Help! Harlands / Xercise 4 Less / Money to be taken tomorrow!!

[kjm987]

Hi everyone!

 

I have read previous threads in this forum, but have began panicking and would much appreciate personal help!

 

Long story short,

my direct debit of £9.99 bounced on the 5th of August due to lack of funds, and I fully admit responsibility.

 

 

I was on holiday until Tuesday, and returned to a letter dated 6th August saying that the £9.99 plus £25 admin charge

will be taken from my account on the 16th, and will not be able to stop after the 14th (tomorrow).

 

I emailed the company on Tuesday (after reading threads advising to stay off the phone)

however have had no reply other than a generic thank you for your email which I received yesterday.

 

In my email I stated I would be happy to pay the £9.99 on the 16th,

however should they take the £25 I will be unable to pay my next monthly instalment and would need to cancel my membership.

I was hoping they would waive the fee as this is a first time offence.

 

I haven't used the gym in two months, so would be looking to freeze my membership anyway,

but I don't want to cancel the direct debit if it will result in further letters and a damaged credit rating.

I am desperate to get this sorted today so they don't take money I don't believe is theirs (admin charge).

 

Any advice would be gratefully received!

 

As a side note

- I have since looked up my membership terms and conditions, and the email given at the time of joining says

I have paid no admin fee and am paying £9.99 for 11 months.

 

 

I joined in the gym, with a member of staff, however she charged me £10 admin fee and I was not told it was a year contract at any point.

 

 

Is this enough of a reason to phone the gym and complain?

 

Again thanks for any help!

[dx100uk]

phone your bank

cancel the DD

 

 

there is no legal remit whatsoever for them to charge any admin fees.

 

 

as for you credit file

these accounts do not show

 

 

dx

[slick132]

Hi KJM and welcome to CAG

 

I doubt Harlands will waive their admin fee because this was your first bounced DD. This is NOT how they normally work.

 

But you will get nowhere by phoning the gym or Harlands. Stay off the phone and, if they call you, tell them "In writing only ! " and then hang up.

 

It may be too late to cancel the DD payment if it is due for payment tomorrow. However, if it is paid by the bank, you can get the full amount refunded under the DD Guarantee Scheme.

 

The good news is that, if Harlands have tried to take their £25 admin fee on top of the monthly fee, you have good grounds to cancel the gym agreement with immediate effect. The grounds are simply that Harlands are abusing the DD mandate by making you pay unlawful and unenforceable penalties.

 

Let us know if the DD was paid by the bank, or not.

 

Then we can help you start dealing with Harlands/CRS.

 

Do not worry about the threats that Harlands make. They have no power or authority and they will not affect your credit rating.

 

Also, read other threads here to see how folk deal with Harlands and the problems they cause.

 

[fkofilee]

I stand by Slicks advice. YOu will have grounds to cancel it based upon abuse of the DD Mandate. Your bank will be able to claim the money back from them. You shouldnt get any charges and if you do then you complain.

Harlands will pass to CRS and itll go from there, but even so... This wont stand up if it is scrutinised properly.

[kjm987]

Sorry for the delay in reply! Thank you all for your advice, it has calmed me down!

 

The £34.99 was taken from my account, so I believe my next step is to contact my bank and ask for it to be refunded as it was unauthorised?

[Bazooka Boo]

Yes do it immediately.

[fkofilee]

That is correct, you may request a refund through the Direct Debit Guarantee.

[kjm987]

Thanks again, the bank have processed and will have the money bank within two days.

 

Should I now cancel the direct debit? What is the next step?

[slick132]

Hi KJM,

 

Did Harlands take the DD on 14th Aug and was it for £9.99 plus their £25 admin fee.

 

Is the next DD due around 5th September.

 

[kjm987]

They took £9.99 plus £25 admin fee on the 17th. The next direct debit is due on or after the 5th of September yes.

 

Thank you!

[slick132]

Hi KJM,

 

If you DO want to remain a member of the gym, let us know. We can draft a different letter.

 

If you DON'T want to remain a member, you could now write to Harlands as follows :-

 

Dear sir or madam,

 

Membership at Xercise4Less, XXXX [town or city]

 

My DD payable on 5th August was not paid by my bank and you then applied for the £9.99 payment again, plus a £25 admin fee.

 

The admin fee on top would leave me in financial difficulty and I have therefore had the full payment refunded by my bank under the DD Guarantee Scheme.

 

Your admin fee is an unlawful and unenforceable penalty and your attempt to charge this is unfair to me, despite membership T&C's including provision for such charges.

 

Accordingly, I consider the membership agreement to be unfair and withdraw from it with immediate effect. The DD mandate will be cancelled with my bank.

 

If you make further demands of me, I will make formal complaints to Trading Standards and to The CMA.

