I took out a no contract gym membership as i needed it temporarily since i was coming back from uni to stay with my parents and wanted to be on top with gym.

The gym i found was a no contract no joining fee membership which was ideal since i needed the gym for 2 weeks.

The first payment had come out and then upon the 2nd week so around 1.5 weeks id told the gym i wanted to cancel which they said was fine, i filled out some forms and that was that.

But the person had said that id need to cancel the DD with my bank and they said to do this after the next payment comes out.

However i didnt think this would be a problem for me to cancel before the second payment since they said id need to give 30 days notice but nowhere upon email or conditions did it state that.

All id found was something to do with harlands stating that they need 14 days notice that i need to give to the bank and harlands?

Id cancelled the DD upon 1.5 weeks into the first month of the DD bearing in mind the first payment had already come out.

I now got told and recieved a letter to my parents address since i dont live there atm stating from harlands id been charged admin fees of £25 plus the cost of month gym at £16.99 coming to £41.99.

However this from what i understand cant be right since the contract wasnt a fixed contract so dont see why i need to give a months notice and why in the email that i received for joining id need to write to harlands before cancelling.

what can i do, i really need help since i need to pay by the 30th otherwise id be charged more.

they cant charge any admin fees they are unlawful.

just as a DCA is not a bailiff.

just browse a couple of threads in this forum

you'll see the std slick132 letter

simply write

offer the missing payment

but refuse the admin fess

if they fail to accept

you ignore them.

who exactly do i contact and via what means?

And could you link slick132

I'm new and don't really know who that is

Hi Captain and welcome to CAG

Even with a "No Contract" agreement, you would still need to give a month's notice and I'm sure the T&C's governing your m/ship would confirm this. The gym staff advised you correctly to wait for another payment to be taken before you cancelled the DD mandate.

However, Harlands take the opportunity to start adding on their admin fees which we always advise folk to challenge.

Send this letter to Harlands and get a free Certificate of Posting at the PO :-

Dear Sir or Madam,

I refer to my membership at Xercise 4 Less gym in XXXXXX which was a month to month agreement.

I cancelled my direct debit mandate but realise now that I should have given 30 days notice to cancel my membership. So I am now offering to pay a final month's fee of £16.99 to cover the notice period. I will not pay you any administration or cancellation fees - these are penalties that are unlawful and unenforceable.

If you confirm in writing that you will accept the amount of £16.99 in full & final settlement of all that I owe, I will pay you promptly. If you fail to accept my offer within 14 days or you demand any other payment, I will pay you nothing and my offer will be withdrawn.

Yours faithfully,

When they refuse your offer and keep making demands, you can simply ignore Harlands/CRS, Zinc Group and Spratt Endicott (Harlands current pet solicitor). They'll make the usual threats but they're unlikely to actually DO anything.

Keep us posted.

Because i was told on the letter to give the payment by the 30th me sending the letter now, would it cause problems? Would they charge me more. Also what address on the letter i send should it to. Finally who do i pay IF they accept my terms Harland's or my gym. And if they don't accept as you said and i ignore them does this mean i should not pay the one month 16.99 aswell.

Sorry for all the questions worried and new to this.

Thanks for the help aswell

Hi Captain,

The letter goes to Harlands' Haywards Heath address.

Send the letter I suggested and let us know how they reply.

Read other threads here and you'll soon see how others handle Harlands. All the info you need is here.

What happens if i completely ignore Harland's letter and don't respond

nothing

we've not seen any gym court cases since 2012 and on that they lost.

just don't ever ignore a court claimform

dx

You can ignore their demands if you want.

However, I suggest you try to do the right thing first by offering to pay what you owed.

Use the draft I gave above - by doing this, you're protecting yourself having acted reasonably.

Hi I posted something similar before just wanted to give a quick run down.

I was signed on to a no contract gym membership and cancelled after the first payment came out and did this in person w the gym and with my bank as I was told.

I received a first letter from Harland's stating I owed them a £25 admin fee along with the cost of a missed DD payment even though I had cancelled and it wasn't a contract.

I received another letter saying another charge had occured and how this will be passed to a debt recovery company.

Should I be worried?

I was thinking of simply writing on this letter or the next on't they send and say how the person no longer lives here so they can't get in to contact with me again?

so why didn't you send that slick letter?

threads merged

dx

so why didn't you send that slick letter?

 

 

threads merged

 

 

dx

Because i thought ignoring would be fine and assume it would be ignored as others have because btw i wasnt actually told about the incurring of charges which i thought i did so would me ignoring be the best case? As i dont really want to pay for something i dont think im eligible to pay for but if it means i have to i will

Hi CS,,

Don't try the old "Moved Away" trick with the post. That could actually backfire on you and cause other problems.

Send the letter I suggested so you have behaved properly and reasonably.

Hi what address should I post the letter to and is there any way I can prove I've sent the letter on my behalf?

Info given to you already in posts #4 and #6 above.

Hi thanks for all the help

I just wanted to ask if I sent the letter by a standard post

i.e first class or second is that enough

or would I need it tracked and signed for and pay for this.

you said get a free certificate of posting what is this?

2nd class

get free proof of posting when you hand it over at the post office counter

Hi CS,

Again, we've already given you the info you need - see para 4 in post 4 above.

All the info you need is here on other threads but read what we say to YOU on YOUR thread carefully to avoid unnecessary questions or delays in you acting.

Keep us posted ..............

So I got an email after sending a letter and this is what it says

Further to your recent letter to our offices,

Harlands can confirm that you signed up to a one month membership, this one month is a contracted payment. It was marked to cancel after this first payment. However you cancelled your Direct Debit too early which lead to a missed payment.

Please contact our offices to make the final payment and cancel the agreement.

For all Enquiries Call Harlands : 01444 449166 () Quote Reference : xxxxxxx

Office hours: Monday to Friday, 9am - 1pm, 2pm - 5pm

Yours sincerely,

Harlands

Does this mean all they want is the 16.99? And if so I really don't like the idea of phoning to pay and giving them my bank details is there a better safer way to pay?

Hi CS,

Please write to Harlands again saying :-

I refer to your letter of xxdate.

I will not call your offices for any reason but, if you are willing to accept £16.99 to end the matter, let me know in writing your bank details ad a reference number I can use to make the final payment.

Keep proof of postage and let us know how they respond.

What happens if I wrote a cheque would that work or is it best to do as you say?

No, make the offer to pay as I said.

They could easily bank your cheque as a payment on account , then STILL continue to harass for payments.

they sent another letter which didn't answer anything and now I feel like I'm wasting time money and it's just a headache chasing this up.

They replied with the following

Further to your recent letter to our offices Harland's can confirm you signed up to a one month membership.

This one month is a contracted payment.

It was marked to cancel after this first payment

however you cancelled your direct debit too early which lead to a missed payment.

Please contact our offices to make final payment and cancel the agreement

Firstly what they stated didn't answer anything I've said in the letter when I said I wouldn't contact their office.

And secondly when they said I cancelled too early

the first payment came out so what do they believe I'm liable to pay for .

since they're staying it was one month?

They've failed to provide payment details requested so ignore this latest letter.

They've sent another letter this time by the CRS

Saying we've been employed by my gym as your membership remain in arrears despite previous letters being sent you.

As a result of this our fees totalling £66.50 have been added.

Therefore your account balance stands at £133.49

[removed] I've sent numerous letters and they are adding more fees what do I do??