I joined Xercise 4 Less in January 2014, and paid £9.99 a month for 12 months. It was in January this year (2015) that I decided to cancel my membership. I cancelled by physically entering the gym and handing over a written statement saying I wanted to terminate my membership. This was then accepted by a member of staff who told me everything had gone through and I would be charged for the next 30 days (as I had to give notice) but this would be one final one off payment then I would no longer be charged, which I accepted. I waited for the February payment to be taken as expected, and only after this did I cancel my direct debit as I was under the impression from Xercise 4 Less that my membership had been successfully cancelled. However, 2 days ago I received a letter from Harlands stating that my payment for March had been returned unpaid 'instruction cancelled' and they would be charging me £9.99 for my 'unpaid' instalment and a £25.00 administration fee!! They also say if I do not pay by 26 March I will be charged another £25 admin fee!! I contacted Xercise 4 Less and explained the situation, they then proceeded to tell me that they couldn't find any 'record' of my cancelled membership on my file and basically accused me of lying. I told the member of staff the exact date and time I came into cancel and she said she would check CCTV (as proof) and call me back first thing this morning to confirm. Alas, I received no phone call (what a surprise!) and am now left with an unfair letter and a lot of unnecessary stress!! Any advice would be much appreciated, as I'm sure Xercise 4 Less are in some sort of breach of contract here somewhere along the line!! Many thanks

Hello everyone! I am looking for some advice. 2 years ago I joined a Fit4less gym. When i joined, there were no joining fees an it was advertised as "no contract". Sure enough, i gave over my card details and a regular payment of £19.99 came out of my account every month. A few months ago i decide that i wanted to quit the Gym so i simply stopped the payment from coming out of my account. I then received a letter and email from Fit4less basically explaining that unless i give 1 month notice and cancel my membership in writing then they will get the debt collectors involved. So i guess i'm asking, are they allowed to get any form of debt collector in at all? I would like to point out that i didn't sign a single piece of paper nor consent to any "contract". Could this just be a clause in their TOS? Any advice would be much appreciated! If you need to know anything more then please ask! Thank you!

Hi, I took out a 14 day trial of David lloyds gym. I suffered a shock Bereavement so did not attend the gym as regularly as I would have liked. I attended in the last hour of my final day of trial. I formed salesman wanted to see me prior to me using the gym. Aggressive sales tactics ensued which were bullying. I informed the salesman that I did not want to join that nite... I told him I had had a recent sudden Bereavement and was tired and had come in to use the pool to relax. I also told him I had not been a to use the classes so was unable to decide if the gym was for me. More sales tactics. I was sent home to get my debit card. I returned stating I did not want to join. He then said he could take a joining fee but not submit my membership... He would give me three one day passes to use over the weekend. If I did not contact him on the Monday he would not submit my membership into the system. He also said there was a 7 day cooling off period. I was eventually worn down and gave debit card for the joining fee. I felt cornered... There was no way he was going to let me leave and he was not listening to what I was saying. I was mentally exhausted. I was given no copy of paperwork. As I left I turned round to notice him sniggering with a male colleague. I felt bullied into submission. This left me not feeling inclined to join the gym. Therefore I did not use the three one day passes. I Di not contact him by phone on the Monday saying I wanted to join. I sent a letter explaini g the above and stating I did not want to join the gym. 4 months later I find out two dd payments have been taken from my bank. I cancelled the dd. I wrote a letter to the salesman stating this must be an administrative error and to refund me my money. I have had no response from gym but not long after my letter... I have been contacted by arc europe chasing me for a ridiculous amount of money. A particular chap has been very aggressive on the phone. I have been threatened with solicitors. I have a long term disability which is being exacerbated by what I can only call this fraudulent sale by this salesman who is obviously more interested in his commission than acting professionally. Would appreciate any advice. Would appreciate any advice?

Hello, I was wondering if anyone could possibly help me with an issue I'm having with Harlands. I joined the xcercise4less Gym last year in around June 2014, ending my membership around August 2014 (not sure on exact dates at the moment however I'm sure I can retrieve these. After getting into financial difficulties I cancelled my DD with xcercise4less in around August meaning they could not collect my monthly membership fee. I fully accept that in hindsight, this was not the right thing to do and I should have given the 30 days notice as per the contract. After cancelling the DD i received a letter from Harlands advising that I owed them a £25 administration fee for the DD cancellation plus the monthly membership fee for xcercise4less which I think was around £19.99. Following some online research I noticed a lot of complaints about Harlands and their so called administration fees. I did eventually contact Harlands and paid the £19.99 and advised I would pay the fee the following week. I also sent a letter to my gym confirming my membership cancellation, that I'd paid the outstanding £19.99 to Harlands and that I should no longer be liable for any payments to xcercise4less. The following week I attempted to call Harlands on three occasions to make the payment. All times I was kept on hold for a ridiculous amount of time (I have screenshots of the call attempts I made). After the last call I emailed them to advise that I would no longer be wasting my money to call them and they could contact me to collect the fee. I also advised that I would only be paying £25 and no added charges as I had attempted to call them. I received 2 automated replies from them stating something along the lines of call the following number to speak with us (despite me clearly advising them I wouldn't be ringing again). I have since received another letter from them advising that I owe them £44.99 (19.99 for my apparent missed installation for December plus 25 administration fees). They've advised that in order to cancel my membership I need to pay £64.98 (the above plus a further 19.99 to cancel) which is absolutely ridiculous. Can they do this? I'm starting to get quite worried and anxious about it all! Any help would be much appreciated. Regards, Sarah.

