I have a gym membership and my debit card had expired in June so last month wasn't payed. I was going to pay it off this Friday plus this month.
But somehow they got into my account and took $15 out, why $15 I don't know. I didn't give them my new card info yet until I had the funds to pay both months off so they had no payment information. Was this legal? Are there any loopholes they could have used that were perfectly legal?
I would like to know since I made a phone call to them asking them to put it back, and I would like to know if I have the law as back up or am I SoL?
2007-08-12 22:51:26 · 5 answers · asked by Joe M 1 in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
That phone call btw was to an answering machine.
2007-08-12 22:53:35 · update #1
You are SOL. You see it's not your card info they need it's just your account number. Though your card might have exspired your account information did not change. BTW as it was an automatic withdrawl some banks will pay the withdrawl and charge your account an NSF fee while other banks will let them withdrawl only the amount you have in the account.
2007-08-12 23:02:26 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Above poster is correct; it was perfectly legal and you are SOL. You can get out your original agreement, or ask for a copy in writing from the gym, but it is highly likely that it is stated in the fine print. On any type of automatic debit from a checking account, even if it is set up initially through a debit card, an ACH (Automated Clearing House) file is set up for the deductions to be taken automatically from your checking account until you go into the bank and sign the proper forms to stop the ACH file.
You could go to your bank now and sign the forms to stop any further deductions from your checking account going forward.
If you have a signed membership agreement with the gym and you owed the fee, you have no grounds for requesting the funds back.
2007-08-13 06:30:41 · answer #2 · answered by bottleblondemama 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you had money in your account and they had an outstanding debt that was overdue, they have a perfect right to get the money if they can. Your debit card is just access to your account! If they didn't take more than was owed you are getting upset over nothing. It was your fault that your card had not been renewed, not theirs!
And I don't mean this in a bad way, but really, this is so minor I don't know why anyone would get their heart racing over it!
2007-08-13 06:23:34 · answer #3 · answered by cantcu 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Go to your bank, if you didn't authorize a withdraw, crawl down their back about it. Sign all of the required papers stating that unlawful theft has happened between the particular parties. Then go to the credit card company, tell them that you didn't authorize the withdrawal, and that you not only want that money back but the charges accumulated as a result of that unauthorized withdrawal. If they don't meet your wishes, then take your papers to court and file against them.
2007-08-20 23:42:51 · answer #4 · answered by fieldhouse39 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Check the fine print in the contract you signed. In general, they cannot take money from your account without your consent, but usually they put something in the agreement that lets them, and people sign it without reading it. But if you owe them the money anyway, I'd just move on.
2007-08-13 06:40:40 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