Consumer Law, Warranties Is this taekwondo - karate contract voidable?

foxloop

New Member
Last November(08) my children and I signed up for taekwondo at a local martial arts school and we recently found out that they misrepresented their services to us and failed to disclose material facts before and at the time of signing the contract. The salesman was extremely sly and used high pressure tactics which is why I believe I fell victim to this... He is no longer at the school as of Jan/Feb 09.

What I would like to know is if this contract is voidable because of their tactics and us not knowing all the facts? I have a termination/cancellation letter written up but I don't know whether to send it or not. The contract says "absolutely noncancellable" so I don't want him to try to sue me for breach of contract if we try to terminate it but I want out of this unfair agreement. It is not what we signed up and paid for. We were misled and misinformed but I don't know if it's to the point where we have a leg to stand on or not.

We paid 1 year in advance which is for services through this November and another $2460. is due in November for the 2nd year. (though the contract states membership is guaranteed through 1st degree black belt) We have not attended since March and are not expecting any of the 1st yr money back, we just want out because it is not what he said it would be and had we known the undisclosed information, we would not have signed in the first place. I am thinking the $2460 we still owe isn't enough to go to court.

We came to their school not knowing anything about taekwondo or martial arts and I know they took advantage of that to get me to sign. When I asked the school owner if it was possible to transfer our contract to another family, he ignored my transfer question and said that it was binding and that I had shorter term memberships to choose from when I signed up. I do not remember these shorter term memberships being offered but if they were, it was a very quick glance at a paper vs several minutes of pushing the 2 year black belt program.

Are my minor children bound to this? I had thought about removing them and then hopefully the membership fees would go down so that the 1 year we already paid would more than cover the balance of 1 member vs 3 members but I don't know if it works that way. (I'm sure he'd probably do whatever he could to keep that $2460 he's supposed to receive in November)

Another idea I had was to transfer to another family but when I asked him if this was possible, he ignored my request. The contract terms say nothing about NOT transferring the note to another family. Does this automatically make it transferable/assignable?

Please help. I have tried to provide as much detail as possible to get accurate advice. If sending the cancellation letter seems like the way to go, I will post it to get some wording advice. thank you!

the exact contract terms are below:

I understand that I am signing a contract/note which may be purchased by a financial institution. My failure to regularly attend and utilized center facilities does not relieve me of my obligation, regardless of the circumstances, to pay the installment note in full. I understand that, except as herein provided, my membership is absolutely non-cancelable. Should I default, I agree to pay all costs of collection, including but not limited to Collection Agency fees up to 50% of the unpaid balance, court costs and reasonable attorney's fees all of which may be paid or incurred by the holder of this note. If by reason of death or permanent disability, the member is unable to complete the training program, he/she and his/her estate shall be releived from the obligation of making payments for training other than that received prior to death or the onset of disability, may be refunded the prorated difference minus a cancellation fee of $100 after a minimum of 6 weeks with proper verification. Should member(s) permantenly move their residence more than 25 miles from an affiliated area, payment on this agreement will be suspended upon payment of a cancelation fee of $100 following legitimate verification of the above. Absolutelty no refunds. This membership can be paid in full at any time.


Should default be made in any installment, the entire remaining sum due hereafter shall be due and payable at the option of the owner of this note and still bear interest at the rate of 9% per annum from date of default. If any installment is more than ten days past due, a rate charge of 5% of the installment may be assessed. The undersigned personally charge their separate estates with the payment of this note and have hereby read and understood the terms of this contract/membership agreement and the above hold harmless.
 
I'm very sorry to hear your about your case, especially concerning Tae Kwon Do. I'm actually a long time practictioner and am working on my fourth degree black belt, being third degree certified from a grand master.

It's difficult for me to respond, especially since the contract itself seems somewhat absurd (I really need to see exactly what it says) and is designed to do the "Bally's multiyear savings contract" which hopes to get people to sign at a potential "cut rate" to obligate them for a a longer period. Here's the real problem I have - Bally's provides a specific service that is easily identifiable, e.g. for five years you have usage of this and any gym we have and you can transfer the contract only and if you move 100 miles from any gym we have, etc. In your case, what does it mean "membership is guaranteed through first degree black belt?" I worked very hard to perform to a high level of skill but a black belt is not (and should not) be guaranteed just because you show up to class. As far as I know, even the WTF doesn't just hand them out because you answered roll call.

