Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/06/2025

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Dear BBB,I am filing a complaint against a merchant for deceptive charges and unethical practices.On Oct. 30, I enrolled in a Free Trial swimming plan for $526.36, valid from Nov. 130, 2024. The terms stated the plan would convert to a 3-month plan unless canceled by Nov. 30. On Nov. 29, I tried to cancel and switch to their Black Friday deal (first month free on 3-month plans). Unable to reach them by phone, I emailed to cancel but received no response. Assuming my cancellation was valid, I purchased the Black Friday plan on Nov. 30.On Dec. 1, the merchant denied my cancellation, falsely claiming it was due by Oct. 31 because I paid on Oct. 30. Despite the terms stating charges would be applied monthly, they charged me for the full three months upfront for both plans:Free Trial plan: $326.36 (Dec), $426.36 (Jan)Black Friday 3-month plan: $425-$425 discount (Nov. 2930), $453.01 (Dec), $453.01 (Jan), $453.01 (Feb), plus a $100 signup fee.The merchant applied the Black Friday "first month free" discount for only one day (Nov. 2930) with the signup fee, then, they charged the full monthly rate for Dec, Jan, and Feb.When I disputed these charges, they labeled my complaint as hostile, revoked my access, and demanded $532.95 in arbitration ******* total, I have been charged $2,211.75, including taxes and fees, for overlapping plans that I didnt use. This reflects charges for five months of service that were neither legitimate nor used.The merchant has a pattern of deceptive practices, as evidenced by online reviews. Numerous customers report similar experiences, including difficulty canceling, misapplied terms, and unjustified fees. These actions suggest they are engaging in systemic fraudulent behavior.I request BBBs assistance in investigating this matter and holding the merchant accountable. I have all relevant documentation attached to this request.Thank you for your attention.Sincerely,Wen **** **

  Business Response

  Date: 01/07/2025

  To whom it may concern,

  We provide the life ****** of swimming to primarily children.  We have customized our facility for this objective and provide living wages to our staff.  We love to share our enthusiasm for water recreation and the life style of safely enjoying our waterways.  We have the best instructors and facility in the area to provide this service to our community.  
  
  We provided timely and kind responsiveness to this customer. They purchased a free trial offering a month back, booked more ******s beyond the free trail, purchased our Holiday sale, and then requested a cancelation of their previous plan.  When they did not receive the accommodation they demanded, they then insulted the staff and threatened the business.  The customer then filed a dispute with the credit card company for a reversal of fees provided for services provided.  

  We abide entirely by the unbiased decision of the credit card company's merchant services which provides arbitration in resolving disputes on transactions.  This arbitration process represents all parties and provides a determination based on the facts provided.  In the case of this dispute, the customer was denied a reversal of the fees based on a review of our business's full disclosure of information provided during/after the purchase decision and our follow-up correspondences to inquires from the customers.  We provided the credit card company the signed purchase agreements and our exact correspondences with the customer (attached for your review).  The customer then filed this ******************** complaint.
  
  We do not agree with the use of the public review process and the BBB to threaten the business into provided special considerations and cannot effectively maintain the business in the community in response to demands in this manner.
  
  We work best with families that can commit to our program fully and see the value in what we provide.  We do not do well with families looking for bargains and/or trying to get free ******s at the expense of the business and our customers.  We believe this customer is attempting to receive free and discounted services at the expense of the business which then distracts us also from providing quality swim ******s to our kids.
  
  We believe that you will always receive what you contribute in like value. We will offer only kindness and quality in our swim ****** programs.

  Sincerely,

  General Manager, SwimQwik Swim School

  Customer Answer

  Date: 01/07/2025

  Complaint: 22777171
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  The business continues to deflect blame onto its customers and claim that their actions are justified. Their free trial terms explicitly state that plans can be canceled by the end of the month, and the billing period was clearly listed as November 1 to November 30. I used and paid for the free trial offer and the subsequent months ******s. Following their stated terms, I contacted them before the end of the month to cancel instead of enrolling in the three-month plan. However, the merchant refused to honor the cancellation and accused me of insulting their staff when my email correspondence merely expressed dissatisfaction and called out their poor customer service. At no point did I make any threats.

