Help Needed: Problems with Harlands and Xercise4Less

[Zauis]

Hi,

 

I am new to the CAG

 

 

I've ran into a rather common problem with Xercise4Less and Harlands judging from the few threads I've come across here and would appreciate some advice.

 

 

After having been an Xercise4Less member for a little over the minimum contract period

I cancelled my account with them by going into the local branch and filling out a cancellation form on 06/10/2015 or so I thought.

 

 

Apparently after this incident Harlands kept charging my account thirteen times more after my final direct debit date.

Once I became aware of this I cancelled the direct debit and put an indemnity claim with my bank through which I managed to reclaim the majority of those charges (£99.90) on 11/11/2016.

 

 

I also spoke to with the gym on that same day,

confirming that I had cancelled my account and should not have gotten a mail from Harlands stating that I owed them that month's membership fee of £9.99 plus the £25 administrative fee.

 

 

Around that same time I called Harlands to discuss the issue and was told the gym had not contacted them yet

I decided to wait and leave the matter unattended for some time since the gym had told me that it could take up to a month to re-cancel my membership again and issue a complete refund.

 

 

Last week I received a second and more threatening letter from Harlands claiming that I had not notified the gym or Harlands about cancelling my membership and that I owed them the amount I had reclaimed through my indemnity claim (£99.90) plus a £25 administrative fee.

 

 

After speaking with the gym again last Friday and confirming that I had cancelled my membership and Harlands should not have charged me after 06/10/2016,

 

 

I was told to wait another one or two weeks for the matter to be cleared up and that my account was indeed cancelled.

 

 

I called Harlands again and this time they weren't so nice when I brought up the fact that they were the ones owing me money and gave me the same excuse again that Xercise4Less had not contacted them about a refund.

 

 

This was all before I came across this forum and the dozens of testimonies suggesting that this was a common occurrence with these two companies and was likely to be deliberate.

 

 

at the time of writing this,

I am unsure of how to resolve this situation and avoid being referred to a debt collection agency for money I don't owe.

 

 

Any help and advice would be much appreciated.

 

 

Thank you.

[dx100uk]

debt collectors are not not bailiffs

and have no legal powers

 

you really need to be ignoring everyone

and stop ringing them up too!!

they'll try and fleece you blind.

 

theres nowt anyone can do to you.

 

you got all your money back when they should never have charged you

so you are not owed anything still?

[Zauis]

Would it not falsely effect my credit score though? Thanks for the reply.

[dx100uk]

gym debts don't show

[Zauis]

Ok, thanks a lot.

[slick132]

Hi Zauis and welcome to CAG

 

After you gave notice at the gym to cancel, you had to pay just one final £9.99 fee for the cancellation notice period.

 

Beyond that, every payment that Harlands took using the DD mandate should have been reclaimed using the DD Guarantee Scheme.

 

Is that what's happened about.

 

If so, you don't need to worry about Harlands/CRS but we'll draft a response so you can tell them where to go !!

 

[Zauis]

Yes, that is what happened more or less.

 

 

At the time of filing the indemnity claim I didnt have a copy of the cancellation form with the exact date I filed for cancellation so a small amount wasn't covered by the indemnity claim but I'm not too worried about that as long as I'm done dealing with Harlands.

 

 

Thanks a lot.

 

More specifically;

 

They took 13 payments out of my account after the final direct debit date they had given me which equalled to £129.87 (13 x £ 9.99)

 

I reclaimed £9.99 of this on the last day they charged me without making an indemnity claim.

 

After making the indemnity claim under the DD guarantee

(I wasn't able to give the bank an exact date after which the payments should have stopped since I had filled the cancellation form a year ago and had not spoken to the gym since then),

 

 

I reclaimed £99.90. After this I was able to obtain a copy of my cancellation form from the gym.

 

I am still owed £ 19.98 (£129.87-(£99.90+£9.99)) by Xercise4Less and Harlands.

 

Harlands seems content with demanding only the amount from the indemnity claim plus the £25 admin fee.

 

Hope that clarifies it.

 

Thank you very much for the help.

[dx100uk]

then back to your bank and get the rest of it now you know the true dates

[slick132]

I agree with DX.

 

If you now know that Harlands took money they were not entitled to tell the bank the date and amount you require to be repaid so Harlands have no more than they are entitled to.

 

[Zauis]

Bank refuses to do a second indemnity claim and claim that it doesn't have anything to do with them anymore.

[dx100uk]

poor operator

ring again

[Zauis]

Will do. But in the meantime, is there anything else to do about the letters from Harlands assuming they won't stop? Should I reply in writing only or ignore them completely? Thanks.

[dx100uk]

you never enter into pointless letter tennis.

[slick132]

You can safely ignore anything from Harlands/CRS for now.

 

1. Please tell us exactly what the bank said about refusing to deal with a further DDGS refund.

 

2. Was this told to you in a phone call ?

 

If you want to get back the further £19.98 you say you're owed, you may need to put the request in writing so you can't be denied by some uninterested bank call centre employee.