Company does transactions over the phone and has complete access to your card number
Melody Music Studios employs people in your area to meet with you for a lesson, she does not live in your area.
Great teachers, Not so great owner. I made it clear that I wanted to learn arabesque by debussy, I printed off the sheet music, went to the lesson, we didn't even touch it. Neither Kathi (owner) nor my instructor knew the piece which is arguable one of Debussy most known works along with claire de lune. I told Kathi that I wanted to cancel my lessons after the "trial lesson" via email. In the email she sends after the first lesson she states that you must include the reason why the lesson was bad so she can give you a refund. I responded to her email saying I didn't want to continue because of the cost, leaving out my gripes with the lesson because I thought that would be appropriate. Well, I should have said something went wrong right then and there because she sent me an email that said she charged me for the the lesson that I thought would be a free trial (trial does not = free trial. I admit, I should have seen this coming). I responded with how I thought this was unfair given that this was a trial lesson and gave her the reasons on why the instructor's behavior didn't work with me (inappropriate jokes, low level of proficiency), with no response, I decided to call 5 hours later. She told me I was just trying to get a free lesson and she would not be refunding me, also that she did not believe what I said about her instructor, I told her we could call him right now and verify, but she would not oblige. She didn't want to speak of my transaction, she only wished to tell me how I was wrong for wanting a refund. I ended the conversation how a classless citizen normally would, I cursed her name and hung up. A childish approach to business, but she's facilitating a great environment for learning kids-still gets one star. If you wish to cancel after the first lesson, make sure you tell her that the instructor was awful, takes your card before the lesson so she can still charge you if she wants. She also doesn't know how chargebacks work.
Edit: in response to her message,
1. she did not have a conversation with her instructor, Ben is a good Christian man who attended liberty university and would not lie.
2. Ben is just out of college, he does not have decades in perfecting his skill on his instrument, he might have one decade, every time he performed an exercise he made a mistake at least once. I've been studying music for 13 years and I know when mistakes are made. Ben is an education major, not a performance major, voice is his primary, piano his secondary.
3. As I said, I was happy with my lesson, Ben was excellent, I didn't think I should have been charged for the so called trial lessons and because I couldn't get a refund for the lesson, I listed the reasons why I should have been refunded. Not to mention we didn't even touch the piece that I made oh so clear that I wanted to learn - so excuse me for the thinking the lesson shouldn't be paid for (sarcasm).
4. Do not tell me what you think is mean, your entire passive aggressive attitude was mean, the fact that you wouldn't believe what I said about Ben was mean, the fact the you said you had a long conversation that said he didn't say anything inappropriate was a LIE, and also mean.
NEVER, give your credit card to someone over the phone, you live and you learn. read more