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Preschool and Daycare Discussion
Daycare waiting list scam in the City of Alexandria?
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Anonymous
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Hi all - I was wondering if anyone else feels like the "administrative fee" to get on the waiting list at a daycare is a scam. Nearly two years ago, we paid three daycares $100.00 each to be put on waiting lists, and since then I've only heard from one daycare about an opening.
I requested information from one daycare where we're waitlisted about how many people were ahead of us on the list, how many kids have left the daycare in the past two years and how many kids the daycare serves, and I never heard back from them. When I asked for our $100.00 back, the daycare told me it's non-refundable. This system seems absurd, that people should have to pay a non-refundable $100 fee to merely be put on a list, yet the list has no transparency at all. I never know whether we're #2 or #600 on the list. I live in the City of Alexandria and I'm considering raising this issue with the City government. I want more transparency in the daycare waitlists, or at least deposits that can be refunded if the parents decide to take their names off the list. If you live in the City of Alexandria, and have had a similar experience on the waiting lists and fees and are willing to chat with me, please send an e-mail to chris_kate07@comcast.net. Thanks, Kate |
Anonymous
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This is a standard practice for centers in the area.
The reason they normally ask for a fee is because they want to keep a "real" wait list as much as possible as opposed to parents calling up every center and putting their child's name on the list. I would strongly suggest you forget going with a child care center bc if you are already complaining and you haven't even put your name on the list, you are just going to continue to be disappointed even with the best center. BTW I would spare yourself the embarrassment of contacting the city. They are doing nothing illegal and its not a scam. |
Anonymous
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Hi - original poster here. Thanks for your comments - you raise some interesting points, particularly about a center's need to keep a "real" waiting list vs. a massive list of just vaguely interested parents. I think that issue could be resolved by having a partially refundable deposit. Parents would still have to commit some money to be on the waiting list, but could get part of that payment back if they decided to take their names off the list. That could actually help the center keep a more accurate waiting list, as parents would be more motivated to call and take their names off the list.
My issue with the waiting list is primarily about openness. I have paid a fee to be on the list, but I am not privy to knowing where I am on the list or even how many kids left the center in a year. Parents are left in the dark. I never raised a question about legality or standard practice; obviously this is both legal and standard practice. It is a question of fair business practices. I'll never be embarrassed to work with my local government to improve business standards. I hope that no one in Alexandria feels embarrassed about improving their community. As a side note, my daughter is in a daycare that I'm very happy with. I'm grateful that we were able to find a daycare that values open communication with parents. |
Anonymous
What are you talking about???? I talked to tons of centers and none of them had any hidden agenda to try and "scam" me out of my money. They could tell the expected openings based on children's ages and when they moved kids up (either all at once or when they aged out). The also told me how long the waiting list was, how many months I could expect to wait and to feel free to call back and check every so often - which I did by the way. One Federal center told me I was on the bottom of page 11 of the wait list and there were 11 pages! I guess I don't understand your motive and why you think that you were "scammed". Another suggestion - DO NO do private school applications. You will only stand out for screaming about the "scam" that is going on and how they collected your money for that app fee but had no intention of offering your child a spot, blah, blah, blah |
Anonymous
Sounds like you had a different experience from the OP, who mentioned that the daycares she applied to wouldn't give her any info about the waiting list. |
Anonymous
| Alexandria is really tough to find an opening in daycare. DS was on 4 lists - though not all had a fee. Most would not give the exact position - and I don't blame them, although a ballpark would be nice. Many open positions for sibs before new families so for infants it can be really ahrd to predict. |
Anonymous
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This is a legitimate problem. I too live in Alexandria City but send our kids to daycare/preschool in Arlington for all kinds of reasons. In the past I have paid $100 for untold numbers of daycare centers to call me. I have heard back from precisely one of them. Yes, one of them and it took 15 months to hear back from them.
There are a number of transparency issues facing daycares, the enrollment fee is just but one issue. Before anyone retorts that those who want to fix the system shouldn't be in the system -- sorry that's not a real argument. Daycare/preschool is the only real option for many people for cost reasons and most importantly fixing a system that you care about is the RIGHT thing to do. I applaud your efforts. |
Anonymous
| Remember, there is a "cost" to managing the waitlist. There is at least one parent calling everyday to find out where they are, and if there will be a spot available next month for their child. Daycares need to charge to cover the administrative costs of managing the lists. Resources are not free. |
Anonymous
| I think experiences just vary widely. We were on waitlists for 7 or so daycares, most in the Old Town area, but one or two in DC. We got on the list when I was 12 weeks pregnant, and called to check in and express interest routinely after my son was born. We also did second tours of most of them with our son in tow before we got off the list, just to try to create more of a relationship between ourselves and the center. We got of the list for every single one within a month or so of the time I needed to go back to work. That's not to say that the centers actually gave us any info when we called to check in, but I they definitely made note of the fact that we were still very interested in a spot. I am sure that other people have had different experiences, and we were probably just lucky, but the system does work some of the time. |
Anonymous
| I, too, applaud OP's efforts to get more transparency in the system. I can't believe that it costs $100 to get on waitlists for daycares that you don't have any chance of getting into before your child ages out. They should not keep accepting money from people for waitlists that go on and on. I also don't believe for one second that managing a waitlist should cost each child $100. FWIW, Saint Anthony's waitlist is free to get on, but good luck getting in. I've heard from many people who say that it's a good 3 years long. What good does that do to most people? |
Anonymous
How much should it cost? The PP said that she was on 7 waitlists, and called to check in and express interest routinely. Is that weekly? Imagine once a week you get a call for 4 months to check out where you are on the waitlist. Now think that half the people on the waitlist are doing this. It is almost a full time job. |
Anonymous
Has anyone stopped to think "Why" parents are calling every week -- because they are desperate for care and desperate for customer service. They are getting neither. I have three kids, have been through all this before, and know what I am talking about because I have my own experiences coupled with all the stories from other parents that I know. Daycares need to have a regulation that stipulates that they will update waitlisted families once a month on their status. The regulation should also mandate that if a family wants off the waitlist within a 30 day time period their $100 fee should be returned. And finally, the regulation should mandate that if after 12 months and no spot has opened the family should have the ability to recoup 50% of the fee. I believe that if regulations force a monetary consequence to not being responsive to parents, then daycares will in turn be more responsive. At the moment, families who use daycares are at the mercy of the daycare, but if families stand up for these and other types of policies then things will improve. |
Anonymous
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Obviously, demand is higher than supply so this is strictly a revenue generator for the daycares. I was on a waitlist for a daycare in Bethesda for about 8 mos (after paying $75). I met someone with a child the same age as my son who told me she just got into the center. I asked her how long she was on the waitlist for. She told me she wasn't on the waitlist - she called to inquire and was told a spot was just opening up and she ended up taking it. Basically, she called at the perfect time.
I was livid and called the center and told them I wanted off the list and a refund. After much argument, they finally agreed. It is a SCAM at many, many places. |
Anonymous
| PP here again - forgot to add that since demand is higher than supply, it makes no sense that daycares keep tkaing waitlist deposits. At some point, you will have plenty of names to fill any open slots. If you can accept 10 infants total, it makes no sense to have a waitlist longer than 15, at any given time. Better off just calling periodically. |
Anonymous
| 8:43 here. As I stated earlier, daycares should absolutely stop taking deposits once they reach a certain # of people on the waitlist. |