Please Help me.....

[Avcrad]

Hello,
I am new to this forum & need some advice. I am 26 years old and have studied martial arts most of my life. I recently moved out of state with my job. I soon found a new school to study at, within a 30 minute drive away. To make a long story short, I went to the school. They told me they taught Ed Parker's American Kenpo. Before signing with them, I asked the program director if they gave private instruction. I was told yes, they do, but also told "I would prefer class instruction". I signed a 1 year contract with them. At first, everything was fine. I was making at least 3 classes a week, working my Kenpo in between off times at work. Things got busy at work and I could only make 1 class a week. I again went back to the program director and asked again about private instruction...I felt that Private Lessons would work better with my job schedule. I was then told a group class was all they had to offer at that time, and was told, "Just try and make as many classes as you can"...

Keep listening, as this is only part of my problem...

Upon learning the basics and techniques in the first two belts, I realized this was not the Parker Kenpo as Ed Parker taugh it. I noticed techniques that were in the Yellow Belt were nowhere found in any Parker System Kenpo School, In fact, they were ALL variations of the SAME technique...something made up by the Head Instructor. I then begin to see techniques in the Orange Belt that Ed Parker had laid out as Blue & Green Belt techniques...Moral of the story...? This WAS NOT Ed Parker Kenpo! What can I do about this???? Now I feel I am locked into a contract with a school that refuses to work with my busy schedule, and that claims to teach a System of Kenpo that it is clearly not.....Please advise....Thanks, Avcrad

 

[CoolKempoDude]

if this happens in U.S, you can file your complain at better business bureau web site. Trust me, your problem will be gone.


tell them you want your money back ( the months you haven't used)

or contact your attorney general at your state and tell this attorney and better business bureau that these people gave FALSE advertising and LIED to you about teaching which lead you to sign 1 year contract with them.

that's all you have to do............these people should go out of business or go to jail. one way or another.

 

[Shodan]

This is awful.........have you already paid money for the year? I think I would seek out a meeting with the head instructor and discuss your concerns. Tell him/her you were given the impression that you would be able to receive private lessons and now you are being told otherwise. I would also discuss your concerns about what you are learning.........but keep in mind that not all studios teach the same way. Maybe the structure of this school is different from what you are used to.

If you really feel this place is not for you though, then don't feel bad about going straight to the instructor. If he/she is a good instructor, he/she will be understanding and let you out of your contract and/or help you to better understand how things are run in their studio. It sounds like that wasn't made very clear to begin with.

Keep us posted on how everything turns out and all the best to you.

:asian: :karate:

 

[clapping_tiger]

I don't know if this is a state law or is a federal one, but we are required to go over the consumers right to cancell in our contracts. We must, by law, verbally tell them the conditions (the conditions can vary from school to school and are set by the owners) and point out where they are on the contract and have them put their initials stating we did so. Did you have to do this? If not, like stated before check over your agreement there should be some type of cancellation terms, if not get more aggressive and seek legal help.

 

[MartialArtsChic]

Don't know what state you are in, but if all else fails, see if your local news channel has a consumer help area that helps consumers with problems such as these.

All our stations have them and boy do the problems get resolved once they call them. No one likes the bad media attention. But this should only be done as a last resort.




MartialArtsChic

 

[Bill Smith]

You really got a bum deal and that is the one thing about schools that only care about the money and not the student. You should be able to get your money back and cancel the contract. You where sold a false contract, meaning what they said they were going to sale was not. Your state govenment should be able to help you with this matter. The school should be registered with the state and have some form of paper work on them where the government can place what kind of business they are (i.e. "Health club").

Hope all works out for you and you find the Kenpo school that cares for you and not your wallet.

Yours in Kenpo,
Bill Smith

 

[jdmills]

A lot depends on your State law. In New Jersey (I'm an attorney, licensed in NJ and PA) we have a very comprehensive Consumer Fraud statute that would probably cover this. The statute allows recovery of TRIPLE damages AND attorney fees. Just the streat of a suit under this statute often triggers immediate settlement.

If your State has a similar statute you may be in good shape.