was not there?

You are certainly liable for the timeframe the child was attending, however, it is the institutions responsablity to prove that you are required to provide the 2 week notice. Without that written contract in place, it becomes a pay-for-service agreement between you and the company, where you pay for the actual services rendered. If the daycare causes you any monetary damage then you can sue them in small claims to recover.

hayash28 said:

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? TX



My son was attending daycare for only 2 weeks about 2 months ago. I have never used daycare before (and have since then stopped) so I do not know how the charging system works.

While my son was still enrolled in daycare I decided I would try out a local baby sitter for a week, after that I decided to quit school all together, not needing child care services.

However, I did not know that I was supposed to fax/mail in a withdrawal letter (which would act as a 2 weeks notice) to the daycare. The daycare told me that every week that he is not there we are charged, and that if we did not pay it would be tacked onto my husband and I's credit.

I feel that even though it is "common knowledge" (as an administrator at the daycare told me) this should be explained and agreed to in writing. So my question is, if I did not sign anything stating their attendance policy am I responsible for paying when my son was not there?

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Yes, you are. They were holding that spot for your son and would not put another child in that spot until they had notice that your son was not coming back. I'd check my paperwork from the daycare again; it would be remiss for them to have left this detail out of a standard care contract.

From your post it is not clear whether you have a written, signed contract with the daycare provider, do you? If so then "common knowledge" doesn't count. You are bound by the terms of the contract. As Ms. Geekess suggests, look at your contract again it should be there.
If there is no written contract then a judge may have to decide what the terms of your verbal contract were. Since you did not cancel your daycare services I suspect that you will owe for them.

Good luck

You claim that you didn't know how "the charging system" worked for daycare. That's hard to believe.

I suspect there's a paper that you didn't read, and that you feel the system should work in a manner that's convenient for you.

I hope they get their money.