Contract question...

[Big Kahuna]

Hi! I am not sure if this is the right place to ask, but here it goes: In May in found a BJJ club that is 42 miles, one way, from my house. So, close to a 100 mile trip per training class. Anyway, the instructor told me that I could go month to month, but I had to sign a contract and we could stop it at anytime. I haven't gone since June and I have since found a new club to train with, so I tried canceling my contract. Nope! Apparently, the contract is not held with the particular school but with a collection company and any arrangements should have been made through them or an addendum should have been added to the contract. So, the instructor said I could cancel at anytime and the collection company says no. What should I do?

[cam427]

Dude,

I hear about this shit all the time. It is a real problem with McDojo's. I would advise you to learn from it and never sign a contract again. Many good clubs do not require one.

The fact that the salesman misrepresented the terms of the contract may provide you with an escape but only if you are prepared to hire a lawyer to review your situation and send them a letter. He should do this even if the contract locks you in as many companies will back down from a legal challenge by pretending to do the right thing.

You could try sending a letter to the company yourself stating that the salesman misrepresented the conditions and that you are prepared to seek legal advice if necessary. They may back down just from that (but it is not likely).

When he says that the contract is with a collection company and he has no control over it, that sounds like bullshit. The collection company do not just collect from random people. They are hired by him to collect the money so he tells them who to collect from and can also tell them that a contract is cancelled.

Also, I would put the name of the dojo and the instructor on www.bullshido.com and state the situation that occurred. This will at least prevent the same thing from hapenning to other people. You could tell him in your letter that you intend to do this if the situation is not resolved to your satisfaction. This may add more weight to your argument.

Good Luck
Cam

[Big Kahuna]

Cam,

Thanks for the advice. I'd hate to have to slander the dojo's name because they are a great bunch. If I need to, I'll bash the collection company. I honestly don't think the instrcutor knew he was in the wrong. When I contacted him to cancel the contract, he forward me to the collection agency and they are the ones giving me grief. In any case, I'll keep y'all updated.

Thanks again!
Big Kahuna

[Nutz]

Whatever happened with this? And which studio was it? I don't want my myself or any friends to have to deal with that kind of crap.

[JaredExtreme]

I have to agree. Most good schools out there DO NOT require contracts, but of course hindsight is 20/20.

I would if there are specific governmental agencies that could be contacted regarding this, liek the btter business bureau etc..

[Sensei Saki]

Why do you have to do it?Thanks for the compliment. Are they exactly the same?
But not all of them?What would make you if there are specific governmental agencies that could be contacted regarding this liek the btter business bureau etc?

[Big Kahuna]

After my initial contact with the collection agency, they said that they could cancel my contract based on their cancellation policy which is 90 days notice, so I'll have another 3 payments to make. Hell no! I made an agreement to cancel my contract at any time...

I have since sent two emails to the instructor and agency with no reply. My next step is to have a lawyer send them a letter indicating that I will seek legal action and I will make a complaint about the agency to the BBB.

Make sure you get everything in writing...

[Cyclops]

That's why I NEVER sign a contract. If the school is good, he shouldn't need one. Students who learn and learn well will keep coming and keep paying. Those that dont wanna learn or can't handle the training, you dont want them anyway.
If the guy doesnt teach well, you should be able to get out whenever.

[gregimotis]

We do both contracts and month to month in house, depending on what the student decides. Here's some info on our contracts and some reasons why it's done that way - might help everybody understand each other:


first of all, we discourage people from signing up for contracts longer than three or six months until they've been around a while. Also there are a couple clauses for 'outs' and if somebody doesn't want to train any more, we try to help them use the escape clauses. We have never pursued a contract against a student who left on good terms (in other words didn't get four hundred dollars behind and continue coming to class all the while and then bad mouth the school when I wanted some money)


That being said, the contracts ARE held by a separate company. Essentially what happens is; you sign up, we 'sell'; the membership to a collection company which sends us a regular percentage of the membership.

-Technically, the collection company can refuse to release your contract if they decide to, In reality if we tell them to drop it, they always will (because they know we can take our business elsewhere)

-Letting someone else handle collection is a great advantage to us. We don't have to hassle our students for money, and that's a big deal; Our accounting is much simpler because we are only getting paid by one entity rather than every student; If there are legal problems with a former student, or if the I.R.S. wants to audit, or something like that, it's all on the collection company.

-Using a third-party collector allows us to off-load much of the business end of the thing. I can teach and train and not sweat who is up to date, who's not and whether I filled all the paperwork in the right place.




In conclusion, just because there is a contract doesn't mean someone is trying to screw you. I got rent to pay, insurance to pay, and I am not paying myself - any money we have extra goes to new equipment and bringing in seminars.

Finally, I hate to say it, but students screw their schools all the time - not paying for months at a time, 'forgetting' to pay, 'borrowing' equipment. Using the collection company protects us somewhat from that.

I know contracts are a bitch, and I know there are a lot of d**ks out there who willl use them to take advantage, but try to see that it's a difficult situation for everybody. Most MA schools are run on razor budgets by people who really just want to teach, not run a business.