I joined Virgin Active on 29/04/2005 and paid a £50.00 joining fee together with a pro-rated fee of £38.66 and completed a monthly direct debit mandate for £39.95. I specifically asked if I could terminate the membership at any time after the 12 month 'commitment period' and was told 'yes'. At no time, was I told that the membership was an automated renewal scheme, effectively bound for life! My DD commenced on 01/06/2005 and I continued to pay this for 34 months but never attended the gym once. In February 2008, I telephoned Virgin asking to cancel my membership and was advised to place the membership on 'freeze' by paying £5.00 per month which I did. Then in April 2008 on the third anniversary of joining, I again telephoned Virgin requesting that the membership be cancelled. I was told that this was not possible and again to freeze for a further six months! Deciding that I had more than fulfilled my contractual obligations (to date an estimated £1516.00) and never having actually attended the gym as their records will show, I wrote cancelling my membership on 30/10/2008. As I received no reply to this letter I cancelled my direct debit. Only then did I receive a letter from Virgin informing me that fees were still due and that legal action would be taken if they were not met. I replied to this letter explaining my circumstances and requesting an end to the matter. My final letter from Virgin on 12/02/2009 informed me that the matter was now being dealt with by Arc (Europe) Ltd a credit management company. Today I have received a letter indicating that I must pay a further £269.70 within ten days or legal proceedings will commence. I feel that I was mis-sold the membership and coerced into signing up to an agreement with unfair terms and conditions which I am unable to terminate without further expense. Furthermore, I have been subjected to intimidating tactics by Arc (Europe) Ltd to gain further payment. I have lodged a complaint with the FOS but feel that they will be unable to help, together with the OFT and BBC's Watchdog. Any advice would be most welcome...

Me too, though it is consoling to learn from this site there are others like me! So I registered with this site straight away... My story to date:- I joined Virgin Active and their 'Diamond' membership on 29/04/2005 and paid a £50.00 joining fee together with a pro-rated fee of £38.66 and completed a monthly direct debit mandate for £39.95. I specifically asked if I could terminate the membership at any time after the 12 month 'commitment period' and was told 'yes'. At no time, was I told that the membership was an automated renewal scheme, effectively bound for life! My DD commenced on 01/06/2005 and I continued to pay this for 34 months but never attended the gym once. A fool, I know! In February 2008, I telephoned Virgin asking to cancel my membership and was advised to place the membership on 'freeze' by paying £5.00 per month which I did. Then in April 2008 on the third anniversary of joining, I again telephoned Virgin requesting that the membership be cancelled. I was told that this was not possible and again to freeze for a further six months!?! Deciding that I had more than fulfilled my contractual obligations (to date an estimated £1516.00) and never having actually attended the gym as their records will show, I wrote cancelling my membership on 30/10/2008. As I received no reply to this letter I cancelled my direct debit. Only then did I receive a letter from Virgin informing me that fees were still due and that legal action would be taken if they were not met. I replied to this letter explaining my circumstances and requesting an end to the matter. My final letter from Virgin on 12/02/2009 informed me that the matter was now being dealt with by Arc (Europe) Ltd - the 'notorious' credit management company. Today I have received a letter indicating that I must pay a further £269.70 within ten days or legal proceedings will commence. I feel that I was mis-sold the membership and coerced into signing up to an agreement with unfair terms and conditions which I am unable to terminate without further expense. Furthermore, I have been subjected to intimidating tactics by Arc (Europe) Ltd to gain further payment. I have lodged a complaint with the FOS but feel that they will be unable to help as it is not a credit agreement, and I have also complained to the consumer division of the OFT and BBC's Watchdog! Any further advice would be greatly appreciated as the whole affair is also getting to me.