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Fitness Maintenance Company Ripoff

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walterk

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Pennsylvania

I am currently President of a neighborhood HOA in Butler County Pennsylvania. I also live in the neighborhood that I am president of. I was elected to the board in November 2010 and took office in January 2011, my term will expire in January 2013.
My question is about a contract that was signed by the previous president of the neighborhood in January 2010. The contract states that a fitness maintenance company will maintain our equipment 4 times a year for $680.00 a year. It also says that the contract will auto renew if it is not terminated with 30 days’ notice. After the service that I received in 2011 I decided not to go with them for the year 2012. I did not notify anyone and I thought the matter was over with since I did not pursue them for 2012, since I was unaware of the contract. I received a phone call from the maintenance company in March 2012 to set up the first service of 2012. I told him then that I did not want the service for 2012, he told me that I needed to send a letter to the owner requesting no more service. I did that in March. Unbeknownst to me an invoice was already sent to the HOA management company and the invoice was paid for the year 2012 in the amount of $730.00 in February 2012. When I questioned the management company she told me that she paid it because she had done so in years past, she assumed it was accepted.
I sent several letters and made many phone calls to the maintenance company to try and resolve the issue with no success. I am thinking about going to small claims court but I am not sure if I have a case. The main complaint I think I have at this point is they are in breach of contract anyway because they charged us more than was originally stated in 2010 contract.

Do any of these help my claim that I should be given a full refund for services not wanted nor preformed?
• Only one signature was on the contract, the old HOA president
• The amount we were charged is higher than the “contract”
 
Last edited:


Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Pennsylvania

I am currently President of a neighborhood HOA in Butler County Pennsylvania. I also live in the neighborhood that I am president of. I was elected to the board in November 2010 and took office in January 2011, my term will expire in January 2013.
My question is about a contract that was signed by the previous president of the neighborhood in January 2010. The contract states that a fitness maintenance company will maintain our equipment 4 times a year for $680.00 a year. It also says that the contract will auto renew if it is not terminated with 30 days’ notice. After the service that I received in 2011 I decided not to go with them for the year 2012. I did not notify anyone and I thought the matter was over with since I did not pursue them for 2012, since I was unaware of the contract. I received a phone call from the maintenance company in March 2012 to set up the first service of 2012. I told him then that I did not want the service for 2012, he told me that I needed to send a letter to the owner requesting no more service. I did that in March. Unbeknownst to me an invoice was already sent to the HOA management company and the invoice was paid for the year 2012 in the amount of $730.00 in February 2012. When I questioned the management company she told me that she paid it because she had done so in years past, she assumed it was accepted.
I sent several letters and made many phone calls to the maintenance company to try and resolve the issue with no success. I am thinking about going to small claims court but I am not sure if I have a case. The main complaint I think I have at this point is they are in beach of contact anyway because they charged us more than was originally stated in 2010 contract.

Do any of these help my claim that I should be given a full refund for services not wanted nor preformed?
• Only one signature was on the contract, the old HOA president
• The amount we were charged is higher than the “contract”
Ask for the $50 to be explained or refunded. Are you REALLY suggesting that you might go to court over $50? It seems to me that your fiscal duty would be to NOT go to court, as it will cost the HOA more than would be recovered.
 

swalsh411

Senior Member
I certainly hope you are not trying to suggest that you not being aware of the contract somehow invalidates it.

If you want to do a good job and serve the interests of the HOA I suggest you do two things. First, review all contacts currently in force, and secondly no more automatic payment of invoices. Somebody in authority needs to be reviewing and approving them before they are paid.
 

walterk

Junior Member
Ask for the $50 to be explained or refunded. Are you REALLY suggesting that you might go to court over $50? It seems to me that your fiscal duty would be to NOT go to court, as it will cost the HOA more than would be recovered.
No I am not saying on going to court for $50, I want the entire amount back, if they do not have to follow the contract why should I? An agreed upon price was reached they violated by charging more, how is the contract still valid at that point?
 

walterk

Junior Member
I certainly hope you are not trying to suggest that you not being aware of the contract somehow invalidates it.

If you want to do a good job and serve the interests of the HOA I suggest you do two things. First, review all contacts currently in force, and secondly no more automatic payment of invoices. Somebody in authority needs to be reviewing and approving them before they are paid.
Not at all, just annoyed that they did not follow the contract in the first place. Why should I be held accountable to a contract that they are not following as well. They failed to preform the contract, not me, in turn the contract is no longer valid.

Obviously I have an interest in this so my point may be flawed but it makes sense to me.
 

Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
Not at all, just annoyed that they did not follow the contract in the first place. Why should I be held accountable to a contract that they are not following as well. They failed to preform the contract, not me, in turn the contract is no longer valid.

Obviously I have an interest in this so my point may be flawed but it makes sense to me.
First off, I suspect that there is a clause in the contract that allows for yearly price increases. Secondly, even if there's not and this was a billing error, a simple billing error doesn't invalidate the contract, particularly when ya'll went ahead and PAID the bill, indicating acceptance of the new price :rolleyes:

The failure in this scenario is NOT on the part of the the vendor.
 

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