Hi all, My partner signed up to a local gym recently with a friend, upon signing up they were told it was a 12 month contract with the first month free. They were also told they had 30 days to try the gym out and could cancel if they didn't like it. My partner and her friend attended the gym twice over the next 4days but it became apparent that the gym was far too busy at peak times and there was a large amount males that made my partner anxious and uncomfortable (she suffered from anxiety). My partners friend phoned up with 5days of signing up and was told she could not cancel but they did transfer her membership to another gym. When we phoned up to cancel under the grounds of misrepresentation and that my partner did not feel comfortable but they said she had signed a contract and we had no legal grounds to stand on. They did offer to move our membership but the gym was too far away , they also offered an induction session but after dispute and accusing the staff of miss representation my partner feels mor anxious than ever and cannot return for fear of anxiety attack. I haven emailed a number of times now and have offered to pay the gym any costs for signing and cancelling the membership along with a month for the 2days , an offer I think reasonable given the circumstances. My complaint has now moved from their membership department to their operations manager who has said he has looked into our complaint and our accusations are without evidence and our membership still stands. They have said if we cancel our direct debit they will immediately order the bailiffs in- something I really want to avoid as this will not help my partners anxiety !! What's even more frustrating is that this gym is a a trading name of a council funded charity ! (Run for the good of the community) What I really want to know is do we have a case here, can bailiffs be appointed when we are disputing the validity of the contract on the grounds of miss-selling. And can bailiffs even collect on a debit agreement if it is cancelled before the start date (February). Part of me is tempted to give in but this is£312 we do not have. Any advice will be much appreciated .

Hello, This is my first time posting on here and I'm new to all this! I signed up to a gym membership with DW Fitness a few months ago. Unfortunately I lost my job a couple of months into my membership. I checked my contract and it stated this is a valid reason to cancel my membership. The first thing I did was cancel my Direct Debit and then I contacted the gym to inform them of my change in circumstances and requested to cancel my membership. They replied by saying I had arrears for the month of July and had to pay one month calender's fee. My monthly Membership was £34.00. They also requested a letter from my former employer proving the loss of my job. I asked them whether the one month calender fee was from the date of cancellation (early July) or the full month of August and could they give me the figure I owed them and I then stated I would be happy to pay the the remaining fees and supply the letter from my former employer. I didn't hear anything back from them for several weeks when eventually I received a phone call from ARC Europe LTD. They stated they were now handling the matter and demanded I pay £195. I stated that I had never heard of them and that I was dealing with the matter with DW Fitness directly and had been waiting for a reply from DW Fitness. They said they had sent me a letter explaining they were now dealing with the debt (I never received this letter). I explained I was uncomfortable dealing with them as I had no idea who they were and that the figure they stated I owed was incorrect. Another week passed with no contact from either company but I have now received a letter from ARC Europe demanding I pay the full amount within 10 days or they would be referring to matter to their Solicitor 'Major and Co' who would proceed to take a CCJ against me and if successful I would be required to pay £195 plus 8% interest and £75 legal fees.. I'm completely unsure on what I should do here and which company I should contact if any. Any help would be completely appreciated. After the way they have acted I don't feel I want to pay them anything, it's disgusting. Thanks

