How can I get my refund from West-wind Berkeley?

**kurrimasta** · Posted On: 1/16/2006 3:56am

hey guys,

i wish i had seen this forum before enrolling at west-wind, but oh well. i signed up for a 16-week trial program for $1600 in october. After two weeks of training I requested a refund and de-enrolled from the school. till this day they have been giving the weirdest run-around why they can't pay my refund. at first they said wait till november, then till january when i'll get it "for sure." now apparently there are 12 people ahead of me to get a refund and they are using all their resources to pay their rent. it's all a bunch of lies, and a ****-poor organization. It seems like I might have to take a legal route sometime soon...

can anyone offer me advice to get my money back?

thanks

**Mor Sao** · Posted On: 1/16/2006 4:06am

Take them to small claims court. Did you read the contract before you signed it? You might be out of money if you did not use certified mail to send them your requests as well as document sending them those particular documents.

**El-Wood** · Posted On: 1/16/2006 8:44am

take them to court - check to see if one of the local news channels has an "on your side" program and get them involved... I seem to remember it being channel 5 for some odd reason in the bay area but its been almost 7 years since the last time I lived there so I'm probably way way off...

**antman** · Posted On: 1/16/2006 9:52am

channel 7 on youur side actually

**Gezere** · Posted On: 1/16/2006 9:54am

This is why LONG term contracts are not a good idea, for the consumer that is. Hell I bitch about cell contracts and now my ISP wants a one year commitment. You don't know how well the service will be and they want you to commit to for a long time!!!

Anyways maybe one of the Legal types on the board can give you some advice.

**gangrelchilde** · Posted On: 1/16/2006 10:21am

Originally Posted by kurrimasta

hey guys,

i wish i had seen this forum before enrolling at west-wind, but oh well. i signed up for a 16-week trial program for $1600 in october. After two weeks of training I requested a refund and de-enrolled from the school. till this day they have been giving the weirdest run-around why they can't pay my refund. at first they said wait till november, then till january when i'll get it "for sure." now apparently there are 12 people ahead of me to get a refund and they are using all their resources to pay their rent. it's all a bunch of lies, and a ****-poor organization. It seems like I might have to take a legal route sometime soon...

can anyone offer me advice to get my money back?

thanks

OK, wait a second. First of all, did you SERIOUSLY pay $1600 for 16 WEEKS? Is there a typo in there somewhere?

Anyway... The main issue you need to tell us before you can get advice is "Why did you leave?" That's the question his attorney and anyone hearing the case will ask. Also, you really need to give us some info on the contract. Did it have a clause describing how you could be released from any financial obligations? Did you follow those obligations? I'm not intimately familiar with California law; I practice in PA (And there are a few people here on Bullshido who can vouch for me, including Matt Bernius). But if you didn't read the fine print and just decided to stop going, you should probably count yourself lucky the school hasn't decided to take you to court for breach of contract.

If you give the requested info, some of us may be able to give a better opinion.

**Sam Browning** · Posted On: 1/16/2006 12:06pm

Please print a full copy of the contract language here.

**Zendetta** · Posted On: 1/16/2006 12:53pm

Whatever happens,write it up for Bullshido if you can (after the legal smoke has cleared).it would be a good follw up to Bunyip's piece.

**new2bjj** · Posted On: 1/16/2006 2:24pm

Everytime I go by one of those west wind schools, I want to yell-" run for your lives", having beem a former member. But no way was it nearly as expensive as it is now, on even adjusted for inflation. good luck in court- I'm sure their contracts are iron clad, though.