Dartford mum given £17 bill three years after sudden closure of YMCA Oakfield Nursery

A mum was left shocked after receiving a £17 bill “out of the blue” from a nursery her child went to before it closed suddenly - three years ago.

Kelly Cattermole's daughter Holly was left without a nursery place for months due to the sudden closure of the YMCA’s Oakfield Nursery in Dartford in 2023.

On March 20 of that year, she received an email saying March 31 would be its last day.

It meant her daughter, who was four at the time, had nowhere to go between Easter and September, when she started primary school.

It read: "The increased cost of living, coupled with a severe shortage of childcare staff, means we’re no longer financially able to cover the costs of offering this service.

"Government-funding rates – the amount we receive as a business for the ‘free’ places we offer – fall very short of covering our basic costs, and because of the lack of staff available, we’ve been forced to use agency workers, which substantially increases our costs."

Kelly said she had not heard anything from Oakfield until receiving a “threatening” email from the YMCA last Monday (February 16).

It read: “We notice from our records that your account is in arrears of £17.25 in debit.

“Under the terms of the Childcare Agreement, fees are to be paid, in advance, on the first day of the month. You are required to make payment in full.”

It added: “We must notify you that if payment is not received by February 27 or a payment plan is not agreed then we may seek legal action to recover the debt.”

Kelly described the message as “insulting”, explaining: “I think it's really disgusting the way everything was handled and then to get a threatening email saying there'll be legal action if I don't pay it.

“It's not even a month's notice. It's not even that much but I feel like it's insulting. It's the principle as well.

“I don't know what I paid for years ago, my bills were always up to date and if there were outstanding bills it probably would have been due to the circumstances as it all finished so abruptly and so badly.

“After three years of no communication, I think it’s ridiculous.”

Holly, now seven, is in Year 2 at primary school but Kelly is still in contact with another mum who says she received the same bill last week.

“I just thought it was a bit of a cheek,” she added. “It was just via email and some people don't even use their emails.

“I think it would have been a cheek any time after, but to just leave it till three years later, it was a bit out of the blue, really.

“I think it's a bit cold. Part of me just wants to say, ‘No, sorry, you're not getting your money’.”

When contacted by KentOnline, the YMCA apologised and admitted automated emails had been “mistakenly issued” to a small number of people.

A spokesperson said: “We apologise for any concern and upset caused to parents who received emails about historic YMCA Oakfield Nursery balances, and we are committed to resolving remaining matters fairly and sensitively.

“Following the nursery’s closure in 2023, a small number of legacy accounts remained on our system. As part of a routine financial review, automated emails were mistakenly issued regarding these balances.

“We recognise that the timing and tone of these messages - especially references to potential legal action - were inappropriate given the circumstances and the time that has passed.

“These emails should not have been sent in this way. We are reviewing our internal processes to ensure this does not happen again and will be contacting those affected directly to apologise and clarify the situation.”

When the nursery announced it was closing three years ago, Kelly set up a petition in the hope of raising awareness and finding an alternative to having it close down. It received almost 500 signatures.

But, the decision was ultimately made to shut the site, despite being mid-way through the school year.

The nursery was rated “Good” in its last Ofsted inspection in October 2022. At the time, it had 38 children on its roll.

The mum, who has two other children, Jake and Sophie, said: “My point at the time was, why couldn’t they have just kept it open until the kids finished?

“As well as my child, I knew of at least one or two other children that did not have anywhere to go, because people pick nurseries based on location and accessibility.

“Holly didn't end up going anywhere at all. She was just at home with my mum so she lost a lot of social learning.

“Thankfully my daughter's doing alright at school now but I think she lost a lot of social learning. It was a tough time.”