Bedford Yoga Center

Thank you for providing us with the opportunity to address the complaint that Mrs. [redacted] has filed, it is important for us to hear and we strive to be our very best.  We have reviewed the...

information provided and would like to again apologize for the inconvenience this has caused.  Mrs. [redacted] was offered the opportunity to complete the last 19 hours of instructional training of our 200 hour teacher training program at our studio or to complete this training on her own as a self study, she declined both offers. The training began in September, 2015 and graduated on May 8, 2016. A full refund is not available, as we required a $500 non-refundable deposit and Mrs. [redacted] did complete over 85% of the training. After much consideration we are offering a refund of the last seventeen hours of instruction for April 8-10, plus an additional 2 hours of our final instruction on May 6, of our 200 hour teacher training program of which 167 hours are contact hours.  She attended over 85% of the course and learned from a wide and diverse group of guest teachers. Shortly before she discontinued the course, she completed a survey giving her an opportunity to state any grievances about our program, she did not have any. We are refunding Mrs. [redacted]  $228, which is 19 (19 hours of instructional time) x $12 (the amount of $1980 which was her total cost to attend our training divided by 167 contact hours, or $12/instructional hour). Thank you for allowing us to respond.

Thank you for providing us with the opportunity to address the complaint that Mrs. [redacted] has filed, it is important for us to hear and we strive to be our very best.  We have reviewed the information provided and would like to again apologize for the inconvenience this has caused.  Mrs. [redacted] was offered the opportunity to complete the last 19 hours of instructional training of our 200 hour teacher training program at our studio or to complete this training on her own as a self study, she declined both offers. The training began in September, 2015 and graduated on May 8, 2016. A full refund is not available, as we required a $500 non-refundable deposit and Mrs. [redacted] did complete over 85% of the training. After much consideration we are offering a refund of the last seventeen hours of instruction for April 8-10, plus an additional 2 hours of our final instruction on May 6, of our 200 hour teacher training program of which 167 hours are contact hours.  She attended over 85% of the course and learned from a wide and diverse group of guest teachers. Shortly before she discontinued the course, she completed a survey giving her an opportunity to state any grievances about our program, she did not have any. We are refunding Mrs. [redacted]  $228, which is 19 (19 hours of instructional time) x $12 (the amount of $1980 which was her total cost to attend our training divided by 167 contact hours, or $12/instructional hour). Thank you for allowing us to respond.

I have reviewed the response offer 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.
I am refusing the offer from Mrs. Maxwell at the Bedford Yoga Center for the following reasons:The course is a 200 hour Teacher Training course that is required to receive Credentialing fromthe Yoga Alliance to teach Yoga. I signed up for this course so that I could teach yoga and usethe credentialing to augment and increase my offerings in my profession. The classes weredivided up into 9 weekends of which I had completed 7. She states that I had completed 85% ofthe program, however NONE of that is transferable or usable at any other school or in any otherway. In order for me to obtain my credentialing for Yoga Alliance I am having to take a different200 hour teacher training and pay for that training in full.I came to Mrs. Maxwell on the evening of April 4th seeking help, clarity and understanding of thecoursework and assignments. I had full intention of completing the entire program, until Mrs.Maxwell became very upset and unprofessional. She of her own will offered the refund for theentire amount and after some discussion I agreed to take her up on her offer for the refundthereby entering into a verbal agreement with her on Monday April 4th, 2016 that she wouldbring me a check for the entire refund the next day.She states that she offered me the opportunity to return to the training or to complete through aself study. On April 5th she called to apologize for her behavior on April 4th and then she beganto Yell so loudly on the phone that the people in the house with me could hear her clearly. Again,the only reason that I did not complete the training was because of Mrs. Maxwells loss oftemper, insulting and demeaning comments, yelling, telling me she was talking to me like shewould talk to a child, and telling me to “quit acting like a victim.” This created a space that washostile and not conducive to learning. No! There is no way any one in their right mind couldsubject themselves to an environment so unprofessional and hostile. As far as a self study goes- I didn’t pay to have a self study. I paid to have a teacher who could help through the processof learning and guide me if I needed support.In that conversation, April 5th, she again agreed to give me a refund but for the lessor amount of$1480 leaving out the $500 deposit. She failed to keep her verbal agreement to bring it thatevening stating that she would mail it to me. On Friday April 8th, 2016 I had not received hercheck so I called her and asked her and she told me that she wasn’t giving me a refund and thatshe had been advised to not even talk to me, BUT that I should come to class. Three times shebroke her agreements to refund the money the for cost of the training. Verbal agreements arelaw in Virginia and I expect her to keep her word.No where in her flyer or sign up forms did it ever say that $500 deposit was non refundable. Itwas only after paying the $500 and applying did I receive an acceptance letter that said it wasnon-refundable. The total amount I paid her for this training was $1980. She made a verbalagreement on April 4th, 2016 with me to refund the entire fee. She offered the refund withoutany request from me and I accepted because it was clear to me that the 7 months I hadinvested into her training were now at a waste due to her unprofessional behavior and that Iwould have to take the training again. I have since since been accepted into another teachertraining which cost $2100 plus lodging. If Mrs. Maxwell can not keep to her own offerings andagreements then I will have no choice but to take her to court.
Regards,
[redacted]

