I feel obligated to report the deceptive practices of Wujido Institute. I am curently in the 16th month of my 18-month contract, and I have never missed a payment. Each payment is $125 and a late fees are $25, even if it is only one day late. I stopped going to class a very long time ago, but I continued to pay my student fees. I am a law student at SMU, and I respect the integrity of any contract I enter into. I even respect the late fees no matter how unreasonable they are. 20% more for one day late?! I would like to see a bank try that. Regardless, I entered the contract, and I will honor it. However, I am compelled to report the deceptive practices of this school. I was deceived and taken advantage of in several ways. The contract was very short. One page long. I was concerned about injury and/or if I had to move. I was assured by Mark (Salesman and Dr. Harkens' cult follower) that it would be no problem. He assured me that I would not be obligated under the contract if I had to move out of the city or was injured and unable to attend class. I was concerned at the time I signed the contract because I was not allowed to visit a class, and Mark seemed more concerned with getting me to sign than answering my questions. Unfortunately, I signed it anyway, and I am stuck with a big headache. As I said, I am a student at SMU with one semester to go. My wife was recently transferred to Omaha, Nebraska, and I will follow her. SMU approved visiting status at a law school in Omaha even though it meant losing around $15,000 in tuition. For my last semester, I could study at Creighton University, be with my wife, and still graduate from SMU's law school in May. I will be moving there in the middle of December. I decided to visit Wujido, drop off my December payment and seek a release from my last two payments since I would be 700 miles away. I spoke with Mark, and he told me there was nothing he could do. He said he did not have the authority to release me. He had the authority to sign the original contract, but not to release anyone. He told me that was up to Dr. Harkens, but he chooses not to deal with these things. The "Master" does not concern himself with such things. I had no recourse. I paid every month in good faith for a year without attending class, and they will not even talk to me about it. $250. It is not a lot of money, but I was lied to. Legally, I should be released from this contract as it is impossible for me to reap the benefit of the contract, but I am in a bad situation. I cannot seek a judgment before the payment is due, and if I don't pay, they will hand it over to a collection agency. I will get a hit on my credit, and I will have to deal with that company. If I want to go to small claims, I will have to spend the money to fly back down to Dallas, which will cost much more than $250. I am better off just paying them and saving my credit rating for when I buy a house this summer. This is not the only bad experience I have had with them. What they tell you and what they do rarely coincide. They speak about how seriously they take class, and it is a journey to make you a better person, and so on. Working at class will make you a better person. Kung fu is a discipline that has many benefits, but their actions do not convey this message. They have a pre-screening procedure to ensure only those mature and serious enough enter. Yet they allow small children to go to class and leave it to the students to babysit them. Since student are told to only go to class twice a week, the babysitters lose a class. They have two classes a night. One at five, and one at six. Both always start late. Dr. Harkens is there, but he chooses to begin on his own time. Dare we complain to the "Master?" Are we learning how to be patient? Also, the training room is very small. When I was training, we barely fit in the room. Many of us were concerned, and they told us they were going to expand the facility.in the meantime, they continued to take on as many students as they could, making the problem even worse and refused to offer more class times. I was excited to hear that they leased the adjoining place next door. Finally, there might be room for us all! No. They used the place to sell retail herbs and fighting equipment instead. The training room stayed the same size, same number of classes, and they kept enrolling more students. How is this offering more people the chance to learn life-improving techniques? How is this not acting like a typical business? Speaking of typical businesses, does a typical business call you the day before your payment is due to remind you to pay? It is irritating, and they will do it even if you ask them not to. Can you imagine if every business called you to remind you to pay them? House payment, electric, water, gas, credit card, etc. I could no longer attend Kung fu class because of work and my law school class schedule. I always had a conflict. I would not have attended class any more though. I was bitter.in fact, one of Mark's selling points was that they were not the typical dojo, and he made fun of the places that sold fighting equipment to up their profits. I was also troubled by the amount of respect Dr. Harkens demanded. It would not be a problem if he earned the respect, but he takes advantage of the students and hides behind his minion, Mark, to do the dirty work. Then Mark claims to have no control. The respect Dr. Harkens desires is appropriate in a martial arts teaching facility, but he has two mutually exclusive desires. I believe he really wants to teach his art, but his motivation for profit is stronger. He wants us to follow him like he is the Dalai Lama, but he fails to act with humility and is too afraid to deal with unsatisfied students. He expects us to believe he is some higher power that has total control over his life. The tout that it is the best workout of your life, yet Dr. HArkens has a gut and love handles. He also wants to teach us how have a strong character and to do what is right. Is it right to take advantage of someone in a business relationship? Is it right to lie to someone to get them to enter into a contract? Is it right to lie to someone to appease them temporarily? Please beware of this place. They are not flexible and do not care about individual students. Truthfully, I like Mark, but I think he is brainwashed. Some of Dr. Harkens followers get to a near cult level, and it is enough to make any God fearing man uncomfortable. MikeDallas, Texas
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