Hi, Another case of not being able to cancel gym membership with Ashbourne. My daughter signed up both of us with Clifford gym in Nottingham. The only reason I agreed to join was to make it possible for my daughter to attend. She was to pay for both memberships. The offer was to sign up for a 12 month contract, with the first two months free. Before we had any chance to use the gym, my daughter's mental health deteriorated. She was absent from work for some weeks and then dismissed. We contacted Ashbourne and asked that they revoke the membership. They asked for medical evidence, which I provided. I told them that as I only joined to facilitate her attendance and be her carer that I wanted my membership revoked too. Needless to say, they are refusing to revoke my membership. They have revoked my daughter's Several emails back and forth with no joy. Yesterday I asked for a copy of the contract, so I could try to find another get - out clause. They replied to say that they wouldn't be supplying a copy as I should have printed it off when I joined. I wrote back and said that if they didn't have evidence of a contract signed by me, then, as far as I was concerned we had no contractual relationship and, therefore, nothing to cancel They've now said that the only way I can get rid of the contract is to pass it to someone else. What do I do now? They have no record of my bank details as it was all done in my daughter's name.

I searched the internet looking for advice or information about Ashbourne Management's history with customers, and was relieved to find so many people have had the same problematic experience as myself. Early summer in 2010, I received a phone call to my place of work offering me an exclusive gym membership at a price of £12 a month. Me and my partner had both just finished uni and were keen to 'get fit' after three years of poor lifestyle habits. We went to the Compass Health and Fitness Centre based in Scarborough to meet with a gym instructor and find out more information. He explained that the deal was for a limited time only, and there were only a few spaces left, immediately making us feel slightly pressured to join. We explained we were looking to join the gym, but not as a permanent measure as we had plans to go travelling at some point within the following 12 months, and didn't know when we would be back. The instructor explicitly told us that it would be fine, as we were able to cancel our membership at any time. At no point did he inform us that we were signing up for a permanent contract... which was in fact a three year contract!! Now this strikes me as slightly ridiculous anyway as I don't know anybody who would willingly want to agree to pay for three years of gym membership, and before this I had never known of a gym 'contract' that could not be cancelled. Shortly after signing up to what I thought was an ordinary gym membership, I took on a second job, and spent the summer working 60-70 hour weeks, my only day off being Sunday. I was exhausted, and had literally no time to use the gym. I felt it was pointless paying the membership, and seeing as though I was under the false belief that I could cancel at any point, I rang the gym and asked to cancel. They told me it was fine, and that I was simply to stop my direct debit. Of course, a few weeks went by and I received my first batch of threatening letters from Ashbourne Management ( I got two at once after a postal delay due to the weather) stating I owed them for two months, and now had administration costs to pay. I rung the gym up once again, who explained I had actually taken out a three year contract, and I should contact Ashbourne Management. Which I did. And was immediately told there was no way of cancelling my 'contract' unless I had a valid doctor's letter, or if I transferred the contract to a friend (I wouldn't recommend that to anyone). I politely explained that we were told we were able to terminate the membership at any point, which was the primary reason we joined in the first place, to which I was basically called a liar. I think it's really sneaky and unfair that the gym instructor acting on behalf of Ashbourne encouraged us to take out this dodgy contract when he knew full well we were leaving the country, and were under the impression we could stop it at any time. After speaking to Trading Standards, I was reassured that a verbal contract is just as strong as a written one, and that we should have every right to cancel the membership. However, from what I have read online in various forums like this one, ending the membership is by no means easy, and AM will eventually threaten me with negative points on my credit rating. I have written a formal letter to AM as advised by Trading Standards, and will be sending it by recorded delivery this afternoon. I am eager to see what the initial outcome is. I have already read of someone who took the company to court last year and won the case, which has encouraged me to gather any evidence and information against them. I really decided to post my story on here to see what anybody has to say, or hear any advice or comments from anybody, whether you have had personal dealings with the company or not. I think I'll need all the moral support I can get!