Hi all, After some advice regarding LA Fitness and cancelling my gym membership with them. I am sorry upfront but this is going to be rather long as I want to give all the information. I joined an LA Fitness gym in Bedford on 11/06/2014. This was under a rolling 1 month contract. I paid monthly via a direct debit which comes out of my account the 31st of every month. I received an email from LA Fitness on 29th October 2014 to inform me that my gym was closing on 14th November 2014. LA Fitness informed me in the email that: LA Fitness had 2 gym's in my town, they shut the one I went to and transferred the membership to the other one. The gym's are not that far apart, only about 2 miles at most. I called the membership line on the 30th October 2014 to ask a few questions. I was worried as I biked to the gym, about where I could leave my bike at the new gym and whether the gym would be suitable for my needs, and about the cost of the new gym. I was told the cost would stay the same and the re-assured me over the bike situation. I went up to the new gym on Saturday 15th November and it seemed okay, nice and clean etc. The problem came when I went to go last night, Tuesday 18th November. Although the gym's are not far apart (and as I said I bike there on my way home from work), it is quite a bit out of my way for biking home. It took me about 20 mins longer to get to the new gym, different route and much more traffic. And, when I got in the gym at about 6.45pm, it was very, very busy (as you might expect I guess). I had to wait up to 20 minutes to get on some pieces of equipment, and I generally did not like it. Which comes to me phoning up the membership services helpline today to cancel my membership (as my terms and conditions state I should). I explained to the lady on the phone that I had nowhere to leave my bike when I got to the gym (there is a bike rack, but it was full), it is not convenient for me (the sole reason I joined the original LA gym was that it was on my bike route to and from work) and I generally didn't get on well there last night. She said that I could cancel but I need to give 30 calendar days notice and therefore my membership would not end until December 31st 2015. Again, my terms and conditions state that notice on the first day of the month following receipt of notice of termination, so again, they are right. However, do I have any rights here as they have shut my 'Home' gym? I have no wish to go up there again. They only gave me 2 days notice that they were going to shut my 'Home' gym before they took a full months payment (the gym didn't shut for another 2 weeks so had use of my home gym for 2 weeks). I tried to argue that giving notice was irrelevant as I no longer had a home gym. She said in the terms and conditions it allows them to move me to another gym. The only bit I can see that possibly refers to this is: But, not sure if that is what she is referring to? Sorry this is rather long winded, but wanted to give as much info as possible. can I get out of giving them the notice they say I owe as the transfer isn't suitable for me. Many Thanks.

I bought a Student Gym Membership from the university I attend for £165. Since I've joined I have been there twice and decided it's not for me. Also the workload at university is increasing, I'm in there everyday and work a part time job so finding time to go to the gym is a struggle. When I signed up I had some spare time but the workload has increased. The payment went through on 3/10/2014 22 days ago. The iffy bit is that in there contract under the refunds/cancellation section it reads, "Refunds of membership fees and early cancellation of memberships will only be permitted in exceptional circumstances and at the sole discretion of . " Am I able to get some sort of refund? I paid with Debit card and received receipts from them. Thanks for any advice on the situation.

Few Months ago I cancelled my gym membership as I started a new job. I just cancelled the Direct Debit. I just thought it would be cancelled as it was a monthly contract. They have however sent me a letter which I ignored. Then they sent me this letter attached which doesn't seem to make sense where they got the default figure from and I haven't received a default notice either. I do not recall harlands holding a consumer credit license. Can I send them a CCA Request? Im happy to just pat the 12.99 no more as I feel they made up the rest as they went along. Any suggestions? When I initially signed up to the gym it was done online and I do not have any recollection of signing up with harlands. Nor do I have any terms and conditions sent to me as part of the welcome or signup email.

Cancelled membership at DW by letter (normal post), called to check rec'd letter but mgr would called me back if probs as not there. No call rec'd. Another DD taken so sent further letter and cancelled DD. Ltr from gym demanding money. Rang again but no call back. Ltr from ARC. Called ARC and said I'd sent ltrs and called. Called DW and mgr busy. Call received from ARC saying they'd spoke to gym and initial ltr not rec'd so insufficient notice given. Apparently onus on me to check ltr rec'd and no proof I sent it but pointed out no proof they hadn't so my word against theirs! Am I less honourable! Called DW again and mgr answered phone. He wouldn't budge. Said my fault and I can't prove I sent it (apart from copy I have). Two days later and today rec'd ltr from sols in Nottingham with added expenses! Where do I stand and have others succeeded in their disputes like this? Do I have to pay admin charges and sols fees? Thank you

Hello, I'm new on this forum so welcome all users . I have some problems with Gold's Gym. Me and my wife was on 12 month contract with Gold's Gym and after finish of contract we cancel membership. I spoke with the gym, but they told me that they need to charge for extra one month for nothing of course just because I call to late in their opinion. I didn't want to pay as I don't even use gym from 6 months as we have a baby and just pay it to not have problem with cancel chargers, but want to cancel it immediately after. I cancel direct debit and forget about it, but now some bailiffs send me and my wife letters that from 2x£35 monthly pay they wont from me 2x£167! Company called Credit Resolutions Services (CRS) send me a letter that if I will not pay it or make dispute or they will register CCJ against me. My wife have same letter. Should I worried or ignore it? They also calling me and texting. I don't know what to do

