Magic Mountain Reviews (%countItem)
Magic Mountain Rating
Address: 2868 Main Street, Airdrie, Alberta, Canada, T4B 3G4
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Address: 2868 Main Street, Airdrie, Alberta, Canada, T4B 3G4
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On March 12, 2020 Magic Mountain Sierra Spring Daycare in Airdrie, Alberta sent an email to parents with the following statement “***”
On March 15, 2020 Magic Mountain sent a communication to parents that effective March 16, 2020, all daycares closed across the province of Alberta until further noticed due to the global COVID-19 pandemic.
In an email to parents on March 17, 2020 Magic Mountain stated that for March 2020 fees “Once we reopen we will credit returning parents with the portion of the fees they have paid to us for the last half of March (March 16-31).”; it also stated that in regards to April fees “We will NOT be charging fees for April unless we are able to reopen then.”
Per the Magic Mountain withdrawal policy, I sent an email on March 31, 2020 to withdraw my child from the daycare, giving the one month notice as required. My withdrawal notice was accepted in writing. I was not charged for April 2020 fees (per the email from Magic Mountain on March 17).
I then inquired on how I would receive a refund for the March 16-31 fees, as I am not a ‘returning parent’. The total fees for March 2020 were $1,035, the unused portion is $517.50. The daycare refused a cheque or cash refund, and only is offering a credit towards a future month. I asked “***” via email if the owners would be available for a phone call, as the day care centre was closed, and with social distancing requirements this seemed like a reasonable request given the pandemic. *** informed me that I would not be able to have a conversation with the owners regarding this matter. Typically, it is the job of an owner of a business to return customers calls when there is a concern, or when requested by the customer. Instead this company hid behind an email, and a decision they made arbitrarily, and not in accordance with any written policy of their organization.
Magic Mountain has an extensive on-boarding package; including a 58 page Parent Handbook. Nowhere in the paperwork I initially signed when enrolling at Magic Mountain does it outline this scenario. These are exceptional circumstances, and I expect a refund, as I am not a ‘returning parent’.
An insight into how this company runs:
I would like to point out that on March 5, 2020 Magic Mountain gave a fee increase notice to their clients. As Magic Mountain later stated in a March 6, 2020 email “***”
It is important to note, I was understanding and did not object to this obvious lack of protocol for notice, and instead, provided the organization with understanding and grace.
Also, no where in the handbook (that Magic Mountain has the opportunity to dictate and curate) does it speak to pandemic situations (or sudden closures) in regards to fees. As this is unprecedented, I would assume there would be more grace for this type of situation.
Further, I defer to Magic Mountain's philosophy found on their website:
***”
By the owner(s) not communicating and refusing to take a phone call; as a consumer, this feels in contrast with Magic Mountain’s philosophy found on their website.
As I am not a ‘returning parent’, (as stated in Magic Mountain’s March 17 email), I am seeking a cash refund of $517.50 for the balance of March 2020 childcare fees.
Hello Revdex.com,
Thank you for reaching out. Please note I have *** the documentation and formal responses given to the complainant and to our parents on the matter of March refunds, which occurred due to us (and every daycare in Alberta) being shut down on March 15th, 2020, by Government Order, due to COVID-19.Also note that the complainant states that they gave notice on March 31st of their withdraw. Giving withdraw notice does not entitle them to receive a credit back for fees paid PRIOR to their withdraw notice. Our policy, signed by each family upon registration (including the complainant), is that we require 1 Calendar Month's notice of withdraw or they will continue to be charged for child care as normal. Given the shut down we waived that policy for April, in the email that went out on March 17th, when we said we would not be charging anyone for April unless we were permitted to reopen by then (which we were not). The decision to refund fees for the half of March that we were forced to shut down was not financially viable, nor was it something required by Alberta Children's Service. In fact, many daycare's continued to charge fees for April and months onward inorder for parents to hold their child's spot, while other daycares decided not to charge going forward but also not to refund OR credit parents for the half of March that the daycare was forced to close. We took what we felt was a fair approach and offered a credit to our families which is still very financially expensive for us but we felt was fair given the unrepresented situation. ***
Please reach out to me should you have any further questions.
Hello ***,
Thank you for reaching out. I do believe we have been clear on our policy regarding this matter. Also, you have discounted the rest of the response that we gave, particularly that this is a comon and legal stance that daycares across the province have taken and that your withdraw notice came at the end of March. We did not charge you for April but we are not refunding the credit we decided to give to parents after the COVID shut down for half of March. We have clearly stated that the credit will remain on your account, in the event you ever return to Magic Mountain. We are sorry that you disagree with our stance on this but as noted in the PDF *** previously, we have said that we will revisit this once the COVID orders come off and things return to normal. That PDF is not dated as we have simply requested our Directors give it to parents who inquire on this matter, it is not something that has been emailed to all parents but rather is shared with parents that specifically reach out for further clarification on the March refund. If you did not receive it, you should have and now you do, so we ask that you read it carefully. As per that letter, in the event we adjust our refund policy as it pertains to the COVID shut down in March, we will be in contact with you at that time. As for a timeline, I expect it will not be until the fall but as stated it will depend when all the COVID orders come off, which is in the hands of the Government.
Sincerely,
Magic Mountain
Complaint: ***
I am rejecting this response because:
June 4, 2020To ***, Revdex.com:Thank you for forwarding the response from Magic Mountain
Day Care.Firstly a policy is something that is pre-determined. As stated more than once, there is nothing in
the signed contract (handbook), but rather
just an email answer to my refund question. A policy is set of ideas or a plan of what to do
in particular situations that has been agreed to officially by a group of people, a business organization etc.I will point out, that what you have discounted is that I had
requested owners to speak with me directly on this matter, several times, and
it took getting the Revdex.com involved to commence a dialogue.I am not contesting April fees, it is of no consequence to
this complaint. I gave 30 days notice, the day care was closed, no fees were
paid for the month of April.I also understand that my Mar 31, 2020 notice does not entitle
a retroactive refund. The wording in
Magic Mountain “policy”; I’ll use the March 17th email wording in
lieu of an actual “policy”. “Once we reopen we will credit returning
parents with the portion of the fees they have paid to us for the last half
of March (March 16-31).” As
previously stated I am not a returning parent, I do not meet that
definition, as I am not returning at any time in the future. No where in the “policy” or email does it
address non returning parents. Thus seek
a refund for the last half of March in the amount of $517.50.Sincerely,***
Sincerely