Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Soft play centre responds over broken arm and party payments
A DUNDEE soft play centre has responded to criticism from a mum over her son’s broken arm and charges for his birthday party.
Gemma Regan slammed the Fun Factory in Douglas after son Josh’s fifth birthday party at the centre just over a week ago.
In a social media post that has been shared more than 1,000 times, Gemma claimed there had been a lack of action from staff after Josh broke his arm on a slide.
She also claimed the centre had demanded that parents and siblings of party-goers pay full price to enter the soft play facility – despite not being involved in the party.
The Fun Factory has moved to justify the charges and claims Josh’s injury was never brought to the attention of staff.
Speaking after her Facebook post gathered hundreds of comments, Gemma said: “This situation has been a nightmare.
“Initially, I was reluctant to speak out, but I felt I had to warn other families.”
Gemma says she booked and paid for a party for 11 of Josh’s f r i e n d s at the Fun Factory on February 23. She said: “In line with their instructions, I supplied all the names of those attending and paid £17 per child in advance.
“However, on the day, the centre demanded £17 for any brothers or sisters of partygoers coming in and £1.50 for parents.
“I had to pay £17 for my own older daughter Holly to be there, even though she wasn’t at the party.
“After a bit of a stand-off, during which I found staff and management to be rude and intimidating, I ended up having to pay around another £50-£60 for other siblings and parents as the centre was demanding money from them also.
“I don’t see why I should have had to do this – there was a baby, an eight-year-old and another 14-year-old who sat on his phone the entire time.
“I also paid extra for adults who were charged £1.50 to supervise.”
Events took a further turn when Josh broke his arm on a slide.
Gemma added: “That had nothing to do with the staff or the centre, but their behaviour after the incident was terrible.
“There was no first aid offered and no accident form to fill in.
“The attitude towards us from staff and managers at the centre throughout the entire time we were there was awful.”
We approached The Fun Factory for comment several times without response.
However, bosses took to Facebook to address the claims in Gemma’s post.
In their post, which has now been deleted, they said: “After reviewing the complaint and carrying out a full and thorough investigation today, I can inform everyone that at no point was there anything brought to any staff member’s attention regarding the injury of the party child.
“The first aid would have been provided and advice given if communications had been given to staff on duty regarding the young person’s accident.
“We take our processes and procedures very seriously.”
It continued: “I would also like to clarify the party payments and the process for them on the party day.
“During your booking, you should have received a confirmation email.
“This also includes a party guest list, which should be completed before your visit.
“For a standard party, your party should be paid one week beforehand.
“If party guests arrive and parents have siblings attending, the price will be as per a normal two-hour play session.
“If the party parent would like them to attend the party and receive food and party goods, then they can be added to the guest list for the additional cost of the standard party package.
“Adults attending a party are only charged £1.50 if they have no children with them, as with previous parties, we have had more adults and family attend than party children.”