Help - xercise4less cancellation complaints

[Jonesy0189]

Hi, I too have a situation with xercise4less for less I could do with some help on...

 

Myself and my wife joined the gym back in 2012 on a special £9.99 a month 12 month membership.

 

I registered my membership over the phone as the gym in wigan hadn't even opened yet therefore signed no contracts or received any cancellation terms and conditions

 

Myself and my wife moved home in summer of 2015 and had since used the gym maybe once after moving.

 

In November 2016 I rang to cancel our memberships and was told it would be dealt with I then cancelled my DD.

 

On 24/11/16 we both received a txt stating our "account" was in default and needed settling otherwise it would be passed to third party debt collectors.

 

My wife then rang the branch to sort it out. She spoke to the branch manager the first time who said he would email head office and sort it for us and contact my wife the next day.

 

The next day he didn't contact my wife so she rang him back on each day for 3 consecutive days to be told he was busy and would ring her back each time.

 

The fourth day I rang to speak to him and was told he was on annual leave which I didn't find amusing in the slightest.

 

On the 2/12/16 we both got a 2nd txt stating the same message as the first, to this date we have received nothing in writing from the gym asking for money apart from these txts.

 

My wife then spoke to customer services, gym's front desk, the woman at head office called Natalie was very rude and abrupt with my wife and just basically didn't care about our situation so she got nowhere.

 

We then emailed what we thought was head office to find that our email must of been forwarded to Wigan branch for then to deal with as it was wigan who replied to my email they requested £90 over the phone to settle both accounts to which I refused and was told the debt would be passed on.

 

I then emailed greg Scott the wigan branch manager stating the I had "spoken to a solicitor" and that they wanted...

> a copy of our signed application agreements

> a copy of the cancellation terms and conditions that was sent to us back dated to when we joined

> and an official request of any debts owed as any requested have only been made by txt and without any value

This email was sent on 12/1/17.

 

To this date I have had no response however through the door today arrived a letter each for us from cos stating that we owe £207.47 each.

 

Please help as we are due to remortgage our home shortly and don't want this to affect our credit rating.

 

Thank you in advance.

[Jonesy0189]

I also offered to pay for December month for both of us as a final good will gesture as I was unaware of any cancellation T's&C's to which they refused.

[dx100uk]

it cant effect your credit rating.

[slick132]

Hi Jonesy and welcome to CAG

 

Read other threads here to see how we advise folk to deal with or ignore Harlands/CRS.

 

Stop trying to get the gym staff or manager to help you - they WON'T. They leave folk to be harassed by Harlands/CRS which is a terrible way to treat their customers but they've been doing this for years !

 

I assume the demands for gym and admin fees are from Harlands or CRS (they're the same sad outfit), but please confirm.

 

As DX says, this will NOT affect your credit rating at all so that's not a problem. This is why we now often tell folk to simply IGNORE the spurious demands from Harlands/CRS.

 

Instead, writing direct to X4Less Head Office is a far better option. Tell them you'll make formal complaints to Trading Standards and The CMA. Also use social media to complain publicly about how X4Less are happy to allow Harlands/CRS to harass gym members for gym fees, and for spurious admin fees that are not enforceable.

 

Don't mention speaking to solicitors as this won't help you. Stay off the phone and keep contact in writing only.

 

Answer my question above and well go from there.

 

Also, read through this thread for a little inspiration - http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?473091-Xercise4less-CRS-Debt&p=4981879&viewfull=1#post4981879

 

[Jonesy0189]

Hi slick thanks for the reply, initially it was the gym asking for fees but from crs now via the letters we received yesterday.

My wife rang crs yesterday before I was home from work and they have said they would accept £60 end of this month and £60 end of next month but I still begrudge paying that amount for a 9.99 per month membership.

[dx100uk]

please don't pay nor ring them anymore

[slick132]

Hi Jonesy,

 

Don't call Harlands/CRS again !! They are only interested in getting you to part with money you do NOT owe.

 

They are chancers and they rely on their demands getting folk to call them. Despite what they may say, they have no power or authority, they will not affect your credit rating and this will NOT result in any court action.

 

Regardless of what YW said to Harlands/CRS by phone, you do NOT need to pay them a penny.

 

The only action you should take is in paras 5 and 6 above. Write X4Less HO in Leeds as suggested say no more than this :-

 

Dear sir or madam,

 

I refer to my membership at Wigan gym started in 2012.

 

In November 2016, I called the gym explaining I'd moved in 2015 and used the gym only once since then, hence my need to cancel the membership. I was told this had been noted and I should cancel the DD which I did.

 

I have since been harassed by Harlands/CRS who are making demands for gym and admin fees.

 

I require that you immediately instruct Harlands/CRS to cease all further contact. If they make any further demand, I will make formal complaints to The CMA and Trading Standards about Xercise4Less use of aggressive collection tactics.

