As an update for all who have posted The manager at the Derby branch phoned me yesterday evening. What an ar**hole. His exact words were, "you clearly think youve caught your diseases from here, but nobody else has complained, and if there were verrucas going around loads of people would have caught them" DISEASES? This is embarrassing enough for me without being spoken to like that. I challenged him about it and I was seriously cross. There wasnt much he could say to me except relentlessly defend "his gym", which makes no difference now anyway because I've cancelled my membership. He said "Theres no point in trying to reassure you that I'll make every effort to check on the facilities, because I can see youve already reported us... " blah blah. Too right! He seems to think the ladies are spotless in one breath, but in another breath he says hes not allowed to go in there while its in use... SO HOW DOES HE KNOW?! It makes me laugh that he says he goes in to check in the evening (after the cleaners have been in and they know the boss is coming to check) All in all what difference does it make? Its a cheap gym, I think people have been going with these dirty infections, spreading it around, and because its not cleaned as it should be others are catching it. They tried to say ive caught it from somewhere else, but I dont exercise anywhere else..... I dont swim anywhere else...... I dont even walk around my apartment barefoot because Ive got laminate flooring. LA Fitness are complete con artists. They get out of every aspect of customer care by either ignoring you or speaking to you like dirt! They push you to keep going even if you have skin infections, which ultimately means you spread it to others, then they don't want to clean the place properly because that requires investment on their part...............

Thanks for your comments I completely agree with you Ive been to some lovely gyms in my time and I can honestly say I dont think its acceptable for people , particularly my GP, to dismiss them as "dirty, sweaty places" - They shouldnt be dirty - we pay enough money for private memberships! Why shouldnt the facilities be properly maintained? JJB and Bannetines are fantastic places, Ive also been to The Village Hotels gyms and theyve all been spotless. Cant praise them enough - except the cost of their memberships! I guess you really do get what you pay for. To be honest even our local Council swimming pool is 100% cleaner than LA Fitness. Ive written to Environmental Health detailing what ive seen , urging them to do an inspection of the premises. Whether they do or not I dont know, but I am going to follow it up with a phone call in a weeks time to make sure theyve received the letter and its on the 'hit list'. I dont think its fair that just because warts and verrucas are a minor health issue that everybody should be dismissive of it. Its still dirty, its still an infection... It shouldnt be happening! LA Fitness in Derby had the cheek to tell me that nobody else has complained and I'm just being fussy. ..... I highly doubt that somehow.

It will state in your T&Cs [as I have found myself!!] that any price increase needs to be confirmed with you first in writing. If they havent bothered then theyre in breach of terms and you should be entitled to cancel. One thing worth a mention is that obviously if youve signed up while they have an introductory offer on then it will likely expire and theyll start charging you more - this should be in your T&Cs which you will have signed to say you agree to. I would collect some evidence, your original agreement, maybe some bank statements to show that the charges have been going up, and then like slick132 says write to their HQ via recorded delivery and tell them youre cancelling as theyre in breach of the terms you signed & you dont wish to pay any more. For info if you havent got a copy of your original agreement their Credit Control department can send you a copy.

how can they charge you again after youve already cancelled your direct debit? i know sometimes the banks say if its due to be withdrawn within 14 days then they cant stop it, but if your DD is cancelled they shouldnt be able to take anything. If you havent signed any paperwork or agreed to any terms and conditions then I would say you can forget about it. To back yourself up I would write a quick letter to the gym explaining you agreed to 4 month terms over the phone which has now expired, you have cancelled your direct debit as theyre charging you a 5th month and you dont want to continue. You must be on their system somewhere for them to be taking money from you! If youre not on their system then they shouldnt chase you for anything.

Much as I do agree with you in that a] ive paid up so ive not helped my case and b] theyre not worth any more of my time - I dont agree because unless people really shout about it and make known how bad they are nothing gets sorted and they keep conning more people. Its unfortunate on this occasion that ive spent years rebuilding my credit rating and my personal circumstances mean that its not worth the damage they can do for £100. Otherwise I would have taken the hit and kept fighting over it. The fact ive reported them to the EHO still remains and Im going to chase that down to make sure the place is inspected, and I want to see the results if theyll release them!

