David Lloyd probems.

[Vondoothoven]

Hi everyone! First post here, so be gentle.

 

I signed up for a 12 month contract with DL in October last year and did not fully read the 3 month cancellation clause and it wasn't pointed out to me at the time by the rep. I stupidly and naively thought the membership expired on 31st October this year and thought no more about it.

 

I received a letter on 15th November from DL informing me that I had to pay a balnce of £723.50 with the threat of ARC and a £70 admin fee. I immediately phoned head office and told them I wanted to cancel the membership immediately but they quoted the terms & conditions, etc. I was angry at DL's underhand methods and told this to the lady on the phone.

 

I received a letter from DL on 6th December that my membership would end on 31st January next year with a fee of £241.18I then went on this site and read other members stories, catching on very quickly that DL are bullying people and forcing them to hand over hard earned cash for services they do not want. I phoned my local branch and put that to them, being advised to write to the branch manager.

 

This morning I received a telephone call from ARC asking what was I going to do about payment - I initially told them I wanted them out as it was a dispute between DL and me, and then admitted I may pay by postdated cheques. They said they would hold for 7 days.

 

I phoned my local newspaper who are interested in my story, (but to warn others), I got a phone call from DL head Office reminding me to pay! I told the lady I was just off the phone to a reporter and she terminated the call.

 

So, I know I legally haven't a leg to stand on as I signed the T&C's but I am not going to be bullied and want my local community to be warned about these extortionists. Now that the stakes have been upped, I am doing the right thing? Any advice would be very gratefully received. Thanks,D

Edited December 9, 2012 by slick132
layout

[maroondevo52]

Hello and Welcome,

 

Best placed to help you would be Slick132 he'll be online later, hopefully someone else may give you some advice before then.

 

Regards.

 

Scott.

[Vondoothoven]

Thanks Scott! Cheers.

[slick132]

Hi Vondoothoven,

 

Firstly, do not discuss this by phone any more and keep everything in writing only. That way, you have a clear papertrail which is important.

 

Secondly, ignore ARC for now. They are a powerless pain in the rear and there's nothing they can do to force you to pay in the way, or the amounts, that they demand. The admin fees they are trying to charge are simply penalties and they are unenforceable, despite what they'll try to tell you. If ARC call again, tell them to put anything they have to say in writing and then HANG UP !

 

Don't worry that you may have offered to pay by post-dated cheques - you've taken advice and, now you know your rights, you'll only pay them what you owe, in a manner that you can afford.

 

Thirdly, I'd like some info :-

 

1. What was the monthly m/ship fee.

 

2. When did the initial 12 month agreement expire.

 

3. When did you cancel the DD Mandate.

 

4. Did you, in fact, pay the first 12 months' fees as required, in full and on time.

 

I wouldn't worry with the local papers. The truth is that you've been caught out by the 3 month cancellation clause because you failed to read the T&C's about m/ship properly. You're not the first, nor will you be the last !!

 

[Vondoothoven]

Sorry for the lack of paragraphs and the spelling mistakes - as I said, that was my first post and although I put paragraphs in, my message got squashed.

 

Thanks very much for taking the time and effort to read and reply, its much appreciated.

 

I actually paid £602.90 by debit card on the 31.10.11 just in case things went pear shaped at the end of my membership on 31.10.12 and I am so glad I did. There are obviously no direct debits involved.

 

 

My thinking behind the press was twofold. Firstly, I was hoping DL head office would waive the outstanding charges if I threatened to print. When they phoned me yesterday asking for me to pay, I told them I was just off the phone to a reporter. (which I was). The lady immediately told me she was terminating the phone call and hung up. Secondly, I wanted to bring it to the attention of local people who may get caught like myself.

 

 

I have limited experience of bailliffs, but would there be any chance of them turning up early in the morning and seize my car as I would obviously not let them into my house? That is my biggest fear.

 

 

Thanks again for your help!!!!!

[Vondoothoven]

Slick, sorry I am not aware how much how much the monthly payments would have been as I never asked due to paying up front.