Now while there is that issue of principle and potential vagueness of contract, I don't know if that itself creates a valid reason to break or void the contract. I'd need to see the entire contract, which you could attach here without the details (like names.) You said that there are certain essential items that were deliberately withheld from you in order to induce you into signing a longer deal. You haven't disclosed what those items are and I'd say they are critical. How long did your children attend the school? Why are you not expecting or desiring to get the first year money back that you have not used if you feel justified in having been wronged by this salesperson?

With regard to writing a letter, he'll sue you for breach if you think he'll do whatever he can to get that money. You should just make sure to have all your ducks in a row before sending the letter and give him reason to want to settle with you as soon as possible without "making a scene." I'm sure he wouldn't want word around the neighborhood that he is involved in lawsuits.

Regarding the ability to transfer the contract, in absense of a writing, generally it is transferable. It would not be transferable for them when the contract is for personal services. You might be correct and, as long as they get their money, they really have no complaint.

I hope you won't let this bad experience hurt your opinion of the martial arts. It's the people, not the discipline, that are the cause of the disagreement.
 
response with more info...

Hi there,

Sorry, I guess I did not provide enough specific details as to what we are dissatisfied with and why. When we initially showed up at their school we knew nothing about martial arts procedures, how the schools were run/taught, or what was required for testing. Since they advertised it as and told us repeatedly that it was self defense training and that it was "go at your own pace", we decided to try it out. We began in September 2008 and attended until March 2009 until I got sick of forcing myself and the kids go to something that clearly was not benefiting us so as not to waste the money we'd spent. I became aware of the deception months ago but did not know what to do or if there was anything possible we could do. It totally took over my life with the stressing over it and searching relentlessly on the net for solutions but not finding anything helpful... All I found were more people stuck in the same situation we are. I know we were deceived and misled to sign the contract I just don't know if it is enough (in the law's eyes) to have a leg to stand on in a dispute with him. We don't want to lose more money in a lawsuit than we would have had we just paid the $2450.

What we did not know nor did they explain to us was that they teach 3 different belt colors the same "form" (which is a series of choreographed martial arts moves each student must learn before they may advance belt levels) and then rotate colors rather than teaching each one their proper form for what belt level they are wearing currently. So anyone who could not learn the entire form in the 2 month cycle (which is sometimes 30-40 moves and my son is only 6) would be left behind in the rotation. Instructors would teach the next rotated color and would not be able to help the child past the 2 month time period with the previous cycle's form. So even though it is described as "go at your own pace", there is no way to catch up. They pressured them to test even though I kept telling them the kids did not know all the moves and they agreed. (testing is an additional $55 per person and 3rd person is $10-- each time we tested, they got $120) How is the school credible if they are obviously promoting students who do not meet the requirements for testing? We paid for REAL martial arts lessons and did not plan on paying them money to hand us belts.

Also, they kept pushing and hyping up the benefits of the self defense training when the majority of what they teach is the memorized choreographed "forms" which have no self defense application whatsoever... I didn't really care if the kids learned much self defense but for me it was the prime reason I joined second to exercise. There is a small amount of self defense training incorporated sporadically but they made it seem like all of the material was applicable and useful in real life situations and it is not.

The contract is very vague on what the "member" actually receives. Basically, it says we get membership guaranteed through 1st degree black belt and specifies things that are not included in the membership. (basically, if we pay off the 2 year dues and do not have our black belts by the 2 year mark, they let us train for free till we achieve 1st deg. black belt) From our impression of the school when we viewed their free class they allowed the kids to take, we relied on the school continuing to have high ranking instructors and enough staff to help the kids who were falling behind. At this point in time they don't. (but there's nothing in the contract which states they have to either... DRAT!) The salesman who pressured me to sign up for this contract and distracted me when I was trying to read the fine print left in Jan/Feb and things have been falling apart since then. The owner is trying to handle all the business, answer phones, and is teaching classes since nearly all of the instructors who were there when we joined are gone now. Often times he would combine classes because of insufficient instructors and we would all be in the same room. It is nearly impossible to learn anything when there are 40 people in a room designed for 15-20 or less. It is definitely a LOT different than the atmosphere of the place when we joined but probably not enough to do anything about it since the contract doesn't say anything specific about what we should be receiving besides "membership" through 1st degree BB. We relied on that information though in signing that contract and on statements he made.

