David Lloyd and ARC cancellation problem **RESOLVED**

[Funkylady789]

Please I need advice. I joined David Lloyd back in 2009 and used my membership for 3 years before I injured myself and had to freeze my membership.

 

I was paying the freeze payment for about 6 months and when I realised that I was not fully fit to go back to the gym I wrote to them to request that I wanted to give notice to cancel membership. They told that I would need to pay 3 months full membership payment in order to cease membership.

 

If I had already been with the gym for 3 years is that correct. I told them that I was a single parent and that I would not be able to afford to do that.

 

Arc Europe contacted me to arrange to pay instalments which I have done since 2012. I have paid about £270 so far and last year I was made redundant so have been paying them £10 per month out of my job seekers allowance but I was sanctioned as I was studying so I get 30% less now so I am really struggling and cannot afford to keep paying them.

 

As I am studying my jobseekers was reduced to £43 per week which myself and my son have to live on. I have told them that I can longer pay them and they have written threatening that I need to pay the balance of £338 in full.

 

Please Please can anyone give me advice please as I am at my wits end.

Edited July 2, 2015 by slick132
SPACING ADDED

[slick132]

Hi Funkylady and welcome to CAG

 

Your post has been moved into your own new thread.

 

I've also added paragraph spacing so your post is easier to read. Please don't post in big blocks of text.

 

[slick132]

Hi Funky,

 

DL still insist on 3 months cancellation notice unless most other gyms. We think this is unfair and are trying to change it.

 

1. What was the normal monthly m/ship fee.

 

2. When did you write to the gym to cancel when you knew you would not be able to use the gym further.

 

3. Do you still have a copy of that letter.

 

It looks like ARC have been adding admin fees which we maintain are unenforceable penalties.

 

If you have paid £270 so far, I'd be surprised if you have to pay any more but give us answers to my Q's and we'll help you deal with this.

 

[Funkylady789]

1. What was the normal monthly m/ship fee. I joined on the 20th June 2009 and I was paying approximately £126.80 per month which was for myself and the childrens membership for my son.

 

2. When did you write to the gym to cancel when you knew you would not be able to use the gym further. September 2012 was went I wrote to gym about freezing my member. December 2012 was when I wrote to them requesting that I wished to cancel my membership. They emailed me in January 2013 to say that I would have to pay 3 months full membership fee. I think most of my correspondence was by email.

 

3. Do you still have a copy of that letter - I have searched but cannot find the letter but had made notes of the dates of communication if that helps.

 

 

When I found out that I had already paid ARC £270 and that there was still £338 left I thought that would take me over 3 years at £10 per month to pay that back. As I said I am currently a student on hardship payments from Jobseekers. Any advice you can give me would be very much appreciated as ARC Europe are ringing me everyday now about payment. Luckily they only have my mobile or they would be ringing the landline also.

[slick132]

Hi FL,

 

1. Do you happen to still have the T&C's from when you joined, or from 2012.

 

2. Have you had a recent breakdown from ARC setting out the gym fees owed, ARC's admin charges and the amounts you've paid them.

 

DL's current T&C's require that you give just one month's notice if cancelling due to illness or injury. But I'd like to know what they required back in 2012.

 

[slick132]

And we'll deal with the issue of them calling or texting you repeatedly, when we draft you a letter to send to ARC.

 

[Funkylady789]

Yes I have an emailed copy (PDF copy) of my Contract which I had requested from David Llloyd last year. If you have an email address I can send it to you.

 

No I have not had a breakdown in writing, I was told over the phone when I disputed back in May about paying any more monies.

 

They have recently sent me a letter just stating that they were going to instruct their Solicitors to take proceedings if they do not receive a full payment of £338.

 

I have requested by email today a breakdown of what I have paid, what ARC's charges are and what is left outstanding. I did ask them back in May that I did inform David Lloyd of my injury and that I wanted to give notice and that is when David Lloyd informed me of paying 3 months full months payment as my membership had been frozen.

 

ARC Europe informed me that I should have supplied a Doctors Certificate back when I gave notice to David Lloyd but David Lloyd did not mention this to me as I would have obtained this from my Doctor had I known.

 

 

Thanks very much for your help

Edited July 2, 2015 by slick132
PLEASE use spacing

[slick132]

Hi FL,

 

I have again added spacing to your post above to make it readable. Please use paragraph spacing when you post here if you can.

