Scuba shop closed before I finished my training! Now what?

[Primus67]

i was in the process of finishing my basic open water diving course. i completed one checkout dive last summer and was counting on finishing up this spring. i went by the shop the other day and the store is empty with a for rent sign on it. i was never notified of it's closing and i can't get a return call. the class was paid in full. it was a naui, btw.

any suggestions on what to do when this happens?

 

[mike_s]

well.... i had almost the same thing happen to me.

Execpt I had only paid for training and not gotten started yet.


I went and found the shop owner (small shop with him as pretty much the only employee) and found out what happened and asked for my money back. Well of course he wasn't rolling in cash (otherwise he wouldn't have closed his shop) and said he was teaching a class next month of students. I agreed to take that class. After all he was still an instructor...

Well I completed the class with him, but if I had to do it again, I would have just gotten my money back. It did irritate me that he didn't bother to call anyone who paid and let them know he closed. I had to go search him down at his other job (he was a firefighter).

Due to his economic situation, he really didn't have a decent selection of rental/class gear and it was sorta all mix and match.

He also didn't teach the full curriculum of the class. (we didn't know this at the time as we could only go by what he taught us).


Now every instructor is different and hopefully you won't have these problems. But it seems you can't get him to return your call.

NAUI has a quality control group. If you can't get him to return any calls, then call NAUI and file a complaint against him.

I doubt NAUI can get your money back though.

I'm betting you'll have to do small claims court for that.


In the end, if the guy still gives you hassles and won't refund your money, post the information here and at least it might help a few others from getting taken by him.

 

[ScubaSteve]

The shop closed but do you still have contact with the Instructor? Maybe they would somehow be able to work out a deal with you when they join another shop (if NAUI cannot resolve it that is). I agree with mike_s that it is unlikely that NAUI will do anything. And today, the line at small claims is getting longer. More businesses are closing up shop and leaving people stranded. Talk to NAUI and try to contact the Instructor. Failing all that, I suggest pleading your case with another shop and see if they will cut you any breaks. Unfortunately though, I personally believe your options to be limited.

 

[mike_s]

The shop closed but do you still have contact with the Instructor? .

I didn't catch it at first either, but his initial post says he can't get them to return a phone call.... so I'm betting he's screwed.

small claims court might be his only option. Although it might cost him that much in his time to win, if only for the principal....

 

[Web Monkey]

i was in the process of finishing my basic open water diving course. i completed one checkout dive last summer and was counting on finishing up this spring. i went by the shop the other day and the store is empty with a for rent sign on it. i was never notified of it's closing and i can't get a return call. the class was paid in full. it was a naui, btw.

any suggestions on what to do when this happens?

If you paid with a credit card, just notify them and get a refund.

Terry

 

[Straegen]

I think you are just out of luck. You could try court but you likely will be spending more in time than what you will get back. Sometimes it is better to just move on and look at the extra training time if you start over as a good thing.

 

[ScubaSteve]

I didn't catch it at first either, but his initial post says he can't get them to return a phone call.... so I'm betting he's screwed.

small claims court might be his only option. Although it might cost him that much in his time to win, if only for the principal....

Yeah I just asked because often the shop is different from the instructor (i.e. the instructor is just a contract, part time or full time employee of the shop and not always a principal in the business). If this is the case here, then maybe they can help in some way (maybe not). But I agree, I am betting he is screwed. This is unfortunately a very real problem and it is likely to happen more now with the economy where it is. Too late for the OP but maybe Pay-As-You-Go-Scuba-Instruction will become the new yellow .

 

[Straegen]

If you paid with a credit card, just notify them and get a refund.

Terry

That is a long time between charges for a dispute, but certainly can't hurt to try.

 

[BDSC]

any suggestions on what to do when this happens?

Yep! Stop by your local drug store and buy a bottle of K-Y.

 

[mike_s]

If you paid with a credit card, just notify them and get a refund.

Terry

ooo... Good point.... didn't think of that at first....

That is a long time between charges for a dispute, but certainly can't hurt to try.

hmm.... you're right... After re-reading the post it seems he did one checkout dive last summer, that's 6+ months. Might be hard to get a charge disputed for that long ago.

Although I've had AMEX do some that were several months old after I couldn't get service for something I paid for 4 months later.