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fgs

Member
What is the name of your state? AL
My daughter is involved in a local dance company. Payments are on a month-to-month basis, NO CONTRACTS. My daughter has not been to the company in about seven weeks. I asked them if they would prorate the monthly fee to the number of times my daughter attended. They refused and said they they were due the entire fee whether she showed up or not since their doors were open and she could have come (these are group, not individual sessions). Since we do not have a contract, I don't see where I owe them anything when we haven't been there for nearly two months. Customer satisfaction is not their strong suit, so they continue to insist that they are owed and will not allow my daughter to participate in the annual performance in May unless the "owed" amounts are paid. Do I have any recourse in this situation? Thanks
 


BoredAtty

Member
What is the name of your state? AL
My daughter is involved in a local dance company. Payments are on a month-to-month basis, NO CONTRACTS. My daughter has not been to the company in about seven weeks. I asked them if they would prorate the monthly fee to the number of times my daughter attended. They refused and said they they were due the entire fee whether she showed up or not since their doors were open and she could have come (these are group, not individual sessions). Since we do not have a contract, I don't see where I owe them anything when we haven't been there for nearly two months. Customer satisfaction is not their strong suit, so they continue to insist that they are owed and will not allow my daughter to participate in the annual performance in May unless the "owed" amounts are paid. Do I have any recourse in this situation? Thanks
Without a contract, they have no legal basis to force you to pay the money. On the other hand, without a contract, you have no legal basis to force them to allow your daughter to participate in their events.
 

xylene

Senior Member
You have no contract.

So what?

That does not mean you may demand a pro-rated bill for services termed and provided on monthly schedule.

Your daughters failure to attend classes you had accepted financial obligation for is your problem.
 

BoredAtty

Member
Your daughters failure to attend classes you had accepted financial obligation for is your problem.
According to the OP, he has not accepted a financial obligation to pay for classes. If he had accepted a financial obligation, then there would be a contract.

Of course, perhaps the OP is wrong about whether a contract exists.
 

xylene

Senior Member
According to the OP, he has not accepted a financial obligation to pay for classes. If he had accepted a financial obligation, then there would be a contract.

Of course, perhaps the OP is wrong about whether a contract exists.
The daughter has been in classes for seven weeks.

The classes are priced by the month.

Are you saying that a contract must be in place for this parent to be liable for payment of services rendered?
 

BoredAtty

Member
Generally speaking, yes.
To clarify (now that I have more time):

In order for the dance company to prevail in court, it would need to successfully assert a legal theory for why the OP owes it money.

Could it successfully claim breach of contract? No, because the OP wrote that there was no contract.

Could it successfully claim quantum meruit/quasi-contract? No, because the remedy only gets the plaintiff the value of the benefit conferred, and the OP received no benefit for classes not taken.

Could it successfully claim unjust enrichment? No, see above (i.e. no benefit/enrichment).

Could it successfully claim promissory estoppel? No, because the dance company did not detrimentally rely on a promise by the OP to pay.

I can't think of another plausible argument for the dance company. As previously mentioned, however, perhaps the OP is incorrect as to there being no contract. For example, the OP's conduct could have created an implied contract in the absence of a signed document or verbal promise.
 

tranquility

Senior Member
I agree with BoredAtty, but add that does not mean the dance company must allow the OP's little snowflake in the annual show. They CAN enforce their rule:
so they continue to insist that they are owed and will not allow my daughter to participate in the annual performance in May unless the "owed" amounts are paid.
Because, if there is no contract, they have no duty.
 

fairisfair

Senior Member
Right you are.
can you please call purefitness then and tell them to give me my damn money back??

I haven't been able to go in months, you know that two job thing I have going on, I don't have a contract either, but they sure as heck seem to keep taking my monthly fee. and I assume will continue to do so until I withdraw.

Of course, I am assuming that the first time I don't pay, or cancel that nasty little auto deduction deal I have going on, they will figure out that our "relationship" is over. LOL

However, should I continue to allow them to bill me, and to believe that I am a member, am I not responsible for the price? I mean some other out of shape person might have been available to squeeze into my spot had I cancelled with them. . . . .
 

BoredAtty

Member
can you please call purefitness then and tell them to give me my damn money back??

