don`t let this happen to you Mobile!
John
He is the person all other martial arts instructors work for.
This is what he did to me.
I took tae kwon do about ten years ago in a class of his. I took the
class for about two years. I was really good at it and had several
trophies. I made it all the way to red belt before I had to move away.
(the order is white,yellow,green,blue,red and black)
Anyway, I moved back to Mobile in early `98 and I wanted to join the
class again and earn my black belt. I didn`t want to start over as a
white belt so I called him to see if I could "pick up where I left off"
as a red belt. He was very nice and encouraged me to join. He said that
I could be a red belt, just as I used to be, and that I would have to
practice for about five or six months before testing for my black belt.
That`s exactly what I wanted to hear.
To join his class you must sign a contract.
So I went to his instructor,Dean Minardo, and talked to him and I told
him the situation. He said that he had talked to Rick and everything was
ok. All I had to do was sign the contract and I would be a red belt.
So I signed the contract expecting a red belt. They told me that I would
receive my red belt in a few days because they had to order more. No
problem I thought.
After a few weeks of no red belt I started asking questions. It was then
I was notified that I wasn`t going to be a red belt. I had to start over
as a white belt.
That shocked me and Dean Minardo because we both knew what the deal was.
I called Rick Hoadley back to see what the problem was. He denied ever
talking to me about this in the past. He said there is no way he would
let anyone "pick up where they left off"! Needless to say I was pissed.
So without hesitation I quit the class because Rick Hoadley lied to me.
So there I was no red belt.
About a month later his lawyers started calling me to collect on the
money owed from the contract. I explained the situation to them so they
called Rick. Rick Hoadley denied ever knowing me. Rick told the lawyers
that it is against policy for him to allow someone to come back and be
the same belt they were when they left.
I promise that he told me I could join as a red belt. All I have is my
word against his.
Now his lawyers are going to garnish my wages for nearly 2000 bucks!
I should have got it in writing what he told me. I trusted this mans
word though.
He just told me what I wanted to hear long enough to sign the contract.
Just as the ink dried from my signature he changed his story. Now I`m
out 2000 dollars thanks to the lie he told.
Jason Gardner
Did you lose in court?? A verbal contract is never as good as a
written contract, but the written contract was signed over a verbal
agreement. Don't let the lawyers scare you. Check with the BBB and
see if there are other complaints about this guy. If not, too bad,
but if so, perhaps you can show a history...or better yet, start a
class action suit. Don't be afraid of going to court, especially
small claims court.
Getting screwed always sucks, happens to me all the time.
Good luck.
J
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