Q. Last November I signed a 12 months contract with a local Health & Racquet Club at a cost of £60 per month. The salesperson then persuaded me to add my 17 year old daughter as a member for an additional monthly payment. I explained that my daughter may be leaving the UK in February and she said that was ok because if that happened then all that was required was to write in explaining and there would not be a problem. I did this in January but the response I received was that their paperwork said my daughter's contract was for 12 months and I must continue to pay for the full period! Is it worth fighting this?
A. Obviously we would need to check the terms of your contract properly to advise fully, but even if the contract was for a 12 month period and it prevented termination within that period, the verbal statement by the salesperson that you could terminate early could override the written terms of the contract. You could argue that the verbal statement was an express term of the contract and you should be entitled to rely upon it. Proving verbal statements such as this can be difficult, particularly if the salesperson now denies saying it or no longer works at the club. It would be useful if there were any witnesses to the conversation and I suggest that you get in touch to discuss matters further as your complaint is a fairly common one at the moment and I would be delighted to help you.
Should you have a queries regarding a legal matter please contact Keith Swan of Patterson, Glenton & Stracey Solicitors by email at ks@pgslaw.co.uk or by telephone on 0808 231 7043. Patterson, Glenton & Stracey have provided legal advice to the people of South Tyneside for over 125 years. For details of their full range of services and to view previous Gazette articles please log on to www.pgslaw.co.uk.
