ARC & Bannatynes demanding monies

[Sparky6669]

Hi,

 

Never done one on these before so not sure how to begin.

 

I joined Bannatyne's on a 12 month contract for the gym

I think I may have been 6 months within my contract

and then due to relocation I wanted to cancel my contract.

 

I sent bannatynes an email on the 16th April expressing I was relocating therefore out of courtesy I would make one final payment in May of £35 and cancel my direct debit.

 

I had an email saying I could freeze my account or pass my membership on,

but no one wants to buy a contract for a gym from someone & I was in no position to freeze my account.

 

I then received a telephone call from my local branch at bannatynes where they asked about my direct debit

I explained I paid 1 month notice and cancelled it due to relocation

 

I was informed in the call that my account would be closed and no further monies would be required due to my relocation I was even wish the best in my travels.

Thought nothing more of it,

 

over a year down the line and ACR contact me saying I owe £255.

I asked for them to retrieve telephone recordings,

they wouldn’t,

they told me to contact bannatynes and pay £10 under an act.

 

Bannatyne’s have already told me they don’t have branch telephone recordings.

ACR advised if I provided proof of relocation that the fees would be waived.

 

I provided a letter from my cousin to show of my temporary relocation - still not good enough.

 

Due to the relocation being temporary I had no bills in my name.

 

I was quite upset I’d put my faith in to a bannatynes staff member and now this.

 

Any help would be really appreciated.

 

Thank you

[fkofilee]

ARC Europe? Ignore - Nothing can happen with these debts...

[renegadeimp]

Ignore ignore and ignore some more. They can't touch you.

[fkofilee]

Can i just add ARC dont physically own the "debt"

Also did you check the T&Cs on the gym agreement... If you moved do they let you out of the contract??

[dx100uk]

moved to the gym forum.

 

as stated

ignore them

 

a DCA is NOT A BAILIFF

and has

NO LEGAL POWERS WHATSOVER

on ANY TYPE DEBT.

[Sparky6669]

I had obviously spoken to them when I got the letter but you think from now on ignore them?

Iv done so much research on it and people say ignore it then others say don’t so thought I’d give it ago on here!

Then people tell me about I might go to court over *

 

Can i just add ARC dont physically own the "debt"

Also did you check the T&Cs on the gym agreement... If you moved do they let you out of the contract??

 

They said if I could provide evidence of relocating 15 miles away from a bannatynes gym they would waive the fee.

 

They didn’t say how I could provide this evidence so I sent them a letter signed by the person I stayed with - not good enough they then decided it had to be a bill of some sort.

[dx100uk]

Not sure where you've been

But gyms have not done court in +5yrs now

[slick132]

Hi Sparky and welcome to CAG

 

My inclination is to write to ARC just once setting out the basics, so you can be seen to have done the right thing. You should also copy this to Bannatynes telling them to call off ARC or you'll make formal complaints about harassment.

 

Before I go on :-

 

1. How far from the gym did you move when you relocated.

 

2. Do you have your copy of the email sent to the gym in May, and their email reply.

 

[Sparky6669]

Hi!

 

1. I moved to Plymouth where there is no bannatynes in site but it was between travelling from my home address and to Plymouth so very much temporary and no time to go to the gym with commuting.

 

This was what I sent bannatynes

“I am writing to you, to cancel my membership with Bannatynes as of 20/04/16. I am unfortunately relocating to another country where you can not provide the facilities or membership for me anymore. Therefore please take this email as my cancellation and I will cancel the direct debit after the next payment in May 2016.”

 

I can’t even find the reply anywhere on email other than this one they sent me a couple of weeks back when they said they sent me it.

As you are aware the contract agreed to upon joining 27th November 2016 is for a minimum period of 12 months with a cancellation period of 1 complete calendar month written notice which may be given after the 11th month of membership, therefore we are

 

10 unable to cancel memberships within this term.

 

12 However in light of the correspondence received and as a gesture of goodwill we will authorise for the transfer of your membership to another person.

 

14 The above is subject to all membership fees being up to date (and the potential member is over the age of 18 years and not currently a member of a Bannatyne Health Club). The potential member is also required to pay the current joining fee which will be a

 

15 minimum of £20.00. Our xxxx Health Club will happily arrange this transfer for you once you have provided us with the name and date of birth of the potential member.

 

17 As a further gesture of goodwill, we will reduce the remaining contractual amount by 20% and therefore a settlement of £203.38 is offered to cancel your membership with immediate effect.

 

19 This offer is applicable for a period of 14 days and if accepted must be paid within that time. If this should be declined or unpaid your membership and fees payable will continue as

 

28 Another option we could offer is that we are able to offer a freezing facility as a gesture of goodwill which would be for a minimum of 2 months to a maximum of 6 months.