I would really really appreciate some help, as my gym owe me £2250 and will not refund me my money! I am very stressed about the situation and do not know what to do. In March 2013, I took out a 3-month membership with my local pilates studio. This cost £250 per month, for 8 classes. Over the next three months of the membership I managed to use 18 classes of the 24 that comprised the 3 month membership. However, in May (just before the 3 month membership expired), I advised the studio by email that I had to go into hospital so "I am not sure when I will be able to resume exercise, so it is probably best if I cancel for now. I think I have some classes remaining from my 3 month course - I will be in touch when I am well enough to use them." My clear intention was that I no longer wished to continue my membership. However, the studio continued to take £250 from my account each month. This is on the grounds that their contracts states "This is a 3 month agreement, which will thereafter be renewed on a monthly basis... After successful completion of the initial core period the member may cancel this agreement by sending a written confirmation to the studio before the first day of the final month of membership." I failed to see that the studio was continuing to take money out of my account as I was first in hospital, and then suffered a bereavement - it was a really difficult time personally, was not as on top of my finances as I would usually be (yes, I know!). Plus, in my mind, I had written to cancel so had no reasonable grounds to believe that they would still be taking money from me. In February 2014, I realised what had been happening and wrote to the studio, telling them that they owed me nine months worth of fees, ie £2250. They responded in March 2014, saying that they could not find a copy of my written cancellation confirmation as they had not been able to find this in their records. They said that in the absence of written confirmation, I had a total of 86 unused classes in my account. In April 2014, I had some time off work, and decided that as a gesture of goodwill I should use up some of the classes (I had thought that £2250 was a large amount for the studio to have to repay therefore if I used some of them up it would show willing). I managed to use up a further 24 classes during April and May. However during this time three things happened: 1. In May I suffered an injury during a class with one of the instructors. I had some physio to help the muscle. However I cancelled all my classes with that instructor and refused to schedule any more with him (that was the only class I had had with that instructor and I was not confident in their abilities). 2. I continued classes with the other three instructors that I did trust. However in June I had a class with another new instructor, and suffered two sprained ribs. This was very painful and again, I had to have physio. I told the studio that I would not take classes with that instructor again. 3. During this period, I had found it increasingly difficult to get a class when I wanted one. I repeatedly told the studio that I had seven hours a week when I was available to take a class . They repeatedly told me that they did not have any classes available for me then, and kept offering me classes at other times (eg during the working day, when I was at work!). I have numerous emails between me and them documenting this. As a result of both the injuries which caused me to lose faith in the studio, and the fact that they couldn't actually provide me with any classes, in June I decided that I had done enough to try and use up my classes and now wished to be refunded the remainder. I therefore wrote again to the studio, telling them this, and that I therefore wished to be refunded for my remaining 62 classes - a total of £1940. I enclosed a copy of the email that I had sent them in May 2013 cancelling my membership. In September, I received a response from them. They said: 1. they required a written confirmation sent to the studio address. The email could not be taken as cancellation, as "it refers to the cancellation and re-scheduling of classes but does not refer to the cancellation of your membership contract." I don't think this is right - my email could not have been taken as referring to cancelling classes, as at that point I did not have any classes booked to cancel, therefore it should reasonably have been taken as meaning my contract. Surely if they thought I meant cancelling classes, as they say they did, then they would have responded to say that I didn't have any classes to cancel? 2. That "classes were used during this period (from April to December 2014) which in law is described as a continuation of a contract". I clearly had no idea it would be taken a continuation of a contract - I had thought I was doing them a favour by using up some classes so they had to repay me less - so much for a gesture of goodwill! 3. That "as goodwill, they can offer me either to use up my remaining 62 classes or to cancel my membership and lose all my money". I don't see how offering me to lose all my money can be described as a goodwill gesture! I also cannot use up my classes, as they have repeatedly told me that they cannot give me a class when I am available to take a class. (In addition, after not one but two injuries I have lost all faith in them.) I really am at a loss as to what to do, and am very stressed about the situation. I presume my only option is to take them to the small claims court on the grounds that (1) I did cancel my membership (2) they cannot fulfill their part of the contract because they can not provide me with a class when I can take a class and (3) loss of faith due to injuries (and I have not attempted to reclaim the cost of my physio which I had to have as a result of the injuries, which totalled around £750). Does that sound right? I would really appreciate any advice - I obviously cannot afford to just write off nearly £2000, as they seem to be suggesting!

