Dance Studio And My credit

[sufferer]

I enrolled my kids in dance class and gave them post dated checks.Sep-Dec and Jan-july.In dec they came up with 50% off and i demanded my 50% off from jan-july.They refused and I pulled my kids out and put a hold on my checks.Now they are threating to put me through collection as i signed a contract with them
1) can they put me through collection.if yes then what will happen
2) can they ruin my credit without my social number.I have a good credit hostory with 0 strikes on my credit
3) does that contract hold any weight when it wasn't even filled properly.can i report them top consumer affairs.

Isn't it unfair on their part to ignore their current customers and offer discounts to new customers.why I should be obligated to pay full price for a service that can be received at half the price.
Just for info the amount is 400$.

Any experiences/comments/advise ??
Thanks in advance

[hadenough]

How is your credit otherwise?

This is not a secured debt.

Read your contract carefully and don't panic over this. What are the stipulations/criteria required of them for a client to terminate the agreement for services?

What is the amt of money they are demanding from you? It costs company money to sell their recvbls to collection agencies, as the agency takes a fee.

[arabian]

Sufferer: I believe the business (dance studio) was offering incentives to attract new clients. It is no different than when the cable company you are currently with offers incentives to people who switch. If you are currently in a service contract you cannot benefit for the incentive for new customer.

I believe you are in a contract, implied by submitting post-dated cheques. and to put stop-payment on your cheques you are essentially terminating your contract. The dance studio may or may not take you to small claims court to enforce the contract.

Businesses have overhead (rent, payroll & utilities) and that is the reason they get you to sign a contract. Maybe next year you can wait till January before you put your kids in dance class (half the year is over) and you too can get a 50% discount. If you really think about it the 50% off is not a discount but rather reflects the balance of the year (Sept 1 - Jan 15 = 5.5 months; January 16 - June 31 = 5.5 months).

[hadenough]

It's not worth it for them to put it into collections over a few hundred bucks. It's certainly not worth going to small claims court either.

[arabian]

Yes and I would add that nutty people pursue these sorts of things.

[standing on the sidelines]

contact the BBB

[Berner_Faith]

I tend to agree with the above poster who stated that when deals come around, doesn't mean you automatically get to take part in them. Many companies offer discounts for new customers, it is a way to enhance their customer database. From my understanding your children have been in the dance class since September, you agreed to the price and signed a contract... if you go to the store and buy something and then 4 months later they have that item on sale, do you really expect them to refund you the difference in price?

Personally, I think you are in the wrong, the only ones truly hurting from this are the children that no longer get to enjoy their dance class. You have a signed contract, you need to abide by that contract because they have every right to put you into collections for failure to pay on said contract.

[hadenough]

That is a great analogy BF. I do agree. But I also doubt they will put her into collections. They will likely make a few calls, and then fade away.

[Berner_Faith]

I doubt they will worry about collections either over a few hundred dollars, however if they choose to go this route, they are certainly within their rights. Just a sad situation for the children who have to miss out.

[DowntroddenDad]

Clearly you thought that the price they were asking was worth it when you signed up and gave them post dated checks. You may not like it, but it was a contract, and you agreed to it.

I would have asked them for a discount on any future sets of lessons, and see what they say, but it is too late for that now.

[hadenough]

Clearly, the matter was not dealt with appropriately in the first place, and now it is too late to remedy (that aspect).

[HammerDad]

My daughter has been in dance for 5 years now and is now in competitive. Our dance studio offers incentives for the recreational program to get kids in. If you sign them up in December/January for the upcoming September, you usually get a better deal then signing them up in August for the same start date.

IMO, you likely don't have a leg to stand on. You agreed to pay the price setout in your contract and your refusal to pay the remaining amounts puts you in breach.

There was an offer (dance for $X per month), you accepted and the consideration was dance and the fee. Should this end up in small claims court (which is pretty unlikely) you would likely lose.

I know it sucks to see offers and discounts when you are paying the regular rate. But that is way it works. They are incentives for new customers. I don't see my phone or cable company giving me all the same deals they offer new customers.....it is the companies perogative who they make such offers to.

[hadenough]

On that note, if you don't ask; you don't get Rogers was quite accomodating to a friend of mine who called them looking for some "breaks." You never know unless you try

[mom2three]

I enrolled my kids in dance class and gave them post dated checks.Sep-Dec and Jan-july.In dec they came up with 50% off and i demanded my 50% off from jan-july.They refused and I pulled my kids out and put a hold on my checks.Now they are threating to put me through collection as i signed a contract with them
1) can they put me through collection.if yes then what will happen
2) can they ruin my credit without my social number.I have a good credit hostory with 0 strikes on my credit
3) does that contract hold any weight when it wasn't even filled properly.can i report them top consumer affairs.

Isn't it unfair on their part to ignore their current customers and offer discounts to new customers.why I should be obligated to pay full price for a service that can be received at half the price.
Just for info the amount is 400$.

Any experiences/comments/advise ??
Thanks in advance

If I was in your shoes I would go back to the studio with my tail between my legs, apologize for MY behaviour, ask that the children not be punished for my actions and to please allow the studio to continue offering dance classes to my children. Then, pay up.

It is not a huge amount of money. However, the studio is well within its rights to demand payment from you. You terminated a contract for which you had no valid reason to end the contractual relationship and they are entitled to a remedy for breach of contract.

If the studio has threatened to bring the matter to collections it is likely that they will sue. If you opt not to take the action above (put children back in dance class) and you do receive a letter for payment, it would be wise to pay it.

Refusal to make payment can result in the matter to be brought to Small Claims and there the studio can ask for pre and post judgement as well as their costs of the proceeding, thus becoming costlier than what you are now required to pay.

[HammerDad]

Just a couple questions.

Was this a written contract? If yes, does it have any early termination provisions?