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I bought a university gym summer membership last week which on the website is described as "£33.99 for two months (available up until 30th June 2022)".

I thought it means that this type of membership is only available to purchase before 30th June, and if one buys it on say 29th June, the membership will expire on 29th August.

However today I received a membership renewal reminder email telling me that my membership will expire on 30th June. Did I misunderstand the description? If it's my fault then I guess I won't argue with them (but I still think they shouldn't provide this membership type if there's only one month left).

xoroth
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  • If they accepted pay for two months, they interpreted the offer same as you did. Two months of gym time. Two months' pay for 5-6 weeks doesn't make sense. You're the customer. – Yosef Baskin Jun 01 '22 at 04:27
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    @livresque I think the issue here isn't the "until 30th June" but the meaning of "available". Does "available" apply to the end of the offer to buy two months membership or does it apply to the final date of the gym membership? – KillingTime Jun 01 '22 at 06:21
  • This might be a better question for [law.se]. – Barmar Jun 01 '22 at 19:57
  • As already pointed above by KillingTime, the wording you quoted is ambiguous, considered by itself. It may, however, be that it is disambiguated by the context (including both its wording and its layout), so it is difficult to be sure about the matter without seeing the complete advertisement. – jsw29 Jun 01 '22 at 22:14
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    While there may arguably be other reasons for closing this question, it is most definitely not a duplicate. The OP is not asking whether 30th June is included in the period, which is the ambiguity that the other question is about, but whether the period in question is the period in which the membership is available for purchase or the period of the membership itself. – jsw29 Jun 02 '22 at 15:16

2 Answers2

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This is ambiguous, and you can claim one interpretation, while the university will claim the other interpretation. Ideally, Customer should verify before buying ! CAVEAT EMPTOR !

In your case, it says "university gym summer membership", which implies the limited nature of the Subscription. Without the word "Summer", the university is wrong & you should get your 2 months. With the word "Summer", the university is right & Subscription is limited by some terminal Date.
The web-site might have listed the T&C, which might explain the situation. If not, the university can still get off by Interpretation, & they can update the wording to avoid such things. You should talk to them Directly.

Valid Scenarios where interpretation can go either way:

A week-long celebratory event : You can buy Daily tickets @ $1 or Weekly tickets @ $5 (valid till Day7), even though there may be only 3 Days remaining. You cannot buy the Weekly ticket on Day6 and claim that the event got over in 2 Days !

Discounted Yearly Subscription to magazines : I have come across cases where I got 50% Discount, but only if I subscribed within two months (Eg valid till July 31); Else the Discount expires. This does not mean that the Subscription is for 2 months; only that the Discount Availability is for 2 months.

A 6-month Course (July to Dec) : You can enroll in the second month or in the middle, but you still have to Pay the whole amount & you can not claim that classes should continue for 6 months.

Yearly Mobile Connection : I can renew at old rates (valid till June 30) before the rates increase. I expect that I still get the 1-Year Connection, not the 1-Month Connection.

Putting all together, it looks unlikely that the university is going to return your money or give you more time at the gym.

Prem
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  • Summer starts on June 21. What sense does it make for a 2-month summer membership to end on June 30? That's less than 2 weeks. Why would adding the word "summer" make the school right? – Barmar Jun 01 '22 at 19:50
  • Although at a university, "summer" might refer to the summer semester, not the calendar summer. But that still doesn't make them right -- the summer semester starts near the end of May, so 2 months should be until the end of July. – Barmar Jun 01 '22 at 19:54
  • I am not sure what the university means by "Summer", that is why I said "Subscription is limited by some terminal Date" ; In some countries, Summer Holidays are May+June [[ "In north India, the typical summer vacation runs from mid-May to the end of June" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academic_year ]] which ties-in with the 2-month gym availability, which is what the university will claim ! @Barmar – Prem Jun 02 '22 at 04:36
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There is no ambiguity (other than that in the minds of those who carelessly composed the advertisement).

Membership is "£33.99 for two months (available up until 30th June 2022)".

Membership valid for two months is offered at the stated price. That offer was available until 30 June. If you accepted the offer on or before 30 June you are entitled to two months of membership.

You say you bought last week. Let me assume you bought the membership around May 23. To argue that you must pay again from June 30 is to say that you have paid for only about five weeks of membership. This is inconsistent with the statement "£33.99 for two months".

The university is on weak legal ground in seeking money for the remaining three weeks that you already paid for as part of the eight week offer.

Anton
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    Those who voted down both answers to date would help the questioner rather more by stating their reasons. Mute negativity helps nobody, – Anton Jun 01 '22 at 22:29