Here is the letter we have drafted: Dear sir or madam, I refer to my membership at Simply Gym in Uxbridge. I have been informed by Harlands that my direct debit was cancelled, and that two months’ worth of membership payments have not been taken. In addition to this, they are adding unlawful penalty fees charged by Harlands themselves on top of this. They are requesting that I set the direct debit up again so that they can take the entire sum. I cancelled my direct debit accidentally as the direct debit was named as Harlands, and I was unaware that Harlands was working on behalf of Simply Gym. Had I realised that this direct debit was for my gym membership I would never have cancelled it, as I am happy with the gym and still wish to remain a member. I have not used the gym during the period of time that has not been paid for, so I have not been using any service at Simply Gym without paying for it. As such, I am writing to you to advise Harlands to waive or withdraw any and all admin penalty fees that they are attempting to charge, so that I may set up the direct debit again to pay for my membership without fear of additional fees being taken. I will only reinstate the direct debit mandate when I have Simply Gym’s assurance that Harlands will not use the direct debit to take unlawful admin/penalty fees. If you cannot give assurance that only the membership fees will be taken, and if you allow Harlands to collect unlawful admin/penalty fees, then I consider my membership terminated with immediate effect due to the gym and Harland’s breach of contract. Kind regards, How does this look? Kind regards

Hey Slick, That definitely seems like the best way forward. Is there already a template for a letter like this somewhere? Kind regards

Good morning Slick, The DD mandate was cancelled accidently, as my partner was going through her DDs, clearing out old ones, and saw this one from Harlands and didn't recognise it (since she wasn't aware Harlands was in fact Simply Gym,) so she cancelled it. She still wants to be a member of the gym, and if she realised that the DD was for the gym she would never have cancelled it. Kind regards

Hmm, if that's the case what is the best way to handle it? She never intended for the DD to not go through, or be cancelled so she still wants to be a member, but obviously doesn't want to pay £313.89 because of a mistake. I guess we should get them to confirm they will only take the outstanding monthly payments and nothing else, just so we have something we can fall back on if they do take it?

Yeah, she still wants to be a member; she didn't even realise it had been cancelled until she got this email today. It's better the write to them than speak to them over the phone? Kind regards

Good morning folks, I'm getting in touch on behalf of my partner. She signed up to Simply Gym back in August, who use Harlands as their money collector She's just received an email this morning stating that she is £97.98 in arrears because a direct debit was cancelled and the last two payments of £25 have not been going through. They also state that if the debt isn't paid by 14th November a debt of £313.89 (yes, £313.89!) will be passed on the a Debt Recovery Company. They stated that they've been sending letters up until this point, but we haven't received anything prior to this. Upon checking, it seems that the direct debit to Harlands was cancelled accidently back in September, and not because she wanted to cancel the membership. We haven't used the gym during this time, anyway, so it's not like she's been using the facilities for free. Is there any way she can just make the two missed payments for the service, and avoid paying all these ridiculous extra charges (£313.89.. , as there was no foul play here, it was a genuine mistake that the DD was cancelled. Kind regards

Hey slick, No, I have received no correspondence to my new address since my initial letter. If they are writing to me, it'll be to my old address. Thanks.

