“SwimNow booked on a taster session at a pool which was known to be closed at the time they did the booking and remains closed. I have requested a refund but Swim Now have not responded to either my email, voicemail or WhatsApp. Very disappointing.”
“They are scam. V bad experience with Swim Now. They were calling me every time from different numners. I paid 40£ for the trial class. But I got headache and fever. That's why couldn't join. I was trying to call them on their numbers and I sent them email to change the day and to reschedule my session but nobody attended my call and I didn't get any response from them. The next morning they were calling me again for reserving the trial session. I asked them to book me for a trial class as I paid and couldn't join but they didn't book neither they refund my money. But they were saying me to book another session and to pay again 40 pounds for it. Its really disgusting and ridiculous. They are scammers.”
“Today the 4th January was a first trial lesson of 30 mins for £40.00. We prepared him as he is always excited to play in the water, unfortunately before half we called Sue and Liz for an address that doesn't show on the receipt and we got lost. We called both of them and asked for the refund but Sue said it's non refundable. This was a XMASS gift for my grandson but 😭 lost it while other activities were signed for him said if unable to make it it will be refunded. I wish them all the best and a happy future. We have signed him with another place.”
“I had a disappointing experience with SwimNow. My baby wasn’t ready for the lessons, and despite multiple attempts, they didn’t happen. When I tried to contact the office to request a refund for unused prepaid lessons, no one responded. Ultimately, they refused to refund, which feels unfair given the circumstances. Poor communication and lack of flexibility made this a frustrating experience. I wouldn’t recommend them for parents needing understanding and adaptability.”
“Very forthcoming to book me in but ghosted me for months. I’ve requested for a refund multiple times and they have not processed it - £40 is a lot of money to not return to a customer you did not serve. Please do not give these folks your time and money.”
“My water avoidant 6 yo has made some progress, but the management change has been shocking in terms of losing flexibility. We have been going to Liverpool on a weekend day but it's still a 40 min journey, so not something that could be made up on a school day.
- The 1 week notice for absences is very much unfair as, you know, kids don't get sick with 1 week notice. Then you lose £50.
- We tend to go away for holidays and half terms to visit family abroad. Before the management change we could accumulate 4/5 planned absences and then freeze 1 month payment because, as I said above, it's hard to make up lessons on other days.
Current manager refused to restore this possibility for us so, well, I cancelled.
A little bit more flexibility would go a long way in terms of retaining customers.”
“I purchased a swimming lesson package for my son at Brighton, with 6 remaining sessions. However, I am considering discontinuing the lessons due to poor communication and service. Throughout the course, there have been issues such as teacher changes without notification, unexpected teacher absences, frequent pool closures, and scheduling discrepancies. This lack of consistency is disrupting our planned activities and affecting the overall experience. I had hoped for a more organized and professionally managed program, possibly from a school with its own swimming facilities. I have tried to address these concerns by requesting to reschedule sessions to align with our original agreement, but have not received a satisfactory response. This level of service is disappointing and falls short of expectations.”
“Really poor service from one of the "Leadership team". After initial taster session, I tried to book in for my 2 kids in the Newcastle area but was met by a very rude/condescending member of the Sheffield (not sure why the different city) "Leadership team". Intermittent communication and awful attitude. AVOID”
“Been waiting months for a female instructor who is off sick in Sheffield. Spoke to Alistair the owner who rang me last week and offered me a taster lesson for free due to the long wait and inconvenience. I agreed to travel out of the area for the free taster lesson which was promised to me last week, with the intention to book with swimnow going forward, for him to now turn around and say he cannot offer it for free as he was under the impression I had already paid? How is this offering a free taster lesson? Literally gone back on his word and changed his mind, he was FULLY AWARE of my whole situation and how I had not signed up yet. Literally been waiting around for months. Really unfair and dishonest. This is from the owner himself. Disgusting.