 

Yours faithfully,

 

Xercise4Less Head Office

Unit 1

Kirkstall Industrial Estate

Leeds

West Yorkshire

LS4 2AZ

 

In your case I suggest you use RM Signed For Delivery. Use 1 letter for each of you, or change the letter to say "we" and "our" in a joint letter.

 

[Jonesy0189]

Hi slick thanks again I will do this today and keep you informed. Much appreciated.

[Jonesy0189]

Hi slick, I have had an email reply regarding the letter I sent to head office and it said the following...

 

Thank you for your letter to Xercise4less.

 

At the beginning of your membership you were sent a welcome email. In this email it explains the terms of your contract along with the terms and conditions.

 

In these it explains that once your membership expires it will automatically renew on to a 1 month rolling period until you provide your 30 days notice in writing/online in which you will need to make a final payment for.

 

Unfortunately by cancelling your direct debit without providing your 30 days notice in writing, it has prevented Harlands from taking their agreed monthly payments and has incurred administration charges. You are then sent several letters advising you that your membership is in default and to contact ourselves to resolve this before it is passed on to a third party debt collectors.

 

After 3 months of missed payments and no contact the account is left unresolved therefor the account is then passed on to CRS. Please contact CRS directly on 01444449165 to discuss your arrears,

 

Any help on this would be appreciated, Thank you.

 

I have also received a txt today asking me to ring crs to pay the outstanding debt.

[slick132]

Reply to the gym by email :-

 

I refer to your email of xxdate.

 

Regardless of any T&C's, I was simply following the advice given to me by your own staff and cancelled the DD mandate as instructed.

 

I have already been contacted by CRS today and, if this happens again, I will proceed with formal complaints.

 

I will also use social media to make clear how Xercise4Less are happy to allow Harlands/CRS to harass your members.

 

[Jonesy0189]

I'll give that a go, cheers

[Jonesy0189]

Hi slick, sent the email as you advised and I have had an email response saying the following...

 

 

Thank you for your email.

 

As advised you both were sent several letters advising you of the status of your membership and to contact ourselves to resolve this to prevent any further administration charges, unfortunately these memberships were left unresolved and have since been passed to CRS.

 

You will need to contact CRS directly on 01444449165 to discuss your arrears.

 

 

Today I my wife has received a letter from crs giving us 10 days to pay the balance due otherwise they could pursue the claim through the courts which they state could result in a ccj. The weird thing is though is that only my wife has received this letter and not myself. Therefore they only seem so far to be pursuing my wife's debt but I could be wrong.

 

Any further help would be much appreciated.

Thank you in advance.

[Jonesy0189]

Also the email response I got stated we received numerous letters however we have only ever received 1 letter each which was from crs asked for the £207.47 each prior to this we have only ever received txt messages stating we are in arrears.

[slick132]

Hi again,

 

Don't worry about the number of letters you received (or not). X4Less won't alter their stance by you arguing this point.

 

From now on, ignore all comm'ns from Harlands/CRS but keep us posted.

 

Use social media to shame X4Less. Keep the comments polite and accurate so you are plausible.

 

Also complain to The CMA and Trading Standards if Harlands/CRS contacts amounts to harassment in your eyes.

 

[Jonesy0189]

Hi slick thank you for the reply. My wife is terrified by the thought of a ccj how do you know it won't go that far?

[dx100uk]

no gym has done a CCJ since atleast 2012 and that one they lost.

[slick132]

We've seen only one court case here in the last 5 years and that was a shambolic failure on the part of Harlands/CRS and the solicitors. See here - http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?431240-Harlands-CRS-**WITHDRAW-COURT-CLAIM**

 

Please reassure YW that this will NOT go anywhere near a court, unless you decide to take the gym and Harlands to court to stop their harassment.

 

[Jonesy0189]

Hi slick, just a quick update, since my last post both myself and my wife have both received a txt from crs on 30/03/17 stating it was urgent they spoke to us. And we have also both received a call from crs today 4/4/17 which we both ignored, both calls left automated voicemails. Do I just continue to ignore or is there anything I can do to try put this to bed? I have also as suggested read the court post it made for very good reading and has certainly put my mind at rest

 

As always any help would be much appreciated.

 

Best regards.

[slick132]

Hi Jonesy,

 

As well as reading the court failure thread, you should read other Harlands threads here.

 

There are many hundreds spanning several years but all recent ones give the same message - ignore Harlands/CRS, The Zinc Group and Sprat Endicott (Harlands current pet solicitor).

 

Let us know what contact you get but, in the main, we'll advise to ignore UNLESS you fancy taking Harlands to court if their demands amount to harassment.

 

[Jonesy0189]

No problem, thanks again for your help, I'll continue to read the excellent advice you have given and I will keep you informed if any updates.

Thank you