Q&A: Taekwondo Contract Woes :(?
Question by MarleyBear: Taekwondo Contract Woes :(?
Ok so I just moved to a new city and decided to try and take up Taekwondo. So I did a Google search and found what I thought to be reputable school (good instructor, new facility, etc.). The grandmaster’s from Korea so his English was fairly broken, but he offered me a free no risk private lesson to see if I liked it. I showed up and he gave me a tour of the studio and like a 10 minute intro to self-defense then pulled out a contract (no risk right?). He stated it was $ 1000 for a year and if I signed now then it would be $ 800. Also if I wanted to change my mind and didn’t want to start or was dissatisfied then I could opt out before Tuesday (4 days). But of course I was very naive and signed the contract thinking that I would have a couple of days to decide. After that I decided to go watch a class. It was so disorganized and the “black belts” (that were teaching the class!!) looked like they’ve been taking lessons for a year (which one little boy was!). So I left, did a little more research about what goes into a reputable Taekwondo school and started having serious doubts that I was just scammed.
The school was closed for labor day and opened Tuesday again when I decided to call and let the grandmaster know I wasn’t interested. Before I ever told him, he assumed that I didn’t want to (probably happens a lot huh?) and then told me I signed a contract and that he was going to call his lawyer. After that I was pretty shocked since he wasn’t even willing to talk to me and just threatened, so I called my dad (lawyer) to ask for advice. He called the grandmaster and told him that I was misinformed and felt pressured into signing the contract (which was true) so I wasn’t going to pay or attend classes. The grandmaster gave him the number of his lawyer and told him that he was going to send it to collections, then called to yell at me (“stupid girl!!”).
I really didn’t want it to get this out of hand but the grandmaster was unwilling to even let me talk to him about it the situation and I feel I’ve been scammed (especially since I haven’t even attended any classes!!). I was just wondering if this has happen to anyone, what the outcome was, and if anyone has been successfully sued for this kind of thing? Also If he successfully sues me (for nothing since I haven’t even attended a class!), will that go on a record or affect my credit score? Any advice about the situation would be helpful!!
P.S. There is no termination clause (just you will pay this) and I did not give him any of my SS or bank account information.
Please be nice!! I know I made a mistake and now I’m trying to minimize the damage so only helpful advice please!
Thanks everyone for the advice!
zgoakland, unfortunately it was only a verbal contract (basically his word) that if I was dissatisfied or changed my mind then we would just void the agreement on Tuesday. Now I guess it’s just my word against his. Lesson learned!
Also he has my name, address, phone #, and DOB from the contract, but my dad told me that he needs my bank account or SS # to take it to collections.
Best answer:
Answer by Voice of Innovation
What a horrible Grandmaster, he knows nothing of the 5 tenants of Taekwondo. He should not be fit to be Grandmaster.
You need to find a school that has a great Grandmaster, I have never heard of this happening with a Taekwondo school……
I am sorry you went through this.
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