blk04civiclx

Hey guys.. this is a bit off topic but heres my situation..
My gf and I have been going to LA fitness to work out for a while now. And recently about 2 months ago she had set up to get Personal Training..
Long story short, we feel like we've been jipped and for 200 a month.. its truly what they actually do for you. Anyway, my question is... Since we have a carbon copy of the 6 month contract, we realized that we did not sign anything but filled it out.. We gave them the voided check to deduct payment.. So is it in "legal" for them to automatically deduct from our bank account?? Could i request for a refund and have grounds for it if they were to contest? I would definately think Yes, but i am not exactly sure of the Laws about that so ANY help would be appreciated and if you read this THANK YOU.

UrAverageCivic

damn that sucks man, im guessing its the one on carson street. Good Luck.

ProDigy

iTrader: (5)

ALLLL RIGHHTTY..i guess this is where my banking knowledge comes into play. To first address your contract, if you didn't sign anything but filled it out as in, name, address, basic info and no signature saying you adhere to the contract then NO it's not a valid contract, unless both parties implied or verbally agreed to such a venture. I'd bring out my business law books but im lazy to go further into this topic....

To address your concerns about the check, YES it is legal for them to deduct a monthly charge for their services. YOU and/or your g/f both agreed to a personal trainner and his/her services. SOOOO it is okay for them to deduct it, unless you say you never did such a thing and put it up as a fradulent activity, in which they will provide the voided c/c of the contract you filled out to say you had knowledge of such activity.

OPITIONS?
1) I would review the contract / application over and see any cluases to the contract OR speak with a manager / supervisor about it. Always say NO if you REALLY don't want it!
2) If you don't like confrontation i would suggest you just put a STOP PAYMENT on the check "Electronic Stop Payment". It should cost you around 20 bucks or less to do so and when the month comes for them to try to take out of the account, it'll be rejected and sent back. Again, this should be your last resort, because there might be some small print on that application that might say that you'll have to pay regardless of what will happen.

SIDENOTE:
You and your g/f share a checking account? WoW....please tell me you have seperate accounts as well.....WHATEVER I HAVE GIVEN HERE IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE AND I HAVE NO INTENTION ON PERSUADING YOU TO DO THESE ACTS. ALL OPTIONS / STATEMETS THAT I HAVE GIVEN ARE OPINIONS AND SHOULD BE TAKEN AT YOUR OWN CAUTION. sorry don't want you to turn it around on me and say that i told you to do this

iamboo

iTrader: (4)

the voided check was used for consideration so you're pretty much screwed for the monthly deduction...

the contract for the personal trainer is a different story... you have filled out most of the contract in your handwriting... the small courts might say that you had an intention to use their services and you did use their services which proves that... by you using their services, you've pretty much sealed the deal w/o a signature on the contract... you also could go the loophole route and say that you never signed it therefore it isn't a valid contract but it's going to be hard to fight considering what i said above...

i would talk to your personal trainer and tell him/her that you don't feel like you're getting what you're paying for. he/she might step it up and bit and tailor your needs to your workout... if that doesn't work, try and work something out with the manager...

if ALL else fails, small claims court... but like i said, that should be the last resort...

good luck

blk04civiclx

ive read somewhere that misrepresenting a product voids a contract, i think i am going to use this against them since he was giving false promises and statements about the service.

7thGenerasianCivic

iTrader: (13)

gyms DO jipp you. They are SNEAKY and kind of SHADY, I assume the work off commision...

lewal

iTrader: (9)

I'm pretty sure Iamboo and ProDigy are both correct... It's gonna be very hard for you to win on the money they jipped you out of on the defense that you didn't sign the contract (esp. if you actually did use the services and authorized the use of the credit card [verbally]).

Good luck though

spoiledsteph

SOO TRUE!! Just because you didn't sign the contract does not make it invalid. You filled it out, talked with the PT, and your conduct implied that you and the PT agreed, verified by the fact that you supplied a voided check for them to deduct the funds from your account. Most likely, you will NOT WIN with the "unsigned contract" as a defense.

Just go talk to the trainer, tell him/her/it that you feel you are being ripped off, the services aren't as described, and try and work something out with him. If he is unwilling to work with you, then go to the manager. If all else fails, cancel the membership thing with the trainer, and then go to court. But most likely, you won't win.

blk04civiclx

Well guys , thanks for all ur advice but i am pretty sure we are getting our money back. Talked to the Vice president of LA Fitness and he says that if everything is true of what we told him then there should be no reason that we wont get our money back.. now just waiting for corporate office to issue the refund. Chip has been lifted off my shoulder

ProDigy

iTrader: (5)

let us know the conclusion!!!

backdown

which LA fitness was this?

greeen01civic4d

iTrader: (7)

waaaay to go newb, bring back a year and a half old thread

backdown

just got a new membership and was just curious