Hi.. First post on here so please just let me know if I do anything wrong.

I've been reading through all the letters people have sent to Harlands etc but not sure they're specific to my situation.

I was going through a tough time financially and cancelled the Harlands direct debit without letting them know first which I acknowledge was a massive mistake and has caused some issues.

After the fine raising in price to something daft like 60 quid, I sent them this that I'd found on here -

Dear Sir/Madam

I refer to my membership at Xercise 4 Less gym in Kirkstall which was a month to month agreement. I cancelled my direct debit mandate in June but realise now that I should have given 30 days’ notice to cancel.

Cancellation of the DD mandate was adequate notice of my wish to cancel. So I now offer to pay £11.99 for the notice period.

I will not pay you any administration or cancellation fees. If you confirm in writing that you will accept the amount of £19.99 in full 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you fail to accept my offer within 14 days or you demand any higher amount, I will pay you nothing and my offer will be withdrawn.

Yours Faithfully,

Jack

From: Harlands Customer Services

Sent: 06 July 2018 10:17

*****

Subject: Important information regarding your membership payments to Xercise 4 Less

Dear Mr ***,

Please find attached a letter regarding your direct debit instruction, reference number for .... Xercise 4 Less.

If you have any questions, please call the Harlands customer service team as per the attached letter, quoting reference number

Yours sincerely,

Harlands Customer Service Team

I didn't hear anything back from that and they've carried on sending me texts / letters from Harlands to my old address.

Today Credit Resolution Services text saying "You have been sent an email from CRS regarding your account. Please check your inbox... etc."

I now receive a letter from them stating that I owe £140 pounds (Original £80, plus CRS £60 in admin fees).

Re: CRS Ref No: ****

Xercise4Less Leeds Ref. No: *****

We've been employed by Xercise4Less Leeds as your membership remains in arrears.

As a result of this, our fees totalling £ 66.50 have been added. Therefore, your account balance now stands

at £ 140.48.

WE WANT TO REACH AN AMICABLE RESOLUTION WITH YOU!

In order that we can do this, please ring our non-premium rate number - 01444 449165.

WHAT ARE THE OPTIONS?

1. You want to continue your membership - The club want nothing more than for you to get the full benefits

of your membership. You simply need to pay your arrears and either set up a new Direct debit with us

for your remaining months or rejoin Xercise4Less Leeds if your membership has expired.

You may also be entitled to a discount if you are able to settle your account balance in one payment.

2. You believe you've cancelled your membership - We understand the numerous reasons why people

stop going. We'll listen to your reasons and do everything we can to resolve your account in line with the

terms of your membership.

3. You're experiencing financial difficulties - We know times can be tough and therefore have a variety of

possible solutions to assist you, including monthly payment plans that you can afford and

recommending independent organisations that may be able to assist you in severe circumstances.

We'll cease further letters for 7 days, so please call us on 01444 449165 before then.

Yours sincerely

For Credit Resolution Services

Nuria Manson

Collections Department

Has anyone got any advice on what to reply with considering I've already sent an email saying I'll settle for £25? My monthly membership was only £9.99 and I didn't think I would have to pay any further for a service that I would not be using if I just cancelled the direct debit.

Thanks for reading!

Removed ref no's

It not a fine!

Ignore them now

Block and bounce emails

I sent them this just now -

"

I refer you to my original email, dated 26/07/2018.

I left the gym due to personal circumstances in June 2018.

I informed the gym of my circumstances and they told me to contact you.

However, I have no obligation to contact Harlands, having told the gym of my need to cancel.

I have done everything correctly as told by your staff, and have tried to contact Xcercise4Less via phone to no avail.

Again, please see my original email to yourself."

why?

don't enter into stupid letter tennis

don't use email.

it a free easyway to harass you.

sorry but you said you'd read lots of threads

you must have seen this

and the fact it is not a fine

you cant be absorbing basic advice

IGNORE THEM!!

Hi Jack and welcome to CAG

The email in post #3 above makes little sense if it was sent to CRS.

But DX is right - ignore Harlands/CRS for now and send no more emails.

So... Like a lot of people on here I messed up and cancelled my direct debit without letting them know. But you know what? They're a gym, THEY SHOULDN'T HAVE THIS MUCH POWER OVER PEOPLE.

I've tried a few of the template letters on here and blocked their numbers but they still keep leaving me voicemails trying to get me to ring them. I've even emailed the manager at my xercise4less an email stating that I'm being harassed by them.

Today they even left a voicemail but pretended the signal BROKE when saying their company name to try and entice me into ringing.

They've not sent me any letters yet but keep sending emails and I really can't be bothered with it anymore. They don't even say how much I owe them anymore as I think they just want contact so they can hit me with it then.

Anyway, anything that I can do to stop this in terms of it starting to become harassment?

Thanks

Jack

block their email address and bounce then back too.

keep a log of everything

you could try embarrassment on social media on the gyms facebook and twitter feed accounts.

last resort is a court case which I think we've seen win here before

how long has this been going on>

hidtory please.

two threads merged

I see you've already been told all this above.

don't forget it all a DCA can do is harass you

they've ZERO legal powers

and are NOT A BAILIFF

and NEVER CAN BE

dx

Jump onto social media and embarrass the gym on there.

Also lodge a formal complaint with the gym and ensure they're fully aware that they are ultimately responsible for the criminal offence of harassment that their chosen third is committing, and should you choose to bring any legal action against Harlands then the gym will answer to the judge also.

Hi Jack,

You need to understand - the gym " ........ has no power over you at all" !!

This has very little to do with the gym. Harlands/CRS make vastly more money from you in admin fees than they do in taking a small percentage of monthly gym fees that they collect by DD.

Continue to ignore Harlands/CRS and all contact methods they try.

If you want to put an end to the harassment, a Small Claims court action would be the best course of action. If you want to do this, let us know.

 

Today they even left a voicemail but pretended the signal BROKE when saying their company name to try and entice me into ringing.

 

 

Jack

They've been doing this with me too but their area code number usually starts with 01444 so I know it's them