  In fact, it was the merchant who acted in a threatening manner, stating they would not cancel my plan and then charging me for five months worth of ****** plans in a single day. This action contradicts their own terms, which indicate that plans should be billed monthly. Furthermore, they threatened to remove my remaining visits if I pursued the issue further, which they followed through on by suspending my account.

  The merchant also employed deceptive practices by applying a Black Friday free-month discount to a single day rather than the entire month, further manipulating customers into paying more for less value.

  Their refusal to engage constructively with dissatisfied customers has left me no choice but to use public reviews and the BBB complaint process to seek a resolution. Instead of addressing my concerns, the merchant falsely claims I am trying to obtain free services. However, I have already paid for all the ******s I attended and am disputing charges for ******s I never used. It is clear that the merchant is attempting to extract money from me without providing the corresponding service.

  The average public review rating of 2.4 stars, alongside numerous complaints about similar issues, demonstrates that this merchant has a history of questionable practices and is well-versed in handling disputes to their advantage.

  I strongly believe that businesses like this, which display hostile and predatory behavior, have no place in our community. I will continue to advocate for justice to protect our neighborhood and ensure the safety of our children.
  Sincerely,
  *** **

• Initial Complaint

  Date:06/11/2024

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  On May 21, I enrolled my daughter in swim ******s, selecting the earliest available date of **** 1 for a group ******* I believed I had signed up for four ******s over a month and could choose convenient dates and times. I was charged $341 for the month.After the **** 1 ******* I tried to book another for **** 4, thinking it would be the second of my four ******s. However, I mistakenly signed up for an additional group ****** and was charged $314. Realizing my error, I contacted the facility on **** 4 to cancel the second ****** and reverse the charge. I left a voicemail and was advised by a swim instructor to email their support team. I emailed them on **** 5, detailing the situation and requesting assistance but received no response. I followed up with another email and voicemail on **** 6, still with no reply.On **** 8, SwimQwik contacted me at a different email, indicating the email I used was unauthorized. I confirmed my identity and explained the issue again. They informed me that I had signed up for two 3-month plans, which was not clear at the time of registration, and they refused to offer support, citing a no-cancellation policy.I responded on **** 10, stating I would not pay for two 3-month plans and could have resolved this issue with timely support. Following this, SwimQwik charged my credit card five times on **** 10, totaling $2100 for future ******s, and cancelled my **** ******s without notice. I had already paid over $600 for **** classes that were now canceled, with no resolution offered.SwimQwiks website does not clearly state the 3-month commitment during sign-up or on the receipt, only in the terms and conditions, which is deceptive. Their customer service is unresponsive, making it impossible to correct mistakes. The portal is misleading, leading to accidental sign-*** for additional ******s or long-term commitments. This company's practices are deceptive, and their customer service is inadequate.

  Business Response

  Date: 06/14/2024

  ****************,
  
  Your email request was escalated to management for handling.
  
  Thank you kindly for letting us know about your formal request to cancel your swim plans.  The system has processed your cancelation request for both of your purchased monthly group plans per agreed terms in notification to ******************************** cancelation.  
  
  Please be aware that you purchased 3 month swim ****** plans and your cancellation was processed to include these months through the term indicated on your purchase agreement.  Once a cancelation request is received, we are no longer authorized to rely on your method of payment for auto-billing and all monthly invoices are processed to complete the cancelation.
  
  Were sorry you didnt understand your purchase better.  We have this described in several places in our online content and have it clearly described in the purchase agreement we require all customers to sign.  
  
  From your purchase history, it looks like you originally purchased the first monthly group plan in May for Saturdays in which you signed the purchase agreement, processed payment, and were emailed confirmation/reminders.  In June, you then purchased a second plan for Tuesdays in which you then signed an additional purchase agreement and processed an additional payment.   Email confirmation were also sent.  The purchase agreements are very clear on the schedule for group classes and terms.
  
  We see you attempted to contact us last week from an email that is not authorized to your account, yet the email on your account is what was used for your purchases.  You also contacted us by leaving a voicemail; however, we are unable to take verbal request on the phone for changes to your account and require email correspondence for accuracy and documentation.  We then see a followup to the unauthorized email and were able to initiate a support ticket once you verified your identity.   All our support processes were timely and accurate to your inquiries when you contacted us.
  