A very big thing that was not explained is that sparring is required for belt advancement at the camo belt level. (It might seem like common knowledge for those familiar with martial arts but I knew nothing when we walked in there and I feel he took advantage of that) The sparring is advertised as "no contact" and "tap" sparring but it is much more competitive than that. I was kicked in the jaw by a significantly higher ranking student the absolute first time I suited up to spar and it hurt for 4 days. I don't believe proper restraint was used in that situation or that their representation and advertisement of sparring was accurate. The same situation occurred with 2 others who were brand new and trying to learn how to spar only they were shorter so they got hit in the head. One of them was hit so hard she was dizzy and her face was all red. Had I known it was required at a certain level or that it was so rough, I never would have joined.

I know of someone who wants to join taekwondo but only if my daughter continues going... I may be able to find someone else who wants to buy the contract from us. I have not started looking yet since he won't answer me as to whether transferring is an option. How would I do it? Write a letter of assignment to them, change the contract and then they take the letter and contract and try to go to lessons? I don't think he will care who comes as long as he gets his money.

The reason I don't expect to get the unused money back (approx $1650) is because I know he is all business and the contract says "absolutely no refunds". So in all truth, if there is any way he can keep it, he will. I am willing to sacrifice the 1st year we paid in order to get out of having to pay the 2nd year($2450) which is due in November. It's not that I don't want it back... if there is a way to get it back AND cancel this thing, show me how!

The salesman took advantage of me knowing the fine lines that the law will allow and presented the services and contract information in a deceptive and biased way where you can't do anything about it and there is no protection for the buyer in the contract. He said I could add members to the contract with no problem at all so I ought to be able to remove them as well, right? I just don't know if removing them will reduce our balance or not... I sure hope I can help others to avoid getting into this situation in the future somehow.

Yes, I do know it is the people that are the cause of this. If I had only compared services I would have found another martial arts school right here in the same city with Christian owners. They even offered to honor our contract even though they don't use contracts by letting us train for free for the remainder of the contract term even while we would still be paying their deceptive competitor! Once this whole mess has been resolved we may try to get back into martial arts but not any time soon... I will scan the contract and edit the names and post it tonight. thank you.
 
Contract attached with names deleted

Sorry this is late but here is the contract without the names. I cannot get it to post it any bigger than 100kb. This is 2mb so you can read the fine print but it's not showing up on here... Hope you can read it.
 
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I've taken a look at the contract, part of which is illegible but I think the important stuff is all there. I'll make a few comments.

1) I've been teaching martial arts for several years. I have never heard of several belt colors learning the same form at the same time. In fact, it makes no sense whatsoever since the WTF (World Tae Kwon Do Federation) mandates the forms that are needed for each belt. Was this explained to you? If not, I would argue that there is no contract - their promise of individual instruction was illusory at best. Perhaps you can talk it over with them to obtain some type of compromise or take this to small claims court but you'll need to be straight and not wishy washy about this.

2) I have no idea what the clause on the upper left means about allowing students to make up classes. Technically, the contract calls for an indefinite period of time where you can use the school until your kids receive a black belt. This would mean that if, in 4 years, your children still didn't have a black belt, they would still be entitled to classes. If that's the case, I don't even know what that clause means except to mislead someone who signs into thinking that something else was told to you that isn't written into this agreement.

3) I don't think the contract itself is fair. It's a two year commitment in the form of a promissory note. It is so open ended that it is clear more important details are not there and must have been discussed orally. Put together a list of things that compelled you to somehow sign a two year deal. These items obviously were not satisfactory to you and you feel they didn't and won't deliver. I would also cite the significant changes in the school that happened as a result of these issues and now he can no longer deliver the services promised.

My thought - and do not consider this "legal advice" and just my thoughts on what you've said. Talk it over with him in person and be prepared with every part of his inability to deliver on what was promised. It's not right to hook you into this two year agreement that he knows was based upon conversations that were deliberately misleading. Figure out what you're willing to settle for, e.g. give him an extra month or two of services you didn't use and call it a day. If he doesn't, I'd send a letter outlining his breach of contract and that you're not paying as a result of the breach. He'll have to take you to court. If he sells the note to another institution who tries to collect, you can send them the certified letter and send them notice why it's an invalid debt and it was sold to them knowing it was an invalid debt.

Again, this isn't legal advice but just probably what I would do if I were in your shoes. As a Tae Kwon Do instructor myself, I am distrubed by what you've written but am not surprised that this does go on at schools unfortunately. Best of luck and please let me know how it goes.
 
