Legal Question in Legal Ethics in California
Several years ago we discontinued our membership to our local gym, and we want to re-join for this summer. We went in last weekend and talked to the acting manager about re-joining. We originally though we would have pay a $1300 initation fee, but we were informed THREE OR FOUR times that if we had been members previously and had paid that fee, all we would have to pay now is the monthly fee. We were jumping up and down that day.
We called today to join, and some twenty year old answered. She said we had to pay $25/month since we left or the $1300 initiation fee. We told them we were informed differently just last week. They said, "we're sorry". ***Note that the acting manager we talked to last week was 100% POSITIVE we wouldn't have to pay any fees.
We asked to talk to the REAL manager, but he's off right now. He'll give us a call. Can we threaten to take legal action? Can we demand it? How about a meeting with the employee we talked to last week with the actual manager.
Thank you.
1 Answer from Attorneys
This is not a legal ethics or anything. As a private company they can make offers and revoke them unless you accept or rely upon them. Unless they advertised it there probably is nothing you really can recover because you didn't accept the offer when made.
You could possibly claim you accepted the offer but it would be hard to prove such an offer existed.