The richest country in the world where working parents struggle everyday – even before the pandemic – to figure out child care.

My child has been going to the same facility since May. Depending on the season, it is either a camp or a remote learning and after school site. Some working parents have jobs where remote work is not an option in a pandemic.

I have had a flex account for dependent care for the past three years. Every single time I get paid, money is pulled from my paycheck to be used for childcare expenses. It’s supposed to help with taxes and give you more in pocket money. What the advertisements don’t tell you though is that at least one company hires people that actually try to prevent you from getting your own money back.

I just got off the phone with some irritated representative who didn’t want to hear from me. And I get that everyone is freaking stressed right now. So, representative from a company that literally makes its money off of other people’s hard work, here’s some advice: Don’t presume that people filing claims are trying to steal from you when you already have their money.

The representative tried to tell me that the claim was rejected because it said remote learning. I told her that I have been filing remote learning/ after school care since August. She needed me to “clarify” where the remote learning took place. I told her it was where the claim form stated – since it has a teeny tiny box for facility name and address. It also requires two signatures for a claim (as proof that the child was at the facility) – one from a childcare worker and one from me.

Is this rep an idiot? Or is the organization actively trying to hold onto other people’s money for as long as possible to increase their own profits? I filed the claim a week ago by fax. Usually it takes two days before the money gets to my account – which in my mind is two days too long. It’s my money after all, that I earned. And it gets pulled from my paycheck immediately.

These organizations only exist because this country isn’t committed to caring for its own children. They don’t deserve anybody’s money and they certainly don’t deserve to hold up the process for working parents. But they do because they can. In America, even when you are “lucky” enough to have an employer that offers dependent care benefits, you still get ripped off. The companies only exist to reap profit at the expense of others (and they don’t pay you to investigate and fix their mistakes).

How much more profit did that company make by sitting on my money for five extra days before I called? And how many other people have they done this to?