David Lloyd - ARC/Major Law Solicitors

[jspl109]

Hi,

 

I am a newbie to this forum so please excuse any ignorance!

 

So, I was under a 2 year contract with DL where I was paying a direct debit monthly. After 21 months of being a member, I decided to cancel my direct debit as I was relocating to London for a new job role. I emailed the club to let them know in advance, and then shortly cancelled.

 

I cancelled in Sep 15 (my contract was due to expire Dec 15). Unfortuantely, I didnt provide them with "proof of relocation" untill now - after recieving letters from ARC and consequently Major Law Solicitors, telling me I owed the final 3 months fees etc.

 

Having spoken to the manager at DL Derby, they are having none of it.

 

The bottom line being, I am being summoned to court to pay the outstanding amount owed, simply because I provided the 'proof of relocation' a few months late (after my contract had expired).I agree that is through no fault than my own, as they had told me they required this letter.

 

Will Major Law Solicitors continue to take me to court over this matter? I have proof of relocation and against the date I cancelled. I also emailed the club to let them know.

 

So is this fair?

[fkofilee]

Welcome to CAG JSPL

 

So... What proof do you have that they are going to take you to Court?

You need to remember that a 99% of the time these are just threats... ARC Europe dont physically own this account and Major Law just bully people.

 

Do you have a copy of the email.

[jspl109]

Hi fkofilee,

 

Thanks for your quick response!

 

You are right, I have no proof they will take me to court - the letter from Major law solicitors is just intimidating!

 

Yes I have a copy of the email, see below:

 

Good Morning,

 

Unfortunately, it is time for me to cancel my DL membership as I will be leaving the local area and therefore do not require the membership any longer. I understand there is usually a 3 months buffer period, but having been a member for over two years I hope that this can be negotiated? I will look to rejoin the club in the future.

 

Thanks

 

Jaspal

 

 

In response, they sent me a 'voicemail' which asked for the 'proof of relocation'. I havent provided that untill now.

 

Do I have a case? It does say in the contract that

 

"If you want to give notice, it must be in writing (addressed to the Membership Department at

your club). We will accept notice by email (the email address is on your club website). If you

need to give us evidence of certain things, you can provide them as attachments to an email.

 

Your notice is not effective until we have received it. We strongly advise that when you give notice

you get proof that we have received it."

Edited January 22, 2016 by jspl109
unneccessary format code

[fkofilee]

Hi Jspl

 

Thanks for coming back to me. Slick is more a specialist in this area, however as a general rule, ARC are relatively tame. David Lloyd themselves were hit a few years ago about unfair contracts. 2 Years seems to excessive to me.

But then again its a contract. Now do you have info on the terms etc saying what their minimum distance is to accept termination?

 

You didnt say how much is outstanding?

[Bazooka Boo]

How much were you paying a month to DL?

 

You can forget any notion of court, I've not heard of any gym taking any customer to court for unpaid membership, especially if you'd been with them for over 12 months!

 

They would, IMO be on a hiding to nowhere, it is more than likely you had a response from someone who is a little too big for their boots?

 

Unless you have that statement in writing or email, then you can forget about it.

 

Did you sign for a two year contract or was it an auto renewal each month?

 

A three month notification is, ( I think?) the maximum a gym can impose on it's members to cancel, but it is usually 30 days, I think DL were one of the ones who were able to keep theirs at 3 months??

 

What have you got so far in writing from them?

[jspl109]

I think it might have been a 2 year contract I signed up to..

 

the italics i pulled out are from the terms and conditions of the contract.

 

I was paying in excess of 80£ a month, they are after 305£ which makes up 3 months including fees.

 

I have a letter from Major Law Solictors (or something of this sort) which I will attach tomorrow!

 

Thanks for everyone's help and support so far!!!

[jspl109]

I have only one letter from David Lloyd so far concerning the payments, a letter from ARC and Major Law Solicitors !

[slick132]

Hi Jspl,

 

Are you certain you signed up to a 2 year agreement.

 

Please check and let us know.

 

Ignore all comms from ARC or Major Law for now.

 

[jspl109]

Hi Jspl,

 

Are you certain you signed up to a 2 year agreement.

