Hi,

I'm 4 months into a 12-month contract with X4L and have requested cancellation on the grounds that I'm frequently unable to park at, and therefore access, the gym (which is too far/long to travel to on public transport) – and this is on the higher £14.99 contract with the massive admin fee. I'm a new parent and work part-time, therefore can only go at certain days/times that fit around childcare and work.

After several emails to the manager/front desk of my local gym, I eventually wrangled their head office email off them, who have responded that my reasons aren't covered by the contract cancellation policy and so they won't honour my request (also that their replies are automated and the inbox isn't monitored, which is obviously a lie, based on correspondence on this forum).

Any help would be great (I hear Slick is legendary on this!) - Financial Ombudsman can't help because X4L are apparently not regulated by the FCA and although I've contacted Citizen's Advice, I've had no response as yet.

TIA

Hi Nix and welcome to CAG

Out of interest, how long would it take you to get to the gym by bus, train or bike (if you cycle) or walking.

Which branch of X4Less is this.

Hi Slick,

It's the Nottingham gym. I'm 5 miles away, so maybe an hour walking, 25 mins driving and at least 45 mins public transport.

Interestingly, I replied to the 'no reply' email to say I would be pursuing further, and got a non-automated reply (!) which basically outlined their reasons for cancellation (sickness, moving or redundancy).

Haven't heard from Citizens Advice still, but the Ombudsman said it could be covered by Trading Standards or The Retail Ombudsman.

Oh - and I don't own a cycle.

Hi Nix,

You can't really cancel because of failure by the gym to provide parking for you when you attend. That wasn't something you discussed or they are obliged to provide.

If you cancel the DD mandate, Harlands/CRS will start chasing you for gym fees. What should work in your favour however is they'll also charge you admin fees (we call them penalty charges) when they're unable to collect the next DD. And THAT will be when you tell Harlands/CRS they're trying to charge you unlawful penalties, hence you'll ignore them.

That's your only option if you don't want to continue with the m/ship due to lack of parking.

Trading Standards may be the body you'd complain to but they're unlikely to help you much at all. Same for The CMA but it IS worth making brief complaints to both. Citizens Advice will tell you you have no grounds to cancel but I suggest we at CAG are far more experienced in dealing with X4Less and Harlands/CRS.

What to you think you want to do from here on.

Hi Slick,

Thanks for the response. I had figured I could do something like that, but I feel it's maybe a bit dishonest to do so – and I have a great credit score that I wouldn't want to affect. I'm still trying to go down the proper route at this point (though it's very tedious!).

Citizen's Advice have responded, saying they have passed my info to Trading Standards and that my best bet is to get an independent mediator involved called the Alternative Dispute Resolution scheme (ADR). They also said:

... If a consumer can provide reasonable argument that the trader is failing to perform to the contract and/or provide the service that they are paying for, the consumer can hold the trader in breach of contract and request a pro-rata refund for the time they are unable to use the service.

Since requesting cancellation on the 20th Feb, I haven't been to the gym (as I wouldn't want to forfeit my cancellation), so whether I manage to cancel or not, I'll be seeking a refund for the time I wasn't able to attend the gym.

Nixxy

Hi Nix,

This issue will not affect your credit rating at all. That doesn't happen these days.

Don't feel at all guilty in how you deal with X4Less and Harlands/CRS - they are perfectly happy to hound and harass gym members, not just for months but for YEARS !

An example of a case going on very nearly 4 years is here - http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?424491-Harlands-and-Xercise-4-Less(2-Viewing)-nbsp

When did you last pay a DD pay't to them. You're entitled to use the gym up to the date your next DD is due and using the gym won't affect your case at all.

I would NOT recommend that you seek a refund though as you would normally have to give a month's notice.

Hi Slick,

Thanks for your message.

I first asked to cancel on 20th Feb. I've since had another DD go out at the start of this month. I haven't been back to the gym since requesting cancellation.

I've been speaking more with X4L over email, using the email address. If anyone else needs to get in touch with X4L, I recommend using this email. My first reply from them had all the spiel about 'this is an automated email' and 'this is not a monitored email address', but it was pretty obvious it wasn't, and since calling them out on it, they haven't used that line on me again. Seems to be a tactic they use to fob people off.

Anyway. They have since sent through their 'complaints procedure' (several emails after first complaining), which is basically to raise it with your local gym manager, then with the email address I've mentioned. I have done both, and haven't been offered anything, so according to the policy, the next stage is to contact 'Legal Ombudsman' which is I've tweeted them, as it looks like this is only to do with legal complaints, and not sure if X4L falls under this.

I'll update you when I have more.

Nix

Hi Nix,

As far as I know. the Legal Ombudsman will have nothing at all to do with this issue. The local gym is unlikely to help you at all in this dispute.

You're entitled to use the gym for a month after the last DD payment.

Now is the time to cancel the DD mandate via your bank if that's what you want to do. At the time you cancel, you should also write to the gym saying you've cancelled the DD mandate as there are no parking spaces when you attend.

If you need a hand drafting this letter, let us know.

Stop bothering about complaints to all the various regulatory/complaints bodies for now. Keep it simple !!

Hi Slick,

Apologies – I don't think I got an email notification about your response to this thread.

Anyway – an amusing update for you today. As you (and, indeed, I) suspected, the Legal Ombudsman do not deal with this sector at all – it's the Retail Ombudsman who do. I must confess, I took a bit of delight in informing X4L that their complaints policy is a load of rubbish.

So, the Retail Ombudsman and Trading Standards are my next steps – though not sure what, if any, advice they can give. Then there is ADR. And there is also the text I provided from Citizen's Advice about breach of contract (which may well be my best argument).

As always, thanks for your advice, and I'll keep you informed.

By the way – let me know if I can send you a copy of this 'complaints policy' X4L have, if it would help others?

Nix

Hi Nix,

You're jumping way too far ahead. You don't actually have a complaint to complain about yet.

Apart from Virgin Active, I don't think the Retail Ombudsman will deal with a gym issue with X4Less. And Trading Standards will not help with your case.

Also, I repeat my earlier opinion - that you don't have grounds to cancel yet. Read para's 1 and 2 in my post #4 above.

Only when Harlands apply admin fees will you have some grounds to cancel.

Re-read, and follow my advice in, post #8.