Legality of contract

[NiagraontheLake]

Jurisdiction

United Kingdom

My 16 year old son joined a gym earlier this year and signed a 12 month contract without my permission. He tried to terminate his contract recently as he no longer has a Saturday job and therefore cannot afford to keep up his gym payment. On relaying this information to the gym he was told that he is not eligible to terminate the contract unless he has sustained an injury, in which case he will need a doctors note, and also will have to pay £65 to leave despite the fact that he is a student and has no money. I have spoken to the person in charge and they informed me that my son must have lied about his age as in their system he is down as being 17 years old . My son denies this. The fact is that he was under 18 when he signed this contract. Is this legally binding and does he have to pay to leave?

 

[army judge]

In the US, your son would be considered a minor.
Even if the lad lied about his he, the onus is on the merchant to have known if he was a minor or a major.

The contract in the US would be voidable at the minor's discretion.

In the UK, you'll need to take it up with a barrister. Or, if he stopped paying, they'll sue him, perhaps. Then he could tell it to a judge.

However, I'm IGNORANT about UK law, and barely informed about US laws.

See a barrister, ma'am, if you want to know for sure.

 

[adjusterjack]

Dear Niagraonthelake, there is an international law site where people from the UK might respond to your question:

WORLD Law Direct Forums