Hello,

This is my first time posting on here and I'm new to all this!

I signed up to a gym membership with DW Fitness a few months ago.

Unfortunately I lost my job a couple of months into my membership.

I checked my contract and it stated this is a valid reason to cancel my membership.

The first thing I did was cancel my Direct Debit and then I contacted the gym to inform them of my change in circumstances

and requested to cancel my membership.

They replied by saying I had arrears for the month of July and had to pay one month calender's fee.

My monthly Membership was £34.00.

They also requested a letter from my former employer proving the loss of my job.

I asked them whether the one month calender fee was from the date of cancellation (early July)

or the full month of August and could they give me the figure I owed them and

I then stated I would be happy to pay the the remaining fees and supply the letter from my former employer.

I didn't hear anything back from them for several weeks when

eventually I received a phone call from ARC Europe LTD.

They stated they were now handling the matter and demanded I pay £195.

I stated that I had never heard of them and that I was dealing with the matter with DW Fitness directly

and had been waiting for a reply from DW Fitness.

They said they had sent me a letter explaining they were now dealing with the debt (I never received this letter).

I explained I was uncomfortable dealing with them as I had no idea who they were and that the figure they stated I owed was incorrect.

Another week passed with no contact from either company but

I have now received a letter from ARC Europe demanding I pay the full amount within 10 days

or they would be referring to matter to their Solicitor 'Major and Co'

who would proceed to take a CCJ against me and if successful I would be required to pay £195 plus 8% interest and £75 legal fees..

I'm completely unsure on what I should do here

and which company I should contact if any.

Any help would be completely appreciated.

After the way they have acted I don't feel I want to pay them anything,

it's disgusting.

Thanks

quite right

its a spoof.

stay off that phone!

ARC are a DCA and as for them and their fake/tame solicitors

they ARE NOT BAILIFFS and have

NO SUCH LEGAL POWERS.

I've moved you to the gym forum

have a read of a few threads here

you'll soon get the idea

I'm sure slick132 will pop in soon to outline things.

you prob only owe the one month

and should simply pay that to the gym directly

and send a letter advising you consider the matter closed.

dx

Hi dx100uk

Thank you so much for the support! It's nice to know I'm not alone.

Sorry for not posting in the right section, like I said I'm a bit new to all this.

I'll have a read through some of the other threads and see what I can find

Hi Jake and welcome to CAG

1. What date was the DD normally taken each month.

2. What date did you cancel the DD mandate via your bank.

3. What date did you contact the gym saying you had to cancel.

Yours answers will help us determine what you owe, or need to do.

Hi Slick.

1. The DD went out on the 1st of the month (they didn't fill this part out on the contract however and just left the space blank).

2. I'm struggling to find the date I cancelled the DD with the bank but I'm sure it was within the first week of July (before contact was made with the gym). *actualy it must have been during June otherwise they would have taken the payment for July - my mistake sorry.

3. I contacted the gym on the 9th of July.

Thanks for your help.

Thanks Jake.

If the DD was normally paid on 1st of the month, you need to pay the £34.00 due on 1st August to settle the matter.

You do not have to pay any Admin or Late Pay't Fees - they are unlawful penalties and are not enforceable. If Major & Co contact you, let us know and we'll tell you how to get rid of them.

Write to ARC saying :-

I'm prepared to pay the final payment (£34.00) that was due on 1st August to end this matter.

My contact with the gym early in July and the cancellation of the DD mandate were both acceptable means of notice to cancel after being made redundant.

I will not pay any Admin Fees as they are unlawful and unenforceable.

When you confirm in writing that you'll accept my payment in full settlement of all that I owe you, I will pay promptly.

This matter is in dispute and you must not pass the matter onto Major & Co. If you do, I will make formal complaints as necessary.

Hang on - I now see you've altered your post above .....................

Check with the bank and get confirmation of the date you cancelled the DD mandate.

Let us know and then we can decide what you should pay to end the matter.

Cheers Slick,

I'll speak to the bank first thing on Monday and let you know straight away.

There was one thought I had, if the debt collection agency have bought the debt (I don't know if they have or are just working for DW Fitness) do I even have to pay them? Surely they've settled the matter for me?

Like I said I have no problem paying what I owe to the gym itself, but I've got no interest in paying ARC Europe anything, I find them to be nothing more than bullys.

Hi Jake,

ARC haven't bought the "debt" and are simply chasing on behalf of DWF.

The letter I suggested above addresses the issue of who to pay, and when. You will have to deal with ARC but you won't pay them until, and unless, they agree to accept your offer in full settlement.

Come back when you've spoken to the bank.

Ok thanks for that.

I'll let you know as soon as there is any more development on the issue.

Cheers

Hi Slick.

I canceled the DD on the 23rd of June.

Thanks for that Jake,.

Get a free Certificate of Posting at the OP if you want to avoid the extra cost of RM Signed For delivery when you send this letter to ARC :-

Dear sir or madam,

I refer to the cancellation of my gym agreement after I was recently made redundant.

The DD mandate was cancelled on 23rd June and this was the first notice of intention to cancel. I then confirmed this by contacting the gym on 9th July. Both of these events were acceptable means of notice to cancel after being made redundant. High Court precedent for this was set in the case of The OFT v AMSL in 2011.

I now realise I should have made one final payment for membership for July. I'm prepared to pay the final payment (£34.00) that was due on 1st July to end this matter.

I will not pay any Admin or Late Payment Fees as they are unlawful and unenforceable.

When you confirm in writing that you'll accept my £34.00 payment in full settlement of all that I owe you, I will pay promptly.

This matter is in clear dispute and if ARC or Major & Co make any further demands, formal complaints will be made.

Yours faithfully,

Cheers slick,

I'll send this off to them in the morning.

Hi Slick,

It's been a while,

i have now received a letter, this time from Major and Co Solicitors.

The letter simply states that if I don't pay the full amount immediately I will be taken to court

and forced to pay £195 plus court costs, solicitor costs and interest adding to a total of £285.60

I find this very bizarre as the gym stated to me in an email back in July

they wanted payment for July and 1 month calender which doesn't come close to £195.

Should I send them the same letter I sent previously.

Cheers

read it carefully it does NOT say WILL anywhere

dx

You're right! It says 'may' not will! lol

idle powerless threats

dx

Reply to Major & Co saying :-

I refer to your demand letter of xxdate.

Major & Co, in collusion with ARC (Europe), have chosen to ignore the fact that this gym membership matter is in clear dispute.

Your demand will therefore be the subject of a formal complaint to the SRA.

Then wait for a proper response to the letter in post #13 above.

Hi guys,

Just thought I'd check in.

I still haven't had any reply from major and co or arc europe since their last letter, is this normal?

cheers

Hi Jake,

Yes, quite normal.

Let them take their time as the longer they take, the better for you.

Hi Guys,

So finally ARC Europe have written back to me.

They have now stated that they have spoken to DW are and happy to receive £34 as a final payment and that I have 14 days to pay off the amount before they refer it back to their solicitors 'Major and Co'.

Thank you so much for your help on this!

I do have one final question, surely they have been knowingly acting fraudulently in order to try and claim extra money from me?

just like every other DCA.

dx

Hi Jake,

I do have one final question, surely they have been knowingly acting fraudulently in order to try and claim extra money from me?

I'd forget about whether anyone has acted fraudulently as this would be difficult for you to prove.

Pay the £34 and be happy that this is over with no more fuss. This is a good result for you.

Thread title amended to reflect your success.

Thanks again so much for your help!