Is there a “cooling off” period for a services contract such as that between a dog trainer and client?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
Is there a “cooling off” period for a services contract such as that between a dog trainer and client?
The majority of my business is private in-home training sessions. Most clients pay for a discounted package price of 4, 8 or 12 sessions up front. If a client has received 1/+ training session and then never responds to requests to schedule the next paid-for session, or indicates they have made other training decisions, are they entitled to a refund for the sessions not used? Is there a time limit on that? For example: client paid more than 8 weeks ago and now may ask for a refund. Also, if refund is necessary, can I prorate at my regular hourly rate rather than the discounted package price?
Asked on April 17, 2012 under General Practice, California
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
Assuming that you are delivering the services you are supposed to, when and where you are supposed to, and of a commercially acceptable qualify--i.e. the reason the customer wants to cancel or a refund is not anything wrong which you did--then the law does not require you to provide a refund. That is, it is perfectly legal to have all sales or service contracts be nonfundable. (Of course, it is often better business and marketing to provide at least a partial refund, but that is your decision.)
So if it's just that the client has decided he/she doesn't want your services, then you only have to provide whatever refund the service contract provided for (if any) or which you want to provide.
If the problem is that your services were not of commercial quality, you couldn't provide them at the agreed-up time or place, or anything like that, then the customer could cancel and could get a refund of amounts paid which have not been used--e.g., if they paid $400 for 8 sessions and only had one before your breach, they could get back $350 for the other 7.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.