Little Birds’ Nest Daycare

This letter is in response to the request from you dated September 2, in reference to a complaint filed (ID ***) about my businessThe complainant, *** ***, requested a full refund of the non-refundable $deposit that she had provided on January 21, to hold the space for care of
her infant at my daycareShe requested the refund because she claims changed the price of my services between when she made the deposit and almost seven months later when she decided that she no longer wanted to use my servicesI ultimately decided not to offer the refund, which was under no obligation to refund considering it was non-refundableI explained this to her (my assistant can serve as a witness to this) in person on January 12th and also in writing four times - three times before she paid the deposit (twice via *** messenger, once in the service contract sent to her) and once in the email receipt for the deposit paymentrequire a deposit from prospective customers to ensure I reserve spots for only those who truly intend to use my services.The following is an explanation of how *** *** and arrived at the current situationUnless otherwise stated, all of the details explained herein are from email exchanges between myself and *** ***In January, offered her parttime care for days at $210/week and full-time for $for care of her child that would begin sometime in the fall Also in January, *** *** told me in writing that she wanted to reserve a full-time spot for her child and paid the deposit accordinglyFrom that point on, I used the fact that her child would be in full-time care at my daycare for making business plansShe never provided any daysOver the next few months after paying the deposit, she wrote to me several times asking if I still had a spot for her child, which I kept in good faith in expectation of full-time careOn March 21st, she confirmed via *** messenger that she intended to use my daycare's services for full-time careI felt comfortable reserving the spot for her child not only because of the deposit she provided but also because she reiterated that she had no backup plan for careOn July 5th, she informed me that she changed her mind and now wanted parttime care (days/week) for her child and wanted to confirm that with meresponded that I no longer offered part-time care as it is too difficult to schedule around with others wanting part-time careIt's important to note that, in accordance with my county permit, there is a maximum number of children that my daycare can care for on a given dayChildren in part-time care, of Course, are part of that maximum so overall my business is less profitable if we have kids in part-time careRegardless, I wanted to be flexible, so I offered to reduce my weekly fee to $She questioned why it would be so high for days/week and explained the myriad reasonsAfter receiving my explanation (still on July 5th), she wrote that she would stick with full-time care G) $290/week but wanted me to include offering ad hoc drcare for her child (i.edrop off/pick up the child at various times during the day)My business does not offer drcare for an infant because it is very disruptive to the daycare's operations, and I explained this to *** ***.On July 8th, she requested (via *** messenger) a meeting with her, her boyfriend and me to discuss my policiesassume she wanted to meet to try and convince me into charging less moneyShe wanted to make sure her boyfriend would be able to be there too and his non-flexible work schedule left very few opportunities for us all to meet during my business hoursWe were finally able to Schedule the meeting for 1pm on July 15thI had posted on her *** page (we were *** friends at the time) the day before the meeting asking if her baby was going to be at the meeting (she was three days from her due date at this point and my post to her also served as a reminder about the meeting)They didn't show up for the meeting and after a lengthy exchange (also via *** messenger), she eventually accepted responsibility for missing the meetingwas happy to reschedule but her boyfriend's lack of availability precluded us being able to reschedule it during my business hoursIn response to not being able to have another meeting later that very same day, she wanted her deposit back and I told her it was non-refundableAs we continued to exchange messages via *** messenger (which apparently she was using while driving and 9-months pregnant as she admitted to this in one of the messages), she again had a reversal that she wanted to use the services of my daycare and wanted to figure out when we could meet to discuss my policiesprovided my phone number So we could arrange a time to meet and she never called meThat was still on July 15thThe next time I heard from her on *** (on August 3rd) it was to tell me that she changed her mind again and didn't want to use my daycare's services after all and requested a refund for the deposittold her that I would try to refund it to the card she used to make the deposit and that? would be doing so only out of "goodness" not because the deposit was considered refundableI legitimately tried to refund the deposit to the Credit card, but it didn't work because she no longer owned that cardShe requested the? refund via check a couple weeks later, but at that point I was done trying to work with her and decided not to pursue offering her a refund any further.The above explanation shows that the cost of the full-time services that she had reserved with the deposit did not changeHer complaint that I changed the rates for part-time care is irrelevant because she was not reserved for part-time CareFor these reasons, the basis of her complaint is not validFurthermore, I tried working with her through the course of our interactions between January and August 2016, and it was difficult to do so because she was quite non-committal to any decision she had madeIt is my discretion to not offer the refund, which clearly explained was non-refundable to her in person and in writing, just as it was her discretion to not use the services of my daycareNot only did I put Considerable time into trying to acquire her as a customer, but I also used the fact that she would have her child at my daycare as part of my business planningBetween January and July turned away several prospective Customers because? was reserving the full-time spot for *** ***'s childLast, but not least, my service Contract that I sent to her on January 12th states that all monies paid are non-refundable and that I reserve the right to change my fees with days notice to a customerI did not change the fees for the type of care that *** *** reserved, but if I had, it would have been within my purview to do so and it does not make the deposit refundableIn light of all of the above, I'm requesting this matter to be considered closed and settled in my favor.Per your request, I did not include personally-identifying information for *** *** in this letterFor your reference, I have enclosed a printed copy of the emails exchanged with *** *** as well as the *** messenger communications that she didn't include in her complaintPlease let me know if you require any other supporting information.Respectfully,Rana C***, Owner

