Complaints

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• Initial Complaint

  Date:25/06/2025

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore 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 attended the spring semester of the family program with my son, where parents remain with their kids during the program. The fall registration was during the spring program and so I registered before we realized that my son was not really enjoying the program, so I requested to withdraw in june for a program starting in September. At the time I registered I paid in full and at a glance I understood that I should be refunded in full if I needed to withdraw. Their refund policy is written ambiguously as such: All written requests for withdrawals submitted more than 30 days before the program start are eligible for a full refund, less the non-refundable deposit. So it was at the point of withdrawl I was informed that part of the fee I paid in full was a deposit. I did not know, nor did it stipulate in the payment process that I was paying a deposit. At the moment of withdrawl they informed me that they were withholding $100 of my refund. It feels more like a money grab than anything else, given that they will definitely fill the spot with 3 months notice. I contested this, see our email exchange attached.

  Business Response

  Date: 30/06/2025

  The Family Program falls under the category of Multi-Week Programs at Out to Play. Registration for every program includes a detailed refund policy which a parent or guardian will sign. Ms. ******** signed the 2025/2026 Multi-Week Programs Withdrawals and Refunds (Saturday Crows and Family Program) Policy during her registration process on April 27 2025. A screenshot of the policy with her signature is shared (Image 1). 

  The attached, signed agreement states that These multi-week program registrations include a $100 non-refundable deposit. We see that Ms. ******** has quoted only a portion of the policy for the purposes of this complaint. The policy, when read in its entirety, is very clear that there is a non-refundable portion. Ms. ********* by signing this waiver, was informed of the non-refundable deposit during registration and before processing her payment.
  
  The email exchange that was attached to this complaint is accurate, however it is missing the opening exchanges in which we attached our Multi-Week policy to Ms. ********* and her initial response which was subsequently clarified. I have attached the first three messages now (Images 2-4), and Ms. ********* first attachment (Image 5) again, for where the start of the messages received in the complaint begins.
  
  While we do sympathize with Ms. ********* request for the deposit back, we do not believe that the policy is ambiguous or misleading. We feel we have done our best to be accommodating to her family needs, for both now and in the future, and have tried to reach an alternative solution by offering a credit towards future programming, while still maintaining the integrity of our policy.
  

  
  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 01/07/2025

  Complaint: 23515098
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  
  I want to point out that arguing I was informed in advance because I signed a registration form is misleading. Its a strawman to claim I was properly warned just because the policy was included somewhere in the fine print at sign-up. As I explained to you directly, I did not see or register that this $100 would be non-refundable, and you know thats extremely common. Parents dont anticipate needing to withdraw with 3 months notice and assume good faith flexibilityespecially when theyre paying the entire program fee in full.
  Whether you can enforce this policy, and whether you put it in your registration paperwork, is really beside the point. The ethical issue is that youre charging families essentially for the act of registering, even when there is no actual cost to you in holding a spot with three months notice. This is not a deposit in any meaningful sense (i.e. something held against a loss you suffer). It is simply a means of collecting additional money from families with young children who may have to change plans.
  That is the substance of my complaint: not that you hid the policy, but that you designed a policy that predictably takes advantage of busy parents who will miss it or assume it is a reasonable deposit for a genuine last-minute cancellation, not for someone withdrawing with ample notice.
  This is bad-faith, exploitative policy design. Even if its written down. That is why Im asking the BBB to consider it unfair business practice.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ****** ********

  Business Response

  Date: 10/07/2025

  Out to Plays Cancellation and Withdrawal Policy is carefully designed and consulted upon through a bookkeeper and comparable summer camps and private schools.

  Though the policy is standard business practice, we understand that Ms. ******** did not understand that she agreed to a $100 non-refundable deposit, upon signing the document.

  We have made the decision to provide the deposit back to her and thank her for the conversation. We hope to have her and her son rejoin our programming in the future.
  

  
  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 10/07/2025

   
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ****** ********