Baby Buddies - I wish I had never been there

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New_Mama_2008

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I took my 1.5yr old baby there in July2010. We decided to stop the playgroup after joining for 1 month because the place is very dirty and my baby doesn't like to play there. So we asked for deposit back. During the process, the owner and her husband have made up a sequence of lies and excuses. They lied that my baby is very happy at the class, but in fact they don't even know how my baby looks like. After a long discussion, they agreed to give me back the deposit and my baby won't go there again ever. I went there to pick up my baby and to get the deposit back according to their instruction. But they do not have the deposit for me. Up to now, they still have not paid the deposit back to me. So I am planning to go to their classroom to ask for the deposit back. And also I told them I would put the truth on internet so other people would know. They then threatened that they would get their solicitor to sue me if I do that. They owe me $1200 deposit and I really want to let other parents know how bad this baby playgroup is. I do not believe law is there to help those who can afford a solicitor.
 
My 1.5 year old has attended Baby Buddies in Tuen Mun since March. He loves it and so do I. I`m not sure about the other locations, but Tuen Mun is really clean - the teacher`s aid starts disinfecting near the end of the class. I have never seen any dirt or unhygienic practices there. It`s by far the most fun playgroup I have taken my son to
(for my taste -learning by playing, not with a strict curriculum like many of the centres), and the price tag cannot be beaten in HK - it`s amazing value. Unfortunately I will have to quit soon because it`s getting a bit far for me to travel on the bus once I`m more pregnant, but I can`t find a better one near us, and really dread taking him out of it. They are also one of the only places that do free trials.
As far as getting your deposit back, I also have to look into that for myself, but I know that you for sure need to submit in writing your intention to quit at least one month in advance. The first half of the $1200 should be your first month, and the last half should be your last month, provided you gave the appropriate notice.

So I`m just curious why you would be entitled to the full $1200 if your child already attended the first month and you didn`t seem to give the required notice.

I`m sorry that you had a bad experience with them at your particular location and they did not meet your expectations, but I personally think they are a really great playgroup and would recommend them to anyone.
 
Loved Baby buddies Sheung Wan, both the owner and her husband are wonderful people. PERHAPS you did not give them FULL 1 month notice before asking for deposit back. When you enrolled your son you surely would have signed an agreement saying you accept the rules and regulations of the institution. The place is VERY clean, they wash all toys after session, never found anything dirty in my entire 1 year there. Please do not malign anyone's reputation here without giving full details of incident.
 
My son attended BB-Tuen Mun. We always found the place clean and when we withdrew our child - sent the owner an email and with less than one month's notice, they had no issues about returning the deposit to us. But that was about 2 years ago.
 
Here are more details

I paid for July in advance plus $1200 deposit (+$100 admin fee). I told them on 2-Aug that I would want to drop after end of August. They said is not possible. My baby has to stay till end of September. I said my baby is not happy there hence I really would not want my baby to stay for another 2 months there. Then they told me he was watching my baby playing happily outside his office at that moment. I later went to the class to pick up my baby and realised that they have never been at the center, and the teacher admitted that there is no way the owner who talked to me on the phone would know which one is my baby through the webcam.

Also when we tried to ask more details about what "one calendar month notice" means in this case, they were very rude. They basically said that I have to read again carefully what I signed and they would hold me onto it no matter what. The worst (which made me really angry) is that they accused me of making up story about my baby not happy there, said I just wanted my baby to go to kindergarten in September, but my baby was born in Dec2008, and he is not even old enough yet to go to kindergarten in Sept. How can they judge me as a parent is such a way without any evidence at all????

I do not want to accuse people without evidence but all I said above are the facts. Please judge yourself if you think they have the rights to be strict and rude to their customers.
 
ok, i run a playcentre and what i don't understand is this: if you attended a free trial class, then signed up (including paying the deposit AND signing your consent and understanding of their policies), how you can complain that they are keeping your deposit? YOU signed the paper.... it doesn't say, you must give one month notice, unless of course your baby doesn't like the class... then you don't need any notice...

where i think they are getting it wrong is that if you gave them notice on August 2, then one calendar month would be September 2... i think they should let you get out of it then... not the end of September.

personally, i don't ask for deposit for the very reasons you highlight. EVERYONE thinks they shouldn't have to follow the "rules" and that they should get their money back even though they "forgot" to tell you until the day before the "last class".

i also think that to lie and say that he can see YOUR baby is doing ok is not good... what he should have said was, "i can see the class right now and all of the babies seem to be enjoying themselves." that way he's not implicitly saying YOUR baby is having fun.

just a quick question: if you are not in the class with your baby, how do you know the baby isn't enjoying it? is your helper calling you to tell you that or is the teacher calling you?
 
I realised I have been giving bits and pieces of information.... I didn't want to bore everyone with a long story. Hope I can make it clearer this time...

To your questions...

- I attended the trial class and my helper attended the rest. She told me that my baby isn't happy plus I can tell from my baby's mood after the class. After a happy class, he would run and scream happily at home for the rest of the day, but after baby buddies class, he is more quiet. Also my helper is part of my family and I do trust her fully.

- just to be clear, my baby isn't happy after one month, and they INSISTED on my baby staying till END OF September. I of course as anyone would do, was trying to explain why they should be more flexible, but turned out they were rude and they lied, and I got angry and we argued. They asked me to take my baby out of the class instanly (yes I had to drive there instantly and picked up my baby in the middle of the class).... luckily me and my helper did our best to not let any of these happened in front of my baby.

- and now after we agreed my baby should not go to the class anymore (they said they wouldn't accept him anyway), I'm waiting for my deposit back -- but you're right. Deposit ISN'T the key here. The key is how they treated us when we tried to withdraw from the class
 
i'm sorry that neither you nor your baby has enjoyed their class. i've only ever heard good things about baby buddies. i hope you can resolve this situation in a manner that everyone is happy with the outcome.
 
I'm very surprised at this.

I am a HUGE baby buddies fan (Tuen Mun also) and had no problem getting my deposit back with my 1st and plan on enrolling my 2nd when my son goes to KG. I've also known the owner's to be wonderful people.

I too hope you resolve this situation soon and there is a happy outcome.
 
Sorry forgot to add.. we were there from Tiny Tots to Step 2.

In every class you would find that some kids took longer than others to adjust to the new setting.. I remember a couple even crying for most of the 2 hours but sure enough settled before long. I really thought my son got a lot out of it and was able to try things I wouldn't have dreamed of letting him try at home.. some of which really helped encourage him development. Although even for him there were circle times where he just would not sit still, was aggravated he couldn't play when we were doing something else and would burn out sometimes if he got too much excitement. We left happy though.

I am so sorry your experience hasn't been that great!
 
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