DW Gym - Transfer from one gym to another

[Tilly84]

I wondered if anyone can offer me a bit of advice regarding my membership of my local DW gym.

 

I am moving 80 miles across the country in the next few weeks and I enquired at my current gym about transferring my membership to a DW gym in the town I am moving to. The girl behind the counter said that as my membership is the lower £24 per month subscription, it only entitles me to membership at one gym and in order to transfer my membership to another DW gym I would have to upgrade to their £28 per month contract.

 

I know it is only £4 per month but I begrudge having to pay extra every month just to transfer to another gym owned by the same company!

 

I asked if once I had upgraded my subscription to the higher one and then transferred to the other gym could I then reduce the subscription back to the £24 level. She said no as memberships can only be modified upwards and not downwards.

 

Surely a contract that can only ever be modified in favour of one party is an unfair contract? She said if I didn't upgrade then I would have to pay the remaining 10 months on the contract anyway in addition to any charges should I try to cancel the contract.

 

Is there anything I can do about this or am I going to have to just suck it up and pay the extra?

 

Thanks in advance guys

[renegadeimp]

Ask them how they justify the increased cost. Btw moving that distance is good enough reason to cancel the contract without penalty even though theyll say otherwise

[slick132]

Hi Tilly,

 

I think DW are being short-sighted here. Because of the distance you're moving, you can cancel without penalties or problems. Check your agreement about this carefully to make sure you can cancel if moving away.

 

Give them your cancellation notice in writing if you haven't already done so. Tell them you have already given verbal notice on xxdate when you discussed your options with the staff. Once notice is given, you should pay one final month's fee for the month ahead on the usual DD date, and then cancel the DD mandate.

 

Once relocated, take your time to visit the local gyms. See which suits your needs and your pocket best.

 

Let us know what you find about cancelling on the agreements' T&C's.

 

[Tilly84]

Thank you both for your comments and advice

 

I will write to DW and do as you suggest.

 

I think I will definitely be shopping about more for a gym once I have moved. The DW is the only half decent gym around here so I was limited in choice, unfortunately.

 

I will dig out the contract, also, and have a good read of that.

 

Thanks again both of you for your help, I will let you know how I get on.

[Tilly84]

I took your advice and read the terms of my contract fully and they stated that I could indeed cancel my membership if I move house to a distance of more than 10 miles of a DW gym that I am able to use. As I am moving 80 miles and my membership is restricted to the DW gym here in Mansfield, I wrote to DW cancelling my membership under this section of the contract.

 

They completely ignored my letter but they are now sending me several text messages a day threatening me with 'Further action' if I do not settle my account with them.

 

I telephoned them and was unfortunate enough to speak to some snotty woman who said I can't cancel my membership under any circumstances and that I am now liable for the entire 10 months remaining on my contract which works out at £240!

 

I informed her of the section of the terms and conditions on their own website which states that I can cancel my contract 'At any time' due to the above circumstances but she just threatened me with debt collectors and hung up.

 

Any further advice about what my next move should be? They are phoning me, texting me and emailing me constantly threatening me with further action and no matter what I say it just seems to fall on deaf ears.

[renegadeimp]

Ignore the phone call and put it in writing to the ceo of the company

[slick132]

Hi Tilly.

 

This is what you get when you talk to these people by phone. Ignore their calls and never speak to them.

 

Please tell us :-

 

1.The date your DD payment was normally take each month.

 

2. The date you initially spoke to the gym staff about leaving.

 

3. The date of your letter they ignored.

 

Once you give us the answers, I'll tweak the letter below which you can then send to DWF Head Office by RM Signed For del'y saying :-

 

Dear sir or madam,

 

Formal Complaint

 

I must complain about the very rude way I've been treated by your staff. Also, I am receiving numerous phone calls, emails and text messages which I consider to be harassment.

 

This contact must stop immediately or a formal complaint will be made to The OFT. Any contact will be in writing only.

 

On xxdate, I told the gym staff I had to cancel due to moving away. I then wrote to [the gym/your head office] confirming cancellation of the membership agreement due to relocation although this letter has been completely ignored. I cancelled the DD mandate on xxdate.

