2019 Connecticut General Statutes
Title 21a - Consumer Protection
Chapter 420 - Health Clubs
Section 21a-218 - (Formerly Sec. 19-341c). Statement of buyer's rights. Form. Buyer's cancellation. Seller's written confirmation. Buyer's disability. Refunds.

(a) A copy of the health club contract shall be delivered to the buyer at the time the contract is signed. All health club contracts shall be in writing and signed by the buyer, shall designate the date on which the buyer actually signs the contract, shall identify the address of the location at which the buyer entered the contract and shall contain a statement of the buyer's rights which complies with this section. The statement must: (1) Appear in the contract under the conspicuous caption: “BUYER'S RIGHT TO CANCEL”, and (2) read as follows:

“If you wish to cancel this contract, you may cancel by mailing a written notice by certified or registered mail to the address specified below. The notice must say that you do not wish to be bound by this contract and must be delivered or mailed before midnight of the third business day after you sign this contract. After you cancel, the health club may request the return of all contracts, membership cards and other documents of evidence of membership. The notice must be delivered or mailed to:

....

....

(Insert name and mailing address for cancellation notice.)

You may also cancel this contract if you relocate your residence further than twenty-five miles from any health club operated by the seller or from any other substantially similar health club which would accept the obligation of the seller. This contract may also be cancelled if you die, or if the health club ceases operation at the location where you entered into this contract. If you become disabled, you shall have the option of (1) being relieved of liability for payment on that portion of the contract term for which you are disabled, or (2) extending the duration of the original contract at no cost to you for a period equal to the duration of the disability. You must prove such disability by a certificate signed by a licensed physician or a licensed advanced practice registered nurse, which certificate shall be enclosed with the written notice of disability sent to the health club. The health club may require that you be examined by another physician or advanced practice registered nurse agreeable to you and the health club at its expense. If you cancel, the health club may keep or collect an amount equal to the fair market value of the services or use of facilities you have already received.”

The full text of this statement shall be in ten-point bold type.

(b) If a buyer cancels a health club contract pursuant to the three-day cancellation provision or as a result of having moved further than twenty-five miles, or as a result of the health club ceasing operation at the location where the buyer entered into the contract as provided by this chapter, the health club shall send the buyer a written confirmation of cancellation within fifteen days after receipt by the health club of the buyer's cancellation notice. If the health club fails to send such written notice to the buyer within fifteen days, the health club shall be deemed to have accepted the cancellation.

(c) (1) If the buyer notifies the health club that he has become disabled, the health club shall notify the buyer in writing within fifteen days of receipt by the health club of the buyer's notice of disability and any certificate signed by a licensed physician or a licensed advanced practice registered nurse which may be required under subsection (a) of this section that: (A) The health club will not require the buyer to submit to another physical examination; or (B) the health club requires the buyer to submit to another physical examination and that the buyer's obligations under the contract are suspended pending determination of disability. If the health club fails to send such written notice to the buyer within fifteen days, the health club shall be deemed to have accepted the disability.

(2) If the health club requires the buyer to submit to another physical examination, all obligations of the buyer for payment under the contract will be suspended as of the date the health club receives notice of disability. The buyer's obligations will not resume until such time as a determination is made, either by consent of the buyer and the health club or through adjudicative proceedings, that disability does not exist.

(d) A buyer who is disabled may, at the buyer's option, extend the duration of the original contract at no cost to the buyer for a period equal to the duration of the disability, or remain liable for partial payment on the contract as follows:

(1) A buyer who is disabled for a period less than the full remaining term of the contract shall only be liable for a pro-rata portion of the contract price equal to the total number of weeks specified in the contract less the number of weeks after the date on which the disability first occurred, the difference being divided by the total number of weeks specified in the contract and the result of that division being multiplied by the total contract price.

(2) A buyer who is disabled for the full remaining term of the contract shall only be liable for a pro-rata portion of the contract price equal to the number of complete weeks before the date the disability first occurred for which the services or facilities were made available to the buyer divided by the total number of weeks specified in the contract with the result being multiplied by the total contract price.

(3) If the reasonable probabilities are that the buyer will be disabled for the full remaining term of the contract, and the buyer has elected not to extend the duration of the contract as provided in this subsection, the health club shall cancel the buyer's contract at the time such a determination is made and notify the buyer in writing that the contract has been cancelled.

(4) Any money paid by the buyer which is in excess of the amount for which he is liable under the provisions of this section shall be refunded by the seller to the buyer.

(5) A health club which received notice of disability from a buyer shall provide such buyer with a written form which shall fully explain the buyer's options as set forth in this subsection. Such form shall provide on it a location where the buyer shall indicate in writing the option he has chosen. Such form shall be signed by the buyer and the health club.

(e) In any cancellation of a health club service contract the buyer shall not be liable for any payment to the seller if the services received by the buyer are as a result of a representation by the health club to the buyer that such services are to be received free or if the buyer received services at a health club as a result of a representation by the health club to the buyer that such services are to be received at a reduced or discount price, the buyer shall only be liable as a result of his cancellation for an amount equal to that which was represented to the buyer that he would have to pay.

(f) Any refund to the buyer as a result of cancellation of the contract shall be delivered by the health club to the buyer within fifteen business days of receipt by the health club of the notice of cancellation.

(P.A. 76-262, S. 3; P.A. 77-585, S. 3; P.A. 84-531, S. 3; P.A. 05-158, S. 3; P.A. 16-39, S. 44.)

History: P.A. 77-585 changed wording of buyer's rights statement, required that statement be in ten-point bold type and added Subsecs. (b) to (f); Sec. 19-341c transferred to Sec. 21a-218 in 1983; P.A. 84-531 made cessation of operation at the location where the customer entered into a contract grounds for cancellation of the contract, and specified the date from which a pro rata portion of the contract price is calculated as “the date the disability first occurred” rather then the date of “the commencement of disability”; P.A. 05-158 amended Subsec. (a) to provide that contracts shall identify the address of the location at which the buyer entered the contract and to provide that the statement of the buyer's rights shall include the address to which the buyer may mail cancellation notice, effective July 1, 2005; P.A. 16-39 amended Subsecs. (a) and (c)(1) by replacing “doctor's certificate” with “certificate signed by a licensed physician or a licensed advanced practice registered nurse” and made a conforming change in Subsec. (a).