Open Water Class Advice Seeked

[fundiver]

I completed the classroom portion of my Open Water Diver a few months ago and have been trying to complete my Open Water Dives to complete my certification, but classes was cancelled because not enough students had registered.

The dive store has refused to refund my money, even though they were the ones who canceled the class. Is this typical with all dive stores or did I just pick a bad one?

[jasondbaker]

Did the dive shop tell you when they would offer the class again? If they are offering the class in a reasonable amount of time I would wait.  If not I would be concerned.  Sometimes shops reschedule classes due to lack of interest.  They need to be able to cover the cost of the class instructors.  But if the class needs to be rescheduled several times then this indicates the shop may be struggling for business.

[arcFlash]

In general if you paid for something and did not get what was advertised and can't work it out you can call the attorney general and ask them to help. It's quite easy and I've used this in the past.

[divingbuddy]

I think you may have picked a bad one. I would think if your done with your classroom and pool time, a instructor would take you out to finish ,whether there's one student or 4 students. I'd go ask.

[fundiver]

I can understand why they would cancel a class (lack of students), what I can not understand is why they will not refund my money? They claim that they do not offer refunds.

I am a very busy person, I changed my schedule to coinside with their class dates, then the dive store canceled. They should refund my money with an apology.

[mcdiver]

Fundiver,

Sorry to hear about your problem, I have a very good idea of which dive store you are talking about. It is situations like these that can give all dive stores a "black eye."

A new concept I started this summer is offering students a class on their terms, providing it does not interfere with my National Guard schedule. The student chooses a date to complete their training, then I adjust my schedule to fit the weekend of their choosing. Why have your summer schedule dictated by the dive store, instead, you control the schedule.

Give me a call and we shall see what we can do to fix this situation.

Dave Torry
PADI MSDT#170297
612-799-4333

[Deep Thought]

Fun Diver

In the past couple years Minnesota has lost a couple very good dive centers due to the economy and one to fraud.  It is a difficult business to operate in.  When dive stores fail they leave behind customers who get stuck in your same position, and my store along with others have worked together to help the customers.  This help was donated and no fees were ever asked.  My advice is to work with the dive center, or a dive center who hires professional instructors and supports the diving community with everything from classes, equipment, service and air fills. 

I know all dive centers in this state have classes scheduled all season, so if you have a busy schedule, take the time off to complete your dives - I can think of many things it is more important than missing the opportunity.

Good Diving

Ron

[karnov]

Assuming maybe the particular store is in financial peril - I wonder if the certifying body (PADI, NAUI, etc.) would honor the commitment through another shop?  It's not their fault but the certifying agency stands to gain from happy customers as much as the shops do, maybe they'll help out as an act of good faith.

If you can't reconcile with them you also have the option of having the charge reversed if you used a credit or debit card.  Your bank should be able to help you out but it usually starts with sending the merchant a certified letter, return-receipt requested with the specific amount to be refunded and a demand that they make the refund within 10 business days or you'll involve the bank.  If they don't, contact your bank and provide them with the letter.  Hopefully none of this is necessary.

[fundiver]

Problem solved, I am scheduled to complete my Open Water Certification this weekend with Dave Torry.

[scubafreek864]

Congrats.  Hope for no future problems.  Dive safe, and be a buddy, not a body.