Fight with CRS over Xercise4less cancellation

[Bowser92]

Hi I need some advice.

 

I cancelled my gym membership on the 20th of May 2015 as I was moving 50 miles away from where I was living.

I went into the gym, filled in the form and handed it straight back to them.

 

 

I noticed in August that a group called Harlands was taking money out my account

I rang them up to find out it was my gym payment.

 

 

I explained to the guy on the phone that I cancelled my membership in May

and that I should not be having money taken out my account.

He told me to cancel my Direct Debit and that I would struggle to get back the extra payments which I accepted.

 

 

In November I received a letter from CRS saying that Xercise4less have been trying to contact me which they haven't

and that they have been employed to collect a sum of £192.46.

 

Now being young and never in this sort of situation before I rang the gym up to get answers and I also rang CRS up.

I explained all the above to them and they said they would look into it.

 

 

When getting back to me they said that the gym had no recollection of me leaving.

They also offered to reduce the payment to £132.58.

 

 

I told them I was not going to pay them and that I didn't owe them anything

and they said that they would freeze my account for 30 days.

 

 

Now really I should have sort some advice sooner but being in my final year of university,

working in the service industry and it being Christmas I haven't been able to go anywhere to seek any.

 

 

They have now got back in contact and to get them off my back I have paid them a third of what they are asking for

in the hope that I can get them off my back and get them to leave me alone

as they have threatened to take further action and

 

 

having never been in a position like this before and being so busy with my dissertation I didn't know what else to do.

 

I have now spoke to citizens advice and they have told me to write the gym a letter asking for the CCTV footage from the day I cancelled.

 

 

What else can I do to sort this out?

 

Thanks in advance

[dx100uk]

go get that moneyback

did you pay them by a debit card

if so go do a chargeback with your bank

 

 

also whilst on to your bank

get those direct debit payments back that should never have been talen

under the DD guarantee.

 

 

you need to STOP talking to these fleecers on the phone.

 

 

they ARE NOT BAILIFFS

 

 

and have

NO SUCH LEGAL POWERS.

 

 

you cancelled via the correct method

you owe nothing

 

 

if you read a few threads here

all you've been doing is getting yourself nicely stitched up

in their cash cowing schemes.

 

 

dx

[fkofilee]

Sound like they were done via DD, if they were, open up an indemnity claim

[slick132]

Hi Bowser and welcome to CAG.

 

X4Less are famous for failing to process cancellations and our forum here is littered with similar cases.

 

You should not have paid one penny to Harlands/CRS as they had no entitlement to what they're demanding. Try to get a chargeback like DX says but I doubt this will work in these circumstances. You can tell the bank you paid the one-third because you were mislead by Harlands and you've since learned that Harlands demands were made with no basis or authority.

 

However, you should definitely tell the bank you require a refund of all DD's taken from July onwards (after cancelling, you should have paid one final month's fee). Do this in writing if they fail to agree to refund after speaking to them by phone. Tell the bank the DD's were taken without authority after you cancelled the gym agreement. The bank should not argue with this at all as it's not within their remit to do so. You are entitled to do this under the DD Guarantee Scheme.

 

Stay OFF the phone from now on. You have no need to speak to Harlands/CRS, regardless of what they tell you in letters. If they call you, tell the IN WRITING ONLY, then hang up !!

 

Let us know how you get on with reclaiming the DD's: and the chargeback.