Eglu Go With 2m Run For Sale

[Tiggy]

I got a years membership last christmas & when they e mailed me in Nov to renew I replied & told them that I was going to need an op on my knee so didn't want to renew my membership. In Jan I got a letter telling me I had no choice I had to pay for the membership again because I had not sent a recorded delivery letter 3 months in advance to cancel. I rang head office & they said that given I had a bad knee that would be fine but I had to contact the local club which I did & thought no more of it, last week I got a letter from a debt collecting agancy who threatened court action if I did not pay. I went to see the admin people at the club yesterday & was horrified, In reception in front of everyone was a poor lady, totally distraught in tears, she had a debt collectors letter too. Her hubby & son had been made redundant & she could not renew, the admin girls told her the same as I had in my letter you have to give written 3 months notice or pay. This lady was told that she had to set up a re payment or go to court. I've never heard anything like it. This poor woman did not know 3 months ago that she would have 2 unemployed men in her house how on earth is she supposed to pay for this?

 

When they got to me they because I had a medical reason they were a little more sympathetic but the hoops I had to jump through were rediculous. I've had to get a letter from my GP, suspend for 3 months get another letter & suspend again for 3 months & then I can cancel if I want to without charge, I still had to pay Jan & Feb even though I had not been in the place & they knew why, just to stop the debt collectors going after me, its scandelous!!!!

[Cooks]

thats sounds ridiculous, totally hate things like this, 3 months notice??? why??? it doesn't take 3 months for them to cncel a direct debit and do some admin, I would challenge that and tell them bring it on.... no way thats not right.

[chickencam]

Perhaps you should name and shame. That is really bad treatment.

 

Our local health club, which is attached to a school, lets you cancel at anytime, and so long as you leave it for 6 months before rejoining you can do so without a joining fee. We have cancelled and rejoined a few times.

 

I know that my SIL had a similar problem and eventually had to pay for the 3 month notice period. I don't know which gym it was though.

[patsylabrador]

This just happened to my son, he joined to get his fitness up to join the army, but at Christmas lost his cheffing job. He told them immediately that he could no longer pay the gym fees and thought it was all sorted. Then he too got a threatening letter about bailiffs. I hate a society where good, honest people can be threatened like this when their circumstances change and they have tried to do the right thing. In none of these examples was anyone trying to cheat anyone.

[Tiggy]

David LLoyd fittness club - there you go, be warned they are after you!!! I didn't have a direct debt, I paid a year up front on a special offer & just like car insurance thought that once it ran out that was it unless I chose to renew it again. Was told - its in the small print of your contract, so small I cannot read the darned thing even with my glassess. the wording is very confusing, even my GP got caught out by the same company - he rang their head office & gave them both barrells & didn't hear another thing mind you I wouldn argue with him either. My Doc is one of the most literate people I know, the poor folks of Brierley Hill would not stand a chance. Whilst Im off work recovering from my knee op, perhaps I should get in touch wi the local press MP etc, may need some help from you guys on how to put it without getting into too much trouble

[Cooks]

well my understanding is if you pay for something in full (ie annually) they have to check with you if you want to renew before they renew again. I thought that wa the law

 

I would look into that Tiggy I dont think it's really very honest of them, especially if the small print is too small to read, that deception.

[Tiggy]

sounds as if I need some legal advice - any experts out there? the area surrounding the club is very deprived and its real exploitation if this is happening on a regular basis which it looks like it is -

[docsquid]

There was a lot wrong with the gym that I worked at, but at least they only required one month's written notice to cancel, and you paid monthly. Much more flexible.

 

I would get some legal advice about this, as you shouldn't have to pay for a service that you don't use and you definitely should be able to stop paying if your circumstances change (as yours have). Failing that, get on to Watchdog, as they have covered this before and might be interested to know that gyms are still behaving in such a threatening manner.

[Happy chickens!]

Grrrr! Our gym makes you committ to the first year, but after that you can give a month's notice and put it on hold, which seems fairer. Hope you get sorted, you don't need that worry as well as your knee. Citizens' Advice or your home insurance if you have legal cover may help with a strongly worded letter.

[Egluntyne]

It sounds as if their terms and conditions are unfair. Let them take you to court. They probably won't.

A local gym tried this with my son, and he bluffed it out. They never carried out their threat.

 

Might be worth referring the matter to the **Office of Fair Trading**.

[Tiggy]

I've just emailed a letter to watchdog, they may investigate. I felt very pressurised, the other lady was forced to discuss the whole thing in full view of everyone comming into the club reception, she was in tears, so distressing, thankfully I was moved into the cafe area. The admin staff realised that I had the same debt collectors letter & tried to prevent another confrontation, suited me so I could take another tack. Really it should not be a problem, if you insure your car for a year you dont expect the company to penalise you if dont renew it the following year, I dont understand why this is different. I heared the admin girls saying, 'well dont you read contracts when you sign them? I do, its the same as taking out a loan with a bank' patronsising so & so, I got her to bring clear copies of the contract & one part says 3 months notice required another says 1 month required its all very confusing. I pointed out to her that I'm a fairly literate person & many of the clientel may not be. Its all very unfair

[Chucky Mama]

I had a similar thing with a Martial Arts club. I cancelled membership as the place went downhill and failed to provide decent lessons with qualified staff. They send me threatening letters but I toughed it out. I looked at my contract to find that they hadn't spelled my name properly and also that it wasn't dated. So I told them that in my opinion it was invalid. I said that they could take me to court and that I would attend with my close friend who is a local journalist (she is my imaginary friend but they didn't know that ). I didn't hear from them again. Good Luck. The way that they treated the other lady is shocking.

[Charlottechicken]

I don't understand how you should have to give them 3 months notice when you only bought a years membership? I would've thought the same as you Tiggy, that once the year was up that was the end of the contract. Did they give you the wrong contract to start with? A direct debit one will be perpetual until cancelled and I can see the point of the notice period but yours was different. Did they send you any paperwork or an invitation to renew as the end of your years membership approached?

[debbier]

If you do a google, there are plenty of results for "david lloyd cancellations".

 

The three months clause is also documented on their web site. They do allow suspensions of contracts, I think, one of my friends did that, but he had to pay a tickover fee, which I thought was a bit silly! I find it hard to think three months ahead, myself.

[Tiggy]

I don't understand how you should have to give them 3 months notice when you only bought a years membership? I would've thought the same as you Tiggy, that once the year was up that was the end of the contract. Did they give you the wrong contract to start with? A direct debit one will be perpetual until cancelled and I can see the point of the notice period but yours was different. Did they send you any paperwork or an invitation to renew as the end of your years membership approached?

 

I got an e-mail in Nov which I responded to & told them that I wasn't going to renuew

[Patricia W]

This sounds like a row I had with a letting agency. Try the “Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999”. It worked with us!

 

Tricia

[Charlottechicken]

 

I got an e-mail in Nov which I responded to & told them that I wasn't going to renuew

 

I'd print off a copy of your reply as it will have the date it was sent etc, and take it to the gym, oh, and ask for a receipt

 

Just a thought, did the email ask you if you wanted to renew, or did it tell you your next years payment was due and you would need to give three months notice if you didn't want to renew?

 

I hope Watchdog take this up, it sounds like a right con!