 

30 Freeze periods are charged at £6.00 per month, per person.

 

32 If you are within your initial contract any freeze period will extend your initial contract by the length of the freeze period and any outstanding fees would be required to be brought up to date.

 

34 Should you wish to continue with your freeze request please confirm in writing/email to ourselves no later than the 20th of the month so we may process this for you.

 

35 Should you require any further assistance please do not hesitate to contact us.

[slick132]

Hi Sparky,

 

Transferring the m/ship to a 3rd party is nonsense and you have no obligation to even try to do this.

 

I'm not sure why the numbering is showing in your post above but never mind that.

 

Is it true that you relocated to another country ? Or did you mean county ?

 

No need to reply to ARC until we have all the info needed to give you the best advice.

 

[Sparky6669]

Hi,

 

Thank you for your help really appreciate this.

 

I moved to another county which was 15 miles away from a bannatynes gym

as it was only temporary over 2 months I didn’t have anything hard evidence to proof I moved there other than a letter.

 

I did go away to Thailand but that was only for a short period of time as I didn’t like it.

 

ARC haven’t told me i have to pay this money by a set date or anything either which I find strange

how can they demand money but not tell you when you’ve got to pay it by?

Thank you

[slick132]

When you told the gym you were cancelling due to moving to another county, did you tell them anything about this being a temporary move ?

 

[Sparky6669]

No I didn’t tell them this was temporary,

as far as they know I was relocating

 

when I spoke to a member of their staff at the branch

I just said I was relocating

she wished me all the best

said she would get it cancelled

- silly me for listening to that

[slick132]

You're not silly at all - you just took the gym's word at face value.

 

Typed letter (not email) to ARC and get free Certificate of Posting at the PO when sending :-

 

Dear ARC (Europe) Ltd,

 

I refer to my m/ship at Bannatynes gym in [Town/City].

 

I told the gym by email I had to cancel due to relocation and that I'd pay a final fee for the notice period before cancelling the DD mandate.

 

After the DD was cancelled, I spoke to the gym and they said all was fine and the matter was closed.

 

If you continue to make demands for gym fees or your own admin fees, I will make formal complaints to the gym's Head Office, The CMA and Trading Standards about your harassing me.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Keep us posted .............

 

[Sparky6669]

Hi,

 

Thank you for your advice,

I sent the letter yesterday recorded delivery and probably due to the time of year they won’t get it until next week or even the new year.

 

They sent me an email yesterday saying

“my account with bannatynes has been transferred to ARC for account management please get in contact as soon as possible to make payment”

 

Do I ignore this and only deal with them in writing via mail?

 

Thank you

[dx100uk]

ofcourse

a DCA is NOT A BAILIFF

and has

ABSOLUTELY NO LEGAL POWERS ON ANY DEBT TO ANYONE.

[slick132]

Hi Sparky

 

Yup, just ignore this until you get a specific reply to the letter you sent to ARC in post in post #15 above.

 

Reply to nothing until you update us.

 

[Bazooka Boo]

And ensure you embarrass the gym on social media, let everyone know just how customers can expect to be treated should they dare attempt at leaving the gym.

[ericsbrother]

never email these people, they will just harass you for free.

Hi,

 

Thank you for your advice,

I sent the letter yesterday recorded delivery and probably due to the time of year they won’t get it until next week or even the new year.

 

They sent me an email yesterday saying

“my account with bannatynes has been transferred to ARC for account management please get in contact as soon as possible to make payment”

 

Do I ignore this and only deal with them in writing via mail?

 

Thank you

[Sparky6669]

Hi,

 

They received my letter I sent on the 28th December.

 

They have tried ringing my house phone on countless occasions.

 

I have blocked the number.

 

Just waiting for them to contact me back in writing.

 

They always seem to get in contact on a Friday just before the weekend lol!

 

Thank you everyone!!

[slick132]

It's a good idea to keep a log of the time and type of all contact attempts by ARC to report them if necessary.

 

Ignore all payment demands and requests that you contact them - more empty threats.

 

[Sparky6669]

Hi,

 

Still not received anything back from them - people say no news is goods news right?

 

Don’t think they’d drop the case just like that would they?

 

Thank you for your advise!!

[renegadeimp]

There is no case. Its just silly DCA's sending out threatograms hoping youll fall for it. They get bored eventually and go and chase someone else.

[dx100uk]

been here a month now and you've not read one other gym thread

CAG is self help too!!

[Sparky6669]

I do apologise.

 

This is all way above my head to be honest.

 

Never had to do anything like this so completely mind blown by it.

 

Cautious of saying or doing the wrong thing