 

Please check and let us know.

 

Ignore all comms from ARC or Major Law for now

 

 

.

 

 

 

Yes it was a 12 month rolling contract with 3 month cancellation period

[slick132]

Hi Jspl,

 

So it was a 12 month agree't with the option to either :-

 

a) Cancel giving a month's notice at month 11 to end the m/ship at the end of the 12 months.

 

b) Let the agree't continue after the minimum 12 months but then have to give 3 month's notice to cancel.

 

However, in your case of moving away, you had the right to cancel with just 1 month's notice. Their request for proof of moving left on your Voicemail is not an adequate means of communication. They have no proof that the msg was left on your Voicemail, nor do they have proof that you accessed it properly.

 

Can you confirm :-

 

1. What date was your email to cancel.

 

2. When was the DD paid each month.

 

3. What date did you make your last DD payment.

 

The bottom line being, I am being summoned to court to pay the outstanding amount owed

- No you're not. Read their Threat-o-Gram which will say we may or we could or this might !!

 

Will Major Law Solicitors continue to take me to court over this matter?

- They haven't started any court action and our experience here with thousands of cases is that 99.99% of cases will NOT go near a court.

 

Ignore Major Law and ARC for now.

 

[jspl109]

Hi Jspl,

 

So it was a 12 month agree't with the option to either :-

 

a) Cancel giving a month's notice at month 11 to end the m/ship at the end of the 12 months.

 

b) Let the agree't continue after the minimum 12 months but then have to give 3 month's notice to cancel.

 

However, in your case of moving away, you had the right to cancel with just 1 month's notice. Their request for proof of moving left on your Voicemail is not an adequate means of communication. They have no proof that the msg was left on your Voicemail, nor do they have proof that you accessed it properly.

 

Can you confirm :-

 

1. What date was your email to cancel.

 

2. When was the DD paid each month.

 

3. What date did you make your last DD payment.

 

- No you're not. Read their Threat-o-Gram which will say we may or we could or this might !!

 

- They haven't started any court action and our experience here with thousands of cases is that 99.99% of cases will NOT go near a court.

 

Ignore Major Law and ARC for now.

 

 

Hi Slick,

 

1. The email was sent on 27/08/2015

2. The DD paid each month was taken out on the 1st.

3. The last debit taken from my account was on 01/09/2015

 

I will heed your advice and ignore their threats for sure!

 

(Ps. Thanks for all your support and advice so far- this is a fantastic forum, more people like you needed in the world!)

[slick132]

Hi jspl,

 

Good - so you gave a month's notice and paid the final fee.

 

Your only issue is that you were late providing proof of relocation but I'd argue that they have no authority to hold the m/ship open until it was provided (unfair term).

 

Also, if they needed proof, they should have written to you properly, not left a Voicemail msg. If the gym wants to argue the matter further, let them tell you properly in writing.

 

And, if they persist in harassing you or instruct others to do so, you should shame them using Facebook and/or Twitter.

 

In the meantime, letter to DL's Head Office :-

 

Dear sir or madam,

 

I gave the Derby gym notice to cancel on 27th August 2015, due to relocation.

 

I allowed the DD due on 1st September to be taken and then cancelled the DD mandate.

 

I am now being harassed by ARC and by Major Law solicitors for payments that I do not owe.

 

Unless you instruct them to cease demands immediately, I will report DL, ARC and Major Law to Trading Standards and The CMA.

 

Any communication from you is to be in writing only.

 

Yours faithfully,

 

Letter to ARC :-

 

Dear sir or madam,

 

I refer to your letter of xxdate demanding payments for a David Lloyd gym membership.

 

This matter is in dispute with the gym and, if you contact me further, I will report your actions to Trading Standards and The CMA.

 

Letter to Major Law :-

 

Dear sir or madam,

 

I refer to your letter of xxdate demanding payments for a David Lloyd gym membership.

 

This matter is in dispute with the gym and, if you contact me further, I will report your actions to Trading Standards, The CMA and the SRA.

 

Yours faithfully,

 

Send these by letter and get a free Certificate of Posting for each letter from the PO counter, so you have proof of posting.