to think I can somehow get my money back or feel better?

[strawberriesandmelon]

First day of DD at kickboxing class... it was being a really positive experience, until the £££ part came in.

Yes, the lessons seemed pricey, but reasonable, well, sort of. What really drives me mad is the "starter kit" that they sold us for £175!!! and that included: 1 cloth bag (estimated value on the high street £10), 1 t-shirt (let's be super-generous and say £20), 1 pair of trousers (around £20 too), 1 pair of boxing gloves (checked it on the manufaturer's website, they're around £12), one belt (around £5) and one pair of shoe protectors (around £16). That all comes up for around £70!!! Not frikking £175!!!

In my defense, I am a total stranger to martial arts and had no idea of how much much these items costed, so I assumed I was being reasonably overcharged (you know you always get to pay a little more than if you buy directly from the shop)... but £175! I've already signed-up to 6 months of lessons for DD (their minimum) so if I bring it back and protest, it will be a really uncomfortable situation afterwards. Anyway, as you can imagine, I feel all kinds of stupid and am fuming mad with myself. What would you do in my case? Do consumer rights cover these situations, am I entitled to bring it back and get a refund? They didn't even give me a receipt the @#! bastards!!!

I'msofuckingstupidI'msofuckingstupidI'msofuckingstupidI'msofuckingstupidI'msofuckingstupidI'msofuckingstupidI'msofuckingstupidI'msofuckingstupidI'msofuckingstupidI'msofuckingstupidI'msofuckingstupidI'msofuckingstupidI'msofuckingstupidI'msofuckingstupidI'msofuckingstupidI'msofuckingstupid ahhhhhhrg

Sounds like a racket. Licence to print money. Surely someone reputable would

a) not charge so much
b) not expect people to buy all this after 1 lesson

You aren't stupid. These people are good at this. The fact that it is your child, you want her to enjoy something, probably subtle pressure was applied .....

oh-oh-oh you're right OriginalJamie, I wouldn't even consider spending £90 in a gym membership for myself, and god knows how I need it! :(

Aaanyway... going to swallow all this and cook dinner... try not to look too pissed off... aarhg!

You need to have a word with consumer direct. Sounds wrong to force parents to pay this much for clothing and lessons. 6 months worth? Ouch!

I hope someone more knowledgeable about martial arts will come along. Perhaps "racket" is putting it too strongly ... The kickboxing is good, so they aren't complete shysters. I think it's just really easy for organisations for children (drama, dance etc etc) to overcharge. Happens a lot.

That's why I like Scouts so much ...

£175 that was just for the equipments, lessons are £90 a month. And I have to say they didn't force me :(

I did kickboxing for ages and the kit (overpriced) was only offered after you had been going a while AND they told us where to get the stuff cheaper if we wanted. YANBU.

£90!! Ds joined a fencing club. I paid £35 for 10 lessons, the first two were free. All kit was free to borrow. Call consumer direct, sounds scammy to me.

My dd does Judo. The lessons are reasonable in price but you do have to join Judo UK and pay a yearly subscription to be able to grade however the club suggest you wait at least 3-4 weeks before spending the £20 to join Judo UK (and you get your first belt included in that as well) just encase Judo isn't for your child. The children need a suit, to start off leggings and a T-shirt are fine, the club have a bag of suits that can be borrowed, again they recommend you hold off spending the £20 on a suit and if you don't want to buy/can't afford to buy then that's cool, they can continue using club suits. Gradings cost about £10 and they grade on average 4 times a year. You commit to a half terms worth of lessons each time so not losing too much cash if your child decides Judo is no longer for them.
I hate these clubs that run like yours, have seen a few of them as dh does a range of martial arts, they take advantage, put on pressure and make it very hard for you not to buy the over priced poor quality kit from them. They give good, honest clubs a bad name. Yes there are extra costs involved in martial arts what with gradings and things but clubs like yours take the piss to a level that ends up making all clubs look bad.
YANBU and you are not stupid. I would raise it with the club and it the kit you bought from them is unused I would try and return so you can buy from elsewhere, I would also look into any other clubs that aren't running these scams for you dd to join. I don't know what your rights are though I am afraid.

£90 a month!!! We pay £20 a half term!

I know, I know! It all seems so clear now... Oh, but DD loved it, she's so looking forward to go back... Really it was my fault, I shouldn't have fall for it.

strawberries - that is a massive rip off.

Judo clubs charge about £10/session including memebrship so that is something like £40 - 50 per month. I know you need more kit for kick boxing but a full judo kit with heavy jacket, belt and trousers is about £30 - 40.

YANBU - What a rip-off!

Flipping heck you've been had.

W do Thai boxing. Our membership for all four of us including gym membership for me and DH and with access to all classes they run is 94 a month.

The gym let you train in your own gym clothes and borrow gloves until you decide you want to do it.

It does get pricey - decent boxing gloves are about seventy quid now, thirtyfivr for shorts, then there are all the little bits and pieces, head guards, mouth guards, groin guards, etc, but honestly, they have seen you coming.

Whatever possessed you??????

I am sure watchdog or similar did a story on this years ago, have you tried googling company name? Did you pay by credit card, not sure if you would be entitled to dispute payment

Yep tell us the name or google the company?

Unfortunately I've just spoken to Consumer Direct this morning, and they said I can't step out of the contract or return the items if they're not faulty. I could appeal to their good will, but I am tempted to think that if they had any decency left they wouldn't be charging so much. :/

Not to mention that DD is absolutely thrilled with her shitty t-shirt and gloves, and it would be hard for me to explain to her why I returned it. I shall have to put this down to experience... I really really hope I learn my lesson this time.

You could have checked eBay.

@FlossieTeacake Yup I could have and I should have.

In the future, I have to remember not to give in to the pressure to sign up for anything / buy anything without giving it a good think first. It's happened to me before, I'm sure to you too... anyone got any tips? Guess I'll just have to have the words "I need to think about it" permanently on my lips...

Possibly tattoo them in my forehead lol

Oh dear, that is a lot of money. Please try and talk to someone at the club and maybe try and negotiate something.

I really feel for you. My children are also keen on judo. My daughter has been paying £65 a term to do it at school, but the people who run the course have recently sent her a letter inviting her to attend what they call a 'Black Belt Leadership Programme', a two year course, which they are asking £3,000 for, to take place at an as yet unspecified location. I am not joking! I spoke to the British Judo Association today, to find out whether they have any information on the people running the course. Unsurprisingly, they do not. I have informed her school, who are on the case as this is not something sanctioned by them.

For your information, the British Judo Association (www.britishjudo.org.uk) has a list of accredited clubs. My local one gives starters a five week trial course before they commit any money. The cost is then £26 to become a member of the British Judo Association (this includes insurance), £46 a year for membership of the club (The Railway Institute) plus £15-£20 for a uniform. Classes are then charged at a nominal 30p.

My daughter is only seven. I was informed by the accredited club that children that children cannot start judo proper until they are eight, and they have to be 15 until they can even start to the proper black belt course.

Sounds like there are a lot of dodgy martial arts providers out there. Hope you manage to get some of your money back.