harlands / crs debt demands

[chris rc]

I am hoping I can get some advice on my Xercise4Less membership.

 

I signed up with them in 2014 and did attend the gym for 2 years.

When i signed up the person who i spoke with told me that there would be no contract and that i could cancel my membership whenever i wanted which seemed to me like a good reason to join just incase i needed to cancel.

 

i finally cancelled the membership May last year due to me and the wife having a baby and not being able to attend anymore so i didn't step foot in there for 2 years.

 

I called in at my local gym and spoke with girl at the front desk explaining all this to her and she just told me to cancel my direct debit and said to leave it with her and not to worry, she never asked me to fill in any form just aked my name and she would short it.

 

Since i have done this i have been receiving a lot of emails texts, letters from CRS

most recent one being the 19th of January which has my old address on it for some reason and telling me i owe another £138.50 on top of what they already said i owed,which brought it to £243.47.

 

The other emails i have received form them have my new address on and the total amount they first asked for was £207.47 this just doesn't add up??.

 

I have spoke with them before over the phone which i regret doing back in August when i received my first letter and it didn't go well.

 

Since then i have sent numerous letters to both xercise for less and CRS and only CRS have responded.

I did say in one of my letters that i would be willing to pay the cancellation fee but that fell on deaf ears.

 

I have been getting advice from your forum reading other poeples post on here, so i have ingnored them since.

 

Any advice?

 

Thanks

Chris

Edited January 25, 2018 by slick132
Para spacing added

[Raees]

Unfortunately gyms do this on purpose. They want people signing up and not coming so they can take as much money as possible from inactive members. All of them have a business model like this but xercise4less takes it to the extreme (given the number of x4l threads on this website)

[slick132]

Hi Chris and welcome to CAG

 

I'm going to edit your post to make it easier to read - big blocks of text put people off.

 

Then I'll address your issues .............

 

[slick132]

Hi Chris,

 

It looks like you're up to speed with this already.

 

You know now to stay OFF the phone as talking to Harlands/CRS will get you nowhere.

 

You say you're written offering to pay the "cancellation fee". This would normally be just 1 month's fee for the notice period required.

 

So now all you need do is write to Harlands one last time saying :-

 

Dear Harlands/CRS,

 

I refer to demands from Harlands/CRS.

 

Please note my present address is xxxx xxxx xxxxx as you have written to my old address for some reason.

 

I wrote offering to pay a month's fee for the notice I failed to give but you chose to accept my offer.

 

I will pay you nothing more and will not communicate with Harlands/CRS again but further demands from you will be logged and reported as harassment.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Get a free Cert of Posting at the PO when you send this letter.

 

[chris rc]

Hi,

 

Thanks for getting back to me and appreciate you sending me the template letter.

 

I will keep you updated.

[chris rc]

Just to update you i have just had a text from CRS this morning telling me to contact them ASAP.

 

Saying they sent me a letter last week and would like to dicuse it with me.

 

They are really starting to annoy me now they shouldn't be able to get away with this harassment.

[slick132]

Ignore, as you already know.

 

Keep a log of all form of contact in case a harassment complaint is made.

 

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

 

[chris rc]

Hi again,

 

I have just received another email from CRS this is what is says.

 

Re: CRS Ref No:

Xercise 4 Less Ref. No:

Following our initial letter, we are disappointed that your account with Xercise 4 Less is still in arrears and

our fee has not been paid.

 

We would still like to reach an amicable resolution to this, however, if you fail to respond to this

letter, we will have no option but to commence further action to recover the monies owed. The

options available to us are:

1. LEGAL ACTION

We believe you are in breach of a legally binding contract with Xercise 4 Less because you have not paid

your membership and our fees. We may pursue a claim under this contract through the Courts. If we do so

the following process would apply:

 

1. We will write a formal letter explaining what we are demanding and give you a final

opportunity to pay/reply;

 

2. If this failed to settle the matter we would issue proceedings against you in the County Court;

 

3. You could then either:

 

a. make payment, ending the legal process, or

b. dispute some, or all, of the amount was owed.

 

4. If you dispute the amount was owed the Court process would continue, at the end of which

the Court would make a decision on our claim.

