Master Cho's World Class Tae Kwon Do

Good Afternoon:I have finally received a phone call from one of the owners of the company and am happy to have a had much needed conversation with Mrs. C**. She proposed a great resolution that would benefit both the company as well as my child. And I would like to report that this complaint has been resolved. Thank you!

Hello,We do feel bad that you feel disappointed in our program. It is our number one priority to make sure that each of our students encounter achievement safely and effectively in their physical training, but more importantly, that they learn life skills such as self control, responsibility, and...

respect among others in a positive environment. In our program, it does take at least three years to achieve black belt level status, but it is not in any way a guarantee. The curriculum is very thorough, therefore is challenging, and most students (adult and children alike) take a bit longer than that to get to the black belt. Beginning at the red belt level, the curriculum is considered advanced and the requirements are higher than at any previous level. It takes a longer period between belts to "move up."  It is designed this way to continue to develop a student's physical, intellectual and emotional skill. It is not possible to predict exactly when black belt will be achieved even if all possible detriments are removed (missing classes due to sickness, injury, vacation or the like). As business owners and teachers we constantly monitor class size and provide appropriate staffing. We continuously train all our staff so that each attendee feels that they are developing and becoming better martial artists. We feel confident that our very experienced staff continues to deliver a safe and effective program, and that they deeply care about each of our students.The first I personally heard of any unrest you had with our program was through the Revdex.com. I do hope that you give us the opportunity to serve you and your daughter, and that we might be able to get her the black belt she has been working so hard for. It would be important for us to hear in what ways we can better your experience, and for us to have the opportunity to explain the ins and outs of the advanced levels.Please give us a call so we can schedule a time to work through the issues you have brought up. We would like you to be happy in your decision to have your daughter take classes from us, but understand if you no longer wish to have her continue.

Review: My 5 y/o daughter had joined the little tiger's classes at Master Cho's in March 2013. When I signed up, the lady representative did not mention anything about this being a "contract". She took my credit card and told me that this was a 10 month course after which my daughter would go on to the next level. At no point was I told that if a student did not like the quality of training, he/she had a fair right to withdraw from the course.My daughter told me she didn't like the classes as there were too many kids in each batch. I too noticed that in a 30 minute class my daughter had a 1 to 1 interaction with the instructor for no more than 4 minutes. So, we were literally paying $20 for a 30 minute session in which she got individual attention for 4 minutes.This month I was planning to relocate abroad and gave Master Cho's a notice to cancel my daughter's admission. Their billing company told me that there was no cancellation clause for international relocation or for a child who did not like the class training. My plans for relocating were canceled, but the billing company still sends me notices for payments even though my daughter is no longer attending these classes.My daughter is in swimming classes, pre-school classes and none of them have contracts. For Christ's sake, this is a hobby class for kids and not a car, credit card or mortgage loan. If my daughter does not like the quality of training, am I supposed to still forcefully send her to these classes for 10 months and keep paying them? There is "NO" cancellation clause for a student who is unsatisfied with the training.I request the Revdex.com to unbiasedly look into this so called "contract" where there is no "out" clause for bad quality of services rendered. Why should a 5 year old have to endure this training when she sincerely does not like it? Is this fair?Desired Settlement: I have already given a notice to Master Cho's to cancel my daughter's admission. Yet, I keep getting letters from their billing company, asking me to keep paying with interest due. I have paid in full for "all" the classes my daughter took and I would like my contract to be closed with no furher billing to be sent. I would also like Master Cho's to adopt fair business practices by making it possible for any student to withdraw from the classes if he/she is unhappy with the training quality.

Business

Response:

Thank you for your help in responding to this complaint. It came to our knowledge that [redacted] wished to cancel his one year agreement with us due to relocation. His wife signed the documents, choosing the twelve month option over the eight month option. After participating in the program from 3/12/13 to 6/6/13, after indicating a need for cancellation, he and his wife were explained the method for relocation cancellation, which was to supply proof of relocation by means of changed driver's license, utility bill, apartment lease paperwork, one-way travel documents, or the like. The following class, [redacted] wife supplied a personal letter written by her explaining the family's plans. She was explained the method again, by me personally, and in a very friendly fashion. Their daughter is well liked by our staff and the other children in the program, and there was no reason for me to believe that the family was unhappy with the program as their daughter smiled, worked hard and seemed to enjoy the classes. In total, the family brought their daughter to three "Saturday" classes which average eight kids per class, with three instructors, six "3:00/3:30" classes which average six kids per class, with three instructors, and five "5:30/6:10" classes which are most popular with an average of ten kids per class, four instructors. We realize that many parents would enjoy continuous one-on-one classes, but while we are teaching the basic martial art skills we are integrating social skills, classroom etiquette, and respect among peers - all of which require the presence of other children. We apologize for any inconvenience, but our cancellation policy is on the documentation signed by the [redacted] family (see attached document signed by [redacted]. We were more than willing to help them with this procedure, but they chose not to supply appropriate paperwork. Their personal letter is also attached. They are currently behind with our billing company, and we respectfully ask that if they do indeed need to cancel, that they follow through with appropriate paperwork swiftly, as late fees will accrue for unpaid dues. Our business practices are fair and concise, and we would like to be recognized as a business that is as such. [redacted]

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the 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.

[Provide details of why you are not satisfied with this resolution.]

Regards,

I have read the response from [redacted] from Master Cho's to my complaint and am not satisfied with their explanation. Here are the events that unfolded after I gave them a letter requesting cancellation on 6/6/2013.

1. The lady at the front desk told my wife that I would also need to talk to their billing company while they faxed the cancellation request.

2. Their billing company Affiliated Acceptance Corporation, told me that they have NO information and requirements regarding international relocation.

3. I call back Master Cho's to follow up and someone called [redacted] now tells me that I should submit an international air ticket.

Okay, now what is happening here? Your agreement mentions nothing about international relocation and only has provisions for domestic relocation within the contiguous United States. Even, your billing company had no idea what to do. So where did this new requirement for an international ticket arise from?

Finally, it is not for [redacted] to decide whether my daughter was happy or unhappy with the classes based on whether she was smiling or crying. My daughter came home and told me that she didn;t like the classes. Period. I don't send my kids to a place they don't feel comforatable at. My major concern is, why is there no provision in the agreement to withdraw and cancel if a student or parent is not satisfied with the quality of services rendered? This isn't a car or mortgage loan. This is a hobby class.

I believe I have paid for all the classes my daughter took and in case I have not paid for any classes, I will pay for those. But, I will not pay any late fees as I had provided sufficient notice. I once again, would like to remind this establishment that I want to take my daughter out of the classes because she doesn't like it. If, however, Master Cho's keeps talking about flight tickets etc to cancel, I will take this case to the FTC for unfair business practices within 7 days. My business legal team will take care of the issue. The matter is now for you to decide. I want Master Cho's to immediately cancel my so called hobby class "contract" with no way out for unsuspecting consumers. This is definitely an unfair business practice.

Thanking you,