Hi Mum,

You've gotta love a trier !!

Continue to ignore

Received a letter just before Christmas dated 21/12/16

Literally word for word the letter they sent me before (see p.2 of this thread)

- with slightly different ways of numbering/arranging the paragraphs!

Following our initial letter, we are disappointed that your account for Xercise 4 Less is still in arrears and our fee has not been paid.

We would still like to reach an amicable resolution to this,

however, if you fail to respond to this letter,

we will have no option but to commence further action to recover the monies owed.

The options available to us are:

1. Legal action

We believe you are in breach of a legally binding contract with Xercise 4 Less because you have not paid your membership and fees.

We may pursue a claim under this contract through the Courts.

If we do so the following process would apply:

-We will write a formal letter explaining what we are demanding and give you a final opportunity to pay/rely;

-If this failed to settle the matter we would issue proceedings against you in the county court;

- You could then either

a) Make payment, ending the legal process, or

b) dispute some or all of the amount that was owed.

-If you dispute the amount was owed the Court process would continue, at the end of which the Court would make a decision on our claim.

- A strict Court imposed timescale would apply in relation to the Court process.

Were we to be successful in our claim,

or if you ignore the claim,

a County Court Judgement may be registered against you requiring you to make payment.

You may also be liable for our costs of pursuing legal action and interest on the amount owed.

If you then fail to pay the amount covered by the CCJ we would take the next steps required to enforce the judgement. To do this we would have to make an application to Court.

2. Outsource to External Agents.

Your account would be passed to another Collection Agency who will take further action to recover the monies owed.

YOU CAN AVOID THIS HAPPENING IF WITHIN THE NEXT 10 DAYS YOU CONTACT US ON 01444 449165 TO ARRANGE PAYMENT WITH US.

Yours sincerely

For Credit Resolution Services

Rob Avery

(An extremely badly photocopied signature!)

How do I respond to this?!

Are they likely to just pass me over to Zinc again and we do full circle?!!

Or will they do one of the other options this time?

lol!

Hope you've had a good Christmas! (I have not let this worry me!)

You most definitely IGNORE THEM!!!

It is simply computer generated garbage, spat out by a machine that they have failed to turn off.

By all means, write to your local MP and inform them of the corrupt working practices of this industry, and how it continues to harass individuals with near impunity, because they, the MP's, fail to grip the industry.

Complain to the FCA who claim to police this industry, but it really doesn't merit any response or time of day, energy or thought by you, it is a puerile, meaningless pathetic missive a computer has spat out, nothing more, nothing less.

File it away with the rest of the rubbish they send out.

Merry crimble, and a Happy New Year to you too!!

Hi Mum,

What a joke !! They say :-

We WILL write a letter but after that, it's a touch less certain :-

IF this failed .....

IF you dispute .....

WERE we to be successful .....

A ccj MAY be registered ......

You MAY also be liable for our costs ......

Just ignore this latest begging letter and keep us posted.

As I check this....another text from them....'we need to speak to you today!'

Aww, bless !!

They're gonna be soooo disappointed, that their "need" is not met !! :lol:

Forward the text to 7726 (spam) on your phones keypad.

And note their harassment in your diary for future reference and potential legal action.

Hilariously just received another letter yesterday which is almost word for word from the letter I had over 2 years ago from them:

We regret that despite our attempts to reach an amicable resolution to your account, you remain in arrears to Xercise 4 Less.

We must therefore give notice that failing to reply to this letter within the next 10 days will result in your account balance being passed to Zinc Group LTD, one of the UK's leading providers of debt recovery solutions.

WE WOULD STILL LIKE TO RESOLVE THIS MATTER

We're happy to listen to your reasons for not paying and will do whatever we can to reach an acceptable resolution for both parties. All that is required is for you to call us on 01444449165 by no later than 22th October 17 so we can discuss your account further.

Yours sincerely

For Credit Resolution Services

Rob Avery

Collection Manager

Have also had numerous texts and phone calls from them all of which I have ignored.

Hi mum,

Good old Rob !! You've gotta love a trier !!

Continue to ignore ................

Have you kept a log of contacts made by Harlands/CRS over the last 2 years and 9 months.

Your case would be a good one to take loudly to The CMA.

Also, a court claim against the gym and Harlands could be a possibility if you're interested. It would cost very little and could bring an end to the relentless demands that you've been subjected to.

You would seek nominal damages at the court's discretion for harasment.

If you're interested, let me know and I'll seek appropriate further advice for you so we could support your actions.

I'll chat to my husband and let you know. Xercise4Less has just opened a gym in the town where I have moved to. I don't want people here to suffer the same stress I had over two years ago. There is a lot of debt in this town and these kinds of organisations make me mad!

I have got all the letters they have sent me and the ones I have sent them and the receipts from the post office to say they have been sent. I have logged on here pretty much every time they have texted/rung, I'm sure there are some that are missing, but will go through my recent texts/calls and log them.

Am very happy to go ahead with complaint to CMA - and also would consider the court procedure if you could give me more details?

Hi Mum,

Have a look at Gemma's thread here - http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?472446-Exercise-4-less

When she replies, I will advise further about making a complaint to Trading Standards and/or others.

