SPH Welding and Fabrication Inc.

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/07/08) */
[redacted]
Re: Response to Case # [redacted] : [redacted]
First of all let me start by stating I am not a Business, Corporation, or Organization. I am a trained certified...

coach in MMA. I am not the owner of a commercial property for the purpose of operating a registered business. I rent a loft in the top half of a commercial building for the purpose of training interested individuals on a personal level in MMA. I rent the loft and offer a variety of MMA classes. I am a very small scale "Personal Trainer" not a Mixed Martial Arts School.
On or around [redacted] Ms. [redacted] came into my Loft inquiring about purchasing some MMA training for her partner. I advised her at that time that my fee is $60/mthly for training. She advised me at that time that her partner currently has a membership at a registered gym here in the city and would not be interested in starting with me for approximately one month. I advised her that she could wait and pay me once he started his training with me; however, she wanted to "surprise" her spouse and have his training already paid for. I advised Ms. [redacted] then that I usually get paid once an individual starts with me however, I would make an exception in this case and allow her to pay me now and her partner could start in a month. She paid me my required fee of $60 and discussed the different types of training I offer and class times. I issued her a receipt and we agreed that since this is not a normal process for me and that there are no refunds on fees if he does not enjoy the type of training I provide that we would treat the advanced fee as a "gift certificate". As Ms. [redacted] stated in her complaint she was never "told" of any refund policy nor did she ask what the policy was, the only agreement we had "verbally" was "Can I pay you now and my partner start in a month". Throughout the month of [redacted] and [redacted] Ms. [redacted] and I tried to set up an "orientation" class for her partner to start his training, however, Ms. [redacted]'s partner's schedule did not correspond with any of the class times that were on my schedule and wanted me to switch around my class times to accommodate his schedule. I advised her that this is not possible as I have several other people that I train and the class schedule was given to her as well as on my "[redacted]" page (not my business website referred to in her complaint).
After going back and forth with Ms. [redacted] over class times for her partner and trying to work with them to get the best possible result for them I offered that if her partner could not make any of the class times that anyone they knew and who would be interested in MMA training could use the months training if she wished to gift it to someone else. They were not happy with this [redacted] demanding their money back. I responded to her and advised her that I would not be issuing a refund as I have tried to accommodate them as best I could but she paid for a month's training without considering work/personal schedules and then [redacted] they wanted a refund. I advised Ms. [redacted] that we agreed the advanced payment would be considered a 'gift certificate". I still wanted to try and resolve this matter amicably and suggested to Ms. [redacted] that she give the training to someone else to use. She did not want to do this so I simply advised her I would not be issuing a refund to her as it's her responsibility to review the class schedule and times to ensure this meets her partner's needs. I am not responsible to change around my whole schedule and class times and the classes of all my other clients to accommodate her partner's schedule. I felt this was very fair and reasonable on my part. I did respond to Ms. [redacted]'s text message on my personal cell phone on [redacted] and advise her of my position on the matter. I did not feel the need to continue back and forth with Ms. [redacted]'s [redacted] via text messaging which is why I stopped responding to her text messages.
The nature of this complaint is simple, Ms. [redacted] paid for MMA training for her spouse without consulting with him whether or not he even wanted to participate in this type of training, without ensuring that class times meet his needs and it was when my schedule didn't meet his schedule that she expected me to change around all my classes for all my other clients to accommodate her spouse. She stated she is requesting a refund as her or her partner will not be using my services[redacted] she decided on [redacted] that her spouse's schedule is just not going to work with mine and "SHE" requested a refund, that's when she decided not to use my services, [redacted] I truly believe I have tried my best to resolve this situation amicably with Ms. [redacted].
Sincerely,
[redacted]