All-Star Worlds Bid Money

[tucknduck]

Unless there's monry owed from the athlete, if they don't get back te loot, they'd be getting a lot of bad word of mouth and a lawyer if the gym owners don't cooperate and fork it over. It don't belong to them if the purpose is to cover future ciosts of current athletes at the gym.

 

[jcheermom]

That's how I read it also. I thought that she had already attended Worlds under the Full Paid Bid and the excess money that was paid last season toward Worlds from last season was put into her Booster Account for use on next season's expenses. I also understood it as, she left this season after she went to Worlds and she wasn't bailing on her team or gym, she waited until she finished out the season and asked for the difference in what she paid for the Partial Paid bid last season, to receive this as a refund, since this money came directly out of her (her parents') pocket. I would have thought that this would have been refunded last season before they even left for Worlds. I would expect the same ( a refund), if indeed this is the correct interpretation . Please correct me if I am wrong.

 

[acheer]

can you not use the money from your account for privates rather than staying at the gym this upcoming season? That way you aren't loosing your money, just have to agree with the gym to do this, I don't know if this is relevant or even possible though?

 

[SarahS]

Yes, from the gym's perspective they owe and entire year tuition plus a "buyout" fee.

So they attended tryouts for this upcoming season, had to sign paperwork before tryouts, decided they were going to a different gym after tryouts, and now the gym is saying they owe for this entire upcoming season, plus a buyout fee? That is shady shadiness. Depending on the kind of contract the parents signed, though, they might be out of luck. Never, never, never would I sign a contract that obligated me to a full year's tuition upfront, no matter how amazing the gym is.

 

[mknvik]

I don't understand why the bid money would have ever gone into the booster account to begin with. It should have been refunded to the athletes from the beginning.

 

[12stepCheermom]

 

[MyDaughterCheers]

I don't know about that. If it's money they owe because they didn't pay all last year then I'm on the gyms side. But, I saw some parent packets online from various places that have a penalty for leaving equivalent to paying out the rest of the year's tuition AND a penalty of $2K for leaving the gym (Which reminds me of a seinfeld episode). I'd never join a place like that, it tells me its all about the money and they're trying to force people to stay after they've started there. Seems shady to me.

I also believe the financial agreement is in place to force people to stay. I don't understand how you can tell someone that they have to sign it BEFORE they know what team their child will be on. I would not have signed it.

 

[MyDaughterCheers]

Booster clubs that run as non-profits have certain, very specific guidelines that they must follow or they can and will lose their tax free status. I don't know about this situation but it is possible that they are not able to give a simple refund due to those restrictions. One solution could have been to present receipts for the seasons travel etc to be compensated out of the overage. But once a person has left a program most clubs rules say excess booster club amounts are forfeited.

I agree and the rules do say that if you leave your booster monies will be forfeited. However, I don't understand how the bid money became booster money in the first place and that is my question . . . is there any recourse?

 

[MyDaughterCheers]

That's how I read it also. I thought that she had already attended Worlds under the Full Paid Bid and the excess money that was paid last season toward Worlds from last season was put into her Booster Account for use on next season's expenses. I also understood it as, she left this season after she went to Worlds and she wasn't bailing on her team or gym, she waited until she finished out the season and asked for the difference in what she paid for the Partial Paid bid last season, to receive this as a refund, since this money came directly out of her (her parents') pocket. I would have thought that this would have been refunded last season before they even left for Worlds. I would expect the same ( a refund), if indeed this is the correct interpretation . Please correct me if I am wrong.

You are correct - she is not bailing on her team. The problem is that she had initially decided to stay with that gym and began the tryout process. Before tryouts were completed, they had to sign the financial agreement. Again, before tryouts were completed, they decided to change gyms. Now the gym is saying you signed the financial agreement so you owe us this money.

 

[MyDaughterCheers]

can you not use the money from your account for privates rather than staying at the gym this upcoming season? That way you aren't loosing your money, just have to agree with the gym to do this, I don't know if this is relevant or even possible though?

That is not an option.

 

[MyDaughterCheers]

So they attended tryouts for this upcoming season, had to sign paperwork before tryouts, decided they were going to a different gym after tryouts, and now the gym is saying they owe for this entire upcoming season, plus a buyout fee? That is shady shadiness. Depending on the kind of contract the parents signed, though, they might be out of luck. Never, never, never would I sign a contract that obligated me to a full year's tuition upfront, no matter how amazing the gym is.

That is the situation in a nutshell. And I agree with you, I would NEVER have signed that agreement, especially not knowing what team my child was on.

 

[SharkDad]

I used the example of leaving before Worlds to illustrate that Bid money is not yours to receive or get refunded.

I think most people agree that the issues here are whether or not the parent over-paid to the gym and then based on gym policies/what she signed at tryouts whether or not she has any right to get the money back.

I have heard about a few of these penalty clauses in gym contracts. I understand gyms need to try and secure their membership for a year, but like any other business we deal with as adults. . .if you see a contract that involves this much risk, it would be understandable to walk away as soon as you read it.

 

[newcheerdad]

I used the example of leaving before Worlds to illustrate that Bid money is not yours to receive or get refunded.

I think most people agree that the issues here are whether or not the parent over-paid to the gym and then based on gym policies/what she signed at tryouts whether or not she has any right to get the money back.

I have heard about a few of these penalty clauses in gym contracts. I understand gyms need to try and secure their membership for a year, but like any other business we deal with as adults. . .if you see a contract that involves this much risk, it would be understandable to walk away as soon as you read it.

I agree with the basic premise that the bid money does not belong to the athlete, but to the gym. And if the gym clearly stated that the difference between the partial paid and full paid amount would be placed in the athlete's booster account (rather than their gym account), then I'm not sure what the issue is. The vast majority of booster clubs do not release funds to athletes when they leave the parent program - they roll them back into the booster club. If there was confusion about that practice the best time to bring it up is before you leave the gym, not after.

As to penalty clauses - I think that if you leave a program, there are certain things you're not entitled to get refunds for. You don't get a refund for competition fees that are already paid out to the EP. You don't get a refund for choreography fees that are already paid out. And maybe you need to give 30-days notice before you can be released from paying monthly tuition.

Beyond that, I'd personally like gyms be flexible in those situations rather than have hard and fast rules that say "you must pay $XXX if you leave our gym". I've said it before - it's important to treat customers well when they're walking out the door. Those are the customers that often complain to 10 other folks, which can send your company's reputation spiraling downhill pretty quickly.

 

[BlueCat]

I also believe the financial agreement is in place to force people to stay. I don't understand how you can tell someone that they have to sign it BEFORE they know what team their child will be on. I would not have signed it.

We don't have anything like that and I can't imagine that we ever will. I would highly recommend against anyone signing a contract like that. However, when you sign contracts, you can't go back later and say "I've decided that was a stupid contract, so therefore I don't have to follow it."

 

[ACEDAD]

That is shady shadiness.

I can't tell you how much I love this.