Incredible that I have just performed a Google search to be led to this topic on questionable martial arts schools practices and confirmed a very sad and ongoing practice. The small print in this agreement says in very small print "I understand that I am signing a contract/note which may be purchased by a financial institution." And if you read further the part of the martial arts agreement for payment terms where the student agrees to the Martial Arts School Inc. "or its assigns" you'll understand where I'm going - and that is to the fact that they have a clear intention to assign this contract to a company that will buy the revenue stream.

This past week I was asked to review a questionable Karate contract which turned out to be for a martial art that wasn't even Japanese Karate but a form of a Korean martial art. (I am a black belt Taekwondo instructor, which is probably the most readily identifiable Korean martial art.) The agreement was similar to this one except it was immediately intended to be assigned to a third party. My understanding is that it's popular for schools to sell the revenue stream. And once that happens, you can expect that the most dedication you'll see will come from the company billing you for the services that you were supposed to receive from the service provider who took the cash they were to receive for the chance to get future money earlier. If you see this type of verbiage in a martial arts agreement about how the contract rights are being assigned to a third party or explicitly that they may be assigned, reconsider your agreement. Anything remotely long term, 6 months or greater, should give you great pause.
 
Incredible that I have just performed a Google search to be led to this topic

Happens to me, too. I'll google a topic with which I am familiar and I'll find my own comments from years ago.

If you see this type of verbiage in a martial arts agreement about how the contract rights are being assigned to a third party or explicitly that they may be assigned, reconsider your agreement.

This is also common with health clubs, gyms, spas, car dealers, and lending institutions.

Worse, almost any contract for ongoing receivables can potentially be sold, even without an assignment clause, unless the contract prohibits the sale or assignment.

The warning, readers, is understand what you are getting into before you get into it.
 
You hit the nail on the head. At the moment I am crafting an article on how to read martial arts school and health club / gym membership contracts with an educated eye. A friend of mine called me up after discovering that she was also signed to a long term Karate contract with some very unintended consequences. In this thread, there is an opportunity for assignment in this small agreement. In the contract I'm featuring, the martial arts school had an assignment of the contract on the day and at the time it was signed. Imagine the lack of incentive a Karate, Taekwondo, MMA school or gym / club has to perform services with utmost excellence when they may have received most or all of expected revenue on a contract up front in a lump sum payment. And all that friendly talk about how cancellations are possible, reputable martial arts school, etc. is misleading when the "billing company" is actually a vigilant collection company on its own behalf.
 
You hit the nail on the head. At the moment I am crafting an article on how to read martial arts school and health club / gym membership contracts with an educated eye. A friend of mine called me up after discovering that she was also signed to a long term Karate contract with some very unintended consequences. In this thread, there is an opportunity for assignment in this small agreement. In the contract I'm featuring, the martial arts school had an assignment of the contract on the day and at the time it was signed. Imagine the lack of incentive a Karate, Taekwondo, MMA school or gym / club has to perform services with utmost excellence when they may have received most or all of expected revenue on a contract up front in a lump sum payment. And all that friendly talk about how cancellations are possible, reputable martial arts school, etc. is misleading when the "billing company" is actually a vigilant collection company on its own behalf.

My general rule is never to become entwined or entangled in any contract which requires continued payments over time.

In essence, I don't enter into any contracts these days.

The exceptions for most people, after proper due diligence, are:
+ mortgages
+ leases
+ medical or dental services
+ automobile purchases
+ higher education financing
+ trade school financing

Otherwise, if a long term contract is demanded, that alone should be your clue to RUN AWAY.
 
Having had a great discussion with the good people at several martial arts forums, it appears that these issues typically arise at martial arts schools that sell long term contracts (of at least 1 year) and are commonly referred to as "McDojos." It was likely coined to refer to franchising martial arts schools like a McDonald's restaurant. Anyway... I'll be writing a few articles to help protect martial arts students from all types of martial arts school scams, which are especially disturbing since the fraud usually occurs by selling the "integrity" that is supposed to be inherent in practitioners of the martial arts.
 

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My son was two years old, almost three (2015) and wanted to learn martial arts. Since he was already very agile and loved martial arts movies, we thought it'd be a good idea to get him into a school that offered a program suitable for three year olds, where he could continue and progress into belt classes, as he got older and more capable; essentially fostering a passion.