 

5. A strict Court imposed timescale will apply in relation to the Court process.

Were we to be successful in our claim, or if you ignore the claim, a County Court Judgment (CCJ) may be

registered against you requiring you to make payment. You may also be liable for our costs of pursuing

legal action and interest on the amount owed.

 

If you then fail to pay the amount covered by the CCJ we would take the next steps required to enforce the

judgment. To do this we would have to make an application to Court.

2. OUTSOURCE TO EXTERNAL AGENTS

 

Your account would be passed to another Collection Agency who will take further action to recover the

monies owed.

 

YOU CAN AVOID THIS HAPPENING IF WITHIN THE NEXT 10 DAYS YOU CONTACT US ON

 

What should i do now?

 

Thnaks

[slick132]

Hi Chris,

 

What should you do ?

 

Nothing at all as experience shows their threats are empty and they'll do nothing.

 

[chris rc]

Thanks slik all hot air from them then.Is there any chance that they would take me to court over this?

 

Thanks again

[dx100uk]

no gyms have not done court since their historic failure in 2012

 

block and bounce their email address

[chris rc]

Thanks for the advice

[chris rc]

Just a quick one.

 

How would go about putting in a harassment complaint about them?

 

I just want them off my back really don't need the hassle anymore.

 

I can bounce their emails, but they still have my mobile number and home address.

 

Thanks

[slick132]

Hi Chris,

 

Keep the log of all contacts from them.

 

If they continue to harass you, you can make a complaint to Trading Standards and The CMA but neither will be able to intervene on your individual case.

 

The other option open to you is to take direct action with a claim in the County Court. Probably best to seek a nominal sum of compensation, decided at the court's discretion, for the continuing harassment.

 

Look here about the minimal expense involved - https://www.gov.uk/make-court-claim-for-money/court-fees

 

If you want to go for this, let us know and I'll get some more specialised advice.

 

[chris rc]

Thanks very much i will look into it.

[chris rc]

Hi again,

 

Just a update from these clowns.Threatening me now with Zing Group Ltd.

 

We regret that despite our attempts to reach an amicable resolution to your account, you remain in arrears to

Xercise 4 Less.

 

We must therefore give notice that failing to reply to this letter within the next 10 days will result in your account

 

balance being passed to Zinc Group Ltd, one of the UK's leading providers of debt recovery solutions.

 

WE WOULD STILL LIKE TO RESOLVE THIS MATTER

 

We're still happy to listen to your reasons for not paying and will do whatever we can to reach an acceptable

resolution for both parties. All that is required is for you to call us on 01444 449 165 by no later than 12th March

18 so we can discuss your account further.

 

Yours sincerely

 

For Credit Resolution Services

 

 

From looking on here i have seen people say that its the same company just a differnt printer with the Zinc logo on ?

 

I have ingored them anyway.

 

I am still waiting for them to take me to court from the last letter they sent me from the start of Feb which they gave me 10 days to reply.

 

Thanks.

[slick132]

Hi Chris,

 

Zinc will do nothing so simply ignore them

 

[chris rc]

Thanks Slick.

[chris rc]

Little update,they are now offering me 20% discount -

 

Hello Chris

 

IMPORTANT - PLEASE CALL US TODAY ON 01444 449165 - 20% DISCOUNT AVAILABLE

 

In an attempt to try and help you resolve your account, we are able to offer you a 20% discount if you are able to settle the remaining balance owed.

 

Our office is open between 08:30am and 6:00pm, Monday to Friday. Your reference number again is 8507982.

 

If you would prefer us to call you, please confirm a suitable number to reach you on.

 

Many thanks,

 

Rob Avery

 

CRS Collections Manager

 

Just thought i would add this in here.

 

Thanks

[slick132]

Hi Chris,

 

Continue to ignore. No action necessary for now.

 

[chris rc]

Thanks

What do you think the outcome will be with this?

[dx100uk]

what do you mean?

[chris rc]

Sorry i mean will they eventually stop contacting me ? or will they continue with the emails and texts?

[dx100uk]

yes

read other threads

dx

[slick132]

As DX says, other threads show how annoying Harlands/CRS will be.

 

They can carry on with demands for months and even years.

 

Re-read my post #14 about your option to stop their harassment by taking court action against THEM !