 

Post a PDF copy of the T&C's. Use the GO ADVANCED button to use attachments.

 

Don't stress about the threats that ARC make. It's mostly hot air !!

 

Let us know how they reply to your email and don't send a reply until we 've heard their response.

 

[Funkylady789]

I have internet problems trying to get connection. Could you let me know where the Go Advance is so that I can attach the Contract with Terms and Conditions for David Lloyd. Thanks Barbara

[slick132]

Hi FL,

 

See the Quick Reply box below my post here. Bottom right corner, hit GO ADVANCED.

 

Below the Reply Box is Additional Options. Hit the Manage Attachments button and you can then upload the document as a PDF.

 

See the guide at post #4 here - http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?444501-Barclays-Partner-Finance-Clyesdale-financial-services-reclaiming-charges&p=4725968&viewfull=1#post4725968

[Funkylady789]

I have attached the terms and conditions below

 

 

Thanks again

[slick132]

Hi FL,

 

The attachment is not opening properly. Try again ?

 

Or, read the T&C's and let us know what is said about cancelling in the event of sickness or injury. Does it say you must give a months notice, or 3 months.

 

[Funkylady789]

Hi FL,

 

The attachment is not opening properly. Try again ?

 

Or, read the T&C's and let us know what is said about cancelling in the event of sickness or injury. Does it say you must give a months notice, or 3 months.

 

 

 

 

In the contract terms its says "Ending your Membership. You or any members Adult or Children liked to you can end your or their membership during the first 12 months of your initial term by giving us at least one month's notice in writing. You notice must end at the of that first initial term. This means that your minimum commitment is to pay for the first 12 full calendar months of your membership with us together with any partial month. At any time after the beginning of the 12th calendar month of your membership by giving us at least three months notice in writing. The notice period will begin from the first of the month after we have received your notice. You must give notice in writing to the sales and membership manager of the club. "

[slick132]

Hi FL,

 

Wow !! Reading that shows just how unfair their T&C's are. They let you cancel at the end of the first 12 months but, if you continue with the m/ship, you have to then give THREE month's notice. And even THEN, that notice starts from the 1st of the month AFTER they receive notice. This is so WRONG !!

 

However, what you've put does NOT refer to cancellation due to sickness or injury.

 

Please look at the T&C's again and confirm what is said about notice required when cancelling due to sickness or injury.

 

[Funkylady789]

I thought the same thing when I read it. It seems strange that if you cancel within the first year you only have to give one months notice but 3 months thereafter. I will read through it again to find details with regard to illness and sickness and let you know.

[Funkylady789]

I was not able to find anything specific that relates to sickness or illness except the following :-

 

"If you are unable to give three months notice of the change or closure, you can end your membership by giving us written notice which ends on the date when the changes apply. We will refund any part of your membership fees you have already paid for a period after that date".

 

I have googled details of sickness/illness within David Lloyd's terms and conditions and found the following below :-

 

You will only be able to suspend your membership free of charge in exceptional circumstances (that is, being made redundant, being moved by your employer to another part of the company in a different area, or suffering a serious injury or serious illness which cannot be helped by exercise).

 

To help speed up your recovery from illness or injury, our personal trainers (who have significant expertise in rehabilitation) would be happy to work with you and your GP. Please contact the club to discuss your needs and for details of costs of appropriate personal training sessions. When you apply to suspend your membership because of your serious illness or injury, we will ask you to fill in a membership suspension form. We will also need written confirmation from your doctor, with a valid practice stamp, that your condition prevents you from exercising in the club. We will suspend your membership from the beginning of the month after we have received written notice, and the suspension will apply for up to six months. If you are linked to another member, the suspension will only apply to you and not to them. A linked member will have their own individual membership while your membership is suspended.

 

b) We have the right to confirm with the doctor the information you have given.

 

c) If you want to suspend your membership because you have been made redundant, we will ask you to fill in a membership suspension form. We will also need a copy of your P45 and a letter from your employer. If you want to suspend your membership because your employer has transferred you to work in a place from which you cannot reasonably visit the club, we will ask you to fill in a membership suspension form. We will also need satisfactory written evidence of your move. In each case, we will suspend your membership from the beginning of the month after we have received written notice, and the suspension will apply for up to six months.

