Barbizon Modeling & Acting School

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
The material represented is not actually factual.  On three occasions a representative from Barbizon has informed me and my wife that we cannot transfer the file to the [redacted] location so my daughter can continue until the all monies have been paid.  The most recent contact was with one [redacted] who ended up hanging up on me during the course of the call.  She was emphatic that we could not continue classes until all monies were paid.  It would be nice if what Mr [redacted] states is true.  But the fact remains that we have been paying for a service that is materially not available to us.  We have made attempts in good faith to arrange for my daughter to continue her classes, however staff at Barbizon are not providing any method of access.  I have personally called 4 times and only 1 time have I reached a person directly.  All other times I have been specific in leaving my cell number as a call back number.  I have no messages from Barbizon.   The comments made by a Barbizon representative at the [redacted] location were instrumental in our decision to sign the contract.  She was a designated representative of Barbizon and acted on their behalf.  She obviously has signing authority.   Legal precedent supports my contention here.  At my convenience I have made an attempt before my response here to discuss this with Mr [redacted].  I have called during normal business hours (PDT)  and received no live person on the phone.  I have left my number for a return call.   
Regards,
[redacted]

I
do not want to go back and forth with he said she said.   Barbizon’s policy is to transfer students to
the closest Barbizon available after the request from the customer.  Payments continue monthly as were stated in the
enrollment agreement which customer has adhered to. 
I spoke to the Barbzon in Dallas and the classes are taught in the city
of Grapevine which is within 30 miles of Carrollton.  There are classes currently available along with a
brand new class that will be starting in April. 
We have done everything that was asked of us in accordance with the
enrollment agreement.  There is not much
more we can do to accomadate the situation.

Review: My daughter, [redacted], was signed up for classes in August 2014, which she recently completed. We are on a payment plan, and I have encountered several issues along the way with the billing and payment process.1. I was signed up for automatic payment. I sometimes receive a receipt by email, and I sometimes do not.2. In the event that my automatic payment is declined, I do not receive any type of notification for 2-3 weeks (a letter by mail). How am I supposed to set up an alternate payment within the 5-day grace period if I do not receive any type of notification for 2-3 weeks? A phone call or email would be appreciated at the time the payment declines!3. I have been attempting to get an account ledger with all charges and payments, since I have not received any type of statement since my payments began. Nobody at the class location can seem to help me with payment issues (changing automatic payment source, giving me an account ledger, etc). They direct me to corporate. I have tried contacting through Facebook, email, and via telephone, but I cannot get a response from anyone (I can provide proof of phone calls made and emails sent, if necessary).Desired Settlement: -I want any and all late fees reversed thus far. -I want notification within the grace period when an automatic payment declines so that I may resolve the issue. If I then fail to make the payment, I can understand receiving a late fee at that time.-I want a receipt emailed to me every time a payment posts, not just sometimes.-I want an account ledger detailing my opening balance, payments made, and current balance, as well as monthly statements from this point on.

Business

Response:

[redacted] a call has been put out to Mrs. [redacted]. I personally head up the in-house collection department and to my knowledge have never received a call from this customer. I am waiting for a return call so I can explain to her our collection procedures. To address her complaint: We use an outside company that processes all of our auto debits, as most companies do. Depending on the day the client chooses the Auto Debit is either processed on the 1st or the 15th of each month until the account is paid in full. One of the features that the processing company incorporates in their software is to automatically send an e-mail to the client when the credit card is authorized. If the credit card is declined we receive a report from the processing company and in turn must run the card manually from our office. If this is done then no e-mail is sent as that is not part of our procedure. If the credit card continues to decline over a weeks time we then issue an account past due letter that we mail out indicating that their credit card has been declined and a late fee added. It is up to the customer to make sure there are sufficient funds in their account so as the credit/debit card does not get declined. If there are insufficient funds in the account then the customer knows the card will be declined and should make the effort to rectify the problem before the late fee is added. Please feel free to contact me with further questions.

Review: I signed my daughter up on April 8, 2015 at the [redacted] location. When signing her up we informed Barbizon that we might be moving later that summer. We were told that we could transfer our daughter to the new location without any issues. Upon moving to [redacted] we were told that my daughter could not continue classes until the contract was paid in full. We were 3 months into a 12 month contract and my daughter will have to wait 9 months to continue classes.