My search of schools led me to a school (25 miles away-50 minute drive with traffic) that offered a "Tiny Tigers" class. According to their website it was a program specifically designed for children ages 3-5, designed to improve motor skills, attention, etc., while earning patches and stripes. So that's where we went.

I also have a daughter, who had just turned 5. We were not interested in enrolling her because she loved her ballet classes, but I am a stay at home mom, so of course, I took her with us to check out the school. I met with the Supreme Grand Master (who I will refer to as SGM from here). He told me the many, many benefits of starting children in TKD at a young age. He happened to have a class starting in a few minutes and said the kids were welcome to a free one week trial. I explained that my daughter was not interested, just my son. He told me, "your daughter is very beautiful, she will be starting school soon. She should learn how to defend herself in today's world...after all, the first week is free." Well, what kind of mom would I look like if I said no to that?? So he asked both my kids if they'd like to join him for class and of course, they were excited to.

Then, SGM told me they could not enter the dojang without a proper uniform...we were all excited... I respect rules and tradition, so I forked over $98 for two uniforms and my kids looked cute as buttons! Odd that they didn't get a white belt to hold it all together, but what do I know??? ….THERE'S MY FIRST INVESTMENT.

I took them to class four days during the trial week. I thought it odd that different belts and ages (my son being the youngest by far) all the way up to 60+ year olds were practicing together, but I didn't question it because SGM gave my kids his undivided attention, while the Mrs. worked with the higher ranking belts. My kids were breaking practice boards, punching, kicking, jumping over moving targets and having a blast!

During that trial week my husband and I spent hours researching SGM and his schools. As far as we could tell, this guy was the real deal, the best of the best.... 9th DAN Black Belt, an official at the Seoul Olympics, Past President of his state's TKD Association, Consultant for an NFL team and more. There was no doubt our kids would get the best possible education, attention and training at his academy.

My husband came with us for the last day of our free trial week. He spent an hour or so explaining very specifically to SGM that we understood our kids were young and still working on their motor skills, but we wanted to foster a passion and what he was doing during the trial week was exactly what we were looking for. When our kids were ready to start earning belts,we wanted them to learn EVERY aspect of EVERY requirement and technique necessary, to EARN EVERY belt and we did not care how many years it took for them to reach black belt. We told him that we were aware of "McDojos" and had zero respect for them. We would not simply "buy" belts.

SIGN UP. It was our intention to pay monthly. When we sat down to sign the kids up, SGM explained to us "this is an "academy", we take TKD very seriously, I will teach your children well for years to come. I do not need money, I have lots of money. This is an investment in your children and their future. We ask for a three year commitment". When we balked at "commitment" -- i.e., CONTRACT, he explained that since we were driving quite a distance, our kids would be eligible for his scholarship program, as a way to pay us back (in the future),for our investment in their TKD education. That gave us pause, but we still weren't sold on the contract. Then the deal got sweeter.... for $250/month, I could join and train with the kids. I WAS NOT INTERESTED, but after he spoke at length about the essential benefits of children learning alongside a parent... what was I going to say? No? Of course not. I'd die for my kids, a little exercise wasn't going to kill me if it benefited them that much.... so I signed the contract.

AFTER SIGNING THE CONTRACT... SGM collected the first month's tuition ($250), my uniform fee ($49), and THE REGISTRATION FEE FOR THE WORLD TAE KWON DO FEDERATION at a cost of $250 per student. In my soul, I felt a nagging to tear up the contract and walk out, but again he explained that since we were very serious about this, we needed to register with WTF so that if we moved or changed schools, our belt status would be recognized universally.... and so we did. We hadn't started formal training yet and we'd already spent $1,147.00, but as far as we could tell,this guy was the best and we trusted that he was invested in our children. I grudgingly accept my uniform (again, no belt to hold it all together??), and we went home. August 28, 2015 - THERE'S MY SECOND AND THIRD INVESTMENT.

At our first class, I asked about the belts and SGM told me we'd test for them soon... wait, WHAT? I didn't think my kids would be testing for belts.. They're only 3 and 5! He told me not to worry about it... Regardless, the first week was great. While I initially did not want to do this, I have to admit, I LOVED IT! He worked with me and the older students, while the Mrs. worked with the children separately, on all the things kids love to do and were physically capable of performing.

