ComplaintsforKiddie Kottage 3

• Initial Complaint

  12/08/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Unresolved

  More info

  The center is at the *** *** XXXXX but is owned by the same people. They changed the way people could pay and we are now being forced to pay through an app called Brightwheel. I have attempted to pay my balance but the app keeps saying error and will not allow me to pay. This has been going on for two weeks and I have communicated that with the daycare director as well as offered to bring in a check for payment. I have also emailed the brightwheel app to try and get assistance. I was told I could not bring in a check and was not offered any assistance on a way to pay from either the daycare or brightwheel. I just spoke with the Preschool Director ***** again last night and showed her that the app wasn't working in person and she said she would talk to her boss and then get back with me. I did not hear anything until today at 12:30 when I received a message that they were refusing to pick my child up from school due to not receiving a payment, however; I have been trying to pay for 2 weeks now and they have not offered any help or alternative payment methods. By leaving a 6 year old child with down syndrome, autism and other extreme disabilities at school this put him at a safety risk and emotional distress as a schedule is extremely important to him. This is NOT the first time the center has put him in danger. **** has a sensory disorder and will not wear shoes. I have told them not to let him run around on the playground without shoes on as I have seen broken glass on the playground before. In July they allowed him on the playground without shoes and he got a cut on his foot that got infected. I asked for their insurance and they never gave it to me. I had to ask multiple times just to get an accident report. **** has hirshbrungs disease and sensitive skin. It is vital his pull up is changed when wet/dirty otherwise he can get a rash/infection if left to long. He has gotten a rash and infection due to them not changing him regularly.

  Business response

  02/15/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 14, 2022/01/04) */ We just received this complaint in the mail after having been closed during the holidays. You should allow more time for complaints to be responded to prior to closing them out. The individual who made the complaint, ******* *****, was trying to upload a payment method to our payment application that we use for childcare services called Brightwheel. Unfortunately, the payment card she tried to use was incompatible with the service and it appeared she she was trying to put a new card in to make payment that was not recognized by Brightwheel's payment processor, Stripe, the largest and most ubiquitous payment processor in the world. She tried paying for her tuition in front of the director and it would not work. We then suggested making sure her old card was taken off auto pay first. After that did not work, we asked her to reach out directly to Brightwheel. Ms. ***** explained she would try when she got home. She said she could pay with a check, but unfortunately our business does not accept checks as stated in our Parent Handbook that Ms. ***** signed at the outset of the school year. 2 weeks later, we sent a message on Brightwheel we would not be able to pick **** up if tuition was not paid. We have over a thousand families that use this payment software successfully every single week. When our bus driver picked up that school, Ms. *****' son, was not there at the school . One main issue we encounter with this family is that we are not equipped to meet the needs of their student. For instance, their son (who is school aged) will not keep his shoes on. We have tried and tried to get him to keep them on, but he takes them off almost as soon as we can put them on. When we go outside, the first thing he does is take his shoes off. We have no record of Ms. ***** ever requesting insurance information as that would have and has been made readily available. There son has multiple disabilities which we are unable to attend to given our school is not equipped to serve special needs, however, Ms. ***** insists her son must be entered into school without special needs certified teachers and staff. The child is greater than 5 years old and still in a diaper. We change him as soon as we get done with snack. There are times that he gets on the bus wet or has a bowel movement while on the bus. We normally change diapers every 2 hours, unless the child has had a bowel movement that we recognize, but again, this is typically geared toward much younger children (<2 years old). If our staff observed a bowel movement, we would of course change him. Our recommendation is that Ms. ***** upload a valid payment methodology as thousands of our families have. We also are not in a position to reimburse Ms. ***** for alleged time missed from work. In fact, the situation she is referencing resulted in her child not being present at the school bus stop. Consumer Response /* (3000, 16, 2022/01/06) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) I have paid with my credit unions debit card for over a year. So to say it is not compatible is not true. My grandmother added her card which is from the same credit union and it worked. Brightwheel said it was not anything wrong with their system, my bank said it was not their system, which means the only explanation is it was the daycare. The payment method was changed when this new management company bought the center and we were not given a choice on wether or not to use it. I did ask for insurance and I asked for an accident report MULTIPLE times before finally getting an accident report over a week later. But never got the insurance information. As far as the day they refused to pick up my son, he was not there because they messaged me and refused to get him. I have screenshots of the messages. Never once have I been told by anyone in the center they were "not capable" of taking care of my son. Never once have they said they they were not equipped. They have had no problems taking my money and taking care of him for 6 years until I file this complaint and all of sudden they are "not capable." I'm not sure what the difference is between changing a new born baby's diaper and a 6 year olds pull-up. So, if their answer to my Complaint is they are not capable, then they shouldn't be taking care of any children. The problem is the top management doesn't want to take responsibility for bad management and not holding people accountable when kids are hurt. So, if they are saying they "aren't capable" of performing basic hygiene and care I will report that to the proper authorities.

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