Unfortunately no I havent got any photos of the condition of the place but I wish I had done. Its been months since I have attended now, as soon as I came down with the skin problems I stopped going, and I've misplaced my membership card as I havent been using it. I'm told I've got to pay £10 if I want another one so I've given up on that idea. I got another letter from them in the post yesterday saying I owe £30.60 for Januarys unpaid membership. I contacted credit control and I explained that my account was supposed to be suspended pending investigation and unresolved complaints - the lady told me she basically wasn't interested, shes just there to take payments. great. She advised that she could send me a copy of the T&Cs however my "illness" would not warrant cancellation of membership, Doctors note or not. Ive spoken to my GP about it and told them how much pressure they are applying for me to keep paying, and he said basically that its not uncommon to catch these things at the gym because theyre dirty, sweaty places, but theres no guarantee thats where its come from. SLIGHTLY coincidental though? Ive never had skin complaints in my life, and a month after attending LA fitness here they are........... Sounds like the Doctor will write me a note if I pay for one, but its just more expense & I don't think it will do me many favours. After some negotiation with LA Fitness, and advising them that I've reported the Derby site to EHO, they agreed to take £100 as payment for cancellation of the contract and they'd leave it at that. If I had continued with monthly payments it would have costed £245.12, so it was the best option. I am going to fight them over this £100 and I'm determined to get it back one way or another. I've had trouble with credit scoring in the past due to unscrupulous companies so on this occasion I felt it best to just pay them off and shut them up - although I was loathed to do so. Their Member Relations phone number is a joke - you can just hang there holding for an hour and nobody answers.

for info - I have spoken to Consumer Direct for some advice and the lady told me I should immediately reinstate my direct debit mandate as I am in breach of my contract with them regardless of what they are guilty of. She also said I would have difficulty in proving that my problems were a result of using their dirty facilities and that I should consider this! Lastly she said informing the EHO is OK if I have real concern about the hygiene there as the premises will be licensed from the council etc, but this might not be enough cause to cancel my agreement with them because it might not stipulate in my agreement that they need to keep the facilities clean?! I find it so hard to believe that a national establishment can get away with this. How can it not be in the T&Cs of a gym that they agree to keep the environment clean? I'm not happy!! Any other thoughts please?

Hi All I posted a comment about this on another LA Fitness thread so thought I would start my own, stating my case. I have no objection to the fact that I signed a 12 month membership agreement which doesn't expire until August 2011. Thought I'd clear that up first. My problem is that I have attended the Derby gym only 7 or 8 times and almost immediately I caught 2 viruses - warts on my hands and feet, and multiple verrucas. I've been to my GP, I am continuing with treatment and I'm told the above is likely to last about 6 months. I feel so embarrassed about it - its completely disgusting! (I have no prior history of either of these skin complaints - never had this in my 23 years of being!) I have complained to LA Fitness 5 times. The first 2 times were verbally to the staff on the reception desk - I was not asked to complete any complaint forms, they just said they would deal with it. This was not to tell them ive caught verrucas etc this was just to tell them the ladies absolutely stinks, theres sanitary items and hair everywhere, and the showers are blocked.....The last 3 times have been in writing. I have written letters to both the gym directly and also to Member Relations - I have copies of everything, and I have stated the health issues I have contracted. I've never received a letter in response. All I have received is an email saying nobody else has complained, the manager has tried to contact me with no success [?! NOBODY has contacted me!!] and the pool is cleaned X amount of times per day, with the gym equipment only actually being cleaned ONCE per day ?! They maintain I need to keep paying. My dilemma is, there is probably something in the T&Cs somewhere which states how often the facilities are cleaned, but where do I stand over the quality of the actual cleanliness? The Derby gym is completely disgusting and I have no intention of going back, or paying them any more of my hard earned cash. Surely they are in breach of their terms here, by not providing a safe and clean environment to exercise in? In telling me I should continue to go back and keep using it they are encouraging somebody with viral skin problems to use their facilities, thus spreading it to everyone else and increasing the risk ?! OK so I could swim in gloves and socks... but who wants to do that?! I dont want to keep attending this dirty place. Ive also caught conjunctivitis due to dirt from the pool getting into my contact lens... and I was wearing goggles !! I have applied a sting in the tail this morning and reported them to Environmental Health. I really do feel this place needs to be inspected and brought to task over these issues. I also feel they must be in breach of their terms and so I am within my rights to request cancellation due to the discomfort their negligence has caused me. What do you think??? p.s - despite horror stories over debt collection agencies, threatening letters, bad credit etc I have cancelled my direct debit. LA fitness are clearly not willing to acknowledge my issues with any degree of seriousness. I feel they have given me no choice

