When we first interviewed Alison we thought she was the answer to our prayers. Due to us needing only 21-25 hours per week and full time during nursery holidays, we have struggled to find someone wanting these hours. However, when Alison came along she seemed very enthusiastic about the hours and all our family had to offer.

Problems started to appear when we requested references and proof of qualifications. Given that all the nannies we engaged with were all looking for more hours than we could offer, Alison was our only realistic hope at this stage. However, I had a sinking feeling that something was a bit off with Alison. After we chased Alison a few times for the references, she put us in touch with a nanny agency to collect them, only to be told they didn't actually have the info we required or couldn't give it to us. I requested that Alison just put us directly in touch with the family she said she had been nanny to for the past 7 years.

I finally met with the mum from the family she worked for - who sung Alison's praises. I requested a face-to-face meeting with her, given my reservations about Alison. It was apparent that Alison had mislead us on the work she did for them. The work for this family was secondary to her main job in nurseries, non of which Alison mentioned to us and offered to provide details for a reference. This set alarm bells as we thought the nanny job was her only job. What was she hiding?

The family said she was never really the nanny as such as all the kids were in full-time school or nursery and Alison simply picked the kids up when the parents had to work late or the odd occasion of baby sitting. That wouldn't have mattered but it was a misrepresentation of her work.

She made us think she could prepare meals and had done for the family. What she actually did was heat up pre-prepared food if it was required. She also told us that she was leaving the family only because their needs had changed. This also wasn't true and she was not leaving them at all. The needs remained the same. However, since the family said Alison was great and really reliable, I decided to overlook these lies but I intended to address them with her to see why she had said these things. I understand she was probably economic with the truth to help her chances of getting the job but none of these things were deal-breakers so there really was no need to lie. So that made me nervous about what else she could be lying about. Why hadn't she provided details of the nurseries she had worked for?

To my amazement, Alison finally sent through some of the documents I had requested such as her PVG history and qualifications. She had told us she had a first aid qualification. She had one that expired a year ago! I thanked her for sending the info through, told her I had completed the reference with the family and asked if we could have a quick chat to discuss it all and finalise the arrangement. I got no reply at all. After 5 days I decided to text her instead. That was nearly 3 weeks ago and still no reply. I called the agency she mentioned to us and they said they have had exactly the same issues with her. She's enthusiastic to begin with, says she will take the job, then as soon as crunch time comes she goes silent. We are now in the position where we have no nanny and I will probably lose my job. Had I not wasted so much time on Alison I might have been in a better position.

It would be interesting to hear what the nurseries say about her. I wouldn't waste your time with the family reference. So if you're thinking about using Alison for childcare, be very careful. She will probably lie and let you down.

• Overall
• Communication