Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California

You might have a problem. Since the written contract required written notice, they could argue you are bound by those terms. You could argue that you reasonably relied upon the owner's verbal assurance that he would cancel it, but your not paying attention to it for over 16 months implies that you did not really reasonably rely because it was not reasonable to ignore your monthly account deductions for that long. They undoubtedly claim they have no record of your canceling. See if you can work out some type of settlement with them, but it wil be difficult to do.

Another angle is that the parties modified the contract verbally to permit verbal cancellation. However, you're going to have to prove that to be the case in the face of their denial that the conversation ever took place the way you describe. Unfortunately, we live in a world where people need to document the crap out of everything or they get ripped off. Good luck with your situation.

You relied on the verbal promise of some employee, but you didn't read the contract you signed, and only the written contract counts. If you continue to sign contracts that you don't read, expect more self-inflicted grief.

First of all, why did you wait almost two years to object to the MONTHLY charge on your account. If you read your contract you would have seen the requirement that you cancel in writing. They gym will say that they relied on the contract and your continued payment and owe you nothing. Since you did not do what you agreed to do, i.e. cancel in writing, and probably can't prove the conversation (can you actually prove the conversation) you probably can't win. If you have not already done so, cancel in writing now. Perhaps if you are nice they will give you some credit for future gym use but I doubt it. A deal is a deal.

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