  We understand from your email that you would have preferred a different class schedule of Tuesdays than ************************* you purchased; however, you didnt contact us beforehand for us to address this with you.  We can only understand best what actions were actually taken in the purchase of two monthly group plans which is very common for our customers. 
  
  In consideration of all of this, its unclear how we could have been more responsive to you.  We see you have used our services before and we are able to verify correspondences in the past from you that suggest a familiarity with us and our policies.  We run the best swim school in the area and provide living wages to our instructors.  We can only do this successfully by having clear and accurately managed policies and procedures.  
  
  At this point, you have two monthly swim plans through August and then one through September.  We are able to offer upgrades of group plans to private ****** plans which can be credited from your purchases.  If this might be beneficial to your family for scheduling flexibility, we can direct our front desk to followup for the upgrade.  Please just let us know if this would be your interest.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  SwimQwik Management
  www.SwimQwik.com

  Customer Answer

  Date: 06/17/2024

   
  Complaint: 21831232
  
  I am rejecting this response because: this business not only billed me in advance for swim lessons we did not take, which is outside of their policy to bill on the 1st of each month. I have 5 charges on my credit card for June 10 totaling approx. $1500. On June 10 the business also cancelled all swim lessons which means the ones I had already paid for totaling more than $700 I couldn't use either. They have taking approx. $2000 and have denied swim lessons at this point. Additionally, it took them over 5 business days to contact me via email as they do not have any phone support which is not posted anywhere on their site or on their voice mail. I could have easily explained that I inaccurately signed up for 2 plans immediately if I could have gotten ahold of t hem. Lastly, NO WHERE, but their T&Cs does it state on their site the monthly plan is a 3-month commitment. Please note there are also several of the exact same complaints on yelp staking their shady business practices of taking money and not being clear about their services. 
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *********************

  Business Response

  Date: 07/12/2024

  To whom it may concern,

  We have provided a clear and considerate reply to this complaint.  We are a business to this customer, not an individual in direct conflict with another individual.  We don't appreciate the BBB calling out individuals in our business and putting them at risk of harassment.  We have asked several time now that they protect the privacy of our staff.

  The customer agreed to the terms and conditions of their purchase.  We have provided considerate follow-up to the customer to help them better understand the agreement and have understood they don't want to fulfill their commitment to the agreement.  They have the ability to receive the full benefit of their purchase; however, we are unable to provide them service while they are disputing their committment with the business.  We are happy to service their purchase once they assume their responsibility to the purchase agreement.

  Sincerely,

  SwimQwik Management

  Customer Answer

  Date: 07/16/2024

   
  Complaint: 21831232
  
  I am rejecting this response because: In no way have I ever called out specific individuals of this entity. I have clearly stated several times to this business that I did not mean to purchase the 2nd 3-month package which would now give me 8 lessons for 1 child in a month, which is ridiculous. I called and left them a message to rectify immediately, which they then took 6 days to get back to me with a response of too bad so sorry for your mistake. 

  Originally, I thought I bought 1 month of swim lessons. After the first month, I purchased what I though was a second month of lessons, however each purchase case with a 3-month minimum (for some reason 4 months were applied the first time), which I wasn't aware of. As soon as I realized this, I contacted them on the same day to cancel the second set of lessons. They took 6 days to respond, refused and immediately billed me for 5 additional months of lessons (7 total). I have contested the additional 5 months (which where all charged on the same day of June 10, plus two hold fees of $100 each, that I didn't realize I was purchasing and haven't received services for. I thought I was purchasing $600 in lessons and instead was charged $2000 in lessons. 

  This is not a new business practice for this company, if you read any of the reviews you can see this is a very common practice of charging for lessons that folks don't need and the pain of trying to cancel lessons and get ahold of anyone in person at this company. It's very shady business practices, and in ********** state any legal document has 3 days to contest and revoke after signing which I tried to do if they would have gotten back to me in a reasonable timeframe or had any sort of phone service to explain the mistake of booking two 3-months lessons for 1 child. 

