HI all, In 2015 I joined Exercise for Less. I cancelled the direct debit having spoken to the gym manager as I didn't like the facilities and naively thinking that would be the last i heard from them. I then battled with Harlands (I offered them the 9.99 as advised by this forum) then CRS (who gave my account back to Harlands after II sent them an email composed by the legendary Slick132). This happened in November 2015. However, as I was clearing my inbox I found this email from Harlands dated 05/01/17 ( this is the first I've heard from them since November 2015). ".......we note that you still have an outstanding balance £xxx.xx. We want to help you resolve this as soon as possible. We can set up a payment plan or look at a settlement figure to resolve this. Please call us today on 01444 449165 between 08:30am and 6:00pm. Your reference number is 829xxxxx. If you would prefer us to call you, please confirm a suitable number to reach you on. We regret that if we do not hear from you within the next 7 days, your account will be transferred to our Solicitors Spratt Endicott for further action. Many thanks,//......" What do I reply? I'm now worried they're going to take me to court. All help is much appreciated. Thanks

Hi Everyone, I left my job in September, I just received a letter from my line manager's manager telling me I owed the organisation £260 for damage to a laptop (saying the laptop is now unusable). I admitted to two keys falling off the laptop and at the time I was told that was normal wear and tear (as I did outreach work and the laptop travelled alot) But they are claiming a bent screen and trackpad. However paying for damages is not in my employment contract. Are they legally able to make me pay for the damages? If so can I ask for several quotes for the damage before I pay? They are threatening to withhold my reference if I don't settle the matter with them.

Hi Slick, Many thanks for your response. I sent your reply to Zinc and they've come back to me with this, [i)"Thank you for your email, the contents of which have been noted.As we are unable to resolve this matter for you, I need to advise that we have now closed your account with Zinc and returned to our clients. Please contact Xercise 4 Less directly for any further queries. We will advise them of your dispute as they may wish to pursue the matter further."[/i] Does this mean that I can now just sit back and let Harlands waste their time with their hot air letters or do I need to do anything else? Thank you so much for all your help it's truly appreciated

Hi everyone, I would be really grateful for some help as I'm loosing sleep over my ongoing battle with Zinc/Harlands/CRS. My partner and I joined Exercise for Less on an 11 month contract in March 2014, by April 2014 we decided to cancel our membership as the gym was not to our liking. I mistakenly believed that I could just cancel my direct debit. Within a few days we started to receive letters. So on 20th April, we sent them a letter offering the £9.99 (taken from the forum). Harlands have denied receiving this letter. So now the debt (which currently stands at £226.00) has been passed to Zinc. Two days ago I sent Zinc the following email: "I refer to your attempts to contact me seeking payment for gym membership.membership. Harlands were made fully aware in April 2015 and Later about why their demands are wholly disputed. They failed to accept my reasonable offer to settle, nor did they attempt to discuss any alternative (please find letter attached).Accordingly, your demands are in clear breach of the OFT debt collection Guidelines and, if you contact me further, you will be included in my formal complaint to Trading Standards." Zinc replied with this: "Thank you for your email, the contents of which have been noted. It is not our intent to cause any distress or inconvenience.In order to resolve this matter, please provide evidence that you cancelled your gym membership in writing.I look forward to hearing from you within the next 2 days to prevent the possibility of further action." I don't know what to do to make them stop and I can't afford to pay them. I truly appreciate any help you can give me