Karate America
Reviews and Complaints

I came into the gym in response to an ad that said first month free free month for membership - a $499 value. Once I was in the class I was pulled out and told the reason why it's free is that it's totally not (haha great trick guys) I was then told I could pay 500 to lose either 20lbs in 6 weeks (unsafe rate for someone my size - I'd be 115 at 5'4" so, dangerously close to being underweight), or I could lose 5% body fat (I'm 20% now so 15% on a girl is a pretty drastically ripped body builder type lean and usually comes with veins and potential health issues like losing a regular mental cycle) and then I would get my money back. That is not exactly free! It's $500! And then maybe you get it back if you starve deprive and work your body to the bone! Other choice was I could chose 12 months membership with a start up cost at $300. I could cancel at anytime and get out of it with 30 days notice. I gave notice within 3 days as I received a medical bill and an unexpected auto repair expense in that timeframe and it became clear I needed to cancel and get that money back. I was told that I could achieve a full refund since no more than 3 business days passed and I had only attended one class, which I was told was free. I emailed and called but didn't hear back, so I came in to see if I still had a membership or what the deal was. They didn't know either so I attended Krav Maga since I technically still had a membership. I was told to reach out to karate America hq and tell them about my situation. I was told I would get a refund. In the mail I received a gift certificate for $300. This was hilarious to me because I told the group I didn't want to be a member and I wanted to cancel because I want to pay my bills, and the gym isn't a bill for me! It's just a place I tried to enjoy a free class. Why would you need to do this f you guys think you are worth the money? If you were worth the money than it wouldn't be so hard for you to give my money back and sell this membership to someone else instead of forcing me to spend money and with you!

SCAM. I bought a Groupon for each of my children for 16 classes at $30 each. I knew I'd have to buy the uniforms and was OK with that but when I went to the studio I was not given that option but rather had a choice between 2 sums both equal to my car payment. I signed up because I thought I could make it work; I can't. When I brought this to the attention of the 'Master', he yelled at me across the lobby full of parents. Embarrassing. It took me several tries to get in contact with the headquarters for cancellation and because of this I am now in debt for another month I cannot pay but after speaking with the board of directors I can pay an additional fee to cancel. My total is now thus; groupon 60 + deposit 112 + monthly 278 + cancellation 150 = $600 for my children to take not even the full 16 classes. The worst part is that my children love the class but it is a ripoff for a single parent like me who brings home $1500/month.

Money hungry a main portion of each session is attempting to get kids to sell the program to their friends. They charge and charge and charge and nothing learned except to stay away. I paid cash for something and they are still chasing me saying unpaid. I had receipt to show them and they said not valid and they created another charge saying billing for something new months after we pulled her and paid cancellation fees. AVOID AVOID AVOID...really check them out tons of complaints.

My complaint with Karate America is the way that they handle their cancellations. On short notice I received military orders to another state. As requested i provided a copy of my orders and signed some paper work.

Good to go?

Apparently not.
Three years later I find out on my credit report that I have a collections agency trying to recover over $1700 for 10 months of karate lessons in FL while I was stationed in a different state.
When I contacted Karate America they notified me that I was supposed to return a letter to them to confirm the cancellation. I have retained the same cell phone number for the past 15 years. They have a copy of my orders stating that I am NOT in FL. Yet they continued to try to find me in FL? I was not notified by the person I cancelled my contract with that I still had to pay a cancellation fee and return a letter to them. Furthermore the letter was sent and "delivered" to me a my address after I had already departed from FL. If I had known that I was to receive said letter I would have called, emailed or written a letter asking about it.

The woman I spoke with on the phone at Karate America Headquarters told me that the last few years the company was struggling. I realize we are in a recession, but the business practices they employ are probably not helping. They make customers sign year long contracts for services. The gym membership I had down the street at Planet Fitness just took a copy of my orders and I signed some paperwork, NO FEE and was done. i have been reading online about many other people having issues canceling with Karate America, especially if they are involved with the military in some way.

It is time to start treating your customers right and being more understanding of the military in a military town Karate America!

