Well it wasn't a free extra it was the actual membership i had signed up for, they had varying levels of membership and i chose one which gave me the use of every gym of theirs in the country. Since being taken over i can now only use the one (see above) as opposed to every single one i signed up for.

The gym in question is Fitness First and there are many different types of membership so i'm not sure whether there is an 'annual fee' as such more of an agreement to pay X per month, though i will check later. The contract states that i have signed up for the 'national' membership though and they are not providing this regardless of whether or not there is an annual cost, i am simply not receiving the service i have signed up for. I'm astounded they can do this and get away with it. Shall try and see somebody at the weekend and hope i get someone reasonable, i don't actually think i've ever seen the manager there mind! Many Thanks for the help buzby.

Thats the one i have, 12-month subscription paid monthly. Six months in they've lowered the tier yet expect me to pay for the higher tier (which no longer exists). I know people have gotten out of mobile phone contracts when terms have been changed that they do not agree with, am i able to use a similiar idea in order to get my money back?

Hi There, I'm hoping can somebody help with this. I have been a member of the same gym for nearly 2yrs, in September last year i upgraded to 'national' membership so i could use any in the country, at an additional cost of £6pm (As i visited a gym during lunch which was 15miles+ from home). A few months ago all of the gyms in my region were taken over by another company, as such my national membership ceased to be 'national' yet remained at the same price (as the takeover company are only small). Having had a chat with a "sales" person, they have stated they will alter my membership to the lower price but will not refund any overpayments for the last few months. Is there any legislation i can throw at them in order for them to refund this? I haven't come across this kind of thing before but i would expect they cannot do this? Many Thanks

Hah, it seems the region manager for my area was less than impressed with the treatment i have received and i can be expecting a refund within the next seven days. They also require the time/date of my last call to the rude member of staff yesterday so i think somebody may be getting a earful for christmas. Many thanks for the help guys.

I have already cancelled the DD and it has not been called for since (from my old bank account at least) , i did ask them to change it in June and then again once i had been charged. However they still did not do this and i had to ask for a 3rd time (early July) and make them do it there and then where it took less than 5 minutes to update. Astounding really, all this over a 2 minute job. Admittedly this did occur a few months ago however i waited to see if Halifax would indeed take the £28 charge in August, it has been a struggle since then as the branch has had the member of staff leave who was dealing with this request, as such it was put back another month orso as they really do seem to sit on stuff like this. Im hoping to see the member services manager tomorrow to discuss this hopefully she will be able to do something about it (their new branch manager starts monday). I would even accept a free month thrown on at the end of my current contract even as i recently upgraded to the national membership @ £33.95pm.

It appears Trading Standards are unable to get involved so they referred me to Consumer Advice, they have basically mentioned as before. Forward a letter giving them 14 days to pay up otherwise it will go to small claims. I understand that if i obtain the proof from my local branch showing the date on when i requested the change along with the paperwork from the bank it is quite clear they won't have a cat in hells chance of winning however it does seem extreme...yet i am still out of pocket due to their incompetence. Are there any other routes i could take? I know they may think i wont go to court over £28 but still, its the principle of the fact and i refuse to let them get away with this especially from the conversations i have had with their untrained customer service department blindly refusing without giving good reason. I have also spoken to my bank and asked if they would be able to contact Fitness firsts revenue department and advise that it IS their fault and that it IS their responsibility to refund me. I'm half tempted to cancel DD/start indemnity claim but i know that would result in this getting worse. It's extremely frustrating as any other company would put their hands up and admit its their fault and refund without hesitation however fitness first seem to be acting like children and refusing to "suffer the consequences" by not refunding a charge they caused. Why they expect me to pay baffles me.

Hi There, Good luck with their customer service team. I am currently having problems in obtaining a bank charge refund from them. Unfortunately it seems there are many uninformed members of staff in their customer service department. I've been searching for similiar cases to mine yet found many similiar to your situation. People on one year contracts and on obtaining a copy agreement from Fitness first it appears it has been altered to show much longer periods of time or where a DD has been cancelled and set up again for no reason. Its quite shocking that a large company such as Fitness first could employ such inept staff really.

I may have to speak to Trading Standards after work as i rang Fitness first on my lunch and for some inexplicable reason believe they do not have to refund the £28 'unauthorised overdraft fee' even though this was incurred due to their error. My main problem is the initial sheet used to update my details is with the actual branch, im going to obtain copies later today as i have a feeling i will need these as evidence. I have also been advised by them to contact my bank and to ask them to contact the fitness first revenue department? Though on querying this she merely said "they will speak to them" with no explanation as to why, excellent customer service i must say. The minion also refused to escalate my complaint to her manager (though thats not her decision to make) as he/she had made their decision yet not given a specific answer, all she could give me was "we arent willing to refund the unauthorised overdraft charge" with no real reasoning. Just as a sanity check, am i being completely unreasonable in expecting them to cough up for their mistake? Overdraft fee or not, its their error which caused this charge to be incurred - i dont know how easier i can make it for them without being rude? Also im quite willing to take this as far as it needs to be taken as at the end of the day its their error and i'm £28 worse off for it.

Hi There, Thanks for the help. I am not after claiming my charges back from the bank, it is more fitness first as their error has resulted in the charges. They have admitted liability in refunding the initial £35 but refuse to refund the further £28 as they feel it is too high. They also feel i should be blaming the bank even though it is clearly their fault i have incurred this charge, they have said to contact the bank and ask them to refund it whom have in turn said that fitness first should be refunding as its their fault. FF expect me to pay for their mistake and im aghast at the fact that they are trying to get away with this?

Hi There, New here and hoping somebody can help with my troubles! Also apologies as wasnt sure which forum this would fit in. I changed my bank details with fitness first a few months ago and they didn't change it before the due date (i gave them over 3 weeks notice). I then came off holiday shortly after the due date to find i'd been charged £63 by Halifax (£35 & £28 ) as they took the money from my old bank account. Suffice to say i had moved banks and this had £0 in. The company has since refunded the £35 yet are refusing to budge on the additional £28 saying i should speak to Halifax and that "there is no point ringing them again as they refuse to refund it"! Im pretty sure their not allowed to do this as its due to their errror i'm down by £28 yet they seem to think Halifax are in the wrong for charging the £28? Can somebody please advise further? I have already asked on MSE if this looks familiar however i have not had much help other than the 'send them a letter'. I did hope something so trivial could be sorted without a complaint being raised but it seems the alleged "customer service" arent very helpful. Many Thanks