Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in California
In 2004 I bought a gym membership at a small indenpendant gym in Escondido, CA. I paid $300 for a one year membership for my husband and myself. I paid in full at the time of sign up. The contract that I signed was a bit ambiguous in that it mentioned that future monthly payments would be charged to my cc, and in a separate part of the contract, it also said, "if you choose monthly payments, they will be applied to your credit card." I mentioned this to the gym employee that was helping me and he said not to worry that I was just signing up for a one year membership only and since I was paying in full, there would be no future charges. One year later we moved out of the area. The gym continued to bill my credit card after the year was up. I disputed the cc charges and closed the credit card, and repeatedly tried to call the gym. No one answered and I left several messages (they soon went out of business). My "account" was sent to collections and was reported to my Experian credit report. I disputed this with Experian, and Experian removed it from my credit report. The collections agency has been hassling me ever since, threatening to re-report it to my credit (I didn't think they could do that once it's removed?) and threatening to garnish my wages. Today they told me that I have to show up in court in Los Angeles (I live in San Diego) on Friday July 23. Can they give me so little notice and make me travel that far? What are my rights? Thank you so much for the help, I really appreciate it.
2 Answers from Attorneys
That's what you get for taking your legal advice on a contract from some gym employee (only what's in the contract counts, not anything he said to you). If they waited more than 4 years since your last payment was due, they have violated the statute of limitations. They are also guilty of "distant forum abuse" for suing you in a distant jurisdiction. It is also illegal to "re-age" credit reports. Probably you have a good case against the collection agency for unfair debt collection practices. I am assuming this is in small claims court. I would like to hear more.
Go get 'em Michael; FDCPA & Rosenthal & UDAP & FCRA & & & ...
Yes, the collection agency just may have violated a few of the State and Federal consumer protection laws, just to get you to pay what ...? a $25/month gym bill???
Call Mr Stone and make 'em pay....
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