 

I have been sent several texts a day demanding payments and the threat of further action. When I phoned in response to the texts, I spoke to a very rude woman who told me :-

 

1. I could not cancel in the first 12 months, under any circumstances.

2. I now have to pay the full balance due for the year's membership.

3. Debt collectors would make sure I paid, despite me pointing out to her that the agreement allowed me to cancel when I moved.

 

I am willing to pay the month's notice fee, for the month after I gave verbal notice. Before I pay, I require your written confirmation that you will accept this amount in full settlement of all amounts due to the gym.

 

My offer to pay is open for 14 days only and, if you fail to accept my offer or make any further demands, I will pay you nothing.

 

Yours faithfully,

 

[pursuejustice]

Hi Tilly84

 

This forum is all new to me - so apologies. Do you mind me asking which branch of DW you are at currently & looking to move too

[slick132]

Hi PursueJ and welcome to CAG

 

Please feel free to start your own thread if you have an issue to discuss.

 

[Tilly84]

Hi Slick,

 

I am very sorry for my late reply, I did not receive any email notification like I normally do.

 

Things have moved forward now and I am being pursued by ARC Europe Ltd for 'outstanding payments'. I have emailed them and told them that this account is being disputed with DW and asked them to pass the account back to them as I was corresponding with them on this matter. I also stated that no outstanding money is owed but they have simply replied saying that DW has said I owe the money therefore no dispute is acknowledged and if I don't pay within 10 days then they will be issuing legal proceedings.

 

Can you advise where I go from here?

[slick132]

Hi Tilly,

 

Have you rec'd a response from DW to the letter in post #7 above.

 

Let ARC threaten all they like. They blow hot air, but do virtually nothing. Just ignore them.

 

[Tilly84]

Hi,

 

No, I have not received any reply from DW whatsoever and Arc says that I cannot contact DW any more as they now have full authorisation to deal with this matter.

 

According to them, I have 9 more days to pay or they will initiate legal proceedings. In their last email to me they also say that "any reply to this email will not be read and will be deleted". So basically they just want paying and will not talk to me any more on this matter.

 

One interesting thing I did notice whilst reading the DW's terms and conditions is that they say for you to cancel due to a house move, all you have to do is provide notice "at any time". No mention is made of what length any notice period that needs to be given has to be and no mention is made of having to pay a months membership fees.

[slick132]

Hi Tilly,

 

Do you have proof of postage and/or receipt for the sent letter to DWF ?

 

I very much doubt ARC will start legal proceedings. If they do, before DWF reply to your letter, you have every chance of defending successfully.

 

Respond to ARC as follows, because they WILL read your reply despite what they say.

 

I refer to your email of xxdate.

 

DW Fitness have failed to respond to my letter of xxdate which included an offer to pay them.

 

Until they have the decency to reply to my letter, I have nothing more to say.

 

For this reason, further communications from you will be ignored.

 

[Tilly84]

I sent the letter recorded delivery and it was signed for as delivered.

 

I have today received a long and rambling email from the club manager saying:

 

1) In order to cancel my membership, I should have hand delivered my letter. As I sent my request to cancel my membership by recorded mail then they do not acknowledge receipt of the letter and do not accept my request to cancel my membership.

 

2) The terms and conditions on their website are irrelevant as only the terms on the contract matter. She then went on to quote the terms and conditions on their website, which is rather contradictory.

 

3) The gym will charge a fee of £25 to cancel my membership, which hasn't been paid. This is after her saying they have refused my request to cancel my membership, so why are they chasing me for a £25 admin fee to cancel my membership if they are refusing to cancel my membership? Further, ARC Europe are claiming that the admin fee is £15.

 

4) She ended by saying that I should only correspond with ARC and they will continue contacting me until I pay what I owe

 

I'm even more confused now. ARC were chasing me for one month plus a £15 admin fee. DW are now saying they never accepted my request to cancel my membership so why are ARC telling me that they did accept my request to cancel my membership?

 

Not sure where to go from here.

[slick132]

Hi Tilly,

 

Please let me have answers to Q's 1, 2 & 3 in post #7 above.

 

Also, regarding your letter confirming the cancellation, was it sent by RM Signed For delivery AND signed for on the Tracking System. Do you have a copy of the proof of rec't by the gym for the letter.

 

The gym manager is clearly confused in her varied opinions. Before I suggest a response, can you please scan a copy of it as a pdf.doc using the guide at post #5 here - http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?415909-Blemain-problem&p=4463217&viewfull=1#post4463217

 

Do not reply further to the gym or to ARC for now, until we get this sorted.

