Harlands cancellation problem

[drytgupl'jigyfhghio]

Sorry to butt in on this, but I am in a similar situation. A few days ago I received the attached, which is the same letter as post #41 I think.

 

My situation is different in that I was only at my gym for less than a month. I decided to leave so I said to the gym, and they said (in summary) that's fine cancel the direct debit. So I did, then I got letters from Harlands as I did not give 30 days notice. So basically contractually I should have given 30 days notice and paid for the 2nd month, but the person at the gym said cancel the direct debit so that's what I did.

 

Is my defence good? Should I offer to pay 1 month or what? I realise that they are just threats, but I obviously want to avoid court action against me.

[renegadeimp]

Sorry to butt in on this, but I am in a similar situation. A few days ago I received the attached, which is the same letter as post #41 I think.

 

My situation is different in that I was only at my gym for less than a month. I decided to leave so I said to the gym, and they said (in summary) that's fine cancel the direct debit. So I did, then I got letters from Harlands as I did not give 30 days notice. So basically contractually I should have given 30 days notice and paid for the 2nd month, but the person at the gym said cancel the direct debit so that's what I did.

 

Is my defence good? Should I offer to pay 1 month or what? I realise that they are just threats, but I obviously want to avoid court action against me.

 

Harlands wont take court action against you. At least, ive never seen an instance of them doing so. Notice the use of IF MAY and MIGHT in that letter.

 

Also, the DCA cannot take anyone to court, so its all just bluff.

[slick132]

Hi Dry and welcome to CAG

 

Your post has been moved into your own thread.

 

Court action from Harlands/CRS is usually just a threat but you should perhaps not ignore this entirely.

 

If you signed up for 12 months m/ship, you can not normally cancel within that time unless you're made redundant, you move home or workplace or you suffer illness or injury making attendance unlikely in the foreseeable future.

 

If you signed a 12 month contract, the gym staff advice was very poor. They tend to say what they want without regard for the trouble it causes when you stop paying.

 

Please confirm if this was a 12 month agreement and approx when did you join.

 

[drytgupl'jigyfhghio]

It was a one month rolling contract, not 12 month.

[slick132]

Hi Dry,

 

Monthly rolling contract - excellent !

 

The T&C's on the m/ship agreement should confirm how you can cancel and what is payable.

 

I would suggest from experience that you owe a month for the first month when you joined and a further month's fee for the notice period. This should entitle you to use the gym up to the end of the 2nd month.

 

Harlands may try to add on, and demand, some admin fees because you cancelled the DD mandate and didn't pay on time. You should NOT pay any such admin fees as they are unenforceable penalties.

 

I suggest you write to Harlands telling them what you'll pay and wait for them to confirm they'll accept in in settlement of all that you owe:-

 

Dear sir or madam,

 

I refer to letters from Harlands/CRS demanding payments in respect of my rolling monthly membership at [xxxxxx] gym.

 

On [xxdate], I told a staff member at the gym that I wanted to cancel within the first month and was told simply to cancel the DD mandate before payment was taken. I was told that I need do nothing more.

 

I now feel that I should pay for the first month, and pay the same amount for the notice period, making a total due of [£xx.xx]. I will not be paying any admin fees.

 

Accordingly and without prejudice, I now offer you [£xx.xx] in full settlement of all amounts owed to the gym. If you accept my offer within 14 days, I will pay you and bring an end to this matter.

 

If you fail to respond within 14 days or insist that I pay any more, my offer will be withdrawn and I will not communicate with you further.

 

Yours faithfully,

 

See how they respond.

 

[drytgupl'jigyfhghio]

I sent a letter and got the following response:

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]49227[/ATTACH]

 

The next day I got this:

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]49228[/ATTACH]

 

So basically nothing much has changed. My 14 days offer has expired, so is there anything else I should do?

[slick132]

Hi Dry,

 

I suggest you respond as follows :-

 

Dear sir or madam,

 

The terms of my offer were very clear and you have chosen not to accept them.

 

My offer is now withdrawn. I will pay you nothing further and will not respond to further communications from Hrlands/CRS.

 

Further demands will be reported to The OFT.

 

Yours faithfully,

 

See if or how they respond.Then we can decide if you need to reply at all. Usually, their threats amount to nothing.

 

[drytgupl'jigyfhghio]

I haven't sent any further letters.

 

Today I received this:

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]49390[/ATTACH]

 

Any advice?

[slick132]

Hi Dry,

 

Ignore completely but let us know what you get next.

 

Depending on what they do next, this can be reported to The OFT.