  Sincerely,
  
  *********************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/25/2023

  Type:Order Issues
  Status:

  UnansweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  SwimQwik (formally SwimLab) has charged my credit card twice now months after my daughters swim ****** package was cancelled, done, and completed. I emailed to complain and request a refund but have not received a response. There is no explanation of charges and no one to speak with in person at the facility. I went on ****** to leave a bad review and it looks like i am one of MANY others having this same issue. Something needs to be done about this place. It's a scam charging customers hundreds of dollars after cancelling their swim ******s. I went online to try and remove my credit card and there is no way to remove your payment information. According to online reviews, this place has been making unauthorized charges for years. Please help.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:02/08/2023

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  On 1/30, I was charged 2 times for $420.68. On 1/31 I was charged 3 times for $415.16. That is a total of $2,086.84! I only meant to sign up for 1 private monthly ****** for a 12 and 13-year-old. Swimqwik doesn't answer their phone (only messages can be left), and all communication is via email which does not allow room for clarification or additional help. I would like a refund for the ******s I was charged for, or allowed to be given a credit. **************** is lacking.

  Business Response

  Date: 02/09/2023

  To whom it may concern,

  This customer received timely and accurate responsiveness to their inquiries.  The business does not provide refunds for purchases made with clear understanding of the terms/conditions of the purchase.  Please rely on the following for communication of this to the customer.  Our business insures we can provide the highest quality swim instructing with the best swim facility in the area.  This relies customers to meet their contractual agreements in the commitment towards our program and offerings.

   

  =======================================

  Hi *****,
  
  Thank you kindly for your patience to allow us to look into your account.  We want to insure you were provided accurate and timely information in support of your purchase decisions and that the requests for changes to your plans was processed correctly.
  
  From your account records and your correspondence with our front desk, we see you purchased two Monthly Private Plans on Jan 28th.  These were purchased for two different children on your account (********** and ******).  We have on file the purchase agreements for these purchases (please see attached) and can confirm email notifications for the purchases and scheduled ******s. 
  
  
  
  
  
  From the correspondence, we see you were provided information concerning how private ******s can be shared and the ages related to how many can share in one ******.  You requested an exception to this policy of putting your *************************************** the same ****** and the front staff reminded you of the purchase policy that does not include this combination of participates.   You then requested to put your 10 year old into a group class and have the older children share private ******s.  This was a cancellation of one of your Monthly Private Plans and then instruction was provided to you on how to enroll your 10 year old into group ******s. 
  
  Concerning the fees related to your purchases, each monthly plan is $400/mo for 4 visits a month with a 3 month minimum.  The first payment is prorated if the plan is started late into the month and the remaining payments are made in monthly installments.  The plan will renew after the monthly installments unless we are notified by the account holder to cancel.  On cancellation, all outstanding installment payments are due and processed.  This should help explain the fees on the purchase of your plan as when you requested one of the Monthly Private Plans to be cancelled, the remaining installment payments were then due and processed. 
  
  Presently, you have two Monthly Private plans. One of them is scheduled to expire after the 3 month term.  We see you did not enroll your 10 year old into a group ******.  It seems like your best value with your purchases would be to schedule private ******s for your 10 year on one of these Monthly Plans and schedule private ******s on the other Monthly Plan for your older children to share.  For instance, you would schedule ******s for ****** and then just email us to add your 10 year old to those ******s.  ****** would not attend and the 10 year old would take the ******s alone.  You would then schedule ******s for ********** and then just email us to add ****** to the ******s.  They would both then attend these ******s.  All of these ******s can be scheduled at: **********************************************************
  
  Hope that clears things up better for your family.  Well look forward to seeing everyone at the pools.
  
  Sincerely,.
  
  SwimQwik Management

  Customer Answer

  Date: 02/09/2023

   
  Complaint: 19369153
  
  I am rejecting this response because: I signed up for the second class because it was not showing up after the first purchase and I was worried if the students were not both listed they would not be able to do the lessons. If the business doesnt provide refunds, fine, but I would at least like a credit for the class that I cancelled since it will not be used in the 30 day monthly window. My other  concern is that I dont know who I am exchanging messages with and think this is an unreasonable way to treat a customer. I have no intention of harming this business. I have been a patron for quite some time before the name change. Its a shame they may lose me as a customer because of their handling of this situation. I think this could easily been solved over the phone if they had a customer service representative I could have spoken to at sign up. 
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ********************************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/12/2023