Also I would like to state that MG Credit Collections is no picnic to deal with either. Very rude and condescending.

What a HUGE SCAM this place is. They have very deceptive practices. Our 9 yrs old daughter wanted to try out karate so we took her to Karate America on Hodges Blvd, which is Windsor Park location. After about 2 months of attending karate, my husband went in to pay the fee for the next six weeks and the lady at the counter gave him a paper to sign and took the credit card payment from him. At the same time our daughter got sick and she wasn't able to attend for almost two weeks. After that she lost interest and no longer wanted to go. Just last week they ran another payment automatically and when I called the home office I was told that my husband had signed a contact for the next 3 years. I was livid when I found out and my husband said he did not sign a contact because the lady at the counter did not tell him so and they did not give him a copy of the contact. I called back the home office and whoever answered the phone said that indeed he had signed a contact and that we were responsible for it. Well, I tell you what I'm going to do. First, I have already reported my husband credit card stolen so they can't take another penny out. Second I am going to call an attorney for a lawsuit (everybody that wants to get on, contact me) and Third, I will let everybody know what a Ripoff these people are. Maybe I'll call Channel 12 news and make a big stink about it.

Karate America is a total rip off! When you first sign up you have to sign a contract which is not a big deal. I will pay the $180 a month but the problem is NO ONE ever said anything about all the added expenses that are beyond ridiculous. You have to pay for every belt, uniforms, weapons, ATA membership and I can keep going and going. I am looking into getting an attorney to break this contract based on information that was withheld. Parents call ATA...ATM because it never stops.

We are really enjoying the classes. Alex loves the lessons and can hardly wait on a "Karate Day", as we call it, to get done with school and head over to the dojo. The interaction with the other students and the instructors is great and Alex will usually not stop talking about what went on in the class; even though we are there watching too. As for myself, I am enjoying my lessons. It is one of the things that I always had in the back of my mind but never had the schedule to support. Now that I am in a more routine career, and not going on six month deployments, I finally have the opportunity to learn. Overall, I have to say, that I do not think we could have picked a better place to start. You and your fellow instructors are very personable, full of energy, and work very well together. Each one of you make the lessons exciting and enlightening.

My son is 6 years old. We signed up for karate lessons this past April. As most children, lately he has decided that he doesn't want to continue the lessons as most 6 year olds won't have their attention held for very long. I've also come into some financial hardship I'm a single mom and can't afford the $150 payments each month. i called ATA corporate and they said the only way I can get out of this contract is if I move or if my son gets hurt and can no longer attend. When i went to the first day, this charming sales person made everything sound so great. The only thing he told me about was the up front fee of $150 and the monthly amount. He didn't tell me about what the cost would be every time my son got a new belt after his first 30 classes which is an extra $60. He also didn't tell me that it would be $279 to $400 for my sons equipment and he certainly didn't tell me that I was signing a 3 year commitment. When I asked him about it, he would give me the brush off. So I called corporate and they said that there is no way to let me out of the contract unless I wanted to take karate lessons, i moved or my son got hurt. How can this be legal? The day I signed the contract, I got into a huge fight with my x and I trusted Master M so when he said sign this, I did. I also didn't get a copy of my contract for a week and a half so I didn't know that I could have cancelled it three days later. I honestly thought I was only signing a one year commitment like you would at a gym or something. That's what these places do. They get someone to make everything seem wonderful then blind side you. It's a complete scam and now I'll have to take out a loan just to pay them off. I wouldn't do this again if it was the last thing to do on this earth. These companies should never make someone sign that long of a commitment for a child. Some of these parents bring in children 3 years old. Obviously they are just in it for the money because are they even that stupid to think a 3 year old or 6 year old would want to do this for 3 years? Ridiculous. Complete Scam and disappointed that compannies like this would take adavantage of families when we're all having a rough time with the economy. Total Scam...

Everyone just thinks about punching and kicking but I am very impressed with the lessons that they teach children such as courtesy, integrity, discipline, and confidence. No where else have I ever seen this done before!‎