Q: I purchased a package of 10 Pilates sessions at my health club, and I’ve used two. I asked for a refund as my schedule can’t accommodate them. I was told the sessions were good for six months and have expired, but I can’t recall this when I signed up. Is there any recourse?— Paula Tiernan, Denver
A: A couple of things are in play with this scenario, but ultimately there’s not a lot you can do about this.
The first thing any consumer ought to do with any purchase of a service — whether it be Pilates sessions at the gym or a set of vinyl replacement windows for your home — is to have the terms of the agreement in writing. Any business person worth his/her salt will have no problem putting the promise in writing. Any who doesn’t, or gives pause to the request, shouldn’t have your business.
Nevertheless, we are a conditioned society to trust each other and often take people, particularly businesses, at their word. There is no Colorado law that prevents businesses from offering a service and limiting the time frame in which that service can be redeemed. Not unlike a gift certificate, the Pilates sessions were purchased under the promise of delivery.
If the business maintains it provided complete disclosure — it should have been in writing too, though there is no law requiring it — then it’s a classic “he said, she said” and you’re on the hook for having to prove it didn’t if you decide to sue.
More important, however, is the request for refund. Therein lies fewer matters of law as, perhaps, matters of good business. As long as the health club was able to provide the promised service under the agreed terms, there’s little you can do to force them to refund your unused sessions.
You might want to contact the consumer protection division of the Colorado attorney general’s office to file a complaint at 303-866-4500. If there have been others with the same issue, the state can step in.
