Sorry if this is not the correct category to place this question... My son is a higher level baseball player (15 yrs old) that has recently done some private training with a local company. I use "company" loosely as it is just one ex-college player, but does have a name for his organization. We completed this training for the months of December and January. We entered with another family who informed us that the fee was $200/mo. (as that Mother set things up with the coach). I never physically had a conversation with the coach regarding money and never signed any kind of contracts or anything like that. In December, I paid $200 cash and presented the coach with a handwritten receipt stating "December Training Paid in Full for $200". He signed this as I gave him the $200 cash.... Again in January, I did the same, another handwritten receipt saying "January $200 training fee paid in full". Again he signed it.
I also have text message correspondence from him that states both Dec. and Jan. dues are paid. Due to High School ball, My boy no longer has time to take this extra training. Due to this, I notified the Coach who became upset stating that he wont get any better if he isn't doing private lessons with him too. I responded that with 3 hr. a night HS practice, and his accelerated Cambridge school program, there is no time to add a 3rd commitment during HS baseball season, and that we will likely pick back up after HS ball.
All of sudden he got upset, and sent me a contract stating that his program was $400 a month and that i now owe him $400 ($200 more for Dec. and $200 more for Jan). I of course refused to pay. I never signed this $400 contract he presented me with nor would we ever have been able to afford an additional $400/mo for training from the beginning. It is clear he is upset we left the program and is now trying to punish us (which he recently did with the other party that we entered the program with... they ended up paying although they never signed anything either, but the harassment was so extreme that they could not sleep and it was affecting their mental health, so they just paid it to make it stop).
Since original email notifying us that we owed the additional $400, we have received over a dozen (probably much more) contacts via email, messages and phone harassing us for the money. He has now started having his "business manager" call and harass me which I also have voice mail proof of. Also, he has now added $75/mo. to the $400 for monthly late fee charges. Todays voice mail from the Business Manager (which is really not, it is just a friend that helps him with a summer baseball program who lives out of state) states that at the end of this month, there will be another $75 late fee charge and they will soon send this to a Debt Collector and it will affect my credit.
I don't see how ANY of this is right or can be legally enforced, but I certainly don't need it affecting my credit. We have consulted an attorney and in the process of getting together her $300 retainer as well as all the text messages, signed receipts and voice messages in a concise folder. I think I'd love to take this to small claims court and save the lawyer fees, but my wife is convinced we need the attorney to send a cease and desist letter (or whatever it is called) to stop the harassment and any further progression of their collections... Please help... And thank you all so much. Desperate in FL!!!!!!