Kiddie Academy of Tustin

Reviews 3

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Farhad Hakemi

I visited the following Kiddie Academy located at 14501 Newport Ave. Tustin, CA 92780 in March looking for a daycare for my two year old son. At the time, this facility was right by my house and seemed like a perfect fit for my son. When I visited them, I was told there were no openings and that I would need to hold a spot for my son by depositing $150. I was told the $150 would simply be a registration fee. Due to me being afraid of losing his spot, I agreed to make the deposit. I handed my credit card to Natasha Pinela. Since there was a window between us, causing us to be separated, I couldn’t see what she was doing back there. When she came back, I was handed a receipt to sign and noticed the price changed tremendously from $150 to $648. When I asked why, I was told by Natasha that she charged me two weeks of tuition ($249 weekly) because my son would for sure attend Kiddie Academy, so she just went ahead and charged me the two weeks. She never mentioned that the deposit was non-refundable. I waited until April but I had not received any calls from the facility updating me on when my son can begin attending Kiddie Academy. Our house had just sold around that time, so I had to also inform them that since we are moving to a house over 30 miles away from this facility, so my son will not be able to attend Kiddie Academy. I decided to go to the facility myself and ask if there were any openings for my son yet. They told me my son may begin attending on June 19. By that date, we have already moved out of Tustin so there is no possible way my son can attend Kiddie Academy. They had charged me $648 without telling me that they would add a two weeks of tuition to the $150, and they also had me deposit $648 three months before (From March to June). I explained to them that my son may not attend Kiddie Academy since we are moving into another city and I asked for a refund. They told me I cannot get a refund because it is non-refundable and that I signed it. I told them how I was never informed the deposit is non-refundable and how I was charged $648 instead of $150 and not told until the money was deposited. The workers at the facility kept laughing and repeating to me how I signed the paper and how I could’ve read the paper. I decided that I would just put my son in for the two weeks that I was charged for but they refused to let me and told me that he needs to attend Kiddie Academy for at least six months. They wouldn’t give me a refund or let my child attend. First of all, I was never told that any deposits were non-refundable. Second, they said to save my sons spot I need to pay $150 registration fee but instead they charged me $648 for his two weeks of tuition without telling me. Third, they charged me $648 to save a spot for my son three months early. Fourth of all, on their ‘ENROLLMENT AGREEMENT’ paper they’ve claimed that they’re registered as LLC but we inquired from the Secretary of State of California Business Programs Division that the company’s name is not listed under any LLC.

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Jeannine Pedersen-Guzman

I visited this facility in February looking for day care for my newborn (I am still pregnant). It is nearby my work so I was hoping this would be the best place for my child. My tour took about 5 minutes and then they gave me some paperwork and told me there was only one opening for September and to hold the spot the deposit would be two weeks tuition ($738). I still wanted to look around, but I was afraid of losing the spot. They told me if I signed up for automatic payments the deposit could be reduced to one month ($369). So, I decided to make the deposit. I was not told that the deposit was non-refundable. I visited a couple more day care centers and after those visits I decided that Kiddie Academy was not the place for my child. At the other centers... they took their time showing me around, gave me much more information, the teachers were more friendly, and the highest deposit I encountered was $125. One was only $25 to secure a spot. Kiddie Academy in Tustin has a corporate feel. It is clean and the furniture is new, but the other centers I visited had much more friendly envrionments. And, during my visit not one single teacher said hello or spoke to me. (Again, my tour was only 5 minutes long). So, I decided to go with another day care center. I called the staff one week after placing my deposit (which was in February and I was securing a spot for September ~ 7 months early). They did try to work with me to match the tuition at the other center (which was over $200 less per month), but I told them I would be going with the other center. Natasha told me that I would get a refund of my deposit in 7-10 days. Well, two weeks passed and no refund. I called and spoke to Elaina (who said she would give my message to Natasha), no return call. In fact, I called once each week for the next few weeks and was told I would receive a return call and never did. I finally emailed the center (over a month after leaving my deposit and no refund). I got a return email from Melissa which said... Good Afternoon, Im very sorry. The owner was contacted and unfortunately as stated in the enrollment agreement the deposit is non refundable. You are however able to attend a week and the deposit will be put towards the tuition. Very sorry for the delayed response. Kiddie Academy of Tustin OK, so #1... I was never told that the deposit was non refundable. #2... I was told that I would receive a refund in 7-10 days. #3... why would I ever bring my child to this place for one random week? So a warning... DO NOT PUT DOWN A DEPOSIT UNLESS YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY SURE ABOUT YOUR CHILD ATTENDING THIS FACILITY. UNLESS YOU WANT TO PAY $369 FOR A 5 MINUTE TOUR. Also, I posted this review on YELP and received a very nasty reply for the business owner. Basically, calling me a liar! And, stating that I was told several times that the deposit was not refundable. That is not true! I would not have been compelled to write the review unless I was treated unfairly.

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Jennie Hegner

My son has been going to Kiddie Academy of Tustin for about 6 months now and we could not be happier. I enrolled my son at about 18 months old after a terrible experience with another daycare center. Natasha, the director, sat with my husband and myself after a quick phone call inquiring about openings. I really think it was meant to be because she told us that there would be an opening in month (which was January) and after touring and speaking with her for some time we knew this was the place for all of us. We had to pay the deposit in order to hold our spot which is quite typical...in fact, I looked at about 10 different places after my son was born and another 5 when things started to go wrong at the place he was enrolled in. Anyway...all the teachers were very understanding and patient with my boy, who was extremely shy and was just taken out of a school where he was bitten by another child constantly. The whole staff is friendly and knowledgeable and my husband and I are can rest easy knowing he is having fun and learning. The cameras are a huge bonus! I checked them A LOT when he first started going but I quickly learned that my baby boy is in great hands and only check him occasionally to see what their up to. If you have a problem someone is always willing to hear you out and help figure out a solution. We could not be happier! Funny how the only negative reviews are from people who arent actually involved with the school.

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