Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in California
California based health fitness contract signed in Texas
I enrolled with Bally fitness who's contract agreements are based in California. I was not aware of anything else in the agreement except that I would pay $35.00 per month to use their fitness facilities.
I had an injury before I ever used the faciltites. So I canceled immediatly and submitted the medical inury reports to them along with the member card.
They refuse to cancel the membership and now they claim I owe them close to $800.00. I carefully read their agreement & based on that they only allow two reasonable ways to cancel. 1: You must be permantly disabled & 2: You must have relocated more that 25 miles from the Bally facility. They have other options but these are the more reasonable.
My question is simple. Can Bally impose upon me an amount I never recieved but are demanding that I owe them? Merely becase I canceled. Is the Bally agreement binding in Texas also? I was never explained anything by the Bally salesman nor was informed that I was entering some agreement. only that I pay $35.00 per month to use thier facilties. Is there anything I can do to disolve this without effecting my credit which they are already threatned to do.
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: California based health fitness contract signed in Texas
You are on the hook for the contract amount. You pay, whether you use their facilities or not. You may have a reason not to use them, but that is not a legal excuse to void your contract.
When you sign a contract the law presumes that you've read it and understand what you're signing. You are bound by what you signed, unless you can show intrinsic fraud in getting you to sign the agreement. There you would have to show that they had absolutely no intention of going through with their side of the contract, but that sure isn't your case.
Promises of a superb physique and suchlike puffery are not fraud, since the contract eliminates all the earlier promises made before signing.
Re: California based health fitness contract signed in Texas
What exactly do you mean, "you were not aware of anything else in the agreement"? Does your signature appear on the agreement? When, exactly did you read the agrement, before you signed it, or after? Anything that was or was not told to you by the salesman doesn't matter, only what's in the written agreement. What do you mean, "impose on me an amount I never received", did you think they were going to pay -you- money?
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