I feel for you - I too am in dealings with LA Fitness over membership cancellation and frustrating just isn't the word. I am involving Environmental Health with the gym at Derby. I have only attended some 7 times and almost immediately contracted 2 viral skin infections, warts and verrucas. I am 100% positive that Ive caught these from the gym. My GP will write a note at cost to me, but LA Fitness are saying this is not an acceptable 'reason' for cancellation, as it does not prevent me exercising! No concern whatsoever for the lack of cleanliness and hygiene which led to me catching this, and no concern at all for me re-attending, spreading warts and verrucas everywhere... and their other clients being put further at risk!!! The Derby gym is disgusting, ladies changing facilities stink of sewage, sanitary items and hair everywhere, when I asked the cleaner why this doesn't get sorted properly she told me it was not in her job description to pick up santiary items - in the mean time we are all treading on them BARE FOOT!? Totally unacceptable. Ive sent them 3 letters of complaint and the only response was a nonchalant email saying nobody else has complained, and the gym equipment is wiped down once per day. I have now written to environmental health urging them to inspect the premises, and I have been forced to cancel my direct debit as LA Fitness will not recognise my issues. Ive heard horror stories of debt collectors, damaged credit ratings, etc etc... but I refuse to back down over this. I'm not paying them another penny!!! Good luck with your problem, I suggest you go to your local CAB with copies of everything. If this fails just tell them you are moving abroad and therefore the membership is no longer faesible!

Hi Thanks for you responses I know ebay and paypal are not a police force or a court of law but they are still responsible for the sellers they permit to use their website. OK so they don't offer payment protection on vehicles, fair enough, but they should still be willing to accept and investigate complaints regarding vehicle traders. If Halifax [card issuer] are unable to investigate and resolve the issue then I will report it to the police but somehow I very much doubt they will be interested! It's hard enough getting them to come to your house if you've been burgled, let alone trying to convince them to act when a dodgey garage refuses to refund a no-obligation deposit! Nevertheless, I will still have a go. There is something very dodgey going on regarding this company and their name/address/trading license. The company is supposed to be a family business and the lady, when you call them using the details supplied on ebay, introduces herself as Michelle Hasseldine. They trade on ebay as MKTTrading, however they ask people to address cheques to Toons Vehicle Sales. Toons Vehicle Sales (this is the funny bit) are apparently based at 2 Canal Gate Park in Spondon, Derbyshire, but their own website directs you to a guy called Nick from CARALOT who operates out of 3 Canal Gate Park in Spondon. He claims to be nothing to do with Toons, apparently he took over a building they used to lease - yet all his details are on their website, including mobile phone number. Bearing in mind I have given him a fair bit of stick over my deposit, he maintains he knows nothing about it. If it was me, and I was the immediate neighbour of Toons Vehicle Sales... I would be telling people "their unit is next door, go hassle them and leave me out of it!" But no... and this Nick apparently knows nobody called Michelle either. This sounds like an absolute [problem] of the highest degree, untraceable names, cars that don't exist, a garage with a false name... and a website which directs you to a guy from ANOTHER company who apparently knows nothing about anyones money? Probably some sort of tax evasion scheme and a behind the scenes operation which is in place to steal as many 'deposits' from people as possible. I am in two minds, I'm tempted to drive down there with my partner and see who operates out of number 2 myself. However I don't want any confrontation! I'm going to send a letter to them recorded delivery so I can track who signs for it, other than this I suppose its police and small claims court. A lot of hassle for £100 but im determined not to let them get away with it.

Sorry to resurrect this from April but Im having big problems and wondered if anyone has been there/has any further advice? There is a company operating as a car trader on eBay as mkttrading. They are taking £100 deposit from people either through Paypal as a private transaction, cheque in the post, or payment over the phone - offering promise that its a "no obligation" deposit subject to viewing and test drive. Of course this is all outside of eBay so its not traceable. Unsurprisingly, not all of their cars are above board and one I was interested in came up bad on the HPI check. I was daft enough to pay the deposit BEFORE I did the check, but I got in touch with them ASAP and said the transaction was a no-go. A month and some 30 emails, 10 phone calls and 5 handfulls of hair later... still no response. Cant get my money back off them, so I left them bad feedback. 3 other buyers have contacted me to say they experienced the same - this company have robbed them of £100 and then refuse to pay it back simply by ignoring you. eBay and Paypal won't even let you raise a dispute on their site because vehicles are not covered under the protection policy. You cant send them a message to make a complaint because you get an automated response and they are not interested. Surely they can't just allow this fraudulent company to keep trading and stealing from people??? I have written to eBay and heard nothing. Written to paypal who are not interested, and subsequently contacted my card issuer to report the 'theft'. Halifax are looking into it but cannot promise I'll see any return. More than anything I want to see these people banned from eBay selling - Is there ANYTHING I can do?! Thanks in advance. Sarah.