A very very late update: Contact from ARC etc eventually tailed off. After threatening with court, fees etc it turned out they either had no power to do this, or they had no intention. Apologies that I left it so long to keep you informed but better late than never. So in summary, we win! Thanks Consumer Action Group!

Hey guys, It's been a while now. I didn't take your advice of replying to Major Law. Since then I've had no contact from any of the involved parties So it seems as if they've dropped it. If so, then that's amazing! I would have been too doubtful to do it without your advice Thanks so much

Hi guys, Quick update: Just received a letter from Major Law Solicitors. They have been "instructed to contact me for recovery of the above debt..." They ask for £216.25, and if they do not hear from me in 14 days they will seek their client (David Lloyd)'s "instructions regarding issuing a County Court Claim" against me in Northampton County Court for the recovery of this amount. They say that the debt will increase by £102.30 based on £35.00 court fee, £50 solicitor costs, and £17.30 Annual interest. Making the total £318.55.

Hi guys, Here's an update on the situation. I've been ignoring ARC and David Lloyds. I've just received a letter from ARC. It says that by the instruction of their client they may refer the matter to their solicitors Majorlaw Ltd with instructions to prepare a county court claim against me for recovery of the above debt (£216.25). 14 days before they may prepare this... 8% per annum interest + court fees and solicitor cost to a further £85.00. etc etc... This doesn't seem like that much money! I am surprised as I thought they'd say £4,000 or something. I welcome any advice. Thanks, Sebastian

This was their reply: "Terminated membership, fees. M MShip.Brighton Reply| Today 16:17 You Dear , You are currently outstanding since May, meaning May, June and Julys fees are owed at £48.75 per month totalling £146.25. As stated in my previous email, I am unable to clear the ARC fee. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you require any further information. Kind Regards, Laura Williams Member Relations Manager Brighton David Lloyd" Shall I ignore or reply?

Thanks for your replies I have replied as such.

Hi guys, This is David Lloyd's reply: "Dear Sebastian, Thank you for your email. The final payment would need to be made through reception and can be done over the phone. Your membership is currently outstanding from May 2016 and the ARC fee has been added because they have been contacting you to try to resolve this matter. Unfortunately i am unable to remove this fee from your account. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you require any further information. Kind Regards, Laura Williams Member Relations Manager Brighton David Lloyd Telephone: 01273 666407/04 Address: David Lloyd, Park Square, Brighton Marina, Brighton, East Sussex, BN2 5UF" Shall I call them to try to pay the 1-month's fee (£48)? Or shall I reply to this email to say that I will only pay the month's fees, rather than the fee that they want? I have been hanging up when ARC ring. Thanks.

Thanks so much guys, you have been awesome! I will send an email saying this right away.

I've trawled through my online statements and it appears that I've made 13 monthly payments to them (2 discounted due to membership suspension). So if I needed to pay 12 months due to my contract, I am one month short. How can I go about settling this without having to pay Arc? Should I email/phone the gym? Thank you

I have looked through my emails. They sent me the first email asking for money on 1st of May, asking for one month's worth of fees. If my contract was for 12 months, plus 2 months extension then it should have finished in May. Perhaps I should have paid one more month.

Hey, Yes, I suspended for 2 months. While I was travelling. I paid a reduced fee during this time. I may need to pay 1 more month then as I paid the 12 months, plus an extra from the sound of the emails. So I need to contact David Lloyd to pay this? I cannot access their online paying system and I am unsure of which months that I've paid as it feels as if it's gone on for so long now. I imagine I don't want to pay this to Arc! Thank you Slick

Great, thanks for this reply dx. This is exactly what I hoped to hear.