I do a lot of research on my own and I was nervous about our first test after seeing "white belt test requirements" on You Tube. Our second week he told me we'd be testing for the white belt. I told him my kids weren't ready, they don't know the form....again he told me not to worry, but we HAD to test so that we stayed on"testing schedule". I didn't know exactly what that meant, but I didn't want to look like a fool, so I paid $195 (@$65/belt). He tested my kids and I during class, on the first 8 steps of white belt form. My 3 yo son sat down, my daughter did her best to copy my moves and I did alright. We all got our belts.

At this point, another mom joined with her three year old and through casual conversation I learn that she was NOT required to sign a contract.

Two months later, he gave me testing forms for yellow belt and I met him in his office for a sit down. I told him all the things we told him at contract signing – we weren't buying belts. My kids were not ready. I told him he did not tell us that we would be required to test every two months at $65 per belt ($195 for my family), essentially bringing tuition to $350/month. SGM told me my kids will pick it up and put it all together as they get older, but it's good for them to be in the "environment". So on and so forth, so I gave him another $195. Side note...That other mom I mentioned was flustered because she felt she was "buying" belts also... and she was not informed that testing was REQUIRED every two months, regardless of age/ability. I also learned that he charged her only $95 for two belt tests. I started paying attention and noticed there were a number of parents bringing him cash the first class of each month, so the "commitment" was not, in fact, required.

At yellow belt testing, my son sat down, my daughter copied me and we get our yellow belts. Two months later, the exact same thing happens. At that point I realized we have entered into a three year contract with a bona fide McDojo, but what can I do about it? We signed a contract. Then it got worse.

The Mrs. left at the end of November to visit her family in Korea and was not returning until February.Suddenly, the younger kids were expected to join the grown ups practicing form (and only form), class after class, week after week. I was getting frustrated with my kids, my kids were getting frustrated with class and SGM told me, "don't get frustrated, they are so young, they haven't yet developed the motor skills to perform these moves. They don't have the mental capacity to remember this many steps." So I asked him, "then why are we here?? This school is only suitable for me as it is right now. We came here FOR MY SON, and he's got nothing to do for an entire hour, twice a week, except stay out of the way." And he told me again, "it's good for him to be in the environment".

While the Mrs. was gone, I realized he was not going to hire additional help. He was rarely present during class, leaving to answer the phone, meet with prospective clients, etc. While he was not present, the highest ranking belt was to lead the class.The highest ranking belt was most often an 11 year old brown belt that weighs roughly 70 lbs and didn't command much respect, so the other kids ran wild and for an hour. It was chaos, when it should have been class time. My kids and I were the lowest ranking belts and you were not to correct a higher ranking belt, so I'd sit with my kids (since I wouldn't allow them to horseplay in the dojang, as posted rules have it) and wait for SGM to return to class, which often didn't happen.

The Mrs. returned from Korea in February. She was in the building, but apparently no longer helping with the classes and the young ones. My kids (understandably) grew to hate their TKD classes and were forming an all around resentment for TKD and SGM. They missed the Mrs. and how classes used to be. So I sat down again with SGM and told him that if this is how things were going to continue.... and since I was locked into a contract, I would like for him to freeze our account until such a time that my kids were of the age and capability to learn and perform the requirements of each belt. He said, "you aren't under contract, you simply pre-pay each month". To this day, I don't know why he said that, because we both knew better, except that it was a distraction--that worked. I mentioned that according our training cards, we should be learning about the organs/bodily systems affected by each form and that we had not been taught those things....That was when he informed me that I needed to purchase HIS book for $140 in order to learn that area of curriculum.... I respectfully declined.

He assured me that he would be changing the "curriculum" for my 3 yo son and that all would be well. Except that never happened and we were never offered that "Tiny Tigers" class he advertises.... and that I do not believe exists at all.

We sucked it up because of the contract. My kids sat out for half of the green belt test and still got their belts. They sat out the ENTIRE purple belt test and still got their belts. The purple belt test was what did it for me. Not only was I at my end because of my kids sitting out the entire test because they weren't physically / mentally capable of performing what was required, but I did the form and then he asked us to do a kick which he had not taught in any of our classes. I said, "I'm sorry, I've not been taught this", to which he responded, " you learn it now".

In April 2016, my husband was offered an incredible position at a competing company in his industry. He left his job of 26+ years for this position; a move we could have never anticipated. His new job required a lot of travel, far from home. I informed SGM of the changes and in April, I asked if he would freeze our contract/payments from July to September, while we travelled with my husband, before the school year started for my daughter. He agreed. I called the third party billing company and explained such. I also called my credit card company and explained the same, but in case it didn't happen as agreed, they were to block all charges until October 2016.

