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Wondered if any of you have any experience of this type of thing and can help me?
Been a member of a gym for a few years, I joined because my housemate was the manager and I liked to use the pool.
She left and they closed the pool.
Their terms and conditions, on their website, state 'If we make a significant change to the opening hours or facilities available, you may cancel your membership with effect from the date of the change'
With this in mind, I wrote to them stating that as I can no longer use their facilities without a pool, I would be cancelling my membership, giving them one months notice.
After the month was up, I had heard nothing from them.
My friend let me know that she had recently been in touch with her old colleagues from the club and that they wanted to get in touch with me about my membership cancellation.
I called the manager of the club to try to discuss what they wanted to contact me about and they stated that they refuse to discuss it with me as my 'case' has been given to a debt collection agency. The manager wouldnt discuss what the nature of the issue was, or confirm/deny that they had contacted me about it. The manager insisted that they had followed 'due diligence' in my case otherwise the debt collection agency wouldnt have taken it up.
My questions are:
Has this happened to anyone else? What did you do?
I havent heard from the club or from a debt collection agency, and have recently moved house. What is the situation with debt collectors if you move house?
I'm pretty annoyed and not too keen on paying whatever inflated fee the debt collectors want now, so what happens if it goes to court? Am I able to have my say that 1) They never contacted me, and 2) they changed their facilities so I was entitled to cancel my membership.
I have no idea what happens and am pretty scared!
Thanks for your help 🙂
Sounds like you were perfectly entitled to cancel your membership. Closing the pool would count as a major change in anyones books
Was the address on the letter you sent to them your old one or your new one? I guess what I'm asking is how easy would it have been for the gym to contact you.
1. Ask them for proof that they contacted you. Saying so is not enough.
2. Can you prove that you cancelled your membership? It sounds like you can.
3. Contact the citizen's advice bureau.
4. Wee in their shoes
5. Own them with a set of bombers (sorry!)
6. Did you send the cancellation letter recorded, so you know they got it?
7. Do you have an actual contract?
Debt collectors may chase and find you, you need to tell them there is a dispute about the cancellation and they should hand it back to the club.
They may be dicks too tho...CAB a good place to call if they catch up with you. Got a copy of the letter you sent?
If it’s one of the big chains like LA Fitness, get on their Facebook or Twitter about it. They’ll get it sorted faster than a greased whippet down a drainpipe.
Thanks for your replies so far!
I kept a copy of my cancellation letter so that's not a problem. I gave it to them in person, so I know they got it!
Muppetwrangler the gym has always in the past contacted me by phone (several occassions) and I never heard from them. When I asked the manager why they didnt contact me by phone (as they usually did) the manager refused to discuss it. It is possible they sent a letter to my previous address which I didnt receive.
Cynic-al that's really helpful that if I just tell the debt collectors I have a dispute I may be able to sort it out with the club?
I would be happy to sort it out. I was unaware there was anything to sort out until now.
If you wrote and gave them notice, and they didn't respond you have good reason to believe that they accepted your cancellation.
Make sure you take a copy of the website text in case they decide to change it.
You should claim for your extra subs back as their website says you can cancel after any substantial change in facilities. Demand a full refund from that date!
I think that's how it's meant to work, but if the club say there's no dispute then debt collectors will keep coming at you.
Until they have an award of court though they can't take stuff/wages etc.
How much might they be chasing?
Print out the terms and conditions - in disputes, things on websites can go missing.
what I would do is write to them explaining that as in your previous letter, you have cancelled, due to the change in facilities, and tell them to stop the debt collection action. tell them to reply within 14 days to let you know that they have done this.
That way, they have to justify why they think you owe them money, and also they can't claim that they couldn't contact you, or serve court papers to an old address or whatever.
debt collectors can find your address anyway, so I wouldn't worry about letting out your address
oh and don't bother with c.a.b., what you want is consumer direct 08454 04 05 06, they will know exactly what to do / write, and you don't need to mess with appointments or all that.
Cynic-al I believe it was 50 pounds (sorry my keyboard has no poundsign!) which is why I wanted to sort it out with the club.
Now I have no idea how much it will be courtesy of the debt collectors.
If you delivered the letter by hand, do you have any evidence you delivered it? Did someone sign something?
Loads of this sort of thing going on - another option is Miles & Brignall (Saturdays Guardian Money section back page) - they have been chasing similar cases for people, so maybe worth a call.
Seen enough to not want to join a private gym, seems to be part of their standard business practice to make it difficult to leave now.
Or my prefered option, ignore it. I canceled my gym membership and they folowed it up with a couple of threatening letters which I ignored and it went away.
3 (mobile company) took a bit more hastle to get rid of.
Seen enough to not want to join a private gym, seems to be part of their standard business practice to make it difficult to leave now.
I now just join on non direct debit memberships, they usualy have one at the DD price if you pay in 3 month blocks, no hastle with cancelations.
All of your replies have made me feel so much better!
Some of the language you used made me choose some helpful google search terms too.
Found this online which looks good and agrees with what a lot of you are saying http://www.debtwizard.com/debt-help/guides-and-advice/350-gym-membership-fees
Brassneck I saw the Guardian stuff which is why I thought I might be OK if it went to court.
it was industry standard a few years ago . I had the same with esporta i cancelled and cancelled my direct debit they claimed i owed cash and asked for an excessive amount i continuously told their debt collectors the debt was disputed they said i didn't have a leg to stand on i said so sue me they said we will then did nothing . Debt collectors can only act if their client is owed a debt if you say you dispute the debt because you legally terminated the contract then it is for the fitness center to sue you in the small claims court . That costs them money to do they won't do it . If they did you defend in person it goes to arbitration you win .
they cannot effect your credit unless they successfully sue you for a disputed debt if they threaten you threaten back with data protection and defamation.
I would get onto usenet and post your situation on uk.legal.moderated, lots of knowledgeable people on there.
Here is a google groups link to the group if you can't get usenet access
http://groups.google.com/group/uk.legal.moderated/topics
good luck and let us all know what happens
The Money section of the Saturday Guardian has been reporting on gym membership fees lately
http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2012/jan/27/la-fitness-knockout-blow-gym-contracts
I had something much the same at a fitness first. I was told it was fine to cancel the contract, so I gave notice, stopped paying then got hit by debt collectors letters. I called the gym, but the manager refused to talk to me. This went on for a couple of weeks until my wife answered our house phone and was told the balifs were on their way round. This is the point when I lost my sense of humour. I called the gym, asked for the manager, was told 'oh sorry, he's too busy to talk to you' so I knew he was in. Grabbed the stack of letter, shot down (only 5mins away) walked through reception and into a team meeting in his office. He asked me to leave, and I said I would just as soon as I'd rammed the letters up his arse with my boot.
I can't say looking back, I'm proud, and I think that a number here would say that I should be arrested for threatened assult. However, it did get sorted right there and then.
Might be worth a go 😉
Do nothing - stop trying to contact them.
You believe you have correctly cancelled your contract.
You have not been contacted by them.
Until they contact you there is not really a situation to deal with.
N