DW Sports account in arrears

AndrewRob

Hi everyone,

I am talking on behalf of my friend who is 17 years old. Please help as much as you can.

He had a monthly rolling contract with DW Sports, it was around £25 via direct debit. He signed the contract and overlooked the requirement of the 30-day cancellation notice. He just simply stopped the direct debit. Months and months after he stopped the direct debit he received a letter demanding payment for all those months he didn't pay for after he cancelled the direct debit. They want to charge £112 for about 4/5 months after he cancelled the direct debit. He is willing to pay for the first month at £25 but not really anything past that.

My question is, because he is 17, wouldn't the contract be null-and-void? What would you recommend he does?

They are of course, threatening with a collections agency.

Fosterdog

I would recommend that he pays up. Him being 17 is irrelevant he signed a contract and used the service for however long before changing his mind.

It is his responsibility to read the terms of the contract and to make sure he knows the cancellation process.

By just cancelling the direct debit all he has done is tell his bank to not allow the payment, he hasn't told the company trying to take it that he wants to cancel they have no way of knowing that.

If the direct debit was for £25 a month and he owes £112 for 4/5 months then they are either being generous and not charging the full price for month 5 and no extra charges or they are charging for four months and only £12 to cover admin costs which is incredibly low. Some places would have added on another £100 in charges.

If he contacts them now they may accept a reduced amount as a one off final lump sum payment, or maybe agree to the full amount being paid in instalments. If he does nothing he could end up being taken to court where he is likely to lose and end up having to pay their court costs on top.

DW Sports have done nothing wrong here, they are the innocent "victim" in this, it is your friend who is in the wrong and in breach of contract.

arcon5

Cancelling a direct debit doesn't cancel the contract - a very silly thing to do.

Is he classed as a minor? Can't remember whether its 16 or 18... If 18 then the contract is not enforceable unless for services classed as a necessity. In which case there isn't really much they can do.

Time to offer him some financial education now though, he won't be so lucky in future

wealdroam

I totally agree with Fosterdog's sentiments.

However, DWSports have made a mistake here.

I do not believe that contracts agreed with minors are enforcible.

DWSports' mistake was to enter into the agreement in the first place.

AndrewRob

I would recommend that he pays up. Him being 17 is irrelevant he signed a contract and used the service for however long before changing his mind.

It is his responsibility to read the terms of the contract and to make sure he knows the cancellation process.

By just cancelling the direct debit all he has done is tell his bank to not allow the payment, he hasn't told the company trying to take it that he wants to cancel they have no way of knowing that.

If the direct debit was for £25 a month and he owes £112 for 4/5 months then they are either being generous and not charging the full price for month 5 and no extra charges or they are charging for four months and only £12 to cover admin costs which is incredibly low. Some places would have added on another £100 in charges.

If he contacts them now they may accept a reduced amount as a one off final lump sum payment, or maybe agree to the full amount being paid in instalments. If he does nothing he could end up being taken to court where he is likely to lose and end up having to pay their court costs on top.

DW Sports have done nothing wrong here, they are the innocent "victim" in this, it is your friend who is in the wrong and in breach of contract.

Thank you for your.. uhm.. response.

The fact of the matter is, they should of contacted him when they tried to take the first payment after the DD was cancelled. They left it many months and only contacted him now.

What I see is, yes he was in the wrong for not providing a cancellation notice. However, why should he pay for all of those months after he cancelled the DD and not just the first month? At my place of work, if a customer is overdue on payment and they contact us say 6 months after the payment failed, we would only charge them the first month after the payment failed since it was a monthly rolling contract?

For example, my phone contract, it's monthly rolling on DD, if the DD fails for some odd reason and I am not able to sort it for a month or two, they wouldn't charge me for the extra month delay, they would just charge me for the failed month DD and then the new month DD when it resumes.

wealdroam

AndrewRob wrote: »

The fact of the matter is, they should of contacted him when they tried to take the first payment after the DD was cancelled. They left it many months and only contacted him now.

What I see is, yes he was in the wrong for not providing a cancellation notice. However, why should he pay for all of those months after he cancelled the DD and not just the first month? At my place of work, if a customer is overdue on payment and they contact us say 6 months after the payment failed, we would only charge them the first month after the payment failed since it was a monthly rolling contract?

No...

The fact of the matter is that your friend arbitarily decided to stop making payments contrary to the agreement. Full stop.

It really is of no relevance what happens at other companies.

AndrewRob

No...

The fact of the matter is that your friend arbitarily decided to stop making payments contrary to the agreement. Full stop.

It really is of no relevance what happens at other companies.

Thank you for your input you kind sir! Have a great day!

tomwakefield

AndrewRob wrote: »

The fact of the matter is, they should of contacted him when they tried to take the first payment after the DD was cancelled. They left it many months and only contacted him now.

What I see is, yes he was in the wrong for not providing a cancellation notice. However, why should he pay for all of those months after he cancelled the DD and not just the first month?

Irrelevant. He didn't cancel, so they are entitled to continue to charge, provided the services are still made available to him (whether he chooses to use them or not is a different matter).

AndrewRob wrote: »

At my place of work, if a customer is overdue on payment and they contact us say 6 months after the payment failed, we would only charge them the first month after the payment failed since it was a monthly rolling contract?

Different company policies doesn't mean yours is 'right' and theirs is 'wrong'

The only "get-out" is whether the contract is deemed enforceable as a minor (as per Wealdrom's post). He wouldn't be so lucky in a year's time.

wealdroam

AndrewRob wrote: »

Thank you for your input you kind sir! Have a great day!

Thanks, you are welcome.

Have you read the T&Cs of your friend's contract?

Have you compared them with your contract at work?

Have you compared them with your phone contract?

If they are different, then you should reasonably expect different things to happen.

Fosterdog

wealdroam wrote: »

I totally agree with Fosterdog's sentiments.

However, DWSports have made a mistake here.

I do not believe that contracts agreed with minors are enforcible.

DWSports' mistake was to enter into the agreement in the first place.

I haven't looked into it and may be wrong but I thought that there was a loophole for things like this where the service has already been used. Surely if he is old enough for his bank account to allow direct debits then he is old enough to be responsible for those direct debits and the contracts they relate to.

A contract can be entered into from the age of 7 years but like you said not all contracts are enforceable until the age of 18, but there are exceptions.

What about a 16 year old who has their own place? They can still have a phone line, internet, paid TV subscription, they are all contract based.

Also when your friend signed up he would have provided his date of birth (usually when you join a gym/fitness centre I'm sure you fill in a form about medical issues etc. too and have an induction) did he provide his correct date of birth and they let him sign up anyway or did he lie and say he was 18 to be allowed to use the service?

AndrewRob

Thanks wealdroam.

It's just that I have a different view.

Although he was in the wrong, and he knows that. DW Sports could of had the courtesy to send a letter after the first payment failed. It would of been so much easier rather then not communicating with him for the first 5 months or so. He would of paid and cancelled.

I've read on some other forums and the contract can be voided since he's 17 and only a "minor". But I agree with what you guys are saying.

I will check your questions out. Thank you