Consumer Law, Warranties Can I get out of Tae Kwon Do contract?

[kurtshan]

In May of this year, we signed a 12 month Tae Kwon Do contract for my 11 year old son to take lessons.
(He had already been training for 18 months at another school which was closing down; we were not
under a contract there.)

The main reason we were drawn to this current school was the opportunity for my son to be
considered to be on a demonstration team and to be invited into the Master's student leadership program when
he reached a high enough belt.

Two weeks ago the Master called to set up a "student progress report" meeting with me and my husband. He discussed
our son's progress, and then informed us that only those student's who were in a 3-year contract could be considered
for the demo. team and the student leadership program, regardless of their belt rank. He did not tell us
this in May when we signed the 1-year contract. Does this give us grounds to terminate the contract?

In the meantime, the airline my husband flies for is furloughing 200 pilots with no hope of recall, and he is one of them. He begins drawing unemployment
next month. Could my husband's job loss/lack of salary be used to get us out of this contract?

Thank you in advance to anyone who can give me some advice.

 

[Proserpina]

Did you actually read the contract before signed?

Were you promised such a thing in writing?

Your husband's employment isn't their problem, I'm afraid.

 

[mightymoose]

If you ask you may be able to convert your 1 year contract into a 3 year.

The layoff has no bearing on this.

You did not provide any information to suggest that you were misled when you signed the 1 year contract. You found out about the problem after the fact, but that doesn't mean anything was done wrong at the time of signing on.

 

[kurtshan]

Proserpina,
Yes, we read the contract, and no, the demo team and student leadership program were not written into the contract. He simply stated that these programs were things that all of his students were considered for when they reached a certain belt level. It never occurred to us that he would misrepresent what my son would be eligible for. I had no idea that we should have requested these things to be written into the contract - especially since he led us to believe that these programs were available to all students, regardless of their length of contract.

 

[kurtshan]

Mightymoose,

Yes, the "parent-teacher conference" was a glorified sales pitch to get me to convert to the 3 yr. It was during this sales pitch that he informed me that only 3-year contract students could be on the demo. team and in the student leadership program. When we signed our 1 yr. contract in May, he clearly stated that our son would be considered for these special programs when he reached a certain belt rank (which he is about to do). Is there anything binding about the verbal claims he made at our initial signing? Do these constitute a verbal contract?

 

[army judge]

Without viewing the contract, but based on what you've related, the contract would appear valid.
But, if you don't pay, he'll have to sue you if you don't pay.
Your new three year contract supersedes the old, one year contract.
Forget trying to invalidate the contract because your financial circumstances have changed.
You can attempt to buy your way out of the contract, the worse you can hear is no.
Barring tat, you're stuck.
You pay, or take your chances he won't sue, if you breach.
There is only one way out, assuming you qualify, bankruptcy.

In May of this year, we signed a 12 month Tae Kwon Do contract for my 11 year old son to take lessons.
(He had already been training for 18 months at another school which was closing down; we were not
under a contract there.)

The main reason we were drawn to this current school was the opportunity for my son to be
considered to be on a demonstration team and to be invited into the Master's student leadership program when
he reached a high enough belt.

Two weeks ago the Master called to set up a "student progress report" meeting with me and my husband. He discussed
our son's progress, and then informed us that only those student's who were in a 3-year contract could be considered
for the demo. team and the student leadership program, regardless of their belt rank. He did not tell us
this in May when we signed the 1-year contract. Does this give us grounds to terminate the contract?

In the meantime, the airline my husband flies for is furloughing 200 pilots with no hope of recall, and he is one of them. He begins drawing unemployment
next month. Could my husband's job loss/lack of salary be used to get us out of this contract?

Thank you in advance to anyone who can give me some advice.