Kempo Academy of Fairfield

Consumer called trying to catch this complaint before it was processed, but it had been processedConsumer said company called them and the issues have been worked outClose complaint as resolved.Revdex.com *** ***

Consumer called trying to catch this complaint before it was processed, but it had been processedConsumer said company called them and the issues have been worked outClose complaint as resolvedRevdex.com *** ***

Review: My son started taking karate lessons at Kempo in the Fall of 2014. Prior to joining, we had a trial session where I met the owner & manager of Kempo Fairfield, Thomas [redacted] After learning that my son enjoyed the classes, I told Mr. W[redacted] that my son would like to continue karate, and was asked to complete a form with my credit card information so that they could automatically bill the classes. At that time I informed Mr. W[redacted] that we ski as a family in [redacted] all winter, and as such would only be attending lessons until Christmas, at which point we would withdraw our son from Kempo, and re-enroll him after ski season. Mr. W[redacted] said that would be fine, and to simply remind him at the appropriate time. At the conclusion of my son's final lesson, I approached Mr. W[redacted] and indicated that this was our son's last lesson as we would be spending every weekend & holiday in [redacted] until April & Mr W[redacted] stated that he would 'take care of it'.

We subsequently discovered that Kempo was offering a weekday lesson at my son's school thru the PTA's after school activities program. We paid for this instruction separately via the PTA. In early March, we began to get calls from school that our son was displaying inappropriate aggressive behavior, and had threatened to use Karate on other students and a teacher. We found this unacceptable, and immediately contacted Mr. W[redacted] via email describing the behavior and stating that we would be extending our son's separation from Kempo beyond the previously agreed upon ski season - to the end of the school year - at which point we would re-evaluate his maturity and behavior to determine if re-joining Kempo would be appropriate. Mr. W[redacted] called shortly after the email was sent, stated that he understood and would like me to bring my son to Kempo at some point for a discussion about aggressive behavior and inappropriate use of karate. He stated that even if we didn't feel that it would be appropriate for our son to re-join Kempo he would still like to speak with him about the behavior.

Unfortunately, as we were still in our busy ski season, Mr. W[redacted] and I were unable to schedule a mutually convenient time to bring my son in for a discussion.

At the conclusion of the school year, I again emailed Mr. W[redacted] and stated that while our son's behavior had improved slightly, we still felt that he is not mature enough to re-join Kempo. I also mentioned that I had just been revi[redacted] some credit card bills and noticed that Kempo had never stopped charging my credit card $198.00 each month. Each month was pre-paid, but my card was charged after my December conversation with Mr. W[redacted] regarding withdrawing my son for the winter. It was charged again in January, February, March, April & May.

In response to this email, I was contacted by a [redacted] who claims to be the manager of Kempo Fairfield. Prior to Mr. [redacted] response, I have never had any contact with anyone other than Mr. W[redacted]. I eventually was able to get in contact with Mr. [redacted] by phone and was told that Mr. W[redacted] would not be available at any point to discuss this matter and I would be dealing solely with Mr. [redacted]. Mr. [redacted] proceeded to tell me that he has no intention of reversing any of the charges as I was required to provide written notice before they could stop billing. I stated that this was unacceptable, and Mr. [redacted] stated that I had signed a form that indicating that withdrawal requests must be in writing and therefore my conversation with Mr. W[redacted] - who presented himself as owner and manager of Kempo Fairfield - was insufficient to stop billing. He also stated that my emails and conversations with Mr. W[redacted] in March were also insufficient. He did, however, state that as a result of our conversation we would no longer be billed moving forward. At this point I became concerned about the legitimacy of Mr. [redacted] & W[redacted]'s intentions and stated that I would summarize the situation via email, hand deliver a copy of the email & send a copy of the email via certified mail. I also asked that a copy of the contract be made ready for me to pickup when I hand delivered the email. I delivered the email directly to Mr. [redacted], who stated that he did not have the contract available for my review at that time.

Mr. [redacted] contacted me again via email asking if I would like a copy of the contract sent via email or the US postal service. He also offered to respond to the concerns I had stated in the letter I sent via email, hand delivery and certified mail. I stated that I would appreciate a scanned copy sent ASAP, and a fully executed hard copy be sent to my home by mail. I also indicated that I did expect a response to the concerns stated in my letter.

Mr. [redacted] declined to respond to the email, and contacted me via phone the following day. At this point the pattern started to become completely clear, and it was obvious as the conversation went on that Mr. [redacted] was going to avoid making any further statements in writing. At no point after completing the Kempo enrollment form last fall have I ever been provided with a copy of the document. At present, I am waiting for Mr. [redacted] to deliver a copy via email or [redacted]. During this conversation he expanded on the previously stated requirement that withdrawl requests needed to be in writing and stated that email was unacceptable and such requests also required 30 days notice. Despite repeated requests, Mr. [redacted] refused to allow me to discuss the situation with Mr. W[redacted] - with whom I had all prior interactions and represented himself as owner and manager of Kempo Fairfield.

It would appear to me that these actions have been calculated and acted upon in concert between Mr. W[redacted] and Mr. [redacted] to unjustly retain nearly $1200. Mr. [redacted] claims that Mr. W[redacted] has no recollection of our conversations in September & December of 2014, and further states that my email on March 17, 2015 stating our intention to make the separation longer, or quite possibly permanent, did not meet the terms Kempo requires to withdraw. During the multiple conversations regarding my son's withdrawal from Kempo, never once did Mr. W[redacted] indicate that he would need anything in writing to complete the process. Mr. W[redacted] clearly misled me to believe that my son was un-enrolled and I would no longer be charged. He continued to perpetrate this charade during our conversations in March, and now that I've made the request for a refund Mr. W[redacted] is suddenly unwilling to speak with me at all, and I've only been able to deal with Mr. [redacted] as described above.Desired Settlement: Refund of charges totaling $1188 to my [redacted].

Consumer

Response:

Consumer called trying to catch this complaint before it was processed, but it had been processed. Consumer said company called them and the issues have been worked out. Close complaint as resolved.Revdex.com [redacted]