This is the first negative review I have written 👎🏽”
“Paid for a taster class but they failed to provide a trainer as planned. After many phone calls, I am told they won't refund despite their fault for not having a trainer. Best way to flush money down the drains. Absolute terrible company.”
“The service is pathetic.
I paid the whole amount around 600 pounds and I have not received my complete lessons, when trying to contact the team no reply from anyone.
Amy was my instructor, and Louise and Nick were the team members I was trying to reach. No refund or update was given to me regarding my lessons.
Worse experience plus lost my money as well. I don't even want to give one star.”
“The policy is awful. You don't have the flexibility and I am pretty sure that the current terms and conditions falls under the unfair contract terms in the consumer rights act. They have taken out any mention on a customer's right to reschedule a session and essentially it makes the terms unfair (look at the section on lesson credits, and absolutely no mention on the terms of a customer cancelling a lesson and what would happen if they cancel - essentially they are exploiting this loophole to mean you can't cancel, even if its not in the terms and contract). Also they failed to properly mention what a week's commitment actually means in the DEcember 2023 e-mail, which was super ambiguous. I am annoyed because I was not offered an alternative session when I first cancelled over a week ago. The FAQ is bs, and just making stuff up about the cancellation. Awful cancellation policy. I will be seeking legal advice on it as I believe they are breaching our rights as a consumer. They are using this loophole to extort customers. As a customer and as a woman I am seriously stressed out about this policy, it discriminates against me and to put it bluntly I suffer from irregular feminine issues that makes it difficult to give more than a week's notice. The staff have been so slow in trying to rearrange, it is horrendous customer service.”
“My son had fever and we informed them in morning to reschedule. They are asking us to cancel a week before which doesn't make sense. Pathetic people ..I asked to reschedule and not even refund..but they want to just take money from us and then no empathy
Rude and ridiculous”
“I recently paid £40 for a taster session for my 4-year-old son at a swimming facility, hoping to help him overcome his fear of water. Unfortunately, on the scheduled day, my son fell ill with a high fever, rendering him unable to attend. Immediately, I reached out via email to request a reschedule, understanding that circumstances sometimes don't align with plans.
To my dismay, I received a response three days later, stating that they couldn't accommodate my request because I hadn't informed them a week in advance. This requirement seemed unreasonable, especially considering I had scheduled the session merely three days prior. I expressed my willingness to forego a refund and simply reschedule for a later date to help my son confront his fear, but my pleas fell on deaf ears.
What's truly disappointing is the lack of empathy and understanding exhibited by the establishment. Rather than working with me to find a solution, they chose to ignore my subsequent emails altogether, leaving me feeling as though my money was merely a donation to their business.
As a consumer, I expect businesses to be flexible and compassionate, especially when unforeseen circumstances arise. Unfortunately, this was not the case here. My experience highlights a significant flaw in their customer service and policies, ultimately leaving me dissatisfied and disheartened.
In conclusion, I cannot recommend this swimming facility to others based on my negative encounter. It's crucial for businesses to prioritize customer satisfaction and demonstrate flexibility in their dealings, qualities sorely lacking in this instance.”
“My introductory lesson was cancelled with no communication and after many follow ups I’ve not had a replacement session. Now I’m chasing my refund. This is really poor.”
“45£ for 30 minutes lesson!!!!!!!!!!! My daughter used to go for private lessons 80£ a month.What a stupid price you charging!!!!! Even her ski lessons doesn't cost that much !!!!”
“Beyond rude customer service from Gareth. Clearly just after your money and not at all concerned about Customer Service. Absolutely disgusted with this attitude. Would never recommend to anyone.”
“This is by far the worst experience I’ve ever had. They charge you so much money for one to one sessions and they don’t even have instructors to teach your child a lesson. In 5 lessons they have changed tutors 4 times and we would go without lessons for weeks because instructors wouldn’t last more than a week. Don’t waste your money they are so unprofessional and have no idea what they are doing.”
