Swimming Pool in Hohhot Closed, Parents Denied Refund Request

Recently, Ms. Wang from Hohhot City, Inner Mongolia, reflected that she had arranged a swimming course for her child worth over 7000 yuan (RMB), but after the Chinese New Year, the venue suddenly closed and her refund request was denied.

According to the recent report by News Daily, based on Ms. Wang’s feedback, she visited the Haifan Parent-Child Swimming Pool in Saihan District of Hohhot and found the store had already shut down, with all equipment removed.

Ms. Wang said that in June last year, when her child had just turned one year old, she wanted to enroll him in a swimming class and chose the Haifan Parent-Child Swimming Pool after a few trial sessions. She quickly signed up and paid for the course. “In June, I paid 7930 yuan.”

She mentioned that the course consisted of over 40 sessions, but her child fell sick after attending a couple of times, so they stopped swimming temporarily. “In July, maybe we went twice. After the child recovered from illness and the weather turned cold, we didn’t come as the baby was too young for swimming. We planned to resume when the weather got warmer this year.”

After the Chinese New Year this year, Ms. Wang received a notice of the store’s closure. A teacher who had appointments with her sent a WeChat message explaining that due to poor operation, they had to close the store.

Ms. Wang inquired about the remaining tuition fees after the store closed, and the swimming pool management proposed transferring parents to their other Little Fish Lumi Swimming store in Xincheng District of Hohhot to continue classes. However, Ms. Wang found it inconvenient due to the distance.

Apart from this, the store also contacted other training institutions to accommodate children for continued classes, but they did not offer suitable courses for her child.

Ms. Wang requested a refund, but after waiting for a long time, they did not process the refund.

The store’s manager, Mr. Guo, mentioned that the closure of Haifan Swimming Pool was due to operating losses. “Total operating costs ran a loss of 2 million yuan last year.”

Mr. Guo stated that there were over 500 members at the Haifan Swimming Pool, with most parents having already transferred to the current store, leaving only requests from about 20 parents unresolved. If Ms. Wang was unwilling to transfer, their only option now was to communicate with other institutions.

Mr. Guo refused Ms. Wang’s request for a refund, citing their significant losses and the need to maintain the current store’s normal operation.

The report mentioned that both sides had not reached an agreement. As for this matter, a lawyer stated that the closure of the swimming pool leading to the inability to fulfill the contract’s purpose gives consumers the right to terminate the contract, demand a refund, and compensation. Even if the operator cannot refund due to financial difficulties, it cannot be a legitimate defense. If they fail to comply, consumers can seek legal action for their rights, and the operators may face legal consequences like being listed on a blacklist or property seizure.