 

[Tilly84]

Hi Slick,

 

Sorry for the delay, I have been trying to get all of the information together that you requested.

 

1) My DD was normally taken on or after 22nd of each month

2) I initially spoke to the gym staff at the beginning of December and I was told I was not allowed to cancel my membership and I had to upgrade it in order to switch gyms

3) My letter was dated 30th December 2013 and it was signed for as received on 31st December 2013. The gym have acknowledged on numerous occasions that they received the letter on this date. I sent the letter by RM recorded and have proof that it was received.

 

What is it you need a copy of? My original letter cancelling my membership or the gym manager's reply to me?

 

Thanks for all of your help. In appreciation, I will be making a donation to the site when I am able to do so at the end of the week.

[slick132]

Hi Tilly and thanks for the further useful info.

 

The gym manager's response is bonkers. You sent the cancellation letter by Signed For delivery and you have proof of receipt by them.

 

I suggest a final letter to DWF's Head Office as follows. You can email the manager a copy but tell her, "I attach a copy of my letter sent today to DWF's Head Office. I neither expect, nor want, any further reply from you."

 

And I suggest the following be sent to DWF's Head Office Don't bother with RM Signed For del'y again - they're not worth the cost :-

 

Dear sir or madam,

 

I refer to my letter sent to you on xx January and, for reference, I enclose a copy of it.

 

To date, you have not had the courtesy to reply or even acknowledge my letter. When I write to a Head Office, I expect a Head Office reply. Instead, it seems my complaint was just passed down to the gym's manager, whose response is far from satisfactory.

 

For your information, I enclose a printed copy of the email which says, for instance :-

 

1. My cancellation letter should have been handed in to the gym. Because I used Royal Mail Signed For delivery (which shows as delivered and signed for on 31st December 2013) the gym does not acknowledge or accept my cancellation.

 

2. Terms and Conditions on your website are not relevant - only those on the agreement apply. She then goes on to quote the website T&C's.

 

3. She refers to a charge of £25 to cancel, having already said I CANNOT cancel. Interestingly,ARC have demanded a cancellation fee of £15.

 

4. She also says I can only deal with ARC, who will continue to make demands until I pay them what they want.

 

Despite your gym manager's assertions, an admin fee payable to process a cancellation (para 14.3 of your online T&C's) is effectively a penalty and is not enforceable at law.

 

Furthermore, as you failed to accept my offer to pay what I offered within 14 days, that offer was withdrawn earlier this month.

 

In the circumstances, I suggest you instruct both your gym manager and ARC that I now owe nothing more and the matter is concluded.

 

If you or ARC make any further demands in this matter, I will make a formal complaint to The OFT.

 

Yours faithfully,

 

If you agree with the content of my draft, send it off and see what happens. Also, keep a log of any calls and/or text msgs from ARC.

 

[Tilly84]

I sent your letter off and I have not heard a thing back from DW.

 

I have however had an email from Arc yesterday telling me to contact them ASAP and now today I have had a letter from Major & Co solicitors telling me they have prepared a county court claim and if I don't contact Arc in 2 weeks to make payment they will be issuing the claim.

 

I'm fuming with DW over this and don't know what to do next. Any ideas?

 

The thing I don't get is the solicitors letter tells me I need to contact Arc...surely if it is now with the solicitors then it should be them I correspond with? Is this just a bluff to get me to pay up?

[slick132]

Hi Tilly,

 

I suggest you reply to Major & Co saying :-

 

Dear sir or madam,

 

Membership at DW Fitness, XXXX Gym

 

I refer to your threat to take court action dated xxxx.

 

I have written to both DW Fitness and ARC (Europe) and they are both fully aware this matter is in clear dispute. My letter to the gym's Head Office of xxdate remains unanswered.

 

The matter should not have been passed on to you, and you should have taken steps to verify a debt was due and not disputed before you decided to make the threat of litigation against me.

 

If Major & Co or ARC (Europe) make any further demands while the matter remains in dispute, I will consider this to be harassment and reports to the appropriate regulatory bodies will follow, without further warning.

 

Yours faithfully,

 

I would also send a copy of this to ARC by email, for their info.

 

[Tilly84]

I will do that now. Thanks very much for your help, as always.