Hi, I'd be grateful for any advice you could give me for a problem I'm having with my gym cancellation. I joined Reebok Gym in Mar 2014 on a rolling contract with no minimum period. After 3 months I wished to cancel the contract as I was due to have a foot operation and would be unable to use the Gym. I'd been previously told by the Gym that they only required a weeks notice but when I tried to cancel I was told that I was 4 days too late for that months cancellation and that I would need to pay for another full month's use of the Gym. They said that the weeks notice was for a payment holiday, i.e. not using the gym for a short period, not for cancelling the contract as I wished to do so. I signed the cancellation as they requested and went home and cancelled my direct debit as I felt it unfair that I should have to pay for a full month when they had told me verbally that a week was all that was required. Reebok sent me an email or two saying that they had not received the payment - which I ignored (as I did not use the gym at all ) I didn't hear anything from them for a couple of months and now I'm receiving letters and text messages from ARC insisting that I should pay and my fee has gone from the £146 to £172 and also threatening to take me to court. I object to paying the £146 cancellation fee as I maintain I was told verbally that only a weeks notice was required but accept that the contract states a months notice, if this the correct thing to do I am prepared to do this. However should I also have to pay the fee that ARC have applied? If I do not could it affect my credit rating? Can they take me to court? Any help, much appreciated.

Hi, I joined a gym 6 days ago and having re-read the contact I'm not very happy with it. I'm presuming I may not have the right to cancel but would like any advice offered. The reason I joined the gym was that it was suggested by my GP, as I'm suffering from depression and on ESA. When I went in and joined I wasn't really in a great frame of mind but that's not an excuse for me signing the contract. I signed up for a 36 Month Membership at £15/month, it was reduced from their normal rate of £30/month and I though that I would be able to cancel after 12 months (with 30 days written notice) without problems, as the guy said I was committing for a minimum of 12 months. I've re-read the terms of the contact and if I cancel at month 13 I'm required to pay the difference between what I had paid (12x£15=£180) and what I would have paid at full price (13x£30=£390) so that would be £210. It seems a very bad deal and I'm not sure I can now get out of it, its 6 days since I signed it and the bloke at the gym made sure I signed the front and back of the contract on all pages. I also paid a £70 membership fee. Any advice would be helpful. Thanks

Hi, I am wondering if you can help me here, I am currently a member of a kick boxing gym in the West of Scotland. I signed up to a 12 month membership 10/04/13 at £60 per month. Due to tearing ligaments in my ankle in June 2014 I spoke to the owner of the gym who kindly froze my membership until the start of this November. Since being injured I have decided that I no longer wish to continue kick boxing so now want to cancel my membership as £60 is alot of money for something my heart is no longer interested in doing. Now when signing my contract I was led to believe that it would be a year's membership and then go onto a monthly rolling contract from then. Looking at the small print on the back it is saying that I would need to pay a cancellation fee equal to three months training (£180!). As you can imagine I do not want to pay £180 out of pocket. Can any knowledgeable people advise me on the best course of action and whether a three month cancellation fee is lawful and enforceable? Would speaking to the owner of the gym be the best option, or would dealing with Harlands directly be better? Thanks in advance. Liam

Hi there, This is really just a small story about the problems I've had with Lloyds gym since I cancelled my contract. I knew last August that I was going into hospital to get major reconstructive surgery on my leg, I got my date(8th April) so on 26th Feb I contacted the club and told them my situation that I was going to have mobility problems and would not be able to use the club for at least the next 4-5 months. the membership manger told me I had 2 options , that I could keep my membership going and pay 25% of my normal amount, but while paying this I could not use the gym/pool/classes, as I knew I'm not allowed to drive and I'm pretty much stuck in the house I told her this would be silly for me to pay this, also as I'm having to be off for at least 9 months I've had to enter a debit management plan so I could not justify this cost. The other option was 3 months cancelation notice, I asked her I thought it was only 1 month, but she said that it was 3 months so I said ok. The day before I was due to go in for my operation central membership called me as I had not paid Aprils fee, as I had to change my bank account, while on the phone I mentioned to them that I thought it was only 1 months cancelation and they told me this was only the case if I was medically unable to use the gym, I told them this was the case and left it there. I got out of hospital on 18th April and contacted the club and told them what I'd been told and asked for them to send me a copy of my contract, which they did and clearly shows about the medical 1 month notice, I got back in touch and pointed out that she had not told me about this in February and sent them a photo of my leg, she got back to me right away and said that if I sent her medical evidence she would cancel my membership, but I needed to pay April's fees first otherwise she could not do anything, I got back to her and complained that if she had told me about the 1 months medical cancelation when I first phoned I would have sent it off to them thus as I had paid March's fees I would not own them anything. Despite telling them this several times they have insisted that I own them money and have passed this to a recovery agency. I recently spoke with the club manager and he was like everyone else, he backed his member of staff and said it was my fault and why had I not been in contact with them more and that I could have resolved this, I explained to him that I was going through hell and had been in and out of hospital several times and had more to worry about that them, and the only resolution that suits them involves the payment of money to them. In January I had used their website to send him a message, which he says he never received, and which he started getting a wee bit aggressive about to say the least, he was upset that I had contacted the head office and he was very defensive and that he does not believe his member of staff could be mistaken, so basically calling me a liar. In conclusion I've told them that I'm happy to go to court about this, as if given the option for paying 3 months or 1 month they are saying I chose 3 months, it just doesn't make sense but they are just not willing to move there position, and I feel like I've been treated like a number even though I've paid my membership every month for years and would have went back to them next year, not anymore that's for sure, I just think they will do anything to squeeze as much money out of you. Also the head office always passes the issue over back to people at the club, and they just keep saying the same thing. If anyone has a good e-mail address for Lloyds or advice on how to procede it would be most helpful.....they have passed the £130 they say I owe to ARC who have added £70 charges to this many thanks in advance Alec

