HELP! ARC Collection Agency and Trevor Munn Solicitors legal threats for LA Fitness

[goide]

Hi everyone,

I'm just posting this thread to get some help and advice on how to deal with harassment and legal threats by people who are trying to get money which is not owed to them. My girlfriend is constantly receiving threats of legal action via phone and mail by ARC (Europe Ltd) collection agency and Trevor Munn Solicitors on behalf of LA Fitness for money that she does not owe them. I would *really* appreciate it if someone could give advice on how to stop them trying to take money which they are not owed because they are threatening to take her to court. Apologies in advance for the long thread -- I want to give as much info as possible to get the best possible advice for the situation.

My girlfriend and her father were a member of a gym club called Dragons last year -- he cancelled their memberships with the club with no problems in around July last year (he went in and hand delivered a cancellation letter to the gym which stated that they wanted to cancel both memberships). A month later, his bank account was debited by "LA Fitness". Obviously not knowing what this charge was for (the gym that he was with was called Dragons and not LA Fitness), he contacted his bank and had the charge reversed. When he enquired about the charge, he found out that LA Fitness had bought out the Dragons gym and was obviously continuining the membership and had other not received the original cancellation letter or just ignored it and kept on charging his account (I've read numerous postings by people on the internet how LA Fitness have a tendency to do this). The odd thing was that they were not chasing my gf's dad for any charges, just his daughter even though the original cancellation letter was for both of their memberships. This showed that they must've received the cancellation letter otherwise they would have been chasing her father for gym fees as well.

Anyway, he went in to the LA Fitness gym (formerly the Dragons) and gave them by hand the cancellation note again that he had given them about a month before. In about December of last year, my girlfriend received a letter from LA Fitness saying that she owed them £77 (which is strange considering that a months membership is only around £30 anyway and not £77 so I don't know where they got that figure from). He checked his bank account and found that LA Fitness had STILL been debiting his account every month even though he had gone in and confirmed the cancellation yet again all that time back in August. He spoke to the bank and had all the charges reversed and made sure that the direct debit was cancelled.

In January of this year, my girlfriend started receiving letters from ARC collection agency saying that she somehow owed them the £77 still. They also began calling her at her house asking about the debt -- her father spoke to them and told them that there was NO debt and no money owing and explained to them how he had cancelled months ago and what not and how LA Fitness were trying to charge him even though he had cancelled with Dragons before he ever found out that they had been bought out. Needless to say, being debt collectors they didn't care and kept on demanding the money.

The phone calls and letters have continued: My girlfriend has received more letters last month (February), and in the middle of the month ARC called yet again and kept on chasing her about the supposed debt (after she got off the phone, she was in tears because she can't understand why these people keep on harassing her). I called ARC back the same day and spoke to one of the rudest people I have ever had the misfortune of ever encountering-- the person who I spoke to, who I believe was the Litigation manager Daniel Ryan (according to the letters they've sent) -- constantly interrupted me, was dismissive and shouted over me, and the conversation ended up in a shouting match. When I explained the situation and told him that she did not owe any money and that I was calling to enquire why they kept on harassing my girlfriend, he kept on asking for the "cancellation reference" by the gym -- when my girlfriend's father handed in the cancellation notes, he never received any form of receipt from them. Also, when I explained that my gf never signed up with LA Fitness but had instead signed up with Dragons, he claimed that because they bought the gym, all the memberships got transferred over. When I explained that her father had cancelled in the same letter as her and was never chased for money -- that the gym must've received the cancellation letter because they have never tried to chase after her dad for supposed owing money and so acknowledged the cancellation which also had my gf's cancellation on it, he said that he didn't care and he demanded the money. When I said that she does not owe them any money he said that he was forwarding the claim to the legal department.

Last week, my girlfriend received another phone call -- this time from Trevor Munn Solicitors who have been the ones sending the recent letters for the last month threatening legal action on behalf of ARC. They also asked her for money and told her that she would be going to court if she didn't pay. She also received a letter last week saying by Trevor Munn Solicitors saying "A County Court Claim is now being prepared for issue in Northampton County Court" and that they would be adding further costs to the claim for: Court Fee £20, Solicitors Costs £50, and Interest Due £6.16 and that she will now be liable to pay £153.16.

Of course, my girlfriend is distraught and afraid of going to court and having people take money off of her which she never owed them in the first place. Could someone PLEASE help me and let me know what to do to stop the harassment so she can get on with her life without constant court threats over the phone and by mail.

Thank you very much in advance for your help!!!