 

£602 divided by 12 = £50.24 is my best guess, don't know whether there would have been admin fees on that.

 

Vondoothoven

[slick132]

Hi Von and thanks for the info above.

 

Regarding bailiffs turning up to seize your car, that's simply NOT going to happen.

 

Ok, so you paid the fees last year in one go and there was no DD mandate.

 

Ignore ARC and write to the gym saying:-

 

I have received demands from ARC seeking payment of £723.50 which I entirely dispute.

 

As you are aware, I called the David Lloyd head office on 15th November confirming my anger at the demand and my wish to cancel membership with immediate effect.

 

I am willing to pay you one month's fee for the notice period (about £50) but I will not pay the ridiculous amount demanded by ARC.

 

I will not pay you 3 month's notice fee The initial minimum membership period expired on 31st October and 3 months notice is not reasonable according to Mr Justice Kitchin in his ruling on The OFT -v- Ashbourne Management Services Ltd last year.

 

If you confirm the amount due for one month and you agree to accept that amount in full and final settlement of all sums due from me, I will arrange payment within 7 days of your letter.

 

If you fail to accept my offer within 14 days, it will be withdrawn and I shall assume you have let the matter drop.

 

See how they respond.

[Vondoothoven]

Thanks Slick,

 

Just to confirm, the final amount to pay was £241.18 - its still ridiculous as its a bill for a service I do not want or will ever use.

 

One last thing, should I sent it to the Head office or my local gym?

 

The 'going to press' will be a wild card though - will probably get a letter from DL in the next few days though.

 

Thanks again!

 

Vondoothoven

[slick132]

Hi Von,

 

Now my brain's hurting !!

 

I can see figures mentioned of £723.50, £602.90 and £70, but I have no idea how the amount of £241.18 comes into it all.

 

Anyway, amend my suggested letter as necessary and send it off to DL's HO address.

 

And, just to satisfy my curiosity, how does the amount of £241.18 fit into the equation ?

 

Please also post up a copy of the final letter to them.

 

[Vondoothoven]

Ha, Slick, you are working too hard.

 

£241.18 - in my original thread, its the 4th paragraph down - thats the final amount DL were looking for 3 months membership until 28.2.13

 

K, I will compose the letter tommorrow and copy on to here. I will also post DL's reply, (if any), and the outcome of the dispute.

 

Thanks again for your time and patience.

 

Cheers,

Vondoothoven

[Vondoothoven]

I have received demands from ARC seeking payment of £311.19 which I entirely dispute.

 

Sorry I haven't been on for ages - busy,, busy, busy.

 

I posted this on 1th December to DL head office.

 

As you are aware, I called the David Lloyd head office on 15th November confirming my anger at the demand and my wish to cancel membership with immediate effect.

 

I am willing to pay you one month's fee for the notice period (£50.24) but I will not pay the ridiculous amount demanded by ARC.

 

I will not pay you 3 month's notice fee as the initial minimum membership period expired on 31st October and 3 months notice is not reasonable according to Mr Justice Kitchin in his ruling on The OFT -v- Ashbourne Management Services Ltd last year.

 

If you confirm the amount due for one month and you agree to accept that amount in full and final settlement of all sums due from me, I will arrange payment within 7 days of your letter.

 

If you fail to accept my offer within 14 days, it will be withdrawn and I shall assume you have let the matter drop.

Edited March 1, 2013 by slick132
used paras to make it readable

[Vondoothoven]

Sorry I haven't been on for ages - I have been busy, busy, busy. I posted the above letter to DL head office on 11th December and received a standard reply on 14th that my outstanding balance is now £190.60. As theirs was dated 12th I am not sure whether DL read my letter before sending their own or we crossed in the post. No post today, 17th.

[slick132]

Hi Von,

 

Sounds like their letter of 12th Dec'r was NOT a reply to your offer.

 

Wait for their next letter and see what they say about your offer to pay only one month's fee as cancellation notice.