July 1, 2016, third party billing attempted to charge my card three times for tuition. I called them and asked why, as we had already agreed to the freeze until Oct 2016. I had them call SGM and he subsequently told them told them that we never had that conversation and to continue collecting monthly tuition. At this point, I fully realize this has nothing to do with my kids and everything to do with money.

I start questioning everything. I contacted the WTF/Kukkiwon to see if my kids and I were, in fact, registered with WTF (remember the required $750 we paid at contract signing). They do not have any record of us. It is my understanding that they only register members once they have attained black belt. So where did our $750 go? We never received a receipt or proof of registration from SGM. If we went to another school today with our purple belts and the training we've received, they'd laugh at us. I also took another look at the "scholarship" paper he gave us after contract signing and it is literally nothing. It holds him responsible for nothing. It simply states (in misspelled powerpoint), that once my kids get to college, they can conduct TKD classes and earn money from their students to put towards tuition.

After realizing we'd been duped, I promptly sent a fiery, but respectful email to SGM, that his school is obviously not a good fit and after denying our conversation about the summer contract freeze,we now had trust issues. I explained that the environment he advertised is not the environment that exists. I raised the question of where our WTF registration money went. I offered three months tuition in exchange that he let us out of our contract and we respectfully part ways.

He came back with, "I'm sorry for this, how many months off did you need for summer? I will take care with (3rd party billing). Start charging again in October?" … too little, too late.

I replied and reiterated that after recent events, I no longer trust that he has my children's best interest at heart and that we feel we are spending a lot of money and gaining nothing in return. I cited every grievance aforementioned. I received no response.

When third party billing started their relentless pursuit, I explained that I had a contract dispute with him and that bought me a little time. I sent SGM an email demanding that he cancel our contract. He responded with "come to (academy). We have paperwork to do". I responded to him "we are in Baltimore, MD (2 hrs away from your school), for my husband's job and to please send me the necessary paperwork at our Baltimore address. He responded with, "sorry, you no come to (academy), I cannot help you."

Today, February 9, 2017, I've received 2 calls from a collections company. I am assuming the third party billing sold our contract to collections.

Martial arts schools are exempt from the state's Health Club regulations. So where can I go from here? Are martial arts schools totally unregulated? Is any of this breach of contract? I just don't know where to go or what kind of attorney to hire.

Any thoughts or suggestions would be very much appreciated.
 
So where can I go from here? Are martial arts schools totally unregulated? Is any of this breach of contract?

I would talk to a general practice attorney near you tomorrow.
The initial consultation of 20-30 minutes is normally offered at no charge, no onligation.
Take your documentation, (maybe a copy of your post), and discuss your concerns, ask yoru questions.
The attorney will require time to review your contract.
In the future, always review the contract before signing it.
Take it home, read it, cool off, before you consider signing anything.

What you experienced is very common in many of the so called, "dojos".

Google any of the names on your contract and I suspect your eyes will be opened wider.

Whatever remedy you have, IF ANY, would lie in contract law.

Good luck.
 
I'm very sorry to hear about your story and bad experience with the martial arts, specifically Taekwondo. I truly hope this doesn't damper your spirits towards this amazing martial art that has given me and many of my friends and colleagues so much. This is extremely strange to me to hear for a number of reasons.
  • "Supreme" Grand Masters - which I've never heard the term used - are usually referring to the actual founders of Taekwondo such as the founder of a "kwan" or one of the originating ine clubs. (Our school is SMS Taekwondo, member of the Ji Do Kwan founded by Supreme Grand Master Chong Woo Lee.)
  • I'm unaware of such fees and testing. Sometimes schools will mark up the price the Kukkiwon actually charges and include their processing and handling fees, etc. At least these days the Kukkiwon site has been properly translated into English. While I understand basic Korean, I still went through my Grand Master for Dan certification for black belt testing. I'm unaware of them keeping records for belts below black belt (1st Dan).
  • Testing for belts every 2 months seems a bit odd. First, you are correct about testing when ready. Second, I'm wondering if you'd run out of belts to award although some schools specifically have procedures as you describe and provide belt levels, e.g. a belt with a line of tape is like a "stripe" of a higher level. It's difficult for consumers to appreciate how much the true cost of classes are when you've got various other additional payments.
I helped a friend negotiate her way out of a martial arts contract which also was somewhat illusory and a special set of circumstances. It's unfortunate that the health club industry is generally associated with fraud, misrepresentation and concealment. You may want to read this article on martial arts contracts and their assignment clauses. This will help you appreciate part of what the reality of the situation is. For example, what if the martial arts school already received a lump sum payment for your contract? And then there are other questions to discuss.