UPDATE: 13th June, 2007: I thought this was all over because we had heard nothing from ARC or LA Fitness or anyone for months. Now suddenly, my girlfriend received a letter today from ScotCall Debt Collecting Services saying the following:

Date: 10th June 2007
Balance: £188.00
Creditor: LA Fitness

DOORSTEP COLLECTION NOTICE - PLEASE READ CAREFULLY

Dear Sir/Madam,

Your above outstanding debt has now been placed with 'ScotCall'.

Failure to pay or contact us WITHIN 7 DAYS of the date of this letter will result in your accuont being passed to our Field Representatives to arrange a Doorstep Call.

To avoid this we require the immediate payment of the full outstanding balance or should your financial circumstances prevent this we require you to contact us immediately with a realistic offer of repayment.

---

Needless to say, it was not a very pleasant experience to read this letter and be faced with the prospect of more harassment. Does anyone have any advice as to what to do now?? Please let me know ASAP! Also, if this or the prior debt collecting agency HAS added something to her credit history, what can she do about it? How can she remove it, etc?

Thanks again for the assistance

[mochamoo]

..

[lookinforinfo]

Was the membership a joint one or were they separate. If the latter, then it
would need your girl friends' signature to cancel her membership.

Whatever you do, always refrain from talking to them on the phone-do it in
writing every time.

[goide]

Hi there,

It was two separate memberships. However, her father didn't sign the cancellation letter either and they were fine with it and haven't chased him up for any owing money.

Also, we will use that Harassment by Telephone form and do any further correspondence with them via mail and not speak to them on the phone anymore.

Thanks for the advice so far.

[tiglet]

Ask your gf to put it in writing to them that they may only deal with your or her dad on this matter as she is finding it so distressing.

Also include a copy of the letter your gf's father took in, stating that you dispute all charges and if they intend litigation, you will defend and counter-claim for distress caused to your gf. Also state at no time has your gf been given a stement detailing exactly what these costs are. If they take it to court, have it transferred to your local court stating she will defend. She can call her dad as a witness and produce evidence that he has not been chased for any money - any sympathetic judge with an ounce of common sense will see that she is for real. If the worst happens and the court finds against her (which IMO is extremely unlikely) then she can pay the £77 there and then and will ahve no CCJ.

In short, this is just threatening behaviour and I do not think for one second they will take it to court if you amke it clear you would welcome the experience of showimng their incompetence and threatening techniques in front of a judge. Check her credit records too in case they have added anything to it.

[goide]

UPDATE: 13th June, 2007: I thought this was all over because we had heard nothing from ARC or LA Fitness or anyone for months. Now suddenly, my girlfriend received a letter today from ScotCall Debt Collecting Services saying the following:

Date: 10th June 2007
Balance: £188.00
Creditor: LA Fitness

DOORSTEP COLLECTION NOTICE - PLEASE READ CAREFULLY

Dear Sir/Madam,

Your above outstanding debt has now been placed with 'ScotCall'.

Failure to pay or contact us WITHIN 7 DAYS of the date of this letter will result in your accuont being passed to our Field Representatives to arrange a Doorstep Call.

To avoid this we require the immediate payment of the full outstanding balance or should your financial circumstances prevent this we require you to contact us immediately with a realistic offer of repayment.

---

Needless to say, it was not a very pleasant experience to read this letter and be faced with the prospect of more harassment. Does anyone have any advice as to what to do now?? Please let me know ASAP! Also, if this or the prior debt collecting agency HAS added something to her credit history, what can she do about it? How can she remove it, etc?

Thanks again for the assistance

[Hopeful1]

Hi, what a nightmare. There's definitely some useful info on the site regarding doorstep visits, i just can't remember where. It may be worth looking in the bailiffs forum. I'm sure there will be template letters in there you can use. You could also use the link above your thread to do a search.

I'm pretty certain bailiffs cannot come to your property without a court order. Regardless, if anyone did turn up, don't answer the door and tell them you're calling the police. They have no rights to enter your property.

Keep updating this thread, you'll get lots of help. Tell your GF to stay strong, they're in the wrong

[tomterm8]

They're not bailiffs , they are "Field Representatives" and they have as much power as a dead rat. If they come to the door, tell the barstewards to leave your property three times. if they don't phone the police, report the tresspass and say you are afraid there will be a breach of the peace.

[goide]

Bump!
Thx for the help so far. Can anyone else offer any advice as to how to deal with this??

[goide]

Bump

[lemma1968]

Is this Dragons at yeadon by any chance?

Golly, it has changed name again?

I used to be a member when it was The Manor. Now they have sold out to LA Fitness have they?

Typical. They will not doorstep you, its a con and an attempt to get you to ring and cough up.