Hello I rang up my gym last month to inform them that I would like to cancel my membership. They responded by saying to me I can either cancel the direct debit or go down to the gym and cancel it there (they needed me to fill out a cancellation form). As the gym is out of my way as I have moved jobs I decided to cancel the direct debit. I have now received a letter from Harlands stating I owe them 19.99 and £25 admin fee. I have now realized after cancelling my membership that I cancelled it a month early, this explains the letter I think. I signed up for a 12 month contact for 19.99 which started on 28/8/13 and first debit was 14/9/13. This confusion in me cancelling early was that the direct debit had been going for 16+ months on the account as I was on a student membership prior. The reason or my cancellation is the gym isn't properly vented (doesn't seem it if it is) which means the smell is horrific (late night when I attended). This has caused me to leave early feeling nauseated on multiple occasions and I did go sick which then caused me to stopped me attending (about 2 months). I have read a couple of the threads on here however I am unsure what I should. I don't mind paying the last month membership as I realize I cancelled early as it was a 12 month contract and I cancelled after 11. Do I have to pay the admin fee? Could anyone please offer any advice? Thank you for any advice given in advanced.

Hi everyone, I really could do with some advice - I've read a huge number of threads here about issues with Harlands and Credit Resolution Services but am unclear on what would be the best way forward for me. I was getting frustrated with my gym 6 months into a 12 month membership - they didn't have any way to independently access the gym no keycards etc and often couldn't find my membership on what was quite literally a tatty piece of paper on their desk. So, foolishly, I cancelled my direct debit and stopped attending the gym. When I joined, it was never really explained what I was signing up for and I didn't realise the consequences of just cancelling the direct debit. I thought no more of it until yesterday I received a letter from Credit Resolution Services claiming I owe them £236.42. Since, I've missed three direct debit payments of £14.99 this is an apparent £200+ arrears on an amount of £44.97. I've been reading through everything to work out what I should do. Options seem to be - send a formal letter to CRS asking for the credit agreement etc., contact the gym and attempt to resolve through them or ignore completely. A friend of mine who is a solicitor (but family law not credit agreements) told me to just ignore the letters and that if I respond I'll only get drawn into a protracted series of correspondence. But I'm concerned that if I do this I may end up with a CCJ or people knocking on my door. I have a 6 year old daughter so don't want a doorstep confrontation and I'm hoping to buy a house soon and so don't want my credit rating impacted by anything these jokers attempt. I'm happy to settle up the £45 missed direct debits and carry on paying the direct debit (provided this does mean access to the gym) but there's no way I'm paying an amount 6 times the debt. What should I do? Thanks everyone, K

My daughter joined Fit 4 Free in June this year for 12 months. She wasn't working and had the time and enough money to attend the gym and pay the monthly fee. In July she started an apprenticeship at £3.50 an hour. She works miles from home and didn't have time to go to the gym as she works shifts and more importantly she can no longer afford the monthly fee. She sent a letter explaining all this and they wrote back asking for proof of her new address. They obviously hadn't read the letter so she wrote again with all the same info and asking for some consideration of her dilemma. She cancelled her DD in September and has received a letter threatening debt collectors, even though she is still waiting for a reply to her second letter. Any and all advice would be welcome. Thank you LT

Hi, I recently cancelled a gym membership by just cancelling the direct debit as I was about to go overdrawn. I was supposed to give a month's notice which I didn't do so I am prepared to pay them two month's membership. However, they are charging me £50 for missing the two payments and I am wondering if I can contest these 'administration' charges? They are already threatening me with debt recovery companies because I haven't paid yet. In addition to the fact I was about to go overdrawn, the gym was also frequently never open on time, something that many people have complained about and I was wondering if I could mention this in my correspondence if I contest the administration charges? Thanks in advance for any advice.

