The call comes after the watchdog criticised a Leicestershire nursery chain for charging parents a “top-up fee” for parents of children entitled to free hours.
Currently all three-to four-year-olds in England are entitled to 15 hours a week free childcare, which rises to 30 hours for children of the same age of working parents.
But the ombudsman found that Kiddi Caru nursery in Market Harborough, Leicestershire, was charging parents the difference between the amount they were being paid by Leicestershire County Council for the places and the amount they charged private customers.
The ombudsman's investigation follows a complaint raised by a parent who said he was paying an extra £1.08 an hour for 30 hours “that should have been free”, said the ombudsman. Over a year the family involved in the complaint were found to have been overcharged by around £900.
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