If you have kept to the terms and conditions re cancellations then they have no grounds to seek any more money. Your agreement was with Dragons, not them so they cannot force you to agree their terms if they differ after the fact in my view. I may be wrong. Do NOT ring them again. Do all contact in writing and via Special Delivery.

[lookinforinfo]

Goide the problems you are having are a bit out of the usual that we are
used to dealing with. However if you write to the collectors using this excerpt from a post by Switch, it should prevent them calling
please note that I am only prepared to communicate with you in writing. Should it be your intention as you have warned to arrange a “doorstep call”, please remember that there is only an implied license under English Common Law for certain people to visit me on my property without express permission; the postman and people asking for directions etc (Armstrong v. Sheppard and Short Ltd [1959] 2 Q.B. per Lord Evershed M.R.).

Please therefore take note that, I revoke license under English Common Law for you, or your representatives to visit me at my property and if you do so without my permission, you will then be liable to damages for a tort of trespass. You would also be conspiring in a trespass if you sent someone from a doorstop collection service company to visit me and should it be necessary, I will seek an injunction.'
.
Getting LA Fitness off your backs is more problematic. From a legal
point of view, your girl friend has not yet cancelled her membership. It is
not surprising that they do not accept cancellations from a third party. If
they both joined together then perhaps one could see that they might
cancel together.

[lemma1968]

In the grand scheme of things £77 is not a lot to get these vultures off your backs for good. If there really is a question mark over the legality of the cancellation then it may be worth just doing that rather than facing the stress and strain every day of an ongoing feud with these people and the possibility of court costs on top.

It can be done without conceding anything saying in writing that there clearly has been a misunderstanding here as to what constitutes a valid notice of termination and you are prepared to settle on the basis that they remove any default (if there is any) on your credit file.

There are times when principles have to take a back seat in favour of a stress free life.

I am big believer in knowing when to pick your battles.

[ChilliP]

I had a problem with both LA Fitness and ARC. Here is how I resolved my issue.

LA Fitness decided to chase me for £69.60 with another £40.00 costs on top of that for getting ARC involved. After further investigation LA Fitness said that I had cancelled my DD. I checked my account online to find that my DD was still active and that LA Fitness had failed to collect the money. I had this confirmed by my local branch as well.

ARC then decided to contact me. I spoke to them because I am not scared of speaking to them and fully understand the bullying tactics they use. The scenario was a bit like the original posters scenario in the fact that ARC didn't care, it was money owed and refused to hold any action even though the account was in dispute. They forwarded this to their legal department Trevor Munn (Same Company).

In the mean time I contacted LA Fitness by recorded delivery and asked for a copy of my signed Credit Agreement and a Full Statement of Account and reminded them that I am entitled to this and they had 12 working days to forward this to me.

ARC then contacted me with a solicitors letter saying that they were going to take me to court to reclaim the costs in Northampton. Bit hard to do as I live in Scotland. I immediately forwarded a complaint to the Credit Services Association about their conduct as they were clearly in breach of the assesment of justice act.

After 12 working days LA Fitness had failed to provide me with my copy of signed agreement and a full statement of account. I called them again and advised that I am now taking further legal action against them for their failure to comply.

Long story short - Called LA Fitness today who have advised me that the outstanding balance has been wiped and my account has been closed. Called ARC to confirm this and they did. I have now asked both companies to confirm this in writing, which they are now going to do.

In short. LA Fitness is a poorly run company and ARC are a bunch of complete muppets, but after following a few guidelines from people on here and from other sites, I stuck to my guns and won my case.

I suggest other people having trouble with these companies do exactly the same.

I am also still awaiting my response to my complaint with the Credit Services Association.

Thanks,



ChilliP

(Oh and Hi btw!)

[Ripped-off-by-Esporta]

I can't offer help, but I am in the same situation. I am currently at the stage where Trevor Munn are sending the 'County court claim preparation' letter stage. I don't know why they use a court in Northampton as they are based in Walton on Thames, but it sounds like they'll never actually go to court anyway. Sending doorstep collectors after threatening proper legal action is a sign that they are not professional lawyers.

In brief, my situation is this: Knowing I couldn't sign up for 12 months (self employed contractor) to Esporta in Swansea, I asked if I could quit sooner than the full term and I was promised by their salesman Steve Doran that I could. This was a lie, which has since been endorsed in writing by their Finance Director!!! I am left with them chasing me for £502 for the rest of the 12 months, despite the facts that I quit 4months in to the contract, and the max term you need to pay for is 9 months (the min 6 plus the ludicrous 3 month notice period) - so they can't even get the amount right. I had a letter from the MD of Esporta countering his own Finance Director, who passed the buck back to the gym itself in Wales, and demanding money that I don't owe. I wrote with proof of relocation to my home town which has no Esporta gym nearby and they no