My daughter & her family cancelled their membership with David LLoyd, giving the required 3 months notice taking them to the end of May. Their son was having swimming lessons their at an extra cost to them. They re-booked his lessons in March and these should have continued until the end of July. David Lloyd are saying that he can't continue with his lessons, nor will the refund the balance. At no time were they told that this would happen. The response they have had is as follows:- Unfortunately as per my recent conversation with your wife we are unable to refund you for any outstanding swimming lessons. Swimming lessons are: Booked in advanced for the whole term. By doing so you are securing your place on the programme. Swimming lessons are only available provided you are a member. If you cancel your membership during the term the lessons are not refundable as the place on the programme has already been sold. Our terms and condition relater to your ‘membership’ not our products. I can see that your son has been swimming with us since June 2013 and you have subsequently gone through two re-booking windows. You re-booked in November 2013 and March 2014. I am surprised that in March you believed you were paying for a term that would only run up until the recent May half term, given you have booked and took part in previous terms that would have ran for a minim of 12 weeks. During each re-booking window, our instructor issue report cards, re-book letter, send emails, text messages and set up displays in club detailing the length of the term. I am sorry that this is probably not the outcome you are looking for, however we have to be fair and consistent to all our members. Should you re-join the club in the future I am happy to honour the lessons and will make suitable arrangements. Can they do this? Oh and as for the reports cards etc. none of that has ever happened!!!

Your team's invaluable advice and slicks letter has got me so far now I am stuck and forced to make a thread about my very unique situation. Here the key points: I had been paying monthly to Gold's after initial 12 month fixed period, I moved to USA temporarily last year in Jan 2013. I returned for 1 month to UK and called to cancel (big mistake) in August 2013. I was told my membership was cancelled. I cancelled my DD and a month later i get a £25 admin charge on top of usual bill, I called again (big mistake i know) to tell them I had already called to cancel a month ago so I was AGAIN told my membership was cancelled and i did not have to pay anything. I get back to the UK and this year I get a letter in April 2014 from CRS demanding payment of £400, that's 8 Months later. The letter says 'despite previous letters sent to you' but i have not received any, if i did i would have paid an extra month off last year. OFT Consumer advice said i should speak to Gold's not CRS as the contract was with Gold's. I wrote a letter via recorded delivery requesting a true copy of my contract within 7 days and explained to them the situation: that their advisors had told me on TWO occasions that my membership was cancelled and i was never notified about the cancellation process when they sold me the contract nor the TWO times i called to cancel. I mentioned that Harlands Group that handles the payments and CRS as well signed an OFT agreement with the following terms saying they in breach if : 2. Failing to contractually require its clients (i.e. Golds Gym) to notify prospective members in the sales process, whether ORALLY or in writing, key features of the membership including but not limited to length and cancellation rights. The scanned true copy of that doc is here(this may help others): w w w. oft . gov. uk / shared_oft /consumer-enforcement /Harlands-undertakings . pdf Now, Gold's Gym have written back ignoring everything. Simply stating "please refer to t&C 10a for more infomation' they have quoted the part that says they require 30 days written notice. They also say management contacted me but after no response they referred me to CRS and said any documents with reference to your membership please contact CRS. No copy of contract and no reply to my allegations. I am stuck now. Legally I should have a written notice because i signed. But since this new agreement with OFT isn't there some way I can sort this out ? Also they have not sent any previous letters, I am unemployed since returning from USA and they let the debt build up before telling me 8 months later. In addition I called Golds twice and they still didn't inform me of the process and lied. Golds gym have also told me my membership is not cancelled until I pay my account balance with CRS, then they require a written notice. I am ignoring that and doing it right now. Please help if you can.

Hi, I have just signed up for some advice as my mother is panicking after receiving phone calls from a company called TNC. She had a gym membership that ran until October 2013, and I served 30 days notice in the form of a letter last September (so far all was well) last month a company got in touch over the phone stating that my mother owes several hundreds of pounds due to the gym not receiving the letter of notice. My mum was about to pay when I asked to speak to them, and said I infact wrote the letter as my mum isn't the best on computers and sent it off on her behalf. Just this morning TNC have been in touch again saying they have been back in touch with the gym and no such letter was received. I clarified that I posted this and as such I considered the matter closed and was not going to acknowledge this alleged debt. I also stated that I no longer wish for my mother to be harassed by telephone and if they had anything to say they should put it in writing. The agent must have took exception to this and called back no less than six times within 30 minutes, demanding to know what knowledge I have on the subject, asking for my job details etc. I have been in touch with a debt helpline on behalf of my old dear who said to write a letter to the gym stating my mothers issue. I have drafted this. I would like to know if anyone has any input or assistance they could offer on the matter as my mum is panicking and wanting to pay hundreds for the sake of a £15 a month gym membership that she cancelled off when she could. The debt collection agency also have the wrong address for us a s in they have avenue instead of grove for us if this makes any difference as I asked them for clarity regarding this when on the phone in the early stages.

