News

Genius League Enrichment Centre With 3 Outlets Suddenly Closed Down & “Ghosted” Everyone

2023-05-13 , 6:50 am

Think a breakup text is bad? Imagine having an enrichment centre you’ve paid thousands to announce their sudden closure to you over a WhatsApp message.

A local enrichment centre, Genius League Enrichment Centre, suddenly closed and left its students and their parents hanging high and dry.

Enrichment Centre Closes Abruptly; Cites Multiple Reasons

On Monday (8 May), parents sending their children to Genius League Enrichment Centre, which provides right-brain training programmes, received a not-so-pleasant surprise when they opened their WhatsApp.

The enrichment centre was closing down out of the blue.

Might as well have sent a “notes app” apology.

According to the message shared by a user in the Facebook group COMPLAINT SINGAPORE, the enrichment centre was closing down due to several issues making it “increasingly difficult … to continue operating as a sustainable business”.

TLDR: Bo lui, jialat liao.

Apparently, the enrichment centre’s management only took over Genius League in February. As a result, payments made by parents to the centre before February have gone into the pockets of the previous owner.

This means the centre’s current management has been operating out of their own pockets. Not a good start.

That isn’t all—the centre was hit with a double whammy. According to the WhatsApp message, business prospects for the centre don’t seem great either. The management cited little term renewals, few new students and rising costs, among other reasons.

It’s Not You, It’s Me: Issues Faced at All Three Genius League Outlets

The enrichment centre has three outlets islandwide, but all three are going down. These outlets are located in Novena, Hougang and Tampines.

Notice how none of the outlets are in the West? I told you, West side is the best side.

The management shared that each outlet had its fair share of problems.

First, there were noise disturbances at the Novena outlet from the tenant above them. Second, rental prices were increasing at the Novena and Hougang outlets, with the Hougang outlet’s rental rising by 42%. Last, the Tampines outlet was “operating below optimum capacity”.

This is the peak of an “it’s not you, it’s me” apology. Boys, watch and learn.

Due to this confluence of factors, the enrichment centre’s management closed its doors, “ghosting” everyone.

I mean, the parents don’t even know when exactly the enrichment centre is closing. Can your son Xiao Ming still go to his Genius League class tomorrow? You have no idea.

Regardless, the management apologised and sought parents’ understanding of the centre’s decision.

“Ghosted” Parents Furious; Came Together to Make Group Police Report

While the enrichment centre has responded to some parents’ concerns on WhatsApp, most parents remain “ghosted”.

And you can bet your bottom dollar that these parents are furious. Forget about enlisting young men into NS, this hoard of angry parents is enough to form an army.

Many of these parents share that they enrolled their children under the packages provided by Genius League—this means that many children still have multiple lessons left with Genius League, which aren’t going to happen now that the centre is closing abruptly.

These lessons aren’t cheap either, costing about $50 each. Other parents have already paid thousands in advance for the packages their children are enrolled in.

Perhaps the children aren’t the ones needing the right-brain training (we’re kidding).

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The army of angry parents eventually formed a Facebook group called “Get Genius League to Refund” to bounce ideas on how to seek recourse at this stage.

Sounds like a Singaporean version of Avengers.

One such idea was to gather outside Bedok North Neighbourhood Police Post to lodge a group report to the police.

Image: Facebook (Get Genius League to Refund)

On Thursday (11 May), police confirmed that reports had been lodged. The matter is currently under investigation.

Parents Embroiled in Mess of Enrichment Centre’s Closure Seeking to Recover More Than $14K

Thanks to the sudden closure of all three outlets of Genius League Enrichment Centre, the Consumers Association of Singapore (Case) staff will probably have a few late nights in the office.

Someone at Case working on the complaints now probably just contemplated putting all their work into ChatGPT.

According to Case’s president Melvin Wong, the association has already received not one, not two, but 12 complaints lodged against the enrichment centre. Presumably, these complaints are from the angry parents “ghosted” by Genius League in an attempt to recover unused prepaid lesson fees.

The parents complaining to Case are seeking to recover more than $14K thus far. This number will only increase as Case receives more complaints against Genius League.

Unfortunately for these parents, it’s not guaranteed that they’ll be able to recover all that money.

What usually happens when a company becomes insolvent is this: the company’s preferential creditors, such as banks and employees, have front-row tickets to the company’s downfall. They’re the ones getting paid first.

Unsecured creditors like customers, suppliers and landlords are sort of like the least favourite child—they’ll only get leftovers of what hasn’t already been paid to the preferential creditors.

This means that it is unlikely that affected parents can recover the entire sum of their unused prepaid lesson fees. That is, if they can recover anything at all.

UFC Gym’s Sudden Closure Also Left Customers “Ghosted”

Unless you live under a rock, you should have already heard this by now—many gymgoers were left “ghosted” last week after the sudden closure of the UFC gym.

You know what that means. Thousands of dollars paid in advance for your gym membership and training sessions—poof!

Perhaps think twice the next time you’re prompted to fork out a large prepayment.

These sudden business closures have brought a critical problem to the fore—protection for customers in sectors requiring significant prepayments. Fortunately, Case is advocating for a solution.

Case shared that they will continue pushing for more robust safeguards for you and me so that if a Genius League or UFC Gym-esque situation happens again, consumers will not be affected to such a great extent.

“We will continue to call on the Government to introduce mandatory prepayment protection such as escrows for sectors that collect large sums of prepayments to safeguard consumers’ monies,” Mr Yong added.

With any hope, parties affected by these businesses’ closures can seek the necessary recourse.

If you were affected by the sudden Genius League or UFC Gym closure, you may visit Case’s website or call its hotline at 97958397 to determine your next step.