 

[Vondoothoven]

K, thought that Slick. Just had another phone call from ARC - I know I should have told them to write as you advised, but they were not aware of DL's offer of £190.60 offered to me on the 12th. ARC said they would leave the matter for another 6 days. Would phoning OFT or the Ombudsman be helpful? I have also health issues which go in my favourwhich I could PM you if you want. Von

[slick132]

Hi Von,

 

If ARC call again, tell them to put it in writing as this will always buy you a bit more time and peace !!

 

Ombudsman is not able to deal with gym matters and the OFT will only log your complaint - they can't and won't offer advice or intervention.

 

[Vondoothoven]

Ok, Slick, thanks.

 

 

 

Will leave it a few days and wait for a letter from DL.

 

 

Cheers.

[Vondoothoven]

Hi,

 

Just received letter from ARC which reads:

 

We are writing with regards to a recent conversation we had with you regarding the above account.

 

We have contacted our client and have now received an update from them. Please can you call us in the next 7 days to discuss your account.

 

If we have not received a response from you within the next 7 days, this account will be passed tp our Legal Department for further action.

 

J. Turner.

 

**********

 

Any idea how to respond to same?

 

Thanks in advance.

 

 

Von.

[slick132]

Dear sir or madam,

 

I refer to your letter of xxdate.

 

I made an offer to pay the gym £50.24 which, so far, they have failed to acknowledge, despite the fact that my offer was for a limited period of 14 days.

 

I therefore have no reason, nor the desire, to contact you as you suggest and I will ignore further communication from you.

 

Yours faithfully,

 

[Vondoothoven]

Received a letter from ARC about an hour ago. Very quick response as I sent the above recommended reply on Thursday with a 2nd class stamp.

 

 

***************************

Balance £311.19

 

We are writing to inform you that as you have failed to keep to the terms of the offer you made to us, we have terminated this agreement.

 

The agreement was made outside of our normal repayment terms, as a good will gesture on our part, to help you clear this debt. However,as you have broken the agreement the full balance is now due.

 

We have to inform you that unless we receive the full balance or a substantial payment within the next 10 days, along with a firm offer to clear the rest of the overdue balance, we may pass your account to our solicitors, with prepare court proceedings.

 

**************************

[slick132]

Hi Von,

 

I assume they refer to your offer to pay by post-dated cheques which you mentioned in your very first post above,

 

I see no reason to respond to ARC further as you've already made your position very clear in the letter in post #18.

 

[Vondoothoven]

Hiya Slick,

 

Yeah, I think thats what ARC are referring to - the post dated cheques. Its funny how they turn it into an 'agreement'. And I broke it! lol.

[slick132]

Yes, funny how they've flipped it all around.

 

You've made your offer to the gym and they failed to accept it.

 

Tough on them, is what I say !

 

[Vondoothoven]

Well, well, well.

 

Just received a letter from ARC stating that their clients do not have any record of me offering to pay £50.12. and the usual payment demands ,etc.

 

D.L. lying through their teeth - its funny that I have the receipt for the recorded delivery.

[slick132]

Keep the receipt safe in case it's needed later.

 

Otherwise, ignore them.

 

[Vondoothoven]

Just got this from ARC today.

 

"We are disappointed to note that you have not cleared your balance following our previous letter. On the instructions of our client, we can now take steps to prepare a County Court Claim against you for recovery of the above debts.

 

A Court Claim will be prepared ten days after the date of this letter, unless we receive either payment in full or a substantial payment and a firm commitment to clear the remaining balance. You may want to seek independent legal advice from a solicitor, debt counsellor, Citizens Advice Bureau or similar organisation on this matter.

 

If this action is necessary and we pass the Court Claim to our solicitor for issue, our client is entitled to claim interest under the County Courts Act 1984 at the rate of 8% per annum together with fixed court fees and solicitor fees amounting to a further £80"

 

Letter continues about debt still not being paid, Court Judgement, etc.

 

Martin Wicks, (FCILEx) - Chartered Legal Executive

Legal Manager - ARC (Europe) Ltd.

 

*********************

 

I would have a good guess what FCILEx stands for, but no swearing on forums. lol.