Agente Hipotecario in Summerville, SC

|Updated: Sep. 20, 2024 at 4:18 AM EDT

SUMMERVILLE, S.C. (WCSC) - More than a week after a Summerville tutoring service shut down without warning, teachers are left without a job and are missing paychecks.

Former Sylvan Learning employees describe how the situation has been handled as shocking and ridiculous.

Staff was notified about the immediate closure in a Zoom meeting 10 days ago, and they still have not seen their last paychecks.

The owner of the franchise, Susan Fairbairn, closed the Summerville location, along with her other four locations in Texas, without proper protocol, according to Sylvan’s home office.

Fairbairn cited the reason for the Summerville closure as a lack of resources.

Katelyn Bunch taught there for over a year and says things seemed normal. She says they had plenty of tutors and a waiting list of kids to get in.

Bunch says she has received little to no communication on if the money she and others are due will ever turn up.

“I’m someone living paycheck to paycheck and wondering how I’m going to pay my bills as I was relying on this money a lot,” Bunch said. “Now, I’m trying to figure out how to pay for my basic needs.”

Bunch says working at Sylvan in Summerville was a positive experience until now.

“It was a wonderful place and I’m gonna miss teaching there,” Bunch said. “I felt like I was a better teacher after working here and now I don’t know what to do. I’m still trying to figure out how I’m going to make ends meet.”

After teaching there for seven years, Kristina Bell says she was brought to tears once the closure sunk in.

“Losing a family and working with the children that you enjoy working with every day and then on top of that you don’t get paid, so then I was in a financial bind,” Bell said.

Bunch and Bell want to continue working with the kids who need tutoring.

“She {Fairbairn} didn’t give us any information,” Bell said. “She could have definitely rolled back enrollment, told the directors to not bring on any more students because I’m going to gradually phase out of this.”

Fairbairn did not respond to a request for comment.

A spokesperson for Sylvan provided the following statement:

Since the Sylvan Learning of Summerville was independently owned and operated by Susan Fairbairn, she is responsible for providing paychecks to her employees. Sylvan Learning, the Franchisor, has not heard from Susan Fairbairn. Sylvan Learning is working on other solutions to help these families, including delivering tutoring for their children for a period of time while they continue to pursue legal action and/or find another tutor.

Copyright 2024 WCSC. All rights reserved.

Updated: Sep. 14, 2024 at 5:09 PM PDT

SUMMERVILLE, S.C. (WCSC) - A tutoring service in Summerville has closed its doors for good, leaving over 50 families in limbo.

Parents say the announcement came without warning from Sylvan Learning in an email on Sep. 9. It said in part that the franchise is shutting down effective immediately because of a lack of resources.

The sudden closure has left students in need of extra help without a tutor, and parents who paid thousands upfront for a certain number of hours, seeking refunds.

“It’s really sad that the employees are losing their jobs because they did a great job,” John Petty said. “My kids have been coming here for years and their grade level has exceeded, and they did really well. I just wanted them to keep that edge in school and now they can’t.”

In the email and notice on the Summerville location’s doors, it states that customers with unused tuition, to contact the corporate office 1-800 number to find alternative solutions.

Parent Shanda Tantipitham who took out a loan to pay for the service said the automated messaging system gave her the runaround, but she’s in the process of working with the lender to get back over $7,000.

“From what we’re told, they need about 10 days to resolve it, but I still don’t have a resolution yet as of today,” Tantipitham said.

“I took on a second job to pay for all this so it’s coming out of my pocket to pay for it,” Petty said. “It’s just frustrating for the kids and the parents that paid in advance.”

Over an email chain, parents have demanded refunds and threatened to take legal action.

“It’s very deceitful and it seems that the franchisee shut down and took everyone’s money and took off,” Justin Kramer said. “After digging more and talking to other parents we found out that she also had a Sylvan in Texas and shut that one down last month.”

One employee confirmed that she was supposed to get paid last Thursday, and as of Friday afternoon, she still has not been paid. She also said she has received no communication from the owner and operator of the franchise, Susan Fairbairn.

A support email notified one parent that Fairbairn had been told she must refund families immediately. Fairbairn did not respond to a request for comment.

Sylvan’s home office released the following statement:

Five Sylvan Learning Centers recently closed in Austin, TX and Summerville, SC. These Centers, 4 in Austin, TX and 1 in Summerville, SC were independently owned and managed by Susan Fairbairn who was operating under a franchise agreement with Sylvan Learning, the Franchisor. Ms. Fairbairn closed these Centers without proper notification to customers and without necessary authorization from Sylvan. While Ms. Fairbairn’s operating entities are contractually responsible for all refunds to customers, unfortunately, she has not yet refunded these dollars.

Sylvan Learning has proudly served millions of children and been part of communities for over 45 years. Ms. Fairbairn’s actions are wrong, damaging to those same communities and children and do not represent the values that we hold core to the Sylvan brand. As such we have terminated Ms. Fairbairn’s franchise agreement and are pursuing legal channels to force these refunds from Ms. Fairbairn’s entities to customers. The legal process continues but Ms. Fairbairn has become unresponsive to Sylvan and incorrectly cited that Sylvan is somehow responsible for refunding money that she knowingly took directly from customers. The contact information we have for Ms. Fairbairn is s.fairbairn@sylvanhmj.com and 512.497.8440.