Attempts to contact this company have been frustrating. Multiple messages have been left. Initially my wife was able to talk to one lady and this is where the information came from. Repeated attempts to get more information have been fruitless until by luck I called one evening and a lady answered the phone. This person was rude and ended up hanging up on me. In the [redacted] area there are supposed to be 2 locations. We have been informed that the location closest to us has been closed permanently. Now IF they allow my daughter to continue her classes, we will have to drive 60 miles one way for her to continue.Desired Settlement: With a clear misrepresentation of the contract, Barbizon failed to identify the terms by which my daughter could continue classes. Additionally there is no representation by which one could reasonably expect a family to be bound by the contract should there be a move involved. It is an unreasonable burden to require a family to drive 60 miles one way for classes. We have paid for 9 months to date with my daughter attending only 2 and a half months of classes. I expect Barbizon to address this issue by 1 of 2 remedies.

1. Return all unused funds associated with this contract and terminate said contract with prejudice.

2. Make classes available to my daughter within a reasonable driving distance with full credit for classes taken and monies paid to Barbizon effective immediately.

Business

Response:

Customer’s Statement of the Problem:

I signed my daughter up on April 8, 2015 at the [redacted]

, ** location. When signing her up we informed Barbizon that we might be moving

later that summer. We were told that we could transfer our daughter to the new

location without any issues. This is in fact true as Barbizon

students can transfer between different Barbizon locations. Upon moving to [redacted] we were told that

my daughter could not continue classes until the contract was paid in full. This is not true.

The Barbizon of [redacted]’s program is

approximately 7 months long. Classes meet

every other weekend for 4 hours each.

The curriculum is comprised of 28 (2) hour sessions with students taking

(2) sessions per weekend. With regards to the monthly payments, Barbizon has three options. 1. Tuition can be paid in full at start date,

2. Tuition can be broken up into 6 monthly payments so tuition is paid in full

at completion of program and 3. Tuition can be paid over an extended period of

time to lower the monthly payment. If

option 3 is chosen students attends all regular classes except for their photo

shoot and graduation which they will complete once their tuition is paid in

full as stated in the enrollment agreement.

Parents were told that student files would be transferred to the closest

Barbizon however monthly payments would need to be continued to be made to the

Barbizon of [redacted] on a monthly bases since that’s what is stated in their

agreement. They were never told that

they had to pay it off before attending classes. We were 3 months into a 12 month contract and

my daughter will have to wait 9 months to continue classes. Attempts to contact

this company have been frustrating. Multiple messages have been left. Initially

my wife was able to talk to one lady and this is where the information came

from. I am in the office Monday – Thurs from 9:00am

-4:00pm at which time the office manager comes in and is here until

9:00pm. The only day we are closed is

Friday’s as we are also open on Saturday’s and Sundays. With that said I am not sure why they had

trouble getting in contact with someone at Barbizon. Even if we step out we have an answering

service and return all calls promptly.

Repeated attempts to get more information have been fruitless until by

luck I called one evening and a lady answered the phone. This person was rude

and ended up hanging up on me. In the [redacted] area there are supposed

to be 2 locations. We have been informed that the location closest to us has

been closed permanently. Now if they allow my daughter to continue her classes,

we will have to drive 60 miles one way for her to continue. Barbizon is a franchise and each location is independently

owned and operated. The Barbizon of

[redacted] has no control over where other schools have their locations. When we talk about transferring students we

inform them that we will transfer them to the closest Barbizon based on where

they are moving to.

Desired Settlement:

With a clear misrepresentation of the contract, Barbizon failed to identify the

terms by which my daughter could continue classes. There was no mis-representation

on behalf of Barbizon. As the customer

stated they might be moving later in

the summer. This was not definite nor

did we mislead as we stated we would transfer their daughter to the closest

Barbizon. Based on the signed enrollment agreement there

is no refund. There is actually a

balance still pending of approximately $522.

If customer would like to discuss the remaining balance we can do so at

their convenience. Additionally

there is no representation by which one could reasonably expect a family to be

bound by the contract should there be a move involved. It is an unreasonable

burden to require a family to drive 60 miles one way for classes. We have paid

for 9 months to date with my daughter attending only 2 and a half months of

classes. I expect Barbizon to address this issue by 1 of 2 remedies. 1. Return

all unused funds associated with this contract and terminate said contract with

prejudice. 2. Make classes available to my daughter within a reasonable driving

distance with full credit for classes taken and monies paid to Barbizon

effective immediately.[redacted]

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

The material represented is not actually factual. On three occasions a representative from Barbizon has informed me and my wife that we cannot transfer the file to the [redacted] location so my daughter can continue until the all monies have been paid. The most recent contact was with one [redacted] who ended up hanging up on me during the course of the call. She was emphatic that we could not continue classes until all monies were paid.