Well the story begins as i signed up to Fitspace Gym in May 2013. i signed up to the 12 month contract as it was cheaper and as a young student in college i didnt have enough to pay for alternative membership monthly. the first instalment was collected on May 26 2013 (£23.99) then commencing 16 June 2013 (£13.99 every 16th day of each month until october 16 2014). the gym was pretty awful and dingy for example none of the weights had an indication what weight they actually were do to wear and tear and all the equipment being so old. Well i paid the dd regularly until the first week of September 2013 in which i cancelled it due to the fact i unexpectedly was offered a place at a university (115+ miles away) and i would not be able to use the gym in my original address due to the obvious distance. Everything seemed to be fine until i returned to my parents address for Christmas from uni and there were 3 letters of one threatening to take me to court for unpaid arrears of £220.83 including a fee for ignoring previous letters. first of them arriving 21st of november 2013 i was shocked and astounded to be threatened in such a way so i called them straight away explaining im a student that has moved across the country and so did not receive all there letters; this occurred in early December, they then told me on the phone it can all be resolved if i send them proof of my migration so i proceeded to email them proof of my living at uni and education in the form of a UCAS acception letter. this is what i wrote in the email on December 16th: "I am a student who lives in uni so i am away from my original address for a very large amount of time so i was shocked to return back to my original address and receive a letter from you (CRS) about money owed to fitspace. I cancelled the direct debit as i got a place at my chosen course in university and there was no fitspace in this city. I have not used fitspace gym since i have left so i have not used anything i didn't pay for. my crs number is xxxxxxx. i called the crs office a few days ago and explained the contract should have been terminated since i moved states, i was told to send proof of this to the crs office. so find forwarded confirmation of my living arrangements in Coventry, UK. I will be very pleased if this issue can be resolved thank you." I was sure this would resolve the issue as a friend of mine was in a similar position in which he responded in showing fitspace his ucas letter. but on 6th of February i received a letter at my university accommodation stating in response to your proof of relocation we received 19th december, we can accept this for cancellation, however we can only accept from the date we received this proof and have reduced your balance accordingly your outstanding balance to get this cancelled is £164.87. please contact us within the next 10 days on 01444449165 to arrange payment by credit/debit etc." it seems as if they have picked a random some of money for me to pay them for cancellation of the contract, further calling them do to the threats and pressure i received on the phone i planned to pay them in settlements but was astounded with mentions of extra payments to pay monthly i was further more told i have until the end April to pay all of the money. but this was said on the phone and due to reading previous blog entries i see that means nothing unless its in writing. i was thinking to completely ignore them as i have again moved house and they do not have a new contact address for me. i am in dyer need of your experience and advice, please find time to reply me as i am panicking and confused on what to do. i feel like i am being cheating as i don't know my rights. does this effect your credit score?

Hi All, My wife and myself joined our local Lifestyle Fitness gym in October 2013. Due to unforeseen circumstances, we were unable to get to the gym for a few month's so requested that they freeze our membership until March 2014. This we put to the person at the gym. He said he would do this but failed to do so on time. He was apologetic but advised us to speak to Harlands about this. We didn't know who Harlands were. We thought they must be the gym owners, but now we know after reading posts on here!! We should have renewed our DD (as we cancelled it) in March but forgot. We have today received a letter saying that the direct debit payment had been missed and that a 25.00 admin fee would be applied, which I understand is illegal/unenforceable. When I asked them about my wife's membership which I had also requested freezing, they said that I had to speak to another department. (strange I thought). I then learn't that they had not cancelled her account and have sent it to their debt department. I am now mighty p'd off with this company as I want to be speaking to Lifestyle Fitness now some monkey debt collection/management company. Things to note. 1. We never signed a DD agreement. The gym guy sat opposite us and just asked us questions and completed it. No tick in a box or signature was asked for. 2. We have NEVER received any contract, membership details, cards or direct debit information and have never signed anything. I spoke to them today and foolishly agreed to pay half the admin fee (not knowing that they can't do this). Now I have read about them on here and after experiencing they way they have treated us today, I no longer want to do any business with this gym or their management monkeys. I read on here about the OFT and gyms here http://www.oft.gov.uk/news-and-updates/press/2013/62-13 I am pretty sure that we have a good case and should be able to just write a nice polite letter and tell them to bog off and cancel our membership.Can anyone advise on our rights? Another I noticed is that they kept referring to the "Data Protections Act" in emails and also when I spoke to them on the phone. They have never done this before so I guess they are trying to polish up their act... Can anyone advise on our rights? Many thanks for any advice you can offer. Rob