ex babysitter taking me to court

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vlandreth

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Please help- my baby sitter at the time called to tell me that my 1.5 year old had kicked in her fireplace screen, and ripped it. She told me she saw her do it. So i said"oh, you just sat there and let her do it" she then got defensive and said no let me finish i was holding the baby when she did and could not get her in time. I then said that if she wanted me to pay for it i would. She said "yes, b/c i can't afford to have my stuff broken"

So when i dropped her off the next week..the sitter took the check and then said "oh, and i wanted to talk to u about last week. the way you acted was unacceptable when i told you what rachael did. Its not my prob if you are unaware what your daughter is capable of. She hits the other kids, you can ask them. (meanwhile they are are under 2) I asked her for the check back b/c i was going to leave and she said "oh, no your crazy. You owe me two weeks and i will get that money" I then took my daughter b/c i was not going to leave her with this woman. When i am getting ready to go, she says "oh, i am not saying anything wrong here." very calmly i said "listen, when you told me on the phone that u can't afford to have your stuff broken, maybe you should not be watching kids" she then flipped out yelling (doing all of this in front of the kids) saying "listen, i'm 33, your a lot older then me..well..i don't know how old you are but u look.." then she trailed off..I am 23, and do not look any older. She kept going personally attacking me. Saying "oh, when your boyfriend did not tell you that u needed food last week, i don't tell you that u shouldnt be with him"

I have no idea where this is comig from. She was very rude and unprofessional. I stopped payment on the check. She called yelling again, w/ personal attacks.
I called the child developmnet office in PA and they said she should not be watching more then 3 children. The sitter told me that they told her she can go ahead and watch more then that.She had 5 toddlers and 1 newborn, not counting my daughter.

Is it fair that she is taking me to court????please help..
 
Yes, it is fair that she is taking you to court.

You owed her for the property your child damaged. You acknowledged this by writing and giving her a check that you later stopped payment on out of vindictiveness over the argument you two had.

The issue is not about how many children she can watch. The issue she is taking you to court over is paying for damage to her fireplace screen.

Gail
 
I would personally try to get her to back off.
Here is the PA code for a child care business located in a home - http://www.pacode.com/secure/data/055/chapter3290/chap3290toc.html
Does this woman have a certificate and has her home been inspected within the past 12 months by the state to ensure compliance? If not, tell her to back off or you will have her business shut down for breaking the law.
I know this sound hostile but let me explain where I am coming from. I am not a lawyer. I am a corporate public relations consultant. When my clients are under attack, much like you are, the attacker has only one focus; destroying the target. I have found that there are many occasions where you can use dissuasion to eliminate the threat. Basically, make the attacker realize that pursuing this course will threaten them personally. In this case, make the babysitter realize she is breaking the law with her business and you will shut her down unless she backs off.
Anyone else reading this; please, understand that this tactic should not be used lightly. The only reason I am suggesting this here is because the babysitter is obviously blinded by eliminating her target and needs a healthy dose of reality.
Please pardon my hostility. I must have had a rough commute this morning or something, haha.
Good luck,

-Nick
 
Sorry, a quick addition...
It didn't sound to me like the only issue was the fireplace. It sounded like the parent had prepaid for the childcare then backed off and wanted their money back.
"and she said 'oh, no your crazy. You owe me two weeks and i will get that money.'"
Is there something else about this case that was left out of the original post?

-Nick
 
yes, the payment i gave her on that day was not for the fireplace but for that weeks daycare. i always pay her on the first day of the week for the current week. She had never gave me an estimate for the fireplace, before she could she went off on me. I was not going to take my daughter out of her care, i told her i would pay for the damages. She is now trying to get three weeks worth from me. The week that i left plus two weeks from the contract. But no respectable parent would have left their child with her after she personally attacked them.
 
no, the check i wrote was for the daycare that week. I asked for the check back b/c to me it seemed like she was kicking me out and telling me she does not want rachael there. She told me that my daughter hit the other kids and that "i was blind to what she was capable of". She obviously knew i was not going to leave her there which it seemed to be what she wanted. She never gave me a copy of the contract i signed so im not sure what it says about her kicking people out.
 
Have you requested (in writing) a copy of the contract? If not, do that and see what it says.
Did the babysitter actually file a case? Or is she just threatening to? If she has, what is her claim?

-Nick
 
Have you requested (in writing) a copy of the contract? If not, do that and see what it says.
Did the babysitter actually file a case? Or is she just threatening to? If she has, what is her claim?

-Nick

No, i will do that today..thank you..and yes she did actually file a claim. she said that i did not pay her for the two weeks that are in the contract and she also wants me to pay her for the week that we had the argument and i took her. so all together she wants three weeks!! which does not seem right, b/c you would think she would count that week as part of the two.
 
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