Washington Fencing Academy

My son wanted to try this place. I had a call from someone about the class and who would be coaching. We were super impressed with the Saber coach. Son signed up for twice a week classes. I was able to email and ask more about the billing. I got a follow up call in case I had more questions. Everyone at the class has been friendly. It’s chilly in there… they were having heat issues, but they had a portable heater and were nice about it. My son loves the class. He’s sore every time he has class, so it’s a great workout. The kids have been welcoming. So far, a very good experience.

Engarde!
I attended the Washington Fencing Academy for a little over a year. The classes were fun and I enjoyed the club members and coaches. I liked the sport so much I began to compete and even earned my first rating. The coaching staff is involved in the sport both regionally and internationally. You can learn a lot at this club.
The people, coaches, and curriculum are great, however the way club management conducts business is unethical and borderline illegal.
I injured my arm during a tournament and sat out for 3 months during which I paid full club dues because I didn’t request the club to stop charging me. I learned my lesson so when I re-​injured my arm 2 months later in April, I had my membership suspended.
Forward 6 months, my wife realizes the club charges that had stopped in June had started back up again in August. Funny, cause I had not returned to the club. I had not used the facilities, nor services for over 6 months. I had not given the club permission to charge my credit card again because I simply had not been back to the fencing. Shame on us for not noticing sooner, but the club doesn’t send billing statements, nor emails, nor any sort of receipt or notification to let you know they are charging your card. They charged me over $ 600 without notification and without permission for services I did not receive.
I immediately reached out to my coach and club co-​founder, Kevin. He directed me to the finance person, Marj. I got no response for 18 days. I emailed and called several times. I felt like I was getting the run around and was finally told Marj isnt really the finance person. She was only communicating on behalf of Amy, another club co-​founder and owner. Marj finally wrote back, «We haven’t forgotten about you…» and stated that because its a lot of money ‘its a big decision for them’. They offered to credit the amount towards future club dues instead of reimbursing me. I insisted on reimbursement, 8 days later Amy tried to settle with me for half of what they took.
I’m following up with my credit card company. I’m very disappointed at how I have been treated by club management; and ultimately this bad behavior is what prompted this review.

This is a two part review. The good first:
My boys attended classes and camps at the Washington Fencing Academy and they were always excited to go. I think the instructors do a good job of teaching and keeping the kids engaged.
My problem with the Washington Fencing Academy relates to their communication and responsiveness to a problem of being over billed. Our son finished attending classes in April and we canceled the reoccurring monthly payments. Shame on us for not noticing that they continued to charge our card each month (May, June & July). We realized that this might have been an innocent mistake. The problem is when you try and call the Washington Fencing Academy. I tried reaching them at different times of the day for a week and no one ever answers the phone. After a week, I was agitated and sent an email detailing the problem asking for help. After waiting a full day I sent another email asking that they acknowledge receipt of my inquiry and let me know what they were doing to fix it. I received a voice mail from Mary who sounded annoyed that I had sent two emails so close together. Fixing the problem didn’t seem to be a priority for them. Not to mention that I was shocked that they continued to charge us and never bothered to call and ask why our son hadn’t showed up in 3 months.
So how did this end?
After trying to reach Mary again, I finally emailed the co-​founder (Kevin) to ask for help. He responded immediately that someone would get right back to me. Ten days later I never heard from anyone. So not sure if we will get back the several hundred dollars we were charged but we know for sure we won’t be signing the kids up again until this is resolved.

My wife and I recently took a 2hr beginner’s lesson with Kevin and had an absolute blast! It was a good mix of info about a sport that knew nothing of, and an easy to follow lesson, not to mention a good work out for a soft guy like me.
Kevin’s teaching style is fun and engaging and makes the time fly. Absolutely worth the trip!

I’ve always wanted to try fencing and when I came across a deal on living social to take a two hour fencing class I jumped on the chance. I worked with Kevin trying to find a time that worked best for me and Kevin was very patience and great to work with on finding the time for me to take the class. I had a great time learning the basics of fencing. I would highly recommend this place if anyone wants to try fencing.