Thanks for your reply. Sorry for this late response but I have been away for Christmas. The reason I am thinking of sending them the months money again is that I did not send the original cancellation notice by recorded delivery and therefore cannot "prove" that I sent it at all. I do have a copy of the letter as it was composed on my computer. I do not want this small amount of money to ruin my credit in the future and am totally unsure of what they can do to me in that respect. I have to say the whole thing has angered me especially since I have found out that they have a habit of doing this and there is a website devoted to Fitness First and their dodgy ways. If I do send them a cheque marked 'in full and final settlement' and they cash it is that the end of the matter?

Firstly please forgive me as I have very little idea of my rights and was hoping for a bit of friendly advise. I have canceled my membership with the gym Fitness First by sending a letter to the manager of my local branch giving one months notice and then subsequently canceling my direct debit (having allowed a payment to be made to cover that month). 3 months later a debt collection agency (C.A.R.S) have contacted me on my mobile phone to tell me I owe a months money plus about £25 extra fee as no cancellation notice was received by FF. I contacted FF directly and they said that they did not receive any communication from the manager of my local branch regarding my cancellation so they sent 3 letters to my address and receiving no response passed it on to C.A.R.S. therefore incurring an extra charge. I have several questions if someone could be kind enough to help: 1) Neither FF or CARS have my current address as I have moved house 3 times since the 3 years ago I joined. How easy is it for CARS to trace me? 2) FF refuse to contact the branch manager to check to see if he's made a mistake in not informing them. Is this unreasonable of them. 3) Is it lawful for FF to add on a £25 surcharge even though they made no effort to contact me by phone (they still had my current mobile number). When I asked them why they didn't do it they said "it is not our policy" which was pretty much their answer to everything. 4) What are my chances of defending this even though I didn't send the letter recorded post? 5) Can I send them a cheque for the months membership fee (again sigh) and refuse to pay the surcharge? If so can I make it a condition of payment that this discharges the debt and if so how do I do this? 6) Can they pursue me into court even if they cannot locate me? Any help on any of this would be greatly appreciated. PS Fitness First are really the pits:sad:

This site gives me hope that there are normal non moneygrabbing human beings in the world still who will not be stamped on by the heartless, souless cardboard cutouts at a certain company which will not remain nameless for long. Keep up the good work......