Hello. Why are you still using 2.6.9? That is about 1 1/2 years old... little older even actually. We do not support that series any longer.
Most likely, it's a permissions issue though. In that old version, if permissions were not correct, the terms would not work right. Make sure all directories are 755 and files are 644. This should apply from the top level of Joomla directories on down.