I haven't been able to go in months, you know that two job thing I have going on, I don't have a contract either, but they sure as heck seem to keep taking my monthly fee. and I assume will continue to do so until I withdraw.

Of course, I am assuming that the first time I don't pay, or cancel that nasty little auto deduction deal I have going on, they will figure out that our "relationship" is over. LOL

However, should I continue to allow them to bill me, and to believe that I am a member, am I not responsible for the price? I mean some other out of shape person might have been available to squeeze into my spot had I cancelled with them. . . . .
Why would you let fitness club withdraw money from your account with no return promise from them to let you use their facilities? Why would a fitness club prevent a customer from taking your "spot" with no return promise from you to pay its fees? Sounds like you may have had a contract after all...;)
 

fairisfair

Senior Member
Why would you let fitness club withdraw money from your account with no return promise from them to let you use their facilities? Why would a fitness club prevent a customer from taking your "spot" with no return promise from you to pay its fees? Sounds like you may have had a contract after all...;)

uh uh, no contract I promise. However, since I have the facility available to me, there fore, I pay for the availability, not necessarily the use.

My point would be that this child signed up for classes, whether or not she attends the classes are available to her.

Although she may reap no benefit from classes not taken, does she not reap a benefit from having the classes available to her, from having a place held for her attendance?

The poster says his daughter is "involved" would the expectation of her "involvement" not be continuous until such time as she "uninvolves" herself.

Don't mind me, I am just inquisitive, and a little crabby as I have been denied a visual representation; something had my heart set on. :p ROTFL
 

BoredAtty

Member
uh uh, no contract I promise. However, since I have the facility available to me, there fore, I pay for the availability, not necessarily the use.
Then you have a contract.

If you paid the fees, but were subsequently turned away at the door when you attempted to use the facilities, then you would have an action for breach of contract. After all, your dues weren't a gift to the fitness club, right? There is a contract -- your dues in return for the use of their facilities.

My point would be that this child signed up for classes, whether or not she attends the classes are available to her.

Although she may reap no benefit from classes not taken, does she not reap a benefit from having the classes available to her, from having a place held for her attendance?

The poster says his daughter is "involved" would the expectation of her "involvement" not be continuous until such time as she "uninvolves" herself.

Don't mind me, I am just inquisitive, and a little crabby as I have been denied a visual representation; something had my heart set on. :p ROTFL
The OP told us up front that he had no contract. Whereas you provided enough details to conclude otherwise in your fitness club example, the OP did not. So, although I mentioned that his conclusion may be wrong, I took his statement as fact and answered accordingly.

And the OP may be right. It's possible that he never agreed to pay monthly dues, and instead expected to be billed for the classes that his daughter actually attended. In other words, it's possible that there was no "meeting of the minds" with regard to the terms.
 
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fairisfair

Senior Member
Then you have a contract.

If you paid the fees, but were subsequently turned away at the door when you attempted to use the facilities, then you would have an action for breach of contract. After all, your dues weren't a gift to the fitness club, right? There is a contract -- your dues in return for the use of their facilities.



The OP told us up front that he had no contract. Whereas you provided enough details to conclude otherwise in your fitness club example, the OP did not. So, although I mentioned that his conclusion may be wrong, I took his statement as fact and answered accordingly.

And the OP may be right. It's possible that he never agreed to pay monthly dues, and instead expected to be billed for the classes that his daughter actually attended. In other words, it's possible that there was no "meeting of the minds" with regard to the terms.
okay, last question, how is my invisible contract different than the invisible contract of this poster?

and IF I had pictures to look at I might not be NEAR so bothersome.:p
 

BoredAtty

Member
okay, last question, how is my invisible contract different than the invisible contract of this poster?
Your conduct is the biggest difference. When you made payments, you performed as if there were a contract. Unless the fitness club can convince people that you were just gifting the money, there is no question that a contract exists.

By contrast, in the OP's case he can argue that nobody performed (i.e. he paid no fees and took no classes) as if there were a contract, so there is a question as to whether a contract exists. Of course, the dance company can argue that it did perform because it provided "some" classes. Still, if the OP had no idea that he was expected to pay recurring monthly fees, then he has a good argument to pay only for those classes attended and nothing more.

and IF I had pictures to look at I might not be NEAR so bothersome.:p
Not gonna give you any eye candy with all the grief you're giving me! :p
 
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