ashbourne membership

[cornish bumpkin]

:|hi this is the first time i have posted so bare with me.

 

i have had an issue with my local gym and cancelled my membership with them. obviously a letter came through the post and demanded next months fee of 29.50 i told them on the phone what happened and they asked me to write it down and send it in which i did.

 

i recieved another letter demanding 2 months worth of fees as i was on a minimum membership of 3 months. obviously its not as bad as everyone else being charged for 12months and i feel bad for moaning about my little payment but its the principle of it..

 

i had an injury of the ankle and the gym is up a long flight of stairs and then another flight of stairs to the changing room. so i had to miss a month which de motivated me so my friend came with me to get me motivated.

 

i was then accused of having a personal trainer because my friend was counting my reps, but i was also counting hers. i had been a member for 7 weeks and didnt even have a training programme or measurements taken like i had asked from the begginning..

 

we had a confrontation infront of other members which i very upset about and havent returned.. what should i do ??

 

stand my ground and not pay or should i pay and get it over with.. i have offered to pay the final amount in payments over 2 months which annoyed me but a little scared of what they will do..

Edited May 17, 2012 by slick132

[freakyleaky]

Hmm well if the staff were basically rude to you and you felt humiliated in front of other members then I don't blame you for not returning.

You seem to have a strong case for not paying. Have you any witnesses to what happened?

If you don't pay then they may make a claim through small claims court. But if what you say is true and you have witnesses then you have a fairly strong defence I would have thought.

[slick132]

Hi Cornish Bumpkin and welcome to CAG

 

Can you confirm what gym the m/ship was with.

 

1. When did you join the gym.

 

2. When did you cancel the DD mandate.

 

3. When was the disagreement with the gym staff.

 

4. Did you refer the matter to the gym manager, either verbally or in writing.

 

5. Do you have a written contract.

 

As the amounts involved are relatively small, you may decide to pay off what you owe of for the final 2 months, to avoid the hassle you will no doubt have in dealing with this.

 

Alternatively, if you decide you should not pay as a matter of principle, you should make a brief complaint to the gym manager in writing, setting out why you feel you were humiliated and upset at the treatment from the gym staff.

 

If you decide to pay them in instalments, they will probably say you also have to pay them Admin Charges because of late payment or because of the cancellation of the DD mandate.

 

They cannot enforce such Admin Charges as they are penalties and are not enforceable in law.

 

[cornish bumpkin]

hi, the gym was Oxygen health club, near where i live..

i started on the 19th of march, 1st of april was my 1st membership payment.

april 20th was the dispute with the owners wife, and also the day i cancelled the membership ..

had 2 letters from ashbourne asking for 39.50 for month of may including £10 admin charge.. then a 2nd asking for 29.50 for june.. i explained i wasnt paying it due to the fallout and lack of help since i was there. and they asked me to write it down which i did. and i have a copy of the letter, i sent it on the monday and by thursday i had a letter saying .. u need to make a payment of 59.50 as soon as possible. i agreed to pay the 29.50 but really annoyed me.. its the principle of it now.. im not paying my final installment now they can shove it.. thanks for replying.. Emma.

[slick132]

Hi CornishB,

 

In the circumstances, where you were humiliated and upset at the confrontation in front of other members, I think you have good reason not to return or to pay them anymore.

 

Ashbourne will probably not see it this way and will send you no end of demands. They'll also add on admin charges which I said before are not enforceable.

 

See how they respond next. It may be that you should write a final letter explaining that you feel humiliated and upset at how you were treated and felt unable to use the facility again.

 

Can you show us what you said in your letter to them as this will help us draft a final letter.

 

For now, wait for their response.

 

Edited July 14, 2012 by slick132

[cornish bumpkin]

i wouldnt mind a final draft please.. i have had phonecalls and texts at 4am and letters asking for £80 now. beginning of june i owed 29.50 how can i stop all this.. i dont have £80.. getting so annoyed with it all.

 

thanks

[slick132]

Hi CB,

 

Please keep a list of all further calls, noting the time and date. Also, keep the texts safely.

 

I want to make the OFT aware of this practice of contact at unsociable hours. Can you give us a list of their calls and texts times and dates so far.

 

You're not the first to tell us of this new development in their "collection methods".

 

Don't worry whether they demand £40, £80 or £500 - simply, whatever you do, don't pay them a penny !!

 

Please let me know the content of your letter to them which you referred to in para 2 of your first post above. I will use this to draft a letter to them.