daycare and direct debit

[Emo21]

The daycare we used just got sold recently and have brought in a raft of new policy and procedures. one of them is the using of direct debit for payments, now i have enough direct debits coming out of my a/cs and pretty much want to pay using eftpos. So now they have said that there will be a eftpos machine at the center to use but they still want my details for direct debit which i don't want to give.

Anybody know Whats the legalities of this - do i have to give the details or are they breaking some consumer rules/law by forcing me to hand over these details (pretty much saying if i don't hand over details child will not be able to go to childcare)


Thanks

 

[Aaron Sice]

i refuse to allow anyone access to my accounts - even mortgages and car payments.

i do it all manually.

they dont have any right and you have every right to ask to see their business charter to prove that says they wont accept care if direct debit isn't accepted.

but in all honesty - unless it's WAY too much hassle, just find another day care.

they're being run like cattle farms, designed to increase revenue and solid financials to either leverage against or on-sell for max profit.

and a good business should have solid financials.

and that's fantastic if it were livestock, or a goods based business.

but it's not, it's our children. that doesn't preclude having poor financials - but like i said with ABC Daycares, it's a business model with a conflict of interest.

although, i've had this rant before and wont get into it anymore than that.

 

[Emo21]

yes and the extra twist is my wife works at the daycare.

 

[pennyk]

its a long time since my kids were in daycare, but I remember the centre was sold at one stage. It very quickly went downhill, most of the staff left or were retrenched (the good ones were retrenched) and my daughter went from loving it to crying when we dropped her off. We moved on fairly quickly and it ended up being sold to ABC, which I imagine would have been even worse.

This type of inflexibility with payments is the sort of thing that would concern me and maybe give an indication that the culture of the centre is going to change. maybe time to move both wife and child on to a new centre....

 

[jrc]

If your wife works at the daycare ask if it can be deducted from her wages.

 

[wobbycarly]

If your wife works at the daycare ask if it can be deducted from her wages.

before tax...!