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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

AIBU Gym Membership

13 replies

MummyShah369 · 23/03/2022 15:07

I joined a gym in October of 2020 and paid an annual fee for membership. Due to covid shut down etc the renewal of the membership was due on the 1st of April. I got a reminder letter in late Feb to renew before 1st of April. The renewal fee seemed fine and I tried to renew in early March. However when I tried to renew the fee quoted was much higher and so I got in touch with the helpdesk. Eventually someone spoke to me and said that there was a mistake in the letter from the renewals team. They then gave me another quote which was even more expensive then what the booking app was asking for! I was then asked to send a copy of the renewal letter which I had to scan in and had another call. This time I was told that they will honour the initial price that was quoted. So I thought fine that’s all sorted, until when I went to pay and it would still be showing the older price. I wrote back to the gym and they said they will check with head office and sort it out. It was still not sorted out and then I was told that I needed to pay the more expensive price and there is nothing they can do about it.
So, I asked to know how I can cancel my membership and what the terms would be. I got a message saying your membership has been cancelled and I was free to use the GYM until July. I was a bit suspicious and so I fired an email to ask exactly how much it would cost me and got a casual response that was 1/3 the cost of the quoted membership!
Is this something that’s allowed or am I being the unreasonable not waning to pay them for the full cancelation term given they have mucked me about so much? Its impossible to talk to someone as they say they have centralised their membership. The worry I have is that I will be taken to debt collectors and it will be another level of hassle. I really just want to renew at the original price that I was quoted at, what would you do?

OP posts:
yellowsuninthesky · 23/03/2022 15:12

I'd write to them again setting out the chain of events from the beginning, saying you want to renew at the original price they offered and can someone with a brain please look at the matter (maybe reword the last bit :) )

Give them 7 days to respond and say if they don't you will put the matter in the hands of your solicitors. It is difficult to compel someone to enter into a contract they don't want to enter into though, and it's possible that their terms say if they've made a mistake on price they don't have to honour it. However you'd need to have those terms easily available to you.

MummyShah369 · 23/03/2022 15:28

they have a crap ticketing system and given I have spoken to them and they cant do anything not sure how far Ill get. The worst part is that they want to charge me for 2 months worth of termination fees on a higher monthly rate compared to the pro rata annual rate. Not sure what my rights are given the miss information as I could have given my notice earlier.

OP posts:
Nicholethejewellery · 23/03/2022 15:33

They have to leave you in the same position financially as you would have been if they hadn't made the mistake.

If their letter had stated the correct fee and you had enough time to cancel without paying any extra, you would have cancelled. Therefore that's the position they have to put you in, they couldn't charge you. You are only having to pay for this notice period because of their error, which is not acceptable.

I would write them a letter explaining the situation and state that they're not authorised to take any further payments. If they do, raise a claim with your bank. It's unlikely they'd take you to court but if they did, you'd win. Just keep all the evidence.

MummyShah369 · 23/03/2022 15:55

Its the hassle of keeping track of all this wish that someone with half a brain could be spoken too, perhaps I can also leave a google review and a trust pilot review!

OP posts:
xILikeJamx · 23/03/2022 16:14

How can they charge you for cancelling when it doesn't even renew until 1st April?

There will surely be some kind of 14 day cooling off period - are you still in that?

MummyShah369 · 23/03/2022 18:01

It’s not cancelling its termination notice period.
Basically I am in between a rock and hard place. If we cancel I need to find swimming lessons and tennis etc but normally I would have had two months to do it in. Due to their error and the fact that they said they would honour the initial agreement I was fine they then turn around and say no to honour it and want to charge me for the notice period 1/3 the cost of my initial membership for a 2 month period how is that fair?

OP posts:
RedWingBoots · 23/03/2022 18:06

Gyms and gym chains are well known for having unfair contact terms.

So if their termination clauses isn't clear it is worth fighting against them on this.

One thing to bear in mind is that they don't like people taking to any form of media. Unfortunately you have to be reasonable so you will need to wait until they threaten to take you to debt collectors before you do.

bellsbuss · 23/03/2022 18:24

Is it David Lloyd ?

MummyShah369 · 23/03/2022 18:28

I don’t want to give the name out but more get a discussion on what’s fair in my situation

OP posts:
RedWingBoots · 23/03/2022 18:34

What is fair is that your contact terminates on 31st March unless you actively renew it.

Consumer Rights Act 2015.

This link is from Citizens Advice -
www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/changed-your-mind/cancelling-a-gym-membership/

RedWingBoots · 23/03/2022 18:38

Sorry the Citizens Advice link uses the old act covering this but you can't be enforced to be in a contact for over a year when you initially signed up for a year.

All the gym memberships I've had with well-known names, apart from the time I was with David Lloyd, gave me a 30 day cancellation period after 1 year if I was paying monthly. If I paid yearly they didn't auto-renew after the year.

BTW the best site for consumer problems is MSE.

MummyShah369 · 25/03/2022 13:55

Seems like they have come to their senses after I went to them with a letter using a template the citizens advice bureau provided. Basically they were told that they are liable for damages and this would not be only the cost of their "extra two month fees" but also the cost of finding and making an alternative arrangement.
Not sure why they have to play hard ball would be just a nicer experience if people were sensible.

OP posts:
RedWingBoots · 25/03/2022 16:08

Good to hear OP!

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