Gym membership cancelation under 16 signed without permission

meliandpaul

Hi hoping for some advice please.

My daughter signed a gym contract with Bannatynes in February this year aged 15, without my permission or consent. They did not check ID for proof of age. She turned 16 in March so is now therefore able to consent according to their terms and conditions. She gave them my bank card initially to sign up which has a completely different name and surname, then opened her own bank account and set up a direct debit and switched the payment to that so no payment left my account.

The novelty has worn off, she doesn't use the gym. It's the end of the month and hasn't saved her wage to use for the payment. I was wondering if there was a possibility I'd be able to help her cancel without penalty as she was underage when she signed? I'm hoping I've posted in the right thread. Please no lectures on parenting and wayward children! I'm well aware of that :mad :mad::mad:Thank you.

maninthestreet

AFAIK, the contract cannot be enforced by Bannatynes if your daughter was only 15 at the time the contract was entered.

unholyangel

Did she tell them her proper age? There are some exceptions (like when its for necessities like food or clothing) but generally someone under 18 cannot be legally held to a contract they have entered.

If she hasnt, she should be fine and be able to cancel without penalty. If she did tell them she was older, there may be an element of fraud so you might want to get proper advice before committing to any course of action. I've never heard of a company taking action for this reason but I'd rather err on the side of caution

bris

Sounds more like an excuse, it could very well be argued that you consented by letting her use your card, they will see it that way whether you say so or not. Funny why you are only now complaining after the novelty has wore off.


The fact she used your card shows your consent, unless of course fraud was committed, this may be the avenue you have to go down.

bluenoseam

She may not legally have to honour the contract, but if it was my kid you're damn right she'll be honouring it in full, let's break this down.

She presumably falsified information on the forms to say she was over 16.

She falsely used YOUR card details.

She's only complaining now "the novelty has worn off" & subsequently has not accounted for the payment by saving her wages.

Now I know I'm possibly being harsh here, but if that was my kid I'd be spitting feathers on pretty much every level here, legally she has an out, morally on the other hand, she's way deep in the hole. I know there's a whole minefield of "legality v morality" arguments, but here's the simple truth, her behavior is unacceptable. At 16 she's old enough to understand the circumstances behind her actions & barring any mitigating circumstances should be held accountable for them. By not doing that you're sending a dangerous message that it's alright to ignore contractual obligations.

She'll probably also find herself blacklisted from Bannatynes in the future which is all well and good now the gym has lost it's draw, but in adult life the story may change.

POPPYOSCAR

meliandpaul wrote: »

Hi hoping for some advice please.

My daughter signed a gym contract with Bannatynes in February this year aged 15, without my permission or consent. They did not check ID for proof of age. She turned 16 in March so is now therefore able to consent according to their terms and conditions. She gave them my bank card initially to sign up which has a completely different name and surname, then opened her own bank account and set up a direct debit and switched the payment to that so no payment left my account.

The novelty has worn off, she doesn't use the gym. It's the end of the month and hasn't saved her wage to use for the payment. I was wondering if there was a possibility I'd be able to help her cancel without penalty as she was underage when she signed? I'm hoping I've posted in the right thread. Please no lectures on parenting and wayward children! I'm well aware of that :mad :mad::mad:Thank you.

You do not stand much chance of that on here!

lucy03

bluenoseam wrote: »

She may not legally have to honour the contract, but if it was my kid you're damn right she'll be honouring it in full, let's break this down.

Personally I wouldn't have interest in honouring in full future payments as the gym has no legal right to them. The gym shouldn't be signing up 15 year olds IMO and should have a much more robust system to stop this happening. Write to the gym and explain the situation and that should be the end of the matter.

The law doesn't allow minors to make contracts, with the various exceptions for necessities, for good reason. Although it is no doubt the ideal situation that a 15 year old with perfect parent(s) would never open up a credit card, borrow money, form contracts and so on if they had the legal right it is I would say certain that many would.

wealdroam

lucy03 wrote: »

The law doesn't allow minors to make contracts, with the various exceptions for necessities, for good reason.

Are you sure about that?

My understanding is that it is perfectly legal for minors to make contracts.
The only problem is that the law does not allow a contract with a minor to be enforced.

lucy03 wrote: »

The gym shouldn't be signing up 15 year olds IMO and should have a much more robust system to stop this happening.

Yes, you are right on that point. The gym should have more robust processes in place... to protect themselves. However, if they want to take the risk, then that is up to them.

meliandpaul

Thanks for advice. She did use my card without consent. I am well aware of the consequences of her actions either way. The balance between support and consequences are difficult as a parent especially when the other absent parent lives by a different moral code. I did not however ask for advice on that. I wondered where I stood in trying to get out of the contract. If she doesn't meet the payment she will overdraw and suffer additional consequences. I'm not sure if that's the right way to go at 16. That does not mean that she has free reign and s lifetime of bailouts.

Thank you for all your advice.

lucy03

wealdroam wrote: »

Are you sure about that?

My understanding is that it is perfectly legal for minors to make contracts.
The only problem is that the law does not allow a contract with a minor to be enforced.

Yes, you are right on that point. The gym should have more robust processes in place... to protect themselves. However, if they want to take the risk, then that is up to them.

You are entirely correct, I didn't phrase that well at all. My point was a slightly wider one that if there were no restrictions on credit or enforcing contracts then it is likely that many under-18s would get themselves into difficult or expensive situations. I don't personally feel that this would necessarily reflect on anyone's parenting skills or the integrity of any minor.

bluenoseam

When I say honouring the contract in full I do ofcourse mean that it's dependent on the wording & how enforceable it is. Now at 15 it shouldn't be enforceable & there should be minimal fuss involved in getting it cancelled, but it wouldn't surprise me if there was a price to pay. Sounds to me that OP's daughter (and OP can correct me if I'm wrong) has the mindset of "oh I'm finished with it" and expects it to be the case that the contract doesn't apply any longer. Best case scenario would be that Bannatynes just write it off & cancel it immediately with no fees - but I doubt that'll be the case. The next best scenario is that they enforce a notice period which is no doubt detailed in the contract, commonly 28-31 days, which then means that 2 payments are pending. I doubt the worst case scenario will play out cos that's them insisting that any minimum term be applied - but given age on signing the contract it's up in the air if they'd get that. Either way it goes, if it's my kid they're paying up every penny they're held to account for - so that means she better start figuring out where the next payment's coming from real quick.

For the record I wouldn't be letting the gym off with it lightly either! I'd be in touch with trading standards letting them know what's gone on here. The truth in this is that they either failed to spot she was 15, they failed to verify that she was of a suitable age, they lack the safeguards to ensure this doesn't happen or they failed to properly apply the safeguards. None of those outcomes is particularly good & they should be properly investigated over such mistakes, which when you look at them on paper are pretty glaring. Pretty sure there's also issues with regards to the gym's insurance policies which may require minors to be properly supervised, I don't know the ins & outs of dangers of exercise for minors as well, it never applied to me!

Sorry if that was unclear, I was a little rash with the comments without clarifying earlier.