The Musicians Learning Center

I was charged $120 for four lessons after my last lesson. When deciding to discontinue lessons with them, I was informed that they do not give refundsI took 8 lessons that I paid for up front through a special promotion. After completing those lessons, I was presented a charge for $120 for eight additional lessons, one which I had just completed and three other future lessons. I did not ask to pay for four lessons at a time, I was just presented a credit card charge for four lessons. At the time, I didn't think much of it as I assumed I would continue classes. However, I decided to continue classes online, so I contacted the Musicians Learning Center and informed them of my decision, asked them to cancel my class scheduled for December 1st and asked them to refund the unused portion of the $120 to my credit card via email.I received the following response: Hi[redacted], It is studio policy that we do not give refunds for lessons once they are paid for. We can keep it on file until a later date if you wish, or you can just finish up the 3 lessons with [redacted] now. I'm sorry if this inconveniences you, but it is listed on the studio policy sheet that you signed when starting lessons. Let me know what you would like to do, and I'm sorry again for any inconvenience. Thank you,[redacted]I can understand their stance if I had asked to pay for lessons in advance, but I did not. They simply decided to charge me for lessons in advance.Regardless, there is no good reason for this business to keep money for services that have and will not be rendered. Additionally, they have had no financial hardship incurred by my decision to discontinue lessons there.I have no desire to take the three remaining lessons there as I have now lost respect for the business.Desired SettlementI would like to have a refund check of $90 (three lessons) sent to me as my credit card company recently had to change the card that the lessons were charged to.My mailing address is:[redacted]Business Response I am very sorry that this customer has taken this complaint to this level. We have very clear policies, both on our website and in our registration paperwork, that let our customers know that we charge in advance for four lessons and that once paid lessons are not refunded. We do not accept payment on a per lesson basis. Our policies also state that customers may discontinue lessons at any point as long as one week's notice is given before the new charge. If that notice is not given, a $30 charge is applied. This customer took one of the four lessons so proper notice was not given to discontinue lessons.I have a signed registration form from this customer stating that he read and understood the policies. He signed this acknowledgement in two different places on the registration form. I also have a copy of an email from him stating that he didn't mind prepaying for lessons.We have been open for eight years and have never received a complaint regarding our policies. Customers choose to take lessons from us and by doing so agree to our policies. If this customer wanted to take lessons on a per-lesson basis, he should have gone to one of those studios. We are very fair in our policies, but they are in place to protect our teacher incomes. We are no different than any other service with regards to our policies.We allowed this customer to take his first 8 lessons over the course of 15 weeks due to his schedule and some personal situations he had to deal with. If he had been at any other music studio, he would have paid for those missed weeks. I think we have gone above and beyond to make this customer happy. For a copy of our studio policies, please visit our website at http://[redacted]