If you'd like to scan and post a copy of the contract (feel free to remove personally identifiable information), we'd be glad to see if we can provide you with some insights which might help you. Obviously this cannot be considered "legal advice" such as what you would receive from a proper legal consultation with an attorney. However a discussion may help you including provide you with speaking points for a settlement. I hope it works out and please feel free to let us know.
 
I'm very sorry to hear about your story and bad experience with the martial arts, specifically Taekwondo. I truly hope this doesn't damper your spirits towards this amazing martial art that has given me and many of my friends and colleagues so much. This is extremely strange to me to hear for a number of reasons.
  • "Supreme" Grand Masters - which I've never heard the term used - are usually referring to the actual founders of Taekwondo such as the founder of a "kwan" or one of the originating ine clubs. (Our school is SMS Taekwondo, member of the Ji Do Kwan founded by Supreme Grand Master Chong Woo Lee.)
  • I'm unaware of such fees and testing. Sometimes schools will mark up the price the Kukkiwon actually charges and include their processing and handling fees, etc. At least these days the Kukkiwon site has been properly translated into English. While I understand basic Korean, I still went through my Grand Master for Dan certification for black belt testing. I'm unaware of them keeping records for belts below black belt (1st Dan).
  • Testing for belts every 2 months seems a bit odd. First, you are correct about testing when ready. Second, I'm wondering if you'd run out of belts to award although some schools specifically have procedures as you describe and provide belt levels, e.g. a belt with a line of tape is like a "stripe" of a higher level. It's difficult for consumers to appreciate how much the true cost of classes are when you've got various other additional payments.
I helped a friend negotiate her way out of a martial arts contract which also was somewhat illusory and a special set of circumstances. It's unfortunate that the health club industry is generally associated with fraud, misrepresentation and concealment. You may want to read this article on martial arts contracts and their assignment clauses. This will help you appreciate part of what the reality of the situation is. For example, what if the martial arts school already received a lump sum payment for your contract? And then there are other questions to discuss.

If you'd like to scan and post a copy of the contract (feel free to remove personally identifiable information), we'd be glad to see if we can provide you with some insights which might help you. Obviously this cannot be considered "legal advice" such as what you would receive from a proper legal consultation with an attorney. However a discussion may help you including provide you with speaking points for a settlement. I hope it works out and please feel free to let us know.
 
Thank you for your interest and comments. Your posts have been the most beneficial information I've found online with regard to my situation. I researched a great deal about SGM and his school during the trial week and I really felt confident we would not be disappointed.

On his website it states "Supreme Grand Master ___, 9th Degree Blackbelt, now in the ___ area". I don't know if using "supreme" is any form of false advertising, but I could point to about 27 other statements on his website that promote a learning environment that simply does not exist. I am not aware that he's founded any particular kwan.

As far as the WTF fee, he specifically said, "should you move or change schools your belts will be recognized universally by the WTF". Does it matter that he left out "only after you've attained black belt"? It was only after I contacted WTF months later that I learned they only keep records for black belts. Can one assume that he collects that fee years in advance, literally banking on the fact that you may not attain black belt (for whatever reason) and the average Joe would never question where that money went?

Are you aware of any fees at all required by WTF when joining a school?

There are 14 belts before the first black belt is issued.... Then a number of those belts (black/red stripe, red/black stripe, stripe and stripe some more). Of course by the time we realized this was exactly the school we were trying to avoid, it was too late.

I'm posting a copy of our contract. The back page is in two parts, as the file was too large to upload in it's entirety. It seems he's covered for most everything under the sun. I just can't believe that he has no duty to perform or that I have no recourse at all. He promised so many things that he has not delivered on. In the state his school where his school is located, martial arts schools are exempt from the Health Club regulations.

Any thoughts are very much appreciated.
 

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I have modified the limits so you can upload the attachment. Coincidentally I believe that I have seen this contract before. The back of the contract may help but I'll need to review both sides. I'll explain after taking a quick look.
 
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