Cancellation of Virgin active gym membership

Hannah17_2 · 23 October 2008 at 5:14PM

Hi,

Looks like everone has a BIG issue with VA, I tried to cancel 4 weeks too late and now have been told I have to pay for yet another year.

Has ANYONE actually resolved this as all I can find is everyone's complaint and nobody has posted a solution.

petrafyde · 23 October 2008 at 11:22PM

Hm, now I don't know if this applies or not - but there are templates (excluding bank overdrafts and mobile phone contracts as far as I'm aware) which allow you to request the original CCA which is the credit agreement you signed.

My train of thought, is that if they cannot prove you agreed a contract with them in the first place, they cannot enforce a further 12 months from you.

I suggest you go and post on the DFW (debt free wannabe) forum (just copy and paste this one with a sub-text about the CCA agreement thing I've just mentioned. I say DFW because the most knowledgable people that I've seen so far frequent that forum and should at least be able to point you in the right direction. Good luck

sophiel_3 · 27 February 2009 at 12:01PM

I work in a senior management position in the industry and was shocked at the seemingly witless back end administration/financial processes to what is effectively a good quality front end product. Am quite fuming.

*I've just been trying to cancel our Virgin Active memberships, having been members for 20 months
*We were advised at Point of Sale that we were committed to 12 months, and then a rolling contract
*We're moving out of the area and were advised that if you're moving more than a 15 minute drivetime from a club, then memberships can be cancelled
*We have since been informed that we are being privileged with the 'buy out' option whereby you can pay 50% of your remaining dues, and the membership is cancelled
*You cannot however continue to train at any club during the 50% of your remaining membership that you have effectively paid for - that is somewhat jokeworthy. If I pay for a service, I'll make sure I use it...even if it means driving for half an hour to get there!

What I find most surprising for a big brand (I understand the VA subbrand is small, but even so) there is apparently NO member communication journey following acquisition of a new member. Best practise involves a welcome letter, a renewal letter, offer emails at the very least. We received not
one member communication in all of our time as members. Not even when we reached our 12 month renewal/cancellation window. If not a breach of contract, this is desperately poor member service.

If customers experience a poor exit from your service, they are guaranteed never to return. A lesson VA could do with learning.

clairew17 · 19 March 2009 at 10:39PM

same problem. called to cancel my contract. ive been with the gym for 15 months and want to leave now. they said oh you cant you have another 9 months to go yet. i said no i dont feeling quite annoyed the man could be so dumb i said ive done way over a year. only then did i hear this garbage that I am in a rolling contract. i was ever informed of this or asked if this was ok. 12 months was yes, but not another 12 without checking with me to which i would have said no. can anyone help me get out of this onerous contract. i dont want to be a member there anymore. i am truly disguted they think it is ok to rip people off without them even knowing. I am MBA educated not stupid person but I had no clue about thsi. It is the Preston branch. Any tips to get out? Thank you.

amelia1 · 20 March 2009 at 10:55AM

Hi - I just called my VA gym yesterday to cancel and have experienced the same problem. I've been a member for 15 months and have now moved out of the area. Like everyone else here I wasn't told I was being tied into a rolling contract which I could only cancel 6 days once every 12 months. What a truly appalling policy. If anyone has any advice on how to manage this I'd be really keen to hear.

I'm going to follow this up myself and will be writing to the Office of Fair Trading to see if there's anything that can be done. It's certainly put me off the whole of the Virgin brand. Totally outrageous customer management. I don't know how long they'll be able to get away with this policy, particularly with the current economic climate.
Thanks.

runon · 6 April 2009 at 2:02PM

Same happening to me with this terrible Virgin Active 'rolling' 12 month contract.

I have emailed them with my intention to stop payments today (I have paid 12 months).

I have informed them that I consider this matter to be a "contractual dispute" and not a failure to pay on my part.

I have informed them that as the matter is now in dispute it shold not be passed to a debt collection agency and it should not be passed to credit reference agencies until the matter has been resolved by a court and a judgement made as to the legality of their contract and whether I do indeed owe them any more money.

I have quoted the Office of Fair Trading (unfair contract terms)
specifically, the follwing:

Group 8: Excessive notice periods for consumer cancellation –

paragraph 1(h) of Schedule 2

"Schedule 2, paragraph 1, states that terms may be unfair if
they have the object or effect