Swimming School withholding my money

[girlsmum]

Hi, I hope someone can help me.

My dd's both attended a Leisure Centre run swimming school for which I paid by dd. Two days ago I cancelled these lessons as I'm fed up of my dd's lessons being run for 50 weeks a year with no holidays.

The lady from the Leisure Centre rang this morning to say fine you've cancelled but we will not be refunding you any of the direct debit money as its like a hold on the girls places. So thats near on 40 quid per dd. She said the girls could continue with their lessons until the end of July instead.

I'm not happy - I have already enrolled them somewhere else now and I DO NOT remember being aware of this rule when I signed the standard direct debit form.

Does anyone know where I stand?

I think you normally have to give some sort of notice when finishing a direct debit - I would say that this sounds reasonable - sorry - not what you wanted to hear.

You can cancel a direct debit directly with your bank, but if the pool has a notice period (as ours do) then they won't refund you what you've already paid. We pay a month in advance.

If you booked the course then suspect you are liable for the full payment until the end of it or a predetermined notice period has passed, however you chose to pay. Can you cancel the dd anyway and see itf they chase you for the money ?

I pay for ds3's swim lessons by DD and it clearly stated on the form that a full month's notice had to be given in the event of a cancellation. It would seem that you are not in time to cancel the DD for July. Also it's very unlikely that anyone will want to enrol their kids for only the next 4 weeks til the end of the summer term, so I think they are right on this one.

On the point of 50 weeks with no holidays - personally I think it's a fab idea. I used to hate having a half term break and 6 or 7 weeks off in the holidays. Like a lot of other parents, I found that my kids forgot what they had learnt after a 6 week break so welcomed the change when they went to a 50 week rolling programme.

Hi thanks for your replies. I guess I will just have to swallow the loss of money then. Next time I pop into the leisure centre I think I will ask for a list of rules just to check. I'm gutted.

QE - my dh and I hate the 50 week term, my dh always works bank holidays so we can't attend and then holidays that you miss - I think we ended up missing 7 - 8 classes anyway. I also think its good to give my kids a bit of a break from it too sometimes.

LIZS - I have cancelled my DD for July but you pay a DD a month in advance.

They might give you a 'credit note' that you can use for other activities at the leisure centre over the summer hols.