refund request - swimming lessons

Mumtobe2016

Hi all,

I am looking for some advice please (and may have a little rant on the way)
Our 2 year old son loved swimming but he wasnt learning many skills from us so my husband and i decided to enrol him into swimming lessons. He started at the end of november and loved it so we signed up for the monthly payments and all was well. He was in his fourth lesson when, as my husband went to collect him, he was in floods of tears. My husband asked what had happened and the instructor just replied "he was dunked in the water", not very concerned and seemed to laugh off our boy crying. We reassured him and he seemed to calm down but during his next lesson cried the entire time and begged me not to take him again.
Our little boy has now changed from a confident little boy around water to one who has had nightmares and will beg us to not take him swimming at random times throughout the day.
I have spoken to the company manager and she said it was called water wobbles and suggested private lessons at extra cost.
My husband and I discussed this and said we would try to take our son swimming again and see how he was - he screamed and wouldnt go.
I contacted the company to say we were cancelling the lessons and requested a refund of the january payment - the payment came out on the 1st jan, we requested the refund on the 3rd and his first lesson after christmas break would have been 5th january.
I explained everything that has happened, yet they state the terms and conditions say we need to give a months notice and so refuse the refund. They have offered to keep the money as credit on file for when our child goes back, but he has no trust in them so would not go back (we went to a shop near the pool and he started to cry).
I have spoken to learn to swim, the governing body of swim instructors, and they have advised that a skill such as 'dunking', should be done after steps have been taken to build trust and confidence in the child and with their instructor. This happened on our childs fourth lesson, only his third with this instructor as they had been off the previous week. I don't feel the time was taken to build this relationship and so my son wasnt ready for this, also the reaction to his crying to my husband was not caring and so makes me question what the reaction was when my son initially came up from his "dunking", was he reassured?

I understand the terms and conditions state i am not entitled to a refund but under the circumstances i thought even a part refund would be offered? My sons place has been covered, so they are not losing any money and there is a waiting list so they are not looking for anyone to fill it.

what are my rights here?
sorry for the waffe, its an emotive subject x

lincroft1710

Mumtobe2016 wrote: »

I understand the terms and conditions state i am not entitled to a refund but under the circumstances i thought even a part refund would be offered? My sons place has been covered, so they are not losing any money and there is a waiting list so they are not looking for anyone to fill it.

what are my rights here?
sorry for the waffe, its an emotive subject x

The terms and conditions do not seem onerous or unfair and appear to be clearly written, so you are not entitled to a refund. You could ask nicely if they would consider refunding half of the monthly payment, but they are not obliged to.

pulliptears

You leave 2 year olds at swim lessons? Is this normal?
Honestly amazed by that. I'd have thought parents would have at least been required to stay within sight.

dj1471

I think there's a potential argument here that the service wasn't performed with reasonable care and skill per the Consumer Rights Act, which would put the company in breach of contract.

How much money are we talking about?

Les79

dj1471 wrote: »

I think there's a potential argument here that the service wasn't performed with reasonable care and skill per the Consumer Rights Act, which would put the company in breach of contract.

How much money are we talking about?

Hmm I'm a bit skeptical to be honest, as the "dunking" is apparently a part of the swimming lessons as a whole. OP stated:


"I have spoken to learn to swim, the governing body of swim instructors, and they have advised that a skill such as 'dunking', should be done after steps have been taken to build trust and confidence in the child and with their instructor"


Whilst "dunking" on lesson 4 may be a bad judgement call, I would dispute OP's position on the fact that the child was happy to return after the first, second and third lesson. So there WAS some level of trust and confidence between the child and instructor.


OP also stated that the boy was "a confident little boy around water" initially and I feel this indicates that the kid was probably not showing any signs of reacting in that sort of manner, so probably just as much a shock for the instructor as the child.


If OP wants to pursue it then fair enough, but not seeing it myself.


Aside from that, OP you need to follow the Ts and Cs.

