Help for how to deal with David Lloyd

[EGSP]

Hi,

Appreciate for any help or suggestions. 

My husband, our 2 sons and I are David Lloyd members for 2 years. The cost of the membership has been increased every year but the services and facilities (especially for families) are getting worse. Family changing rooms and lockers are rarely available during swimming lessons. Showers in family changing room only have had cold water and very low water pressure sometimes. Family changing room were flooded from the showers. 

Our boys also join swimming and tennis lessons. Originally, there were no lessons during school holidays. In Dec 2018, we were told that they were increasing the swimming and tennis lessons to 50 weeks a year and they started the new charge from Jan 2019. When we complained to the gym that they shouldn’t run lessons during holidays as we won’t be around, we were told that David Lloyd did a survey and the majority of the parents opted for 50 weeks and we just had to accept the change.  However, we asked around in the gym and none of the parents were aware of the so called survey. 

In late 2018, David Lloyd started tennis team with intensive trainings (3 sessions a week, just another way to get more money from parents). We were forced to pay more due to the new 50 week programme and in February, we were told that they need to increase £10 more per month from April due to the funding was cancelled from LTA and David Lloyd wants to reduce the tournaments and inter clubs activities.  So parents need to pay extra but receiving much less than they originally promoted. We were further informed that the intensive programme was just a trial and David Lioyd can do any adjustments. When we agreed to let our son join the intensive lessons, we were never told that they received the funding from LTA and it was just a trial. We now are told that we will need to give them a month notice for taking our sons out of the swimming and tennis lessons and we will need to give them 3 months notice if we want to leave the gym.

Apparently, David Lloyd should offer their memebers 3 months notice if they wants to increase prices. 

We believed that we were mis-sold the idea of the family gym when we signed up, were definitely lied to for the reasons of price increases and were mis-sold of the tennis programme which was just aimed to get more money from parents.

We are wondering if we can claim money back from our paid membership, the overcharged lessons and leave the gym without any notice as David Lloyd already breached the contract without offering enough notice and increase extra paid lessons without our consent. 

Any suggestions please? Many thanks. 

 

 

 

[dx100uk]

moved to the gym forum

dx

 

[EGSP]

Thanks. Rookie error. Just re-posted to gym forum. 

[slick132]

Hi EGSP and welcome to CAG

1. Can you find anything in the m/ship T&C's about the gym giving, or needing to give, 3 months notice of any price increases ?

2. Are you now on a rolling monthly agreement having served the initial minimum 12 months term ?

I think it's reasonable for you to cancel with just 1 months notice if they want to increase prices and you're not willing to pay the higher fees. They'll insist you should give 3 months notice but we always tell folk to challenge this as they're almost the only gym to require 3 months notice.

I doubt it's worth you reclaiming any amounts paid so far - probably far more trouble than it's worth.

[EGSP]

Hi slick123,

thanks for for the advice. 

We didn’t check our contracts but we spoke to the member service manager and she confirmed that gym needs to give us 3 months notice for any change.

we are on the rolling contract now. We can cancel any time but need to provide 3 months notice if we are cancelling our memberships and need to offer 1 month notice to take children out of the tennis and swimming lessons. We will insist on one month notice with David Lloyd.  Thanks again.

[dx100uk]

Utter rubbish!!

[slick132]

Hi EG,

Send or hand in a letter giving just 1 month's notice to cancel.

When the letter's gone in, allow 1 further month's fee to be taken by DD, then cancel the mandate direct with your bank.

Let us know when DL or ARC Europe start whinging !

[EGSP]

Hi slick123,

 

We went into David Lloyd to hand out our notice and complaint and advised the Genetal Manager that we have already cancelled our direct debit from April payments as the Membership Service Manager agreed that our notice could start from 1st March in the previous meetings. 

 

When the GM asked for the reason why we requested immediate cancellations and we explained our disappointment and complaints. The GM turned to be very adamant, defensive and speaking loudly. My husband started to raise his voice out of frustration and upset about the GM’s attitude. The GM kept interesting my husband and shout over my husband. Then, I tried to involve and asked my husband to lower his voice. When my husband stopped, I carried on the conversation with the GM. The GM turned his aggressive behaviour toward to me and still talked to me in very loud voice. I had no choice but asked him to stop so that I could talk but he still carried on interrupting me. At that moment, I demanded to stop the meeting as I worried what my husband was going to do because the way David Lloyd Dudley’s GM treated me. 

 

We are looking at how to progress this complaint given his attitude. 

 

Thanks. 

[slick132]

Hi EG,

 

The chance of this encounter at the gym having a good or useful outcome for you was zero !! You should simply have left the letter for the manager's attention and gone as there was no need for any discussion at all.

 

Follow the advice in post #7 above - you need do nothing more.

 

Complain to their Head Office about the gym manager's aggressive attitude if you want but it's not likely to change anything. Personally, I doubt it's worth your further time and effort.