Hair salon is forced to close down after outrage from parents over advertisement saying it will charge £5 extra for children with ‘special or additional needs’
- PJ’s Hairdressing Group had opened Krazy Kids salon in Puxton Park, Somerset
- Booking page urged parents to ‘book extra time’ for children with special needs
- Prices also appeared to show extra £5 charge for children with ‘additional needs’
- After a series of complaints from parents, the hairdressers is now closing down
A hair salon has been forced to close down after advertising it was charging an extra £5 for children with ‘additional needs’.
PJ’s Hairdressing Group opened Krazy Kids salon in Puxton Park – a popular family attraction near Weston-super-Mare in Somerset.
But there was outrage when the booking page read: ‘If your child has special needs or additional needs please book extra time so that we can give our full attention to your child.’
Online prices also appeared to show an extra £5 charge for children with ‘additional needs.’
After a series of complaints from parents, the children’s hairdressers is now closing down and moving away from the park.
Jess Walker, from North Somerset and whose son has autism, said she was ‘angry and upset’.
Pictured: A leaflet from the PJ’s Krazy Kids hairdressers which suggests children with additional needs must pay an extra £5 (L) and (R) an instruction from the website stating extra time must be booked if the child has ‘additional needs’ so staff can give them the full attention
She told the BBC: ‘I rang last week and enquired about an appointment.
‘The woman explained they charge £14 but there could be an additional charge of £5 if it took longer because of my son’s condition.
‘It makes me so angry and upset that my son is growing up in a world where his special needs are still seen as a hindrance and something to be exploited.’
Fazilet Hadi, head of policy and research at Disability Rights UK, said: ‘The Equality Act is explicit – reasonable adjustments must be made by businesses for disabled people.
Jess Walker, pictured with her husband Michael, told the BBC she was ‘angry and upset’ when advised she may have to pay an extra charge to have her son’s hair cut because he has autism
‘This would also apply to extra time being needed as an adaptation for a disabled person.’
Krazy Kids opened in Puxton Park on December 7 but will now be seeking a new location after the influx of angry complaints.
Director of Krazy Kids hairdressers, Lizzy Tucker said she’s ‘horrified’ by the reaction – labelling the extra charge simply as a ‘misunderstanding.’
She said: ‘We have been horrified by the reaction this weekend.
‘It has never been our intention or policy to charge those that require special assistance.
‘Through the online booking on our website extra time can be requested if required, however this is not chargeable for those with special needs.
Pictured: PJ’s Hairdressers director Lizzy Tucker said she was ‘horrified’ at the reaction to the company’s leaflet
‘A misunderstanding as a result of a poorly-worded flyer has snowballed into a social media storm that has lead to discussions and my decision to remove my business from Puxton Park.’
Ms Tucker added the contentious content has been removed from the website and new leaflets are to be printed.
Puxton Park has insisted although the salon was situated in their grounds, they had no say in the pricings advertised.
A statement on Facebook said: ‘We kindly ask that if you have any comments, questions or concerns about PJ’s Krazy Kids Hairdressing that you please direct them to PJ’s Hairdressing Group and not Puxton Park.
‘Puxton Park did not have any input on the pricing structure or marketing material released by this company.
‘The hair salon is an independent business and is not affiliated with Puxton Park.
‘However, as this business is on our premises, we do apologise for any upset caused and have brought it to the immediate attention of the business owner to be rectified.’