Cancelled on the day she is supposed to start!
She is NOT trustworthy and reliable, she cancelled on me on the same day she was supposed to start and was not even apologetic (putting the blame on me suggesting that I should have not (stupidly) trusted her and signed her paperwork first)!
We agreed last week on Friday that she would start on Monday (today). I met her and her assistant on Friday, Gita said that 60% of the pick up will be done by this assistant. I trusted her to be professional because my son's nanny knows Gita and confirmed that she is a childminder for a long time, and lives near my long time nanny. So I had not asked to review or sign her paperwork.
On Monday (day on which the pick up was starting), I received a text in the morning from Gita asking to call back urgently and asking"Are we picking up your daughter because we need to plan our day?". I was at work stressed out by her text which suggested that she was not straight. I responded shortly after that we already agreed (by exchange of email, by telephone and then face to face on Friday) that she would start on Monday. I also confirmed the same with her assistant face to face on the same day and introduced her to the school teacher, telling her she was going to pick up my daughter moving forward.
On the phone, this morning Gita pretended that :
1) I was supposed to go to her house on Friday after picking up my daughter at school with her assistant (while she never mentioned this before nor asked me to do by email, text or phone). The first time it was ever mentioned was this morning on the day of last minute cancellation to justify it...
2) I was supposed to sign some paperwork before starting (while it was not mentioned on Friday as a pre-requirement, I worked with other nannies who would hand over the paperwork before or on the same day of starting. If she was that conscientious and professional surely she would have handed over the paperwork on Friday and at least wrote to me by email / text before Monday that I forgot to sign the paper and that it was absolutely necessary before she could start, which she never did (until this morning as an excuse to justify her last minute cancellation)
- Also on the phone this morning I confronted her and offered to sign her paperwork today (if not for today but for her to start later in the week) but then she rejected this proposal and said "no, it's too late, just leave it", not even the slightest apologetic for letting me down at the last minute.
- She also pretended to have told me that she was not available on Mondays, and that I should have known (contradicting her own text received this morning asking "Are we picking your daughter because we need to plan our day?"
At the end of the discussion, I mentioned that she was not professional as she should have let me know before hand if she could not pick up my daughter as confirmed by email and then on the phone and face to face) and said that I will obviously leave a comment on the website to let parents know what I experienced (I now just noticed that there is in fact another review of a parent having a similar experience of last minute cancellation from Gita...) and then she responded: "that's fine, I will respond to your comment" (in a tone that shows a total lack of remorse but also like she was expecting it).
Lessons learned today: Check reviews on this website before contacting a nanny. If there is 1 bad review similar to my experience, then you should be thinking twice and not trust the person based on what she writes by email or even trust what she says or even what other trustworthy people say.
Response from Gita Ran
Responded
Any childminder should be aware of this parent as she has made false accusations which is slanderous and defamatory. Estelle contact me last week as she wanted a school pick on Monday/Wednesay/Thursday. I told her I dont work on Mondays, as it is a school pick at 3.30 my assistant would do it as she had to then drop the child at off at her other childminders which is very close to my house. I have never met Estelle, she agreed to meet me/my assistant at the tube station at 3.20, she was getting late, did not bother text me till I messaged her asking if she was still coming. I had two other children who were with me and I had to get back for them to be collected so my assistant went to the school with Estelle. I did mention to Estelle I will see her later, I assumed like any other parent she would pick the child and come to my home to see where I live/to check my Ofsted Registration/CRB/First Aid Certificate/Insurance/My policies procedures and all other paperwork. I never heard from her. Till parents sign an agreement, give you the child's details and discuss your childs needs, allergies etc its is not a confirmed arrangement. She did not even ask me how I want to get paid. I always get paid a a week in advance, if I was to start on the Monday, I should get paid on the Monday. I was not paid or asked about payment. Come Monday as a formality I text her around 8.45 am asking if I was to collect the child and to inform me asap. She text me back after two hours confirming I need to collect the child. I did say I have to plan my day as I dont work on a Monday and do all my paperwork and personal stuff on that day, and my Assistant attends College till 3pm on the Monday. I also informed her that I cannot do the pick up as I dont have any paperwork signed off by the parent for me to provide care. I have not even seen the child myself and saw Estelle very briefly and have never had a chat with her. I cannot break the Ofsted procedures as a responsible childminder which I have been for 24 years. My insurance will also be invalidated if paperwork prior to caring for a child is not on file. I dont work that way. My code of practice as a Childminder is paramount for me and if the systems are not in place I cannot take responsibility of the child. If the child came to me with a accident from school, she could have turned round to me and said it happened in my care and if I had no contract or the child's information, can you imagine what my position would have been with Ofsted. Knowing this parent now I would have exposed myself to a very dangerous situation. Her defence is I did not ask for paperwork etc. to be completed. Her baby is with another childminder and she should have knowledge of our procedures. It is not my duty to ask her for paperwork. As a responsible parent it was her duty to inspect my home and my paperwork. Anyone can advertise on a website, but there should be responsibility on both sides to make sure the child is in safe hands and care. As far as I am concerned we are both strangers till we talk and get to know each other and ask many important questions. Obviously she could not be bothered who looks after her child as long as she is collected from school. I would never give my child in that manner, firstly I would want to visit the childminder home to see how she lives and who else lives there. Whether it is clean and how safe is the environment, the resources she has and what practices are in place for the safety and well being of the child. A child is the most precious thing a parent can have. In my 24 years I did have another parent in 2015 who were seperated and I had a similar situation. She even mentioned that if she had seen that review she would not have considered me. That shows she could not be bothered even to read my reviews after contacting me from this website let alone visiting my home and checking out my paperwork. There are very responsible parents out there who are professionals and have given me excellent reviews. It is sad and disturbing when a parent I have hardly met gets so malicious and writes the most horrible things when she was at fault herself and all I was trying to do was to follow the Ofsted rules and protect myself. I do sympathise with parents who have demanding jobs and dont have time. That does not justify accusing another person to take over responsibilites without a signed Agreement or even getting paid. The safety of the Child is my priority and I will not break the rules no matter what. She did mention to me she was a lawyer and would have thought her word is law and can do and say whatever she likes and get me to agree to her account of details which is so not correct and untrue. I leave all parents reading this to judge for themselves and meeting me personally would know my standard of care I offer with all my paperwork to date in order and my professionalism as a childminder.
