Legal Question in Consumer Law in New Jersey

open-ended contract

i signed up to a tanning salon chain at the beginning of summer. the contract was a a month to month deal for $19.95 a month for unlimited tanning. i could cancel any time. i submitted my debit card for them to charge monthly. i had some fraud on that card, and had it replaced.

I had forgotten about the salon. they kept getting a declined card. i just received a letter from them stating that i have an overdue balance for membership fees. i had not used their services for a while. even when my card was still active, i did not go for the last month that the card was active.

they also state that i cannot cancel my membership until my balance is squared away.

my question:

am i still fully liable to pay for these membership fees, even though they did not notify me right away, and could have cancelled my membership themselves?

also, is it legal for them to refuse to accept my cancellation until the overdue balance is taken care of?

this implies that if i am disputing the balance, they can keep tacking on monthly dues to my balance even though i've made it clear i want to cancel


Asked on 11/05/05, 2:05 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Adam L. Rothenberg Levinson Axelrod, P.C.

Re: open-ended contract

Without the contract it is hard to comment specifically and give accurate legal advice. Generally speaking, if you were under contract and continued to have the services available, but did not use them, you will be responsible for that time period - unless the contract holds otherwise. Your failure to pay becuase the card was cancelled does not alleviate your obligation.

With respect to their threat to continue to charge until the balance is paid, this seems inappropiate but I would tell you to look at your contract. Since you are most likely responsible for the prior charges, it would seem like they are leveraging you but the easiest thing to do would be to pay now so that you do not have to deal with the question.

Put the cancellation in writing in any case. I do not believe that hiring an attorney at this point is an option since the amount in dispute is not great enough to merit spending that kind of money.

I hope this was helpful. Feel free to contact us with any questions.

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Answered on 11/07/05, 9:24 am


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