Joon Lee’s Tae Kwon Do

I should have known better after reading the other reviews. Money is all they are concerned about. We went for a «free week of lessons» after seeing them at a picnic. By the time we left, we spent over $ 400 and they would not let us out of the contract. The classes are ridiculous. You might as well put on the karate kid series and practice in front of the TV. I really don’t know how the BBB or some other regulatory agency doesnt step in on these guys. The instructors are nice, I will say that. But this place wants to put a vacuum to your bank account. Could care less about anything other than money. Very disappointing

My primary reason to write this is to serve as legal protection (which in itself is a review).
Todays date is 2÷23÷15.
On 2÷20÷15, we explored the Joon Lee Orland Park Location as an opportunity for our son to learn martial arts. After a «free» testing session, we were sat down and strongly coerced into signing a membership agreement under the premise that we pay $ 20 for the «free» course and on the 23^rd we pay the full amount of $ 458. Although we did sign, and were purchasing under emotion as our son really liked the class, we did note that the contract has a cancellation clause.
Today, 2÷23÷15 after putting thought into this decision, we decided that it is not a program we wish to pursue, mainly because of the need to sign a legal type agreement for a child of such a young age. We also read previous Unilocal reviews, and did not like the idea that you must pay $ 100 for the 10 tests that exist for each level. It just didn’t feel right. Today, we returned written notice to the owner as instructed by the agreement. My wife went in to cancel and came across a very intimidating owner who bullied her around. Extremely distasteful, ignorant, rude, who really upset her while trying to make her feel we were obligated to adhere to the agreement. I am happy my wife went, as I wouldn’t have held my composer to her standard. The owner actually questioned the need to see the contract to verify we could null and void it. So, as I fear there will be repercussions and we will receive some sort of small claim, I need a way to verify that we went in person to deliver the letter as the owner would not work with us. My instincts were right and this is not a family friendly nor oriented environment.
Terrible way to do business.
TW

Too bad zero star is not an option. Got to talk to Unilocal about that. Anyway, at Joon Lee school, all the instructors are top notch. But Joon Lee himself is a bloodsucking leech that is only interested in your last drop of blood. Be warned! Run, then stay away from this man. No wonder Joon Lee’s own son quit his law practice and joined his father. When he wants you to sign up, Joon Lee was all warm and fuzzy, talking about his relationship with his father and about how your kid is going to be in the Olympics. But this two faced midas quickly turns into a monster after you signed the contract. But like I said earlier, all the instructors are great and good with kids. That’s just too bad Joon Lee shows up now and then. If you need more detail, email me

Unfortunately, I am very disappointed with the service here. My wife and I both agreed that it was a bit much when we signed up but Master Lee assured us that if our financial status changed, we would be able to work something out. Well, I had to change jobs and took a pay cut and couldn’t afford the classes anymore, much less the monthly testing fees. We spoke to them and the first thing they said was «you signed a contract». We brought up our conversation when we first signed up and they responded with a «if it’s not on paper, it doesn’t matter».
I HIGHLY recommend that you read every last word before you sign up.
Once the children are signed up and they have you locked in, they easily forget about their promises of making sure the kids enjoy it.

Note: This is a loooong review, well worth reading before you patronize this place.
I give this place 1 star to account for the fact that my kids loved the instructors, they loved learning tae kwon do, and they loved the other kids in their classes… HOWEVER be prepared to SPEND SPEND SPEND. This place is a money sucking machine, no regards to the current economic situation we are facing, and more importantly they are DISHONEST about their fees and prices to begin with.
It all started when my sons school partnered up with Joon Lee’s to do a fundraiser, offering 4 classes for $ 20 (held conviniently at the school) with all the proceeds going to the school. They held a cute ‘graduation’ from these classes at their facility, kids broke a board, received stripes on belt, great experience. They then offered a low low introductory rate for $ 150 per month per child, waiving the membership fees, plus a free uniform, classes are mon-​sat. I have three boys, so this means $ 450 for me, but i shelled it out since they loved it, they can go everyday, and it seems like a great program for them to be involved in (self esteem, dicipline, etc).
While signing them up I specifically ask the girl «What other fees are involved and does the rate go up nxt month?» To which she responds, «Oh No, no fees, maybe when they move up in belt rank it goes up to $ 200 a month but thats it.» Again, pricey but kids love it, so here we go.
They wrap up their first month, are getting allll excited about testing for a new belt… and they hit us with THIS:
In order for them to test for a new belt, I need to pay $ 100… EACH!!! I am looking at $ 300 on top of the $ 450 I pay per month… this seems outrageous right away and I start to regret the whole thing! But then it gets WORSE:
In order for them to continue the program, there is a fee for sparring equipment (which i found online for much much less) and membership fee’s (wait weren’t they waived/​dont I pay that monthly??) of …$ 500 per child!!! Yes per child, So i am looking at $ 450 per month, $ 1500 worth of equipment and membership fees (which btw need to be paid every 2 yrs) plus $ 300 every belt testing. I start to loose it here… I call «Master» Joon Lee and start asking questions. The man gets extremely upset, because to him that is not a lot of money I guess. No I cannot buy the sparring equipment myself, No they cannot continue without sparring equipment, No i dont pay membership fee’s already my $ 450 covers their classes only, and No the fees werent waived entriely, just for the first month. WTF??? GOOD BYE JOON LEE!!!
Adding to the dishonesty issue, before we sat down and crunched #‘s, my husband had talked to the school about our $$$ concerns, but left a deposit to secure a discounted rate (consisting of $ 50 less per month) in case there was something we could work out, which the «Master» assured was refundable if we decided the program was unaffordable. After mine and the «Masters» little phone spat, my husband returned for his $ 50 deposit, and there right on the sheet where he had originally initialled, in different ink, written obviously after the original form was completed, were the words «not refundable». BOGUS.