Miami, FL asked in Contracts and Consumer Law for Florida

Q: Can I dispute a recurring charge for a membership that is not in my name, but I am being charged for it?

I bought a year's worth of services for someone and did not realize that I would be charged a monthly fee once the year was over. I have been trying to get the charges stopped for 10 months to no avail because I am not the "member" of the membership. The person I bought the gift for is listed on the contract, but I signed the contract. My name is no where on it and I did not realize that I could sign a contract for someone else.

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2 Lawyer Answers

A: Dispute it with your bank. That's the easiest way to stop the recurring charges.

Charles M.  Baron
Charles M. Baron
Answered
  • Consumer Law Lawyer
  • Hollywood, FL
  • Licensed in Florida

A: You cannot legally sign a contract for someone else unless that person has executed a power of attorney giving you the power to do so. But was your signature an inked signature of your name, a digital (typed) signature of your name, or a digital signature of the other person's name? If it is the other person's name there as the "signature", the vendor will of course say only that person may cancel and stop the monthly charges. In any event, your first stop should be your financial institution to ask it to remove the vendor as an auto-debitor. They should be willing to do so, in which case the problem is probably ended for you, but if the other person's name is the "signed" name, the problem might not be over for that person. Depending on the contract language, the vendor may be able to legally come after that person and/or damage that person's credit rating. If the vendor threatens same, you and/or the other person would need to schedule a consultation with an attorney.

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