Step on Stage Dance Company

I have enrolled my daughter (11 years old) at hiphop classes on Mondays and street jazz classes on Wednesdays at this dance studio, in August 2015. I payed with pre-dated monthly cheques from August 2015 until May 2016 ($70/month both classes). My daughter got bored at hip hop last December 2015, so the owner and manager told me it was too late to reimburse me. At that time, I was ok with that because I wanted to hold my daughter at the street jazz classes, [redacted]. But late in February 2016, due to various different issues that took place througout the course of the months, my daughter and I decided that she was not going to continue at that studio. By then, I had already payed for 2 competitions and 2 full customs (over 300 dollars) on top of the upcoming months of March, April, May. The hip hop custom was never delived to me, and the street jazz one came missing a piece: a T-shirt that needed to be stamped. I told the owner/manager that I understood I couldn't be refunded by the competitions or customs though, and asked if she could at least reimburse me for the 3 upcoming months since I had already lost all the money payed for the hip hop. She said I signed a contract and I had to keep paying. I don't remember the contract because I've never been given a copy, however I do remember signing a paper at the date of the enrolment - that paper looked more like a form. [redacted]Desired SettlementI would like to be refunded for all the months I payed and my daughter didn't have class.Business Response [redacted]In response to the above complaint. When I was first told about a possible problem with the Hip Hop class I offered another Hip Hop class for her to try. She decided not to try it after coming to watch a class. She continued in the Hip Hop class and was present on January 4, 2016. I then received a phone call on January 11, 2016, stating she was not able to continue in the Hip Hop Class but would be staying in the Street Jazz class. I explained the refund policy which is discussed when everyone registers for class plus I have listed below the refund policy that is on our website www.steponstagedance.com under info.Refund Policy To receive a refund when a student is withdrawing from dance classes, notification is required one month by the 1st of the month, prior to the month involved. For example: if a student is not able to continue dancing in December, notification must be given by November 1st. Upon withdrawal all dance fees that have been paid past the month of withdrawal, will be refunded or any post-dated cheques will be destroyed. No Refunds will be given after January 1, therefore, you must give notice by December 1.Because I did not receive the phone call until January 11, 2016, there would be no refund. I discussed with the parent and also explained that the costumes of $160.00 and the competition fees of $72.00 (not over $300 dollars) could not be refunded as the competition fees are sent to the competition companies in November and are non-refundable and the costumes were ordered at the end of November and the companies will not refund the money. As far as the costumes go she can come and pick the costumes up at the studio as they are no use to me. I was not made aware of any other issues in late February, 2016. Her daughter continued to come to the Street Jazz classes and was present for class on March 9, 2016, was absent on March 16, 2016 and then I received a phone call on March 23, 2016, saying that her daughter had been ill. She said she would let me know if she was going to make it to the competition and I explained that her instructor would bring the rest of her costume if she was able to make it. She then asked about tickets for the Recital. She was not happy with our policy about ticket drop off and wanted to be guaranteed to have good seats, she felt I was not being fair to her [redacted], after explaining that I felt our system was fair for everyone, she said that if she would not have good seats there was no sense in her daughter continuing. I never heard from her again. She did not call again to let us know she was not continuing.Since then she has put a stop payment on her cheque for the May fees. So in closing, I am sorry she feels this way, but I do not feel I owe any refund as explained above. Once again if she would like to call and make arrangements to come and pick up her costumes she can do so.Consumer Response (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)The response is not satisfactory. First of all, the studio claims that they offered another hiphop class for my daughter to try it, but they didn't - it was me who asked for another class for her to try, which didn't work. Second, the studio didn't make it clear about the refund policy when we discussed the possibility of my daughter stopping with the hip hop in December, and I sincerely do not remember having read the 'refund policy' at her website. Third, as I had previously said, I am not asking for a refund for costumes and competitions. Finally, the studio claims to have explained that the instrutor would bring the rest of the costumes for competition into class at the moment I was calling to let them know that my daughter had been sick and couldn't make it to the class. The studio then stated that if I didn't go pick the costume my daughter wouldn't be part of the competition, and only maybe would participate of the recital. I [redacted] accepted it since I wouldn't be able to pick the costumes up in time for the competition and my daughter was sick anyway. Then it was when I asked the studio's owner for support in purchasing the 3 tickets for the recital ([redacted]). I asked her support on that because I had never been informed of such a system for purchasing tickets, and that system should have been explained to me at the time I enrolled my child into that studio. I argued that her system is unfair because 'forming a line' or droping off on a certain given Sunday does not state equal rights: whoever lines up first is given priority on the choice (and amount!) of the seats at the theatre for the day of the recital, but if by any circunstances a parent can't line up on that specific Sunday, then the parent may be left out with no tickets? I explained that I couldn't line up because I am a single parent who works on shifts and wouldn't be available on that Sunday she determined, but I thought even though I deserved the same right of other students' families of seeing my daughter at the recital on the theatre. Besides, I never asked for good seats - I only asked her help in guaranteeing 3 seats since the studio said that there was nothing she could do to guarantee I would have a seat! [redacted]