Review: During a conversation on Monday April 4th 2016 Helen Maxwell, the Owner and Lead instructor of the Bedford Yoga Center Teacher Training that I have been participating in, became extremely and disproportionately upset and began saying many unprofessional things and then offered me a refund for the teacher training. I at first argued this because I had really enjoyed the train up that point. Then I accepted her offer of a refund. She then said she wasn't going to give me a full refund and I replied with then Ill just take the class at which time she yelled across the parking lot she would give the full refund and have it to me by the next day. On Tuesday April 5th she called and profusely apologized and then said she wasn't going to give me a refund at all and asked me to return to the training. I asked her to think about how she would feel if she were in my shoes and her teacher had just yelled at her and said belittling things about her, could she honestly put herself to be under the direction of that teacher anymore. She then began to raise her voice on the phone again and told me to quite acting like a victim. I was at my office at the time and my two other co-workers could hear her yelling over the phone and the things she was saying. At the end of that conversation we had agreed that she would keep the deposit of $500 and refund me the $1480.00. She said she would bring it that night. She never came, I texted her and she said the next day would be better and she would either bring it by or drop it in the mail. I waited until Friday April 8th, 2016 to contact her to see if she mailed the check. When I called she proceeded to tell me that she wasn't going to refund me any money and that she couldn't talk to me that I was to big of a distraction for her she did however to invite me attend the teacher training which started that night for the April session. I told her there was no way I could attend that she had created and environment of hostility and disrespect. she has made noDesired Settlement: She has made no attempt to contact me to rectify the situation. I would like the $1980. I had agreed to the $1480 because I wanted to settle the situation quickly and amicably. I will still accept this amount if I have to. Payments are fine. The simple fact is that none of the time I spent in her training is transferable so I have to take the entire training again somewhere else which will cost me more and more time.

Business

Response:

Thank you for providing us with the opportunity to address the complaint that Mrs. [redacted] has filed, it is important for us to hear and we strive to be our very best. We have reviewed the information provided and would like to again apologize for the inconvenience this has caused. Mrs. [redacted] was offered the opportunity to complete the last 19 hours of instructional training of our 200 hour teacher training program at our studio or to complete this training on her own as a self study, she declined both offers. The training began in September, 2015 and graduated on May 8, 2016. A full refund is not available, as we required a $500 non-refundable deposit and Mrs. [redacted] did complete over 85% of the training. After much consideration we are offering a refund of the last seventeen hours of instruction for April 8-10, plus an additional 2 hours of our final instruction on May 6, of our 200 hour teacher training program of which 167 hours are contact hours. She attended over 85% of the course and learned from a wide and diverse group of guest teachers. Shortly before she discontinued the course, she completed a survey giving her an opportunity to state any grievances about our program, she did not have any. We are refunding Mrs. [redacted] $228, which is 19 (19 hours of instructional time) x $12 (the amount of $1980 which was her total cost to attend our training divided by 167 contact hours, or $12/instructional hour). Thank you for allowing us to respond.