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We signed (for our minor child) a two-year contract with a local tai kwan do
studio in May 2001. Payments were to be made each month until May 2003. The
studio is in Oklahoma, the payments are made to a management service in
Florida; both are named on the contract. The contract states that "this
agreement shall be automatically renewed for one year upon expiration unless
written notice is given." The contract also states that the "agreemement may
not exceed 36 months."
We were satisfied with the studio and in May 2003 decided to continue for a
third year. The management company hadn't sent a new book of payment
coupons, so I called them to confirm that we would like the one-year renewal
that should have occurred automatically. No new paperwork was signed; the
only paperwork we have is from 2001. This one-year renewal should expire in
May 2004, at which time we do wish to end the membership.
The management company sent us two years worth of payment coupons and
believes that we renewed for two years, not one, and that we are obligated
to pay them through May 2005. I have phoned them several times and mailed
them copies of the contract, but they still insist that we are obligated to
pay through 2005 even though the contract clearly states otherwise. The
karate studio operator says that problem is with the management company in
Florida and he doesn't have anything to do with it (although his studio name
is also on the contract). He has been sympathetic to our problem; he even
loaned me his original copy of our contract when we couldn't find ours. I
want to stay on the studio operator's good side, as he is willing to let our
son work with him over the summer to finish his black belt even though we
don't plan to pay him beyond May 2004.
What are my options if the management company that collects the payments
won't acknowledge the terms of our contract? If I simply stop paying after
May, won't they just send collection agent after me and damage my prime
credit rating? Is there a legal remedy I can pursue here in Oklahoma? Will
small-claims court deal with a sports-club contract issue? A non-lawyer
suggested that I sue them in small-claims court for the fourth-year total
that they claim is due - is this feasible? Would a letter from a local
attorney do any good? Any suggestions would be welcome, especially from
anyone who is familiar with sports club contract law, in Oklahoma or in
general.
--
John Goulden
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