This letter is in response to the request from you dated September 2, 2016 in reference to a complaint filed (ID [redacted]) about my business. The complainant, [redacted], requested a full refund of the non-refundable $100 deposit that she had provided on January 21, 2016 to hold the space for care of...

her infant at my daycare. She requested the refund because she claims changed the price of my services between when she made the deposit and almost seven months later when she decided that she no longer wanted to use my services. I ultimately decided not to offer the refund, which was under no obligation to refund considering it was non-refundable. I explained this to her (my assistant can serve as a witness to this) in person on January 12th and also in writing four times - three times before she paid the deposit (twice via [redacted] messenger, once in the service contract sent to her) and once in the email receipt for the deposit payment. require a deposit from prospective customers to ensure I reserve spots for only those who truly intend to use my services.The following is an explanation of how [redacted] and arrived at the current situation. Unless otherwise stated, all of the details explained herein are from email exchanges between myself and [redacted]. In January, offered her parttime care for 3 days at $210/week and full-time for $290 for care of her child that would begin sometime in the fall 2016. Also in January, [redacted] told me in writing that she wanted to reserve a full-time spot for her child and paid the deposit accordingly. From that point on, I used the fact that her child would be in full-time care at my daycare for making business plans. She never provided any daysOver the next few months after paying the deposit, she wrote to me several times asking if I still had a spot for her child, which I kept in good faith in expectation of full-time care. On March 21st, she confirmed via [redacted] messenger that she intended to use my daycare's services for full-time care. I felt comfortable reserving the spot for her child not only because of the deposit she provided but also because she reiterated that she had no backup plan for care. On July 5th, she informed me that she changed her mind and now wanted parttime care (3 days/week) for her child and wanted to confirm that with me. responded that I no longer offered part-time care as it is too difficult to schedule around with others wanting part-time care. It's important to note that, in accordance with my county permit, there is a maximum number of children that my daycare can care for on a given day. Children in part-time care, of Course, are part of that maximum so overall my business is less profitable if we have kids in part-time care. Regardless, I wanted to be flexible, so I offered to reduce my weekly fee to $250. She questioned why it would be so high for 3 days/week and explained the myriad reasons. After receiving my explanation (still on July 5th), she wrote that she would stick with full-time care G) $290/week but wanted me to include offering ad hoc drop-in care for her child (i.e. drop off/pick up the child at various times during the day). My business does not offer drop-in care for an infant because it is very disruptive to the daycare's operations, and I explained this to [redacted].On July 8th, she requested (via [redacted] messenger) a meeting with her, her boyfriend and me to discuss my policies. assume she wanted to meet to try and convince me into charging less money. She wanted to make sure her boyfriend would be able to be there too and his non-flexible work schedule left very few opportunities for us all to meet during my business hours. We were finally able to Schedule the meeting for 1pm on July 15th. I had posted on her [redacted] page (we were [redacted] friends at the time) the day before the meeting asking if her baby was going to be at the meeting (she was three days from her due date at this point and my post to her also served as a reminder about the meeting). They didn't show up for the meeting and after a lengthy exchange (also via [redacted] messenger), she eventually accepted responsibility for missing the meeting. was happy to reschedule but her boyfriend's lack of availability precluded us being able to reschedule it during my business hours. In response to not being able to have another meeting later that very same day, she wanted her deposit back and I told her it was non-refundable. As we continued to exchange messages via [redacted] messenger (which apparently she was using while driving and 9-months pregnant as she admitted to this in one of the messages), she again had a reversal that she wanted to use the services of my daycare and wanted to figure out when we could meet to discuss my policies. provided my phone number So we could arrange a time to meet and she never called me. That was still on July 15th. The next time I heard from her on [redacted] (on August 3rd) it was to tell me that she changed her mind again and didn't want to use my daycare's services after all and requested a refund for the deposit. told her that I would try to refund it to the card she used to make the deposit and that would be doing so only out of "goodness" not because the deposit was considered refundable. I legitimately tried to refund the deposit to the Credit card, but it didn't work because she no longer owned that card. She requested the refund via check a couple weeks later, but at that point I was done trying to work with her and decided not to pursue offering her a refund any further.The above explanation shows that the cost of the full-time services that she had reserved with the deposit did not change. Her complaint that I changed the rates for part-time care is irrelevant because she was not reserved for part-time Care. For these reasons, the basis of her complaint is not valid. Furthermore, I tried working with her through the course of our interactions between January and August 2016, and it was difficult to do so because she was quite non-committal to any decision she had made. It is my discretion to not offer the refund, which clearly explained was non-refundable to her in person and in writing, just as it was her discretion to not use the services of my daycare. Not only did I put Considerable time into trying to acquire her as a customer, but I also used the fact that she would have her child at my daycare as part of my business planning. Between January and July turned away several prospective Customers because was reserving the full-time spot for [redacted]'s child. Last, but not least, my service Contract that I sent to her on January 12th states that all monies paid are non-refundable and that I reserve the right to change my fees with 14 days notice to a customer. I did not change the fees for the type of care that [redacted] reserved, but if I had, it would have been within my purview to do so and it does not make the deposit refundable. In light of all of the above, I'm requesting this matter to be considered closed and settled in my favor.Per your request, I did not include personally-identifying information for [redacted] in this letter. For your reference, I have enclosed a printed copy of the emails exchanged with [redacted] as well as the [redacted] messenger communications that she didn't include in her complaint. Please let me know if you require any other supporting information.Respectfully,Rana C[redacted], Owner