Consumer Law, Warranties Gym Membership Annulment

[NYDrew]

New York, Nassau County and Broome County

Background: I lived in Broome county, and upon moving to Nassau I upgraded my Bally membership to a 3 year contract. The new membership was only used in Nassau County.

In July of 2007 I was injured in a car accident which no long allowed me to go to Bally Total Fitness. As per the contract, a doctors note would be adequate to terminate the contract. The Bally customer service did not disagree and instructed me to send the letter to them which I did on multiple occasions.

They never received this letter, no matter how many times, or method I sent it. According to a BBB complaint forum, this is what many many people encounter.


Question: What court in NY (Nassau) can I use to annul this contract based on the contracts own wording.

Can I use Small Claims for the annulment?

Can I sue my local gym in small claims for the amount I owe...so I can just repay the contract?

Is there any other court I can represent myself being this is cut and dry. I have experience representing myself on the left side of the court room, but no experience on the right side of the court. I have a flawless win record (I should quit being a chemist and become a lawyer)

Thanks for the help.

I plan on making one last attempt to arbitrate under the threat of legal action, but I want my legal plan solid before I make threats.

 

[FlaRiptide]

I am neither a chemist or a lawyer, yet I believe it should work this way:

You have properly sent them the required documentations for the termination of the contract per the requirements of the contract. You may wish to followup with another attempt and send certified mail. Followup again with a fax and/or email to Bally.

You have now done your part and have the document(s) to prove it.

If in the future Bally turns your account over to collections for non-payment, then you would have a legal situation to pursue. You would most certainly win.

But, your solutions:

Can I use Small Claims for the annulment?

Can I sue my local gym in small claims for the amount I owe...so I can just repay the contract?

They sound bizarre!

 

[Michael Wechsler]

Bally's Gym Memberhsips - this is a very well known issue. Numerous people swear that this company is a group of jerks who exist to screw the very members who signed 3 year contracts in a scam. I'm not saying they did right by you but, quite frankly, the company gave these people discounts on a 3 year contract and then the people found that it didn't suit their needs and Ballys has ended up going into a "collection business mode." Maybe they are stuck in it for the moment.

I don't know what you mean about notification not getting to Bally's - how did you send it? You're telling me the US overnight mail didn't work? Fedex? UPS? Fax? Certified Mail? NONE of those got to the office? All you need is one. It should get there. If the company doesn't acknowledge receiving anything, then you may wish to send them a pre-suit letter stating that you will sue them and report this misconduct to the state attorney general. Someone will get back to you. This isn't a fly-by-night mom and pop store and certainly the trouble with your particular account isn't worth the time.

What am I not sure about - the "I got a note from a doctor" clause. At this point it doesn't matter whether they received your letters because they claim your doc's note isn't sufficient to break the contract. You're going to court whether you take them there or they do (and they will charge court costs.) You should work this part out first too and make sure you've complied. Good luck.