Last November(08) my children and I signed up for taekwondo at a local martial arts school and we recently found out that they misrepresented their services to us and failed to disclose material facts before and at the time of signing the contract. The salesman was extremely sly and used high pressure tactics which is why I believe I fell victim to this... He is no longer at the school as of Jan/Feb 09.
What I would like to know is if this contract is voidable because of their tactics and us not knowing all the facts? I have a termination/cancellation letter written up but I don't know whether to send it or not. The contract says "absolutely noncancellable" so I don't want him to try to sue me for breach of contract if we try to terminate it but I want out of this unfair agreement. It is not what we signed up and paid for. We were misled and misinformed but I don't know if it's to the point where we have a leg to stand on or not.
We paid 1 year in advance which is for services through this November and another $2460. is due in November for the 2nd year. (though the contract states membership is guaranteed through 1st degree black belt) We have not attended since March and are not expecting any of the 1st yr money back, we just want out because it is not what he said it would be and had we known the undisclosed information, we would not have signed in the first place. I am thinking the $2460 we still owe isn't enough to go to court.
We came to their school not knowing anything about taekwondo or martial arts and I know they took advantage of that to get me to sign. When I asked the school owner if it was possible to transfer our contract to another family, he ignored my transfer question and said that it was binding and that I had shorter term memberships to choose from when I signed up. I do not remember these shorter term memberships being offered but if they were, it was a very quick glance at a paper vs several minutes of pushing the 2 year black belt program.
Are my minor children bound to this? I had thought about removing them and then hopefully the membership fees would go down so that the 1 year we already paid would more than cover the balance of 1 member vs 3 members but I don't know if it works that way. (I'm sure he'd probably do whatever he could to keep that $2460 he's supposed to receive in November)
Another idea I had was to transfer to another family but when I asked him if this was possible, he ignored my request. The contract terms say nothing about NOT transferring the note to another family. Does this automatically make it transferable/assignable?
Please help. I have tried to provide as much detail as possible to get accurate advice. If sending the cancellation letter seems like the way to go, I will post it to get some wording advice. thank you!
the exact contract terms are below:
I understand that I am signing a contract/note which may be purchased by a financial institution. My failure to regularly attend and utilized center facilities does not relieve me of my obligation, regardless of the circumstances, to pay the installment note in full. I understand that, except as herein provided, my membership is absolutely non-cancelable. Should I default, I agree to pay all costs of collection, including but not limited to Collection Agency fees up to 50% of the unpaid balance, court costs and reasonable attorney's fees all of which may be paid or incurred by the holder of this note. If by reason of death or permanent disability, the member is unable to complete the training program, he/she and his/her estate shall be releived from the obligation of making payments for training other than that received prior to death or the onset of disability, may be refunded the prorated difference minus a cancellation fee of $100 after a minimum of 6 weeks with proper verification. Should member(s) permantenly move their residence more than 25 miles from an affiliated area, payment on this agreement will be suspended upon payment of a cancelation fee of $100 following legitimate verification of the above. Absolutelty no refunds. This membership can be paid in full at any time.
Should default be made in any installment, the entire remaining sum due hereafter shall be due and payable at the option of the owner of this note and still bear interest at the rate of 9% per annum from date of default. If any installment is more than ten days past due, a rate charge of 5% of the installment may be assessed. The undersigned personally charge their separate estates with the payment of this note and have hereby read and understood the terms of this contract/membership agreement and the above hold harmless.
What I would like to know is if this contract is voidable because of their tactics and us not knowing all the facts? I have a termination/cancellation letter written up but I don't know whether to send it or not. The contract says "absolutely noncancellable" so I don't want him to try to sue me for breach of contract if we try to terminate it but I want out of this unfair agreement. It is not what we signed up and paid for. We were misled and misinformed but I don't know if it's to the point where we have a leg to stand on or not.
We paid 1 year in advance which is for services through this November and another $2460. is due in November for the 2nd year. (though the contract states membership is guaranteed through 1st degree black belt) We have not attended since March and are not expecting any of the 1st yr money back, we just want out because it is not what he said it would be and had we known the undisclosed information, we would not have signed in the first place. I am thinking the $2460 we still owe isn't enough to go to court.
We came to their school not knowing anything about taekwondo or martial arts and I know they took advantage of that to get me to sign. When I asked the school owner if it was possible to transfer our contract to another family, he ignored my transfer question and said that it was binding and that I had shorter term memberships to choose from when I signed up. I do not remember these shorter term memberships being offered but if they were, it was a very quick glance at a paper vs several minutes of pushing the 2 year black belt program.
Are my minor children bound to this? I had thought about removing them and then hopefully the membership fees would go down so that the 1 year we already paid would more than cover the balance of 1 member vs 3 members but I don't know if it works that way. (I'm sure he'd probably do whatever he could to keep that $2460 he's supposed to receive in November)
Another idea I had was to transfer to another family but when I asked him if this was possible, he ignored my request. The contract terms say nothing about NOT transferring the note to another family. Does this automatically make it transferable/assignable?
Please help. I have tried to provide as much detail as possible to get accurate advice. If sending the cancellation letter seems like the way to go, I will post it to get some wording advice. thank you!
the exact contract terms are below:
I understand that I am signing a contract/note which may be purchased by a financial institution. My failure to regularly attend and utilized center facilities does not relieve me of my obligation, regardless of the circumstances, to pay the installment note in full. I understand that, except as herein provided, my membership is absolutely non-cancelable. Should I default, I agree to pay all costs of collection, including but not limited to Collection Agency fees up to 50% of the unpaid balance, court costs and reasonable attorney's fees all of which may be paid or incurred by the holder of this note. If by reason of death or permanent disability, the member is unable to complete the training program, he/she and his/her estate shall be releived from the obligation of making payments for training other than that received prior to death or the onset of disability, may be refunded the prorated difference minus a cancellation fee of $100 after a minimum of 6 weeks with proper verification. Should member(s) permantenly move their residence more than 25 miles from an affiliated area, payment on this agreement will be suspended upon payment of a cancelation fee of $100 following legitimate verification of the above. Absolutelty no refunds. This membership can be paid in full at any time.
Should default be made in any installment, the entire remaining sum due hereafter shall be due and payable at the option of the owner of this note and still bear interest at the rate of 9% per annum from date of default. If any installment is more than ten days past due, a rate charge of 5% of the installment may be assessed. The undersigned personally charge their separate estates with the payment of this note and have hereby read and understood the terms of this contract/membership agreement and the above hold harmless.