Checked my voicemail and had a message from Zinc on 21st Feb asking me to ring them and giving me a reference number.

What is my course of action here? Do I send them a letter similar to the one I sent before? Or add more to it?

Many thanks for your advise!

Hi Mum,

Just ignore the voicemail completely.

It's a shame Gemma never came with anything useful about her dealings with the gym and/or Trading Standards.

It's TS you should complain to as well as The CMA.

Also, this has been dragging on so long, can I draft you a letter to send to X4Less Head Office to stop this once and for all ?

That sounds great - yes please.

If I were to complain to the TS - what would the main points to highlight?

Did Xercise4 Less break any laws? I mean, I think they have certainly acted unfairly.....

Hi Mum,

Letter to your local TS and also send to The CMA :-

Dear sir or madam,

I write to complain about being harassed since April 2014 by :-

Harlands Services Ltd

2nd Floor, Rockwood House

9-17 Perrymount Road

Haywards Heath

West Sussex

RH16 3TW

They have been seeking payment for a gym membership I had at Xercise4Less gym in [town/city]. In addition to gym fees which Harlands wanted me to pay, they have added their own admin fees.

As well as getting demands from Harlands, they also make demands as CRS (Credit Resolution Services) but they're part of the same outfit.

They have also used the Zinc Group (a separate DCA) to make demands but they backed off quickly when challenged.

Please liaise with your TS colleagues that deal with Harlands address in West Sussex.

I am sick of getting demands and threats of court action over almost 4 years. I believe Harlands to be in breach of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 and Unfair Trading Regulations 2008.

Please confirm in writing what is being done, thank you.

Yours faithfully,

A further letter to The CMA can be sent with a slight addition :-

The CMA

Victoria House

Southampton Row

London

WC1B 4AD

Dear sir or madam,

I know you don't act on individual cases but I am aware of many hundreds of people being harassed by Harlands/CRS about gym memberships and alleged debts. Their cases are visible on The Consumer Action Group internet forum on their Gyms and Health Clubs Forum. Most cases relate to memberships with Xercise4Less gyms although Harlands represent other gym facilities.

I write to complain about being harassed since April 2014 by :-

Harlands Services Ltd

2nd Floor, Rockwood House

9-17 Perrymount Road

Haywards Heath

West Sussex

RH16 3TW

They have been seeking payment for a gym membership I had at Xercise4Less gym in [town/city]. In addition to gym fees which Harlands wanted me to pay, they have added their own admin fees.

As well as getting demands from Harlands, they also make demands as CRS (Credit Resolution Services) but they're part of the same outfit.

They have also used the Zinc Group (a separate DCA) to make demands but they backed off quickly when challenged.

Please liaise with your TS colleagues that deal with Harlands address in West Sussex.

I am sick of getting demands and threats of court action over almost 4 years. I believe Harlands to be in breach of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 and Unfair Trading Regulations 2008.

Please confirm in writing if you are able to do anything about this harassment which appears to be happening on a huge scale.

Yours faithfully,

Keep us posted.

Hi,

So Zinc have picked up their ringing of late - they ring every week now. Have been logging it.

I wrote the letters you suggested above and received this back from my local office:

Your complaint:

Protection from Harrassment Act 1997

Further to your complaint your first contact will have to be with the Citizens Advice Consumer Helpline. (They give details)

The adviser will take the required information from you and provide you with the advice you require to resolve your complaint. If any further action is required from Trading Standards, the information will be referred to the relevant local Trading Standards department for the business, as well as us, because you live in the town.

This is the process we must follow as our team do not have the capacity to assist with civil complaints and can only investigate criminal matters.

One thing to consider is when a person signs up to gym membership, they are contractually bound to pay the membership fees until the contract is properly cancelled, simply cancelling the direct debit does not render the contract null and void. If this is what you have done, you have not complied with the terms and conditions of the contract and will be liable.

If Harlands are in fact contacting you to collect a legally enforceable debt as found in Section 1(1A) © (i) and (ii) of the aforementioned Act, you will struggle to show that harassment is taking place unless they are doing more than what is reasonable to do in the circumstances.

Enforcement of the criminal provisions of the Act are dealt with by the Police so a complaint would have to be made to them, you will need to make sure you have all the information about the dates, times and frequency that Harlands are making contact.

If you would like to discuss the content of my response in more detail then please do not hestitate to contact me on the above number......etc etc.

I have still not received back a response from the CMA.

I feel as if they could go on demanding forever! I don't really worry too much now that they are going to take me to court as it would seem unlikely due to the time this has all taken, but it is very annoying to receive phone calls and letters demanding payments for something years ago - I did offer to pay them the monthly I owed them then and they did not accept it!

Are there any further steps I should take?

Hi Mum,

Most importantly, you now know that Harlands/CRS threats of action are empty. If they were ever going to take court action, it would have happened long ago !

We've been discussing this for YEARS and still the demands continue - Do you want to turn the tables and take Harlands to court to stop them forever.

Court action is a cheap and simple option and would stop the demands for good.

If you're interested, we'll back you all the way