Sylvan Learning believes in putting kids first. We and our generous franchisees are working with parents on an individual basis on a bridge program to deliver tutoring for their children for a period of time while they continue to pursue legal action and/or find another tutor.

Sylvan is disappointed in the sudden closures by the former franchisee and we will continue to advocate for our customers and for the immediate payment of refunds.

Copyright 2024 WCSC. All rights reserved.

SUMMERVILLE, S.C. (WCBD) – Liquor liability insurance is having an impact on organizations. Summerville VFW had to close their doors on Saturday – they need your help to stay open.

“I was in the army. I went to Iraq twice out of Fort Stewart, Georgia. I was in from ’03 to 2012,” said TJ Allen, a member of VFW Post 3433.

Allen said the VFW is like a home for him and the many other veterans who frequent the post.

“I come here, and I hang with a group of people that there’s certain things we can talk about, and there are certain things we don’t have to talk about because of our shared experiences. Just kind of… it’s a comforting place that I don’t have to explain myself,” he said.

But that place of comfort is now being threatened.

“We had to shut down this past Saturday because our liquor liability didn’t get renewed. It went from $9,500 to $69,000,” explained Post Commander Robert Zdenek, VFW Post 3433. “We’re working on rates right now because of the new law in effect with liquor liability. We’re scrambling as we are a nonprofit. As it is, we have a hard time making it.”

They don’t have $69,000 per year just for insurance.

The post is holding a Tuesday night meeting where state lawmakers are expected to be in attendance. They hope to have state law changed next year to lower rates.

Right now, if someone drinks even one beer, and then they drink at other places that day, the original alcohol sales site can have 100% liability, instead of a percentage of liability. This caused rates to skyrocket.

The post is also planning a major fundraiser on October 19th to raise money. They hope to be back open by then.

“We do a lot of stuff for the public. We do have the VA home. We do a Thanksgiving dinner for local vets. We just do a lot of stuff for the community,” said Zdenek.

Allen is going to college right now on his VA benefits, but he is one of six people now out of a job at this VFW due to the shutdown. He works there several days per week as a bartender.

“This place does supplement my income. I’m a starving college student right now, so I definitely need the supplemental income, and the loss of the income from this place is hurting me greatly,” he said.

Tuesday night’s meeting begins at 7:30 p.m.

Summerville VFW Post closes due to liquor liability insurance costs in South Carolina. Sept. 2, 2024 (Webb Wright/WCIV)

SUMMERVILLE, S.C. (WCIV) — The casualties continue to mount from burdensome liquor liability costs.

Two bills in the South Carolina state legislature intended to provide relief from a $1 million price tag will likely not see any traction until next year.

Labor Day is normally one of the biggest days for VFW post 3433, but on Monday, the jukebox is silent, the grill is cold, and the coolers are empty. This VFW post is closed, leaving some veterans with nowhere to go.

"Old navy sailors, they'd be walking in right now excited to come up here and tell a war story," says Post Commander Robert Zdenek.

READ MORE | "Proposed amendment may reduce liquor liability insurance, aiding some veteran nonprofits."

But the sign on the door tells a different story. The post closed indefinitely.

"We got a rate of $69,000 a year, which we used to pay $9,500," says Zdenek. "We just couldn't afford it. We had until this past Saturday night at midnight to shut down the building and figure out from there what to do from here on out."

Help was supposed to be on the way, but a bill in the South Carolina House, and one in the Senate stalled out as the end of the year approached.

"It's political ineptitude, and we're getting real-world results where veterans are getting hurt," says state Rep. Jordan Pace (R-Berkeley). "This is their safe place and now it's closed. Eight people lost their jobs. We're seeing thousands of people lose their jobs in bars and restaurants."

READ MORE | "Lowcountry hangouts feel the impact of liquor liability laws."

The current law says if someone has one drink at the VFW, regardless of where they go after, the VFW would be considered equally liable for any accidents that happen if the driver is under the influence.

"You should not be found 1% liable and be a hundred percent responsible," says Pace. "The Senate bill wasn't perfect, but it made it closer to that where anybody under 50% was responsible for whatever percentage they were responsible for. So if you were 10% liable, you can only be up to 10% responsible for whatever the damages are, and it's sad that we didn't even pick that up in committee."

Jobs weren't the only thing lost at this VFW. Moments for veterans who need companionship are out the window as well.

"It's a place a lot of our vets here– widows and widowers– have no place to go," says Zdenek. "I can probably name some people that have nowhere to go today, and to me, it's a pretty sad day."

The post will hold a meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 3 at 7:30 p.m. to discuss ways to raise money to reopen the post. Special guests from the South Carolina legislature will be on hand as well.

The post is tentatively scheduling a fund-raiser for the post on Oct. 19. For more information on how to help, please call Rob Zdenek at (843) 568-6811. For more information on the post, click here.