Hi all On February 4th 2010 I joined a Gym called “Club U Fitness” near Kentish Town West overground station (North West London). This gym is ran by Ashbourne Membership Management. I first heard about this Gym from a friend who said it was around £15 a month. I thought this was really cheap for a gym so I decided to head down and sign up myself. I got there and there was an American Guy running the gym who apparantly is the Owner and the “Celebrity” Gym Trainer. Anyway he spoke to me and I told him about a friend that comes here and shes paying £15 and is not tied into no long term agreements, I also let him know that was exactly what I was looking for. He said they were not doing that deal no more so he mentioned I could join for £35 a month and not be tied in or £25 a month and be tied into a 12 month contract. As soon as he mentioned 12 month contract this is when I mentioned that I was moving away from the area in August so there was no point in signing up for a long term agreement. I also told him I didn’t want to pay £35 a month because I went there expecting it to be £15 a month. This is when he said the cheapest way around it is if I join the gym on a 12 month contract costing £25 a month and then because I am moving away to University and I wont be able to access the gym I would be able to cancel it with no problem. I believed him and went to sign the contract and started training. So I paid £25 each and every month till my last payment made on July 5th 2010. I received my first letter from Ashbourne saying I needed to pay my original £35 a month and a fee on top of this, this was already wrong as I didn’t pay £35 a month I paid £25 a month. Anyway I sent of a letter explaining to Ashbourne that I was moving away and that I already spoke to the “Owner” of the gym and he said it was fine. They did not reply to me for ages, not one word! Then another letter come through saying I had to pay more this time so they completely ignored my first letter. At the time I was already living up in Sunderland (North East England) so it was hard communicating with them as they kept sending of letters to my parents address in London. After finding out they were demanding more money I sent of another letter explaining my situation. They finally got back to me saying ok we need you to prove this with two types of postal letters to your new address. I proved this straight away with a letter from my university that said I was moving into halls and a statement from the bank. This was sent just before I went on holiday in December. I came back from my holiday in January 2011 to find a letter which says I still have to pay of the amount they were asking for even though I had proved everything. I don’t see why it was needed for me to prove anything for them to just carry on demanding money. Ever since then my parents carry on receiving letters demanding money and I have wrote back to them with the same response about proving I am living away from home and I cant get to the gym. But they insist in me paying back £290. I then received a letter from Johns & Saggar Solicitors who are now chasing me down for a total of £340. They sent the letter on the 30th March 2011 and say I have 28 days from this day to settle my account to prevent further court acction. I have not replied back to Ashbourne since my last letter which they clearly ignore and I have not contacted Johns & Saggar Solicitors at all. Im not sure what to do. Any support and advice will be great. Many thanks

Hello everyone I and my girlfriend have had many problems with this company and now ARC CREDIT both companys have failed to take our requests of dispute into account and ARC are harrassing us beyond belief this week, I have tried to look for some updates from the OFT current court case but have failed to find anything of interest, any help or advice is much appreciated.

followed advice on here and sent them letter re recent court case and judges submission etc, this is their reply. They are saying i still must pay £700! What is my next step? Thanks in advance.

My girlfriend & I are currently in a battle with Ashbourne (AMS). It’s clearly not a good sign there are so many others with the same problem, but its comforting to know were not alone. Address: PO BOX 10920, Shirley, Solihull, B90 8YB (to make sure we’re talking about the same company). My girlfriend joined Body Lab in Bletchley about a year ago. At the time of joining she was told the contract could be terminated via one months notice or transfer the membership to another person. My girlfriend has since stopped using the gym due to work commitments, she contacted the gym to give one months leaving notice. She was confronted with a torrent of abuse and told in no uncertain terms she couldn’t. Even saying such comments as ‘if your pregnant you still cant leave’ or ‘its like saying you have a new born to look after and cant make it to the gym’. They abruptly and rudely said she would have to continue paying no matter what as there is a signed contract. The only way to relieve the contract was to move at least 15miles away showing utility bills to prove it or the sales agreement from selling her house. My girlfriend was thinking of moving to Flitwick due to personal circumstances and would have been paying rent only; the home owner paying the bills and so forth. It was then agreed car insurance and passport could be used. When calling AMS to confirm they insulted her by saying a girl of that age would not be in this position and must continue paying no matter what. With no luck she contacted AMS at a later date to be greeted with yet more abuse from their staff. So I have been in contact with Office of Fair Trading (OFT) and they are asking if Lou would fill in a questionnaire & possibly be a witness against AMS in court. I would urge anyone else to get in contact with the OFT so they have the best possible case to stop them trading. I want to write a letter to AMS stating that we will no longer be paying them anymore money, so hopefully I will be able to post on her some good news soon. If anyone has any advice on the best way to go about this please feel free to get in contact me. Thanks