Childminders’ focus

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By Allison Leechildminder, author and tutor.

Allison Lee offers advice on being wary of scams, how to deal with a parent who is always late in collecting their child, and provides some activities to get the children active

Expert advice

Scam alert!

There are many different types of scams that you should be aware of. However an important rule to remember if you do not feel comfortable about something, is to stay on your guard. One particular scam that has recently been ‘doing the rounds’, and one that I myself have been personally targeted with, is through the emailing of an enquiry from a potential customer currently living abroad and looking for childcare in the UK. If contacted childminders appear to be able to help the person carrying out the scam, the ‘parent’ will eventually try to extort money from them. This is usually performed by the ‘parent’ sending a deposit cheque for too much money and requesting the childminder to refund the difference. However, once the childminder has refunded the ‘difference’, the parent’s original cheque bounces.

If you are concerned about any scams, contact Consumer Direct on 0845 404 0506 or online at Consumer Direct You can also obtain the booklet, How to Recognise a Scam, available from the Office of Fair Trading, by calling 0800 389 3158.

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