My friend has a serious legal problem (Toronto)
 

Hi,

First of all this is not about me but my friend.

With that out of the way here is the senerio. My friend signed up at a gym in Toronto and they closed and don't want to give back his cash. He is under 18 though, thats the problem. He is 17. Where can he go for legal help? And can he represent himself in Small Claims Court??

Thanx from Mike to those who answer...

A gym not giving you back your money is a "serious legal problem"?

Thats serious legal trouble?

Tell your friend if thats the worst thing that has ever happened to him, he is doing ok http://bbs.gofuckyourself.net/board/smile.gif

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First off, how did he get signed up? his parents sign him up? if that is the case then have his parents go after the gym. If he signed up..saying he was 18, then contract is null and void, and I would bet he is out the cash.

He signed up. You have to b 16 to sign up at that gym. He paid $250. I know that to you guys that might not be a lot but to him it is.

Well in that case....he has a case http://bbs.gofuckyourself.net/board/smile.gif

Thats exactly right, if he signed the contract, then its a contract with a minor, & not valid. if his parents, then its his parents that have to goto court. Unless things are different in a fucked up place like Canada. How much $ are we talking about anyways?

Lightswitch, the total is two posts up from yours.

lightswitch,
its $250 Canadian so its like $200 US. And he used the place for 2 weeks then they closed!

Where can he go for LEGAL help?

opps!

Yeah, legal help? will cost him what good is that gonna do? might even cost him more than he would get back.

For a mere $250
thats on the fine line between, cutting your losses & vengful vandalism, but certainly not worth a legal battle http://bbs.gofuckyourself.net/board/smile.gif

oh hey! Sasush you do have a decent option.
call the better bussness bureau. those complaints go on record, & is probally your best way of lighting a fire under their ass, or 2nd best if you factor in mailotov cocktails.

Hi,

Not to piss him or you off, but 200$ is NOTHING as oppposed to what is gonna happen in his life!
People WILL fuck you over in life. Move on.

We almost had to close our business once cause too many ppl owed us money, lots of ppl small amounts of money. No 'money collecter' wanted to get the money for us, cause it were too many 'little' amounts + chargebacks (mailorder). The total amount outstanding was 3 x what we owed in taxes... go figure.

I am good in getting pumped up about this stuff, so take it from a guy that knows how it feels to get ripped off.. move on, REALLY.

Then again, he might wanna take a 200$ an hour lawyer to solve this http://bbs.gofuckyourself.net/board/wink.gif If he or his parents can spare the money, it is always good to get your money back. We know how that feels too http://bbs.gofuckyourself.net/board/biggrin.gif

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i didn't know that you have to be 16 y.old in Canada to join a gym. It's shame that they don't give the money back to a kid with the excuse of the age. Your friend should have informed his parents before joining. I don't see any reason why not to let him. Sasush, if you friend need the money and you're one of the guys that know how to convert galleries to $ pretty easy,spend some hours for your friend and give him the money you're gonna earn. Friends should support eachothers in difficult situations. You posted about his problem because you care and this is good.

Sasush,

That is one of the oldest scams going here in Toronto..... Gyms open and close their doors after selling lifetime memberships all the time.... For a while back in the 80's it was happening once a month...the government changed the laws regarding a Gym's obligation to it's members...Have your friend research his choices....

And then accept that he is out the $$$.

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if the company files for bankruptcy,(which is more than likely) your s.o.l, same thing happened to me ,years ago with golds gym in toronto,2 mths after signing up for 1 year membership,they went belly up. i got burnt for 250

and im sure thats the companys intention, you will see in a few mths a grand opening under a different name.thats how half of these scumbag gym owners in toronto, stay alive by doing this,and make a living.

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[This message has been edited by invig (edited 10-09-2001).]

Sadly I report that 250.00 Canadian Dollars is 159.65 US Dollars (using rate 0.6386). http://bbs.gofuckyourself.net/board/frown.gif

Cheers

Nysus Hosting

icq: 129060301

i'd be happy to have 100 dollars in my pocket back int he high school days..

times are rough.. and still is http://bbs.gofuckyourself.net/board/frown.gif

Tell your friend he's s.o.l. . About 5 years ago I bought an Eagle Talon 4wd tsi from a used car dealer for roughly $10,000. Nothing but problems; I spent over $7,000. on various repairs and my 3rd party warrenty company spent over $15,000. in repairs on it. I hired a lawyer to go after the guys in court and 1 week after I filed suit they declared bankruptcy. As the company owed various secure creditors over $500,000 my and only had $250,000 in assets my lawyer told me there was no way I was ever going to recoup any money from them. Tell your friend it sounds like he doesn't have much of a chance of getting anything back; fee's for the small claims and his time in court would probably work out to more then he spent on the membership. Tell him to contact someone in the Ministry of Consumer affairs though as I believe that gym's are not allowed to charge for a full year's membership after all the crap that went on about 10 years ago. If thats the case, the government might just go after the guy to collect on behalf of all the people who paid his company.

Ok, he is here and will do the writing:

Hi,
Thanx for all your replies. Really!

The place is NOT bankrupt cause they have another location on Dixion Rd.

I do not need a lawyer for small claims court cause I am a good speaker and can easily represent myself.

Its not just the cash but also the principle of the thing. I dont like getting fucked.

So in your opinion do I have a valid case in court? And can I represent myself if I am under 18 in Canada in Small Claims Court?

Thanx again to all!!!!!

Is the other gym operated under the same company as the one he closed. If it is then you can get your money back. Strange thing about small claims though. The judge can rule in your favor but it is up to you to collect. You can get a sheriff to seize something for you but as I remember from my case; it can't be something that the business uses to make money, i.e. equipment(pretty fucked up). Good luck and make sure you get some of the free booklets the government offers on how to go about filing the claim and what kind of information and documentation you will have to show as evidence.

YYS,

Where can I get those booklets?

BTW I'm just refreshing for replys.
The place has been closed for 3 months now!

Find out were they live and go throw rocks
at there house, a bucket of red paint in there drive way, horse or cow shit in there
pool. May not get your money back but he'll feel alot better. I do things like this to people when they cheat me, I've been know to fly accross country after getting cheated out of $ 50.00. I almost have an orgasm when I do shit like this to people that have cheated me.

Jim

I've forgotten exactly where I picked those booklets up. You can get a lot of information from the library, books with examples of past small claims cases and there outcome(yes they are still useful in the internet age), contact the better business bureau; I believe you will have to call the one in Hamilton as the Toronto branch was shut down. Also you can look around on the Ontario government websites for information on filing a small claims case

not sure if it's real, but i heard that boneprone family will gather from different world places to kick the ass of the gym owner!

try these links for info on Canadian law
http://www.lexum.umontreal.ca/index_en.html
http://www.llrx.com/features/canadian.htm
http://www.droit.umontreal.ca/en/index.html
http://www.scc-csc.gc.ca/home/index_e.html

these should give you a place to start, but your immediate problem from my point of view as a paralegal (California) is that you can not enter a contract if under 18

good luck



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yys,

Whats a library? http://bbs.gofuckyourself.net/board/smile.gif

Thanx for the help.
Im gonna speak with the owner on friday, if we dont work something out. Im going to court http://bbs.gofuckyourself.net/board/smile.gif

Maybe I'll be on TV!

That's not bad...

at least the gym isn't trying to make you still pay. Some fuckin idiot tried that here, actually tried to get people to still pay...

Let's just say he didn't enjoy his last bit of time here...

before he moved... http://bbs.gofuckyourself.net/board/wink.gif