 

d) You can suspend your membership for a single period of between three and six months within any 12-month period for any reason not mentioned above by giving us at least one month's notice. The notice period will begin from the start of the following month after we have received your request.

We will ask you to fill in a membership suspension form, saying which three- to six-month period you would like to suspend your membership for.

These months must be consecutive (in a row) – you will not be able to suspend your membership for individual months. Each individual linked member who wants to suspend their membership will have to pay individual suspension fees. Throughout the time your membership is suspended, we will charge you 25% of the relevant monthly subscription for each month the membership is suspended.

 

Not sure if this is any help.

 

Thanks again

Edited July 7, 2015 by slick132

[slick132]

Hi FL,

 

I've edited the post above - it appeared in Micro Text

 

Please check again in the T&C's that you have. Look for cancellation, not suspension.

 

Sorry to be a pain but it's really important to your case.

 

[Funkylady789]

Hi FL,

 

I've edited the post above - it appeared in Micro Text

 

Please check again in the T&C's that you have. Look for cancellation, not suspension.

 

Sorry to be a pain but it's really important to your case.

 

Sorry apologies I have had so many problems with my internet connection. I have checked again through the terms of conditions and there is nothing else apart from what I have already noted about the 3 month notice on there.

[slick132]

Hi FL,

 

Please see my PM to you.

 

[slick132]

Hi FL and thanks for sending me the 2 types of T&C's.

 

Neither of them mention cancellation due to illness or injury.

 

Were you given a Members Handbook to read before signing the m/ship agreement.

 

The T&C's say references in the short set, "References to clauses below refer to the relevant sections of the members handbook." However, there's no reference in the T&C's to cancellation due to illness or injury.

 

[Funkylady789]

Hi FL and thanks for sending me the 2 types of T&C's.

 

Neither of them mention cancellation due to illness or injury.

 

Were you given a Members Handbook to read before signing the m/ship agreement.

 

The T&C's say references in the short set, "References to clauses below refer to the relevant sections of the members handbook." However, there's no reference in the T&C's to cancellation due to illness or injury.

 

That is all the information I received with regard to my membership. I did not receive a Member Handbook I am afraid.

Edited July 16, 2015 by slick132

[slick132]

Hi FL,

 

Based on what you've said, and on the T&C's that I've see, I think we can draft you a letter to send to DL :-

 

1. Complaining about their failure to accept your cancellation when you told them your injury meant you couldn't use the gym again in the foreseeable future.

 

2. Demanding a refund of any fees paid by you as a consequence.

 

First though, did YS continue as a member or did you cancel his m/ship at the same time as yours.

 

[Funkylady789]

I cancelled both memberships at the same time. I did mention to them when I froze my membership about my injury and when informed them after a few months of my frozen membership that I was not fit enough to resume coming back to the gym but all they mentioned to me was the fact that as I had frozen membership I would have to pay 3 months full membership but at no stage did they mention anything about supplying a Medical Confirmation of my illness as I would have obtained this from my GP. It was only when I informed ARC Europe recently that I could not afford to keep up the payments as I was unemployed and on hardship payments as I am a student. They said I should have obtained a medical certificate from my GP when I wanted to cancel membership.

 

 

If you could draft up a letter I would be really grateful, to get any of my money back would be a bonus but if I can just draw a line under this and not have to pay this remaining £348 that they are demanding I would be more than happy. I will send you by PM the last correspondence I received from ARC Europe.

[slick132]

Hi FL,

 

PM with payment details received, thanks.

 

Before I draft a letter, can you please confirm :-

 

1. Were you paying the 25% reduced fee for 6 months, before you wrote to cancel.

 

2. How old was your son when you were first unable to use the gym.

 

3. Did he continue to use the gym at all after you were unable to attend.

 

4. Can you give a date for the letter sent to the gym when you cancelled in Dec'r 2012.

 

5. How much did you pay each month between Sept 2012 and the £10 paid on 27th March 2013.

 

Hopefully, this will be all needed before drafting a letter to DL complaining that they failed to allow you to cancel when they should have required only 1 months notice. Hence you will seek a refund of any amount paid in excess of this.

 

[Funkylady789]

Apologies it has taken a little time to find all the information. I have sent a PM message with the information. Thanks again Barbara