I am having issues with David Lloyds gym to do with a dispute over fees. They have involved their associates ARC Europe to try to collect fees and have threatened legal action. I have seen many other people having similar issues in a thread on this site, but the thread was several years old and the results were never posted. I joined DL in March 2015. I was paying £48 per month (beginning of month DD) for the annual membership for a person of my age. I called DL at some point in the beginning of March 2016 to find out if I needed to do anything to cancel my membership to stop it continuing into another year. The woman on the phone at my branch (Brighton Marina) told me that it would automatically end at the end of March and I needed to take no further action. As I thought the matter simple, I took no note of the call or her name. Therefore, I have no record of the date. I stopped using the gym facilities at this time. I was charged for another month, at which point I cancelled the direct debit with my bank. Then I called the gym and asked why I had been charged. I was told that I had to request cancellation in writing and that there was no record of my previous call. I switched to email contact as I could keep records easier. My first email was on May 17th. I will provide record of my contact through email [name removed] | 17/05/2016 Membership Number: [removed] [removed] Dear Sir/Madam, I need to cancel my membership. I phoned in late February/March time and was told that this would happen at the end of March. I have been charged for another and invoiced since. I am going through severe financial trouble right now and cannot afford this membership. You should also see that I stopped using your gym, thinking I was no longer a member. Is it fair that I have to pay for something that I haven't been using? I have made several phone calls and left messages being told that I would be rung back by the membership team. I finally reached a member of your team today and he said I will be called back regarding waving cancellation fees. I am not confident that I will hear anything based on previous experience. I'm also going to be out of the country from this Sunday for two weeks with no access to email or phone. Please cancel my membership straight away, and retract the invoice for the last month. I can't afford any more charges and would see any additional costs as an insult due to the fact that I was a good member and am now unable to control my finances after becoming unemployed several months ago and reaching the limits of overdraft. Yours faithfully, [removed] ---------- MShip.Brighton | 19/05/2016 Dear [removed] Thank you for your email. We have not received a written request to cancel your membership which is why we are continuing to take payment. Can you confirm when you requested the cancellation in writing so that I can look into this for you. If you can provide evidence that you have had a change in personal circumstances, such as job loss letter or equivalent we will be able to look at ending your membership immediately for you. If you require any further information please do not hesitate to contact me. Kind Regards Lisa Durnford Membership Advisor Brighton David Lloyd Telephone: 01273 666407/04 Address: David Lloyd, Park Square, Brighton Marina, Brighton, East Sussex, BN2 5UF ------- [removed] Reply| 21/05/2016 MShip.Brighton ([email protected]) Make sure it is cancelled now. I am away for two weeks so all this will have to wait until at least the 5th June. [removed] ----- MShip.Brighton Reply| 25/05/2016 You Inbox Dear [removed] I have processed a cancellation in line with the terms and conditions of your membership. You are still in your 12 month initial term of membership and have had a suspension for two months which means your membership is due to end on the 1st August 2016. If you require any further information please do not hesitate to contact me. Kind Regards Lisa Durnford Membership Advisor Brighton David Lloyd Telephone: 01273 666407/04 Address: David Lloyd, Park Square, Brighton Marina, Brighton, East Sussex, BN2 5UF ------- *end of email records* Since then, I have received many emails and calls asking for a balance which has now grown to £146.25. Here is the last of these emails: "Dear Membership Number: [removed] There are a couple of ways that you can bring your membership up to date:- •Online with a debit or credit card by going to the website *url removed to allow for post* and following the instructions on screen. •Via our Automated Payment System with a debit or credit card, by calling 0207 048 7438 (you will need your membership number). If you wish to take advantage of either of these services your current membership fee of £146.25 is due for your membership at Brighton. Both the online payments service and the automated payment service will be available to you for the above payment until midnight on the last day of this month. Of course, if you have recently sent payment please ignore this email. Yours Sincerely Stephen Empson Group Central Membership Manager" ----- *end of email* I have not paid this fee. I received a letter from ARC EUROPE dated 10 August 2016. They say that they are collecting a balance of what is now £216.25 from me, on behalf of their client, David Lloyd Leisure Limited. They ask me to pay them this money by calling them or visiting their website. Finally they said that if they do not hear from me "within the next 14 days (from letter date), they may pass my account to their solicitors, with instruction to prepare court proceedings." Today they called my landline and I answered. They said who they were and that they were looking for (my name). Then they asked for my postcode for security reasons. I said "No" and hung up the phone. I am scared to go to court and I am unsure of where I stand legally. I have a strong feeling that they have treated me unfairly. Especially as they never warned me of these cancellation conditions when I signed up. However it was in the small print of my contract, I believe. I can afford to pay the current amount of £220 as I have some savings, but if I get taken to court and lose I imagine I could be financially ruined.

Hi, Please could you update me on what happened with your troubles with David Lloyd. I'm at the stage where I've received a letter from ARCEurope and the fee has gone up to £216.25. Did they give up, or did you give in? Or did it go to court? Thanks, Sebastian