Puddle Ducks Anmeldelser 

I’m disgusted & extremely disappointed in how MidCheshire Puddle Ducks have treated us.

I wanted to start my son swimming from the age of 3 months. I did some research to ascertain local companies; I chose Puddle Ducks due to the weekend classes (so hubby could attend too).

You need to buy a block of 10 classes which cost £142.50. Before making the purchase we emailed Puddle Ducks to check class availability & also to ask if we had to take all 10 consecutively (as knew we had a 3 week trip booked in the middle of the course).

They only responded to the availability question & not about taking the classes consecutively. Annoying.

Hubby replied requesting the booking form, and again asking the question - do we need to take the classes consecutively.
He did get a reply eventually which was (verbatim) 'For any classes that you cannot attend you are able to book holidays and a courtesy voucher will be applied onto your account. This will enable you to catch up on the classes that you have missed out on, on a different day and even at a different pool (if you wish). The courtesy classes are bookable 6 days in advance.’.

Due to this we went ahead with the block of 10 and started our classes. The classes & instructor were good. They’re only 30 mins long as the group are babies so £14.25 per class seemed a bit steep but we ignored this as we just wanted to enjoy the experience.

Now it gets a little complex; PD automatically put you on a ‘Recurring Payment Scheme’, something I was unaware of as it wasn’t mentioned on the Booking Form.

I’m sure this recurring method is in the small print/FAQs somewhere but as new 1st time parents we didn’t go looking for any T&C oddities, and as we had contacted the team & received the above response by email why would we?!

Mid way through the classes PD tried to take further money from me, numerous times actually, however I’d used a dormant account to make the initial booking (luckily) so they failed each time. Once I realised what was happening I emailed to ask to be removed from the recurring payment scheme as we just wanted the classes I’d paid for. They took me off the scheme no question. We eventually got to class 10, which was our 7th actual class as we’d missed 3 in the middle of the course due to our trip. I then logged onto my account to book in the 3 unused classes - to my annoyance I couldn’t select a new date for these but I just assumed it was a system error and emailed the team.

The response was this (verbatim) ‘With regards to the courtesy class vouchers, you are only able to use them whilst you are in a regular class to book an alternative class to the one you would usually attend. They do not have a cash value I’m afraid, so can’t be used to pay for more lessons.’

Not the clearest reply but basically saying “you're no longer paying for lessons so you’ve lost out on the 3 classes despite the fact we knew you couldn’t attend and we’d even discussed this in advance”. I was annoyed but ereplied to explain I just wanted to bring my son to 3 more lessons as I had 3 ‘in the bank’. They refused and to say I’m fuming is an understatement.

Their reply to my early email never stated I need to stay on the recurring payment schedule nor that I would need to take the 3 substitute classes in the 10 week course period. Had I known we wouldn’t have booked as it simply wouldn’t have worked for us from a cost perspective or timings as I knew we were taking the 3week trip in the middle.

As they refused to allow me to take the missed classes I asked for a refund which was also refused. Therefore I’ve paid £142.50 for 7 x 30 minute lessons! This works out at £20.36 per 30-minute baby class!

I feel how we’ve been treated is disgraceful. Also, the team's communication skills are shocking & I’d suggest HQ offer some basic training to all franchisees in order to avoid muddying their name.

I'd urge other parents to STEER WELL CLEAR unless you have money to waste!!!

I've used two puddleducks areas lancashire and Derbyshire. the teachers are all fantastic. Customer services is fab and most importantly my son loves it. You can see every week his growing ability in the water. Can't recommend highly enough.

The best thing we ever did for our son. He has thrived in this environment and learnt invaluable skills that he will refer to for life and use for fun!

Total and utter waste Of space not to mention disorganised. I have lost count now of how many times you have cancelled classes at the last minute without any o POI prior notification.

For any parents thinking of signing up to this shambolic outfit, think again and don’t waste your hard earned money