Mumtobe2016

We watch from the tv screen in the cafe area but are not permitted to stay at the side of the pool. I stayed around for his first lesson and he was happy enough so it wasn't an issue. He is quite confident on his own - I leave him at nursery 2 days a week in a larger group than his swimming group so never saw it as a problem... until now!

Mumtobe2016

I understand I need to follow t and c but this happened before I could give a months notice. It happened towards the end of December when he only had 2 more lessons left and when I discussed my concerns with the owner (after Christmas) was told to bring him again or pay extra for private lessons.

He did appear confident and enjoyed his lessons, however I feel he was obviously not ready for dunking as he needed armbands, a float on his back and also a pool tube to hold onto to keep him afloat! He wasn't even kicking his legs to move along, which she had mentioned in a previous lesson.
I have just put him to bed upset again as he has begged me not to go swimming again - it hasn't even been mentioned to him for days. Guess I felt despite the t and c they might come to an agreement of just half the payment as they have scared a little boy.

ThumbRemote

dj1471 wrote: »

I think there's a potential argument here that the service wasn't performed with reasonable care and skill per the Consumer Rights Act, which would put the company in breach of contract.

That's possible, but as the OP didn't see the incident in question they've got no way of showing it.

Realistically there's next to nothing the OP can do.

es5595

I'd be tempted to write, outlining the problems and the issues, along with how poor the care from the instructor and their attitude was after the incident, and how seriously they have upset your little boy. I'd explicitly say that you no longer feel comfortable leaving your once-happy-and-confident water baby in their care, and that the fact he is regularly in tears and begging not to be taken swimming shows how seriously this has affected him.

I'd finish by asking them what their suggestion would be for a solution going forwards. Perhaps the unused months fees could be used towards a private lesson or two with the instructor to rebuild a rapport and get past the dunking?

Should they decline, I would then consider leaving some honest reviews to prevent them doing this to another child, and I'd mention it to any other parents I knew.

Mumtobe2016

I have already sent them an email outlining all of the above and sent it over a week ago - I have received no response or acknowledgment of the email, I feel I am just being ignored now.
They haven't acknowledged any blame in this, whether accepting it was a poor judgement call or explaining why they chose to dunk him after such a short period of time. It seems to just be about the money for them, either taking this payment or asking for more for private lessons.
Thank you everyone for your advice, I guess the money is gone and I have to accept that, just wish that they would accept responsibility for doing this to my boy 😢.

Les79

Mumtobe2016 wrote: »

I understand I need to follow t and c but this happened before I could give a months notice. It happened towards the end of December when he only had 2 more lessons left and when I discussed my concerns with the owner (after Christmas) was told to bring him again or pay extra for private lessons.

Yea that's fine. But it would all boil down to whether there was a breach of contract/negligence on the part of the company/instructor.


If NONE = you need to follow the Ts and Cs, and the 1 month notice


If YES = you can take them to small claims court, armed with your evidence, and dispute it in court. I believe it costs £25, but is refundable if you win (look up MCOL). You'd need to send a "letter before action" though and give them a timeframe to resolve it (coincidentally, this isn't actually a bad idea as a "bluff" irrespective of whether you are right or wrong here).

He did appear confident and enjoyed his lessons, however I feel he was obviously not ready for dunking as he needed armbands, a float on his back and also a pool tube to hold onto to keep him afloat! He wasn't even kicking his legs to move along, which she had mentioned in a previous lesson.

Well, forgive my possible ignorance but isn't "dunking" done in order to get children used to having their head underwater and thus swimming without floats? If so, I can't see how your point is "obvious"....

I have just put him to bed upset again as he has begged me not to go swimming again - it hasn't even been mentioned to him for days.

Could potentially take him to the GP, as that certainly doesn't sound normal! Possible PTSD?! I'm completely guessing there, but that doesn't sound normal to me....

Guess I felt despite the t and c they might come to an agreement of just half the payment as they have scared a little boy

Well, don't necessarily give up based on comments on here BUT seek professional advice.