Hey there folks, So, I have an update on this situation. Basically, this to Harlands back in May: Dear Sir or Madam, I refer to my membership at the Xercise 4 Less gym, which I have been a member of for 4-5 years now. I cancelled my direct debit mandate as I have moved away from the area, but realise now that I should have given 30 days notice to cancel my membership. As I originally signed up in the gym, with pen and paper rather than online, I was not aware of the cancellation procedure, thus I am now offering to pay a final month's fee of £9.99 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 £9.99 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, After some time they did send me a letter saying that they were happy to write off the penalty and just accept £9.99, however I'd need to ring them up and set up the Direct Debit again to do that. However, as I said in my letter, I have moved away from the area to a different address (I even put the address on the letter I sent them) but they sent all prior correspondence to my old address. So, I didn't get their letter saying they'd accept £9.99 until much later because I wasn't at the address anymore. Not only that, but I have also received two other letters stating: Dear Sir, We are disappointed that you have not responded to our previous correspondence. The June instalment has now been missed, resulting in a further administration fee of £25 being added. The total amount now to bring your account up to date is £44.98. Please call the HARLANDS HELPLINE - 01444 449033 to make payment by DEBIT / CREDIT card and reinstate your Direct Debit Instructions. If you wish to pay by any other method, you must still phone us to discuss your options. If you do not call us by 29 June 17, then the collection of your membership fees will cease to be administered by Harlands and will be passed to a Debt Recovery company. This may incur you significant fees and ultimately result in court action. AND (letter from Credit Resolution Services) Dear Sir, We have been advised by Harlands, that you have stopped payments under your membership agreement with Xercise 4 Less. Your balance of £79.97 is now due to be paid in full, by no later than 15 July 17. Harlands would like to resolve this matter before further action is need. However, under your agreement with Harlands, you have promised to pay this debt. If you continue to refuse to that commitment, Harlands will have no option but to take legal steps to collect the outstanding balance. Credit Resolution Services Am I still to just ignore their correspondence, even though they've passed it on further? I suppose I did tell them I'd moved away and provided a new address, so it's their fault for not sending the correspondence there. Is ignoring still the way forward? Thanks, folks.

Good morning Slick, Thank you for your response. I've been reading various threads and responses from you, and I really appreciate all the feedback you've given. So even though it says in those T&Cs that they can add on admin fees, they won't be able to demand them from me? Just out of curiosity, why should I NEVER contact either Harlands or the gym?

Also, I have done some searching and found this in their T&Cs which worries me, slightly: "If you fail to pay any monies due under this agreement or if any Direct Debit is returned unpaid or any cheque is returned unpaid or if any other form of payment is not honoured for whatever reason, you shall pay us (Harlands Services) on demand an administration fee of £25 (which we (Harlands Services) require to cover our costs of seeking to pursue such payment from you)."

Yeah, I've seen from the other threads that Harlands are a load of hot air, but regarding my situation I was wondering if, because I just cancelled the Direct Debit instead of writing to cancel my membership, or cancelling online, that I would be in a worse position. I don't mind paying a final £9.99 if necessary, but I don't think I should have to pay more. Should I write to X4L saying I'm cancelling (since I never did it, I just cancelled the DD) or should I just leave it as it is?

Hey there, I know that Xercise4Less and Harlands are notorious amongst these forums after reading through various threads surrounding them and their ridiculous cancellation process. I just signed up and posted this to get a bit of advice on my own situation, if that is okay. I have been a member of Xercise4Less for quite a number of years, now. It's probably verging on 4 or 5 years, and when I signed up it was all done via paper and pen, not online. I was not aware of all these extra charges which would be visited upon me if I were to cancel, and not aware of the cancellation process. I didn't even know I had an online account to cancel with, as I never did anything online. I decided to cancel, not because I was dissatisfied with their service, but simply because I am moving from Wakefield to London, and there's no Xercise4Less gyms near my new location and thus a membership would be pointless for me. My family are still members, and I have been happy with their gym up until this point with all the rigmeral. I cancelled my Direcf Debit in order to get rid of the payments, and I thought that would be that. As I said, I've been a member for 4/5 years, so I didn't even think I was in a contract anymore because it's just been rolling on and on since my initial 12 months. Obviously, because I cancelled the DD Harlands have started sending me letters about admin fees and extra payments. I rang them and told them I was happy to pay a final £9.99 for the final month, but there was no way I was going to pay the admin fees. They advised that it all needs to be paid and that they need to have a DD set up for me to cancel my contract. Where do I stand with this? Do I need to contact X4L, or Harlands again? Should I ring X4L and see what they can do? I basically just want to cancel a four year membership because I won't be feasibly using it anymore. Does it really have to be so difficult? Kind regards, Lucius