We’re sunk when it comes to getting a Swim! refund

Swim!, the nationwide swimming school set up by the Olympians Rebecca Adlington and Steve Parry, has cancelled a number of my child’s lessons recently, but makes it unnecessarily hard to get refunds.

Parents, who pay by direct debit, must specifically request a refund by filling out a form within 30 days. None of the text or email notifications of cancellations mention this. Consequently, I have ended up inadvertently paying for five cancelled lessons.

I have raised this multiple times with the company but in vain. It feels as if they are profiting from parents’ unawareness.

SW, address unknown

Other parents have taken to online platforms including Trustpilot to deplore the opaque process and poor communications.

Customers have to plough through six pages of terms and conditions to find the refund clause. Even then they might not get their money back – another clause warns that refunds will only be given in “certain circumstances” if lessons are cancelled by the provider. The FAQs on the website also mention the refund process, but that’s not good enough.

According to the consumer lawyer Gary Rycroft, failure to include the process on notifications of cancellations is likely to be an unfair practice under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008.

“Customers are automatically entitled to a price reduction or refund as per the Consumer Rights Act and a company cannot make that refund conditional on finding or following a hidden process,” he said.

I put this to Swim! It was unabashed. “We do not restrict statutory rights, and any customer who believes they are entitled to a refund can request one easily,” it said, ignoring my question about why the refund process is not highlighted in cancellation notifications.

Instead, it gave a woolly pledge: “We appreciate feedback from customers and consumer advocates and are committed to continuously improving our communication and customer service on this matter.”

We welcome letters but cannot answer individually. Email us at consumer.champions@theguardian.com or write to Consumer Champions, Money, the Guardian, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU. Please include a daytime phone number. Submission and publication of all letters is subject to our terms and conditions.