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I enrolled the monthly plan at SwimQwik, which could allow me to take 4 classes in a month and the time of the 4 classes are not fixed, but based on whatever times I schedule on its online scheduling system. I scheduled a class at 9am of November 20,2022. The class time was posted on their online scheduling system and because it's the only available time for me to take a class in November, I selected the time. I was at the swimming school on time that morning and the coach was also there. However the school was closed and we tried to call the coach who carries the key, no answer. We were locked outside. Thus my class was missed. I contacted SwimQwik since then and asked to get a make-up class. After a couple of time email follow up, finally, 53 days after this incident, they replied me and refused to offer a make up. Since they refused, I would like a refund. I don't want to pay for their fault. (The attached screenshots show in my SwimQwik account, the system sent me the reminder of the 11/20 9 am class I scheduled)

  Customer Answer

  Date: 01/17/2023

  Because I file a claim on BBB earlier on SwimQwik, they canceled the class I have already scheduled and paid for without refunding me and stating that they cannot offer service to customers when an active complaint is filed against the business. Only if I rescind the claim, they could resume the service to me. I cannot believe this is their way to handle a customer claim. Since they cannot service me, I would like a refund.

  Business Response

  Date: 01/18/2023

  To whom it may concern,
  
  This customer is using the ******************** in an attempt to breach their contractual agreement.  We teach children to swim through reasonable agreements with customers. This customer agreed to our terms/conditions before making a purchase.  When we make an exception to these terms and conditions, we need to offer this to all our customers. This customer is requesting an exception to our agreement terms that would undermine the quality and consistently of our business, cause disruption to our operations, and result in additional expenses that would increase our prices. We are unable to accommodate this customers request for the exception and need to now charge the customer for this disruption to our business processes through the BBB complaint.  The customer agreed to be charged for any fees and administrative expenses related to disputes.  We cannot provide service to a customer that is publicly disputing their signed purchase agreement.
  
  SwimQwik Management

  Customer Answer

  Date: 01/19/2023

  Complaint: 18827333
  
  I am rejecting this response because:theres no reason you collected my money but didnt provide service to me just because I filed a complaint on an issue with a previous service. Theres no term in the contract saying if I choose to learn swim at your school I forfeit the right to file a complaint. 
  
  Sincerely,
  
  Zhijun Ma

• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/22/2022

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  On 4/23/22, my wife (***********************) purchased 6 individual swimming lessons @ $154.14 each, using our Discover Credit Card ending in **** for a total of $925.14. When booking the actual lessons, she noticed that there was an additional fee of $4.19 that would be charged each time. This specific fee was not disclosed at the time of the original purchase. The company doesn't answer their phone/provide phone based customer service, so she emailed them pointing this out and asked for a refund of all charges. The initial response was that the person responding to the emails didn't have authority to provide refunds and that someone from "management" would get back to us. After much back and forth, they said that they wouldn't provide a refund and at that point wouldn't allow us to schedule the actual lessons. At this point the company has basically stolen this $925.14 from us, refused to provide services and it is basically impossible to get a hold of anyone who knows anything or has authority to make decisions.

  Business Response

  Date: 08/23/2022

  To whom it may concern,

  Before any customer is allowed to purchase a product from the business, they are provided the folloiwng description in every purchase ".....There is a processing fee..".  This customer was kindly followed up with and giving couretous replies and assistance with their purchase.  They insisted on a refund in which was also state in all descriptions ".... All purchases are final.".  They are unfortunatley using threats to received special consideration.  They have received full benefit of their purchase with unrestricted opportunity to schedule their lessons within the terms of the offering.  This customer disputed this with the merchant services provider and, in arbitration, was not allowed a refund based on thier acceptance of the terms/conditions of the purchase.
  

   

  Thank you,

  SwimQwik Management

  Customer Answer

  Date: 08/23/2022

  Complaint: 17754136
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  The merchant needs to do the right thing and refund us our money, it's unconscionable that they'd keep $900+ without delivering any service. Anyone with that attitude and lack of ethics should not be in business.

  To this point we've made no threats as they claim (it would be impossible to do so because there's no way to actually talk to anyone with decision making capabilities at the company over the phone, we've left voicemails and receive a text message saying that they don't have phone based support), we're simply using the methods available to us to get a resolution such as going through our credit card company, BBB, potential legal action, etc.

  Their response is a lie, and the fact that they're now making a libelous claim that we've threatened them just shows how irresponsible, hostile & unreasonable they have been throughout this process. If someone from the company wants to discuss with me directly, I can be reached at ************.

  
  Sincerely,
  
  *************************