Unsigned gym contract

Chris710

Gymbox unsigned contract.

Joined July or June2015 it’s not clear. I was sure it was June paper is all over the place

I was never shown a membership contract from Gymbox

I ended up never singing a contract nor seeing one.

I was not happy with Gymbox old street and wanted to leave I was lead to believe I had entered into an 18 month contract and would have to keep paying. I reluctantly but what could I do.

As time (months) passed I was paying for a membership I paying all this time and had only used it once. I was sorting out my paper and I could not find my contract only a direct debit guarantee.

I called Gymbox and was told I was in an 18 month contract and could not leave. I was advised to try and sell the time left on Gumtree.

At this point I requested a copy of my contract, Gymbox told me they would have head office send it over.

The next day I got an email state they has reviewed my case and would be allow to cancel my membership.

I then exchange a few email and in the end called Gymbox on the phone I asked out right was there a contract Gymbox replied yes I asked was in signed I was told No.

This to me was unacceptable behaviour miss leading to obtain money from me without a contract in place.

Surely Gymbox admin should have picked up that there was not contract in place, the documents sent to me clearly have for admin use Date received, Date Actioned, Date appropriate letter send out.

Or was it Gymbox did not care and was only after making money out of me.

I asked for a copy of every bit of paper work and gym usage to be send to me, It is clear that the paperwork filled in has not been done correct or even complete there is lots of missing and unsigned parts accept for the direct debit slip.

There is a document showing Gymbox chasing me for money admin/Joining fees etc
At this point should Gymbox not have requested I returned to sign the contract?

Gymbox lead me to believe I was locked in to a contract and continued to take money from me.


Can I claim back the money paid?

Alter_ego

You can try, but they may say you've had the benefit of membership. The fact you didn't use it is neither here nor there.

Undervalued

In the vast majority of situations a contract does not have to be signed or be in writing. Obviously it is easier to prove what was agreed if it is but the fact it this one is not does not necessarily make the contract invalid.

There are a very few exceptions in English law but as far as I know gym membership is not one of them.

George_Michael

As Undervalued stated, you don't need a contract to prove acceptance of a contract. After all, how many times have you signed a contract of sale when buying goods from a supermarket?


Acceptance of a contract can be deemed to have occurred and you handing over your bank details to allow payments to be taken may well be enough to show that you accepted the terms of the contract.

naedanger

Chris710 wrote: »

Can I claim back the money paid?

You can try but Gymbox may refuse.

If you dispute that you ever agreed to an 18 month contract and you want to force them to return your payments then you could take them to court. This involves some court costs, which you would normally be able to recover from the other side if you win.

The court would then decide what to believe based on all the evidence. As has been said a contract does not need to be in writing. It will be for the court to decide, on the balance of probability, what to believe.

My guess is you may have a chance of reclaiming any payments made after your first documented complaint or request to cancel. This is assuming there is nothing that Gymbox can show you received, or would have seen, when you first joined showing the membership was for 18 months. It also assumes you did not use the facilities after you first tried to cancel.

naedanger

George_Michael wrote: »

Acceptance of a contract can be deemed to have occurred and you handing over your bank details to allow payments to be taken may well be enough to show that you accepted the terms of the contract.

I agree with the view that handing over bank details is likely to be taken as evidence a contract was agreed. However I doubt a court would agree it has a minimum term of 18 months unless there was some evidence the customer was aware of this fact. (I am not saying the evidence has to be a signed copy of the terms and conditions, but at least enough evidence to show on the balance of probability the customer was aware of the 18 month term.)