Anybody know anything about evil Gyms?

[jemsie]

Just wondering if anyone can offer any advice/had similar experiences?

My little sister (who is only 17) signed some contract with Bannatynes Gym, for £40 a month, and then tried to cancel. They wouldnt let her, so she has just stopped the direct debit. They sent a few threatening letters and referred her to 'head office' - she didnt hear anything for ages but has just received an invoice from them for £340.

Anybody any expreince of struggling to get out of Gym contracts ? whats the worst that could happen ?? Thank you!!

hmmm don't know if it comes under the same rules but i know banks are not allowed to 'lend' money to under 18's debt in unenforcable until you are 18...same applies to overdrawn accounts they cannot charge interest and can threaten to recover the money but are not in a legal position to do so...perhaps this would fall under the same catatgory as long as she signed the contract herself....

The contract she will have signed is a fairly standard one whereby the gym offered a cheaper rate because she agreed to join for a year (or some other fixed period). She does owe them the money and given the current economic situation they will probably pursue it more diligently than if they had plenty of new members beating a path to their door. Whether the fact that she is under 18 had any bearing, I don't know.

www.consumerrightsexpert.co.uk/terminating-gym-contracts.html

You may find the above wesbite helpful.

Some more advice for your sister:-

Read the terms and conditions of the membership contract fully. A gym may require that you sign up for a year?s membership. Think carefully about your commitment and personal circumstances.
Don?t be pressured into signing a contract immediately ? take it away and read it carefully first. The terms of any contract must be fair, including not taking away your legal rights. If you?re unsure if a contract is fair, ring Consumer Direct to check.

Check the terms for rights to suspend or terminate the membership.

If you want to terminate your membership put it in writing, rather than in person or over the phone, to avoid any potential dispute in the future. And remember to keep a copy of all correspondence.

Don?t stop paying monthly direct debits to your gym until your membership has concluded. If you do the gym can claim outstanding arrears or pass these onto a debt collection agency.

You may be able to stop your gym membership within the contract period if the gym fails to provide a satisfactory quality of service. You would still need to continue paying membership fees until you notify the gym in writing with the reasons for terminating the contract.

If you have a dispute and you are still tied into the contract it is best to keep paying, but inform your bank and gym that you are paying ?under protest? until the dispute is resolved.

Even if your contract is coming to an end, you should still notify your gym in writing if you do not want to renew your membership as some gym memberships renew automatically and you could find yourself tied in for another 12 months.

jemsie, we had a bad experience with Bannatyne's when we cancelled our membership. With regard to your sister, she probably signed up to a 12-month agreement as is usual for gym memebership. However, 2 points:

1. If she cancelled immediately she could have been within a legal "cooling-off" period? This is when you have the right to change your mind without penalty and I think applies to all of these type of contracts.

Check the small print.

1. I am also dubious as to whether an under-18 can contract legally in these circumstances. I would have thought a 17 year old is a minor and therefore the contract would be unenforceable?

In our case, we had gone past the "compulsory" 12-month period when we cancelled and bannatynes tried to hold us to a 3-month notice period. As however we were dissatisfied with the service provided I told them that if they sent me anymore letters demanding money I would sue for harrassment. Never heard from them again.

With regard to Attila's post you can't be tied in for another 12 months, once the first 12 month period is up. Its then on a monthly basis.

Thanks very much for all your good advice everyone.. hopefully she has learnt a lesson here!

"With regard to Attila's post you can't be tied in for another 12 months, once the first 12 month period is up. Its then on a monthly basis".

Not the case in my experience with LA Fitness. What you sign is infact a credit agreement. It is extremely difficult to extricate yourself from a gym membership.

I would advise anyone thinking of joining a gym to be extremely cautious of doing so beforehand and sign nothing on the day itself.

There must be a notice period (applicable to both sides) though Attila, this would apply after the first 12 months is up.

In the case of Bannatynes the notice period was 3 months (after the first 12 months minimum contract expired).

Problems arise if you want to get out before those contractual periods are up.

You can't be tied into a membership contract for life, no matter how difficult they try to make it.

I'm having similar problems with next generation, having given 3 months notice in August 07 and paid up until December - they are still demanding money and I am still refusing to pay

I probably don't have a leg to stand on because I have no proof that I gave notice and I didn't receive written confirmation of the same, but I'd rather it went to court before I willingly give them another penny

I'd more than fulfilled my original 12 month obligation though

How did you give notice ?

verbally, so, not a leg to stand on

there was also the medical get out thing, my daughter was critically ill (and I mean touch and go critically) during that time and I was verbally assured that it would be fine (it was a joint membership thing, £99 a month!)

about six months later I started getting demands, I'm facing up to the fact that I might have to pay out eventually but I had bigger fish to fry at the time

I would now write to them (keeping a copy of your letter) telling them that you gave notice on blah blah date verbally and it was accepted.You can explain why it wasn't in writing at that time - re your dc etc. Then say that you will not be paying any more money and that if you receive anymore demands for money you will take it as constituting harrassment.

yes that's pretty much what I have done - except for the harrassment thing

I just get the occasional phone call from the debt recovery people, I don't understand why they haven't taken it to court yet if they are so sure of their grounds?