 

Yours faithfully,

 

[kjm987]

Thanks Slick, I've sent that in an email and have cancelled the direct debit!

 

Will update once I receive a reply, I anticipate some threats but determined to fight this!

[kjm987]

Hi all,

 

Just had this email through today and wondering how to respond?

 

We thank you for your email,

 

One of the terms of this agreement, which you have agreed to be bound by, is that "If you fail to pay any monies due under this agreement or if any Direct Debit is returned unpaid or if any cheque is returned unpaid or if any other form of payment is not honored for whatever reason, you shall pay us on demand an administration fee of £25."

 

£25 is the amount deemed by our directors as representative of our costs in dealing with the administration involved with a missed or returned payment. When we submit for a payment by Direct Debit which is then returned, we are also charged by the bank. The charge also covers the costs we incur to reapply for the payment out of your regular payment dates and sending letters.

 

The administration charge cannot be removed as it has been applied correctly as per the terms and conditions of your membership.

 

Should you wish to cancel your membership you would need to discuss this directly with Xercise 4 Less as simply requestintg the money back and cancelling your Direct Debit does not cancel your membership.

 

Please note we will continue to chase for outstanding payments and the money that you have claimed back unless we have direct information from Xercise 4 Less to not chase this.

 

As you have below stated you understood the charge would be applied under the Terms and Conditions then this has been applied correctly and our charges are under the guidelines of the Financial Conduct Authority, this makes the charges lawful and enforcable, should you have felt these were unfair you should not have signed up to the facilities.

 

For all Enquiries Call Harlands : 01444 449166 () Quote Reference : 32878272 /

 

Office hours: Monday to Friday, 9am - 5pm

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Casey for Harlands

[slick132]

Hi Kjm,

 

Their comments saying, " ........our charges are under the guideleines of the FCA, ........ " are utter tosh in my opinion.

 

I see no reason to reply to Harlands as you've already said all you need in your last letter.

 

Let us know what they send next.

 

When Harlands/CRS next contact you, I may consider a letter to the gym, as well as complaints to Trading Standards and The CMA. The gym should be made aware that the reason you have cancelled is the unfair manner in which Harlands have treated you.

 

[dx100uk]

yep utter tosh

 

 

even the FCA call them a penalty regardless of its level

and thus they are unlawful.

 

 

dx

[kjm987]

Thanks for all your help!

 

I have since received a letter today stating I need to withdraw my claim for the £34.99 back or I will be facing yet another £25 admin charge which will be passed to debt recovery but I plan on ignoring it.

[slick132]

Yes, don't even dignify their letter with a response.

 

Let them add all the admin fees they want - they won't be paid !!

 

[Bazooka Boo]

Every time they add their charges, email me, I'll collate them for you... Contact the CMA and lodge a formal complaint with them.

http://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/problem/i-think-theres-an-unfair-term-in-my-contract-what-can-i-do-

[kjm987]

Hi everyone,

 

Apologies I haven't been on in quite a while!

 

I received a letter this morning:

 

... 'A payment of 34.99 has been issued to your bank for an indemnity claim made by yourself. As explained previously, this payment was due and as such, in line with the terms of your agreement we have applied a 25.00 administration charge meaning that you need to pay 59.99 to clear your arrears.

 

Please contact us etc. ...

 

Failure to pay this sum by 23 SEP 15 and reinstate your direct debit instruction for your ongoing contractual instalments will result in further charges.'

 

Also, I have been receiving texts from 'xercise4les' with rejoining offers, which would suggest I am now no longer a member.

 

Am I just to continue ignoring?

[Bazooka Boo]

Silly billy's 'WHO' sent you that?

[fkofilee]

Sounds like Harlands sent it

[slick132]

Whether it's from Harlands, CRS or anyone, ignore it for now,

 

Replying to them would be a waste of time and paper.

 

Keep us posted.

 

[kjm987]

The texts came from 'Xercise4Les' however I am sceptical because surely it would be Xercise4Less? However I have kept the texts as evidence:)

[Bazooka Boo]

Maybe Les is unable to do any exercise, that's why they sent you that message, see if you could do it for him?

[kjm987]

Hi everyone

 

Since last post I reviewed another letter from Harlands, same as usual demanding payment. This stood at £164.91, £94.98 of which is arrears and the rest I'm not sure what it's made up of. This letter said to contact by the 7th of October but I ignored it.

 

I today relieved a letter dated 27th October, from CRS. They've added £66.50 so now say I owe £231.41. This appears to be a standard letter from Rob Avery giving me 3 options, and says they'll cease further letters for 7 days.

 

Am I to continue ignoring? I refuse to pay it.

 

Also, been receiving a few suspicious texts which I have kept, the lastest from 'X4L' saying my account has now gone into default and to phone a number. Obviously I'm ignoring this too, but is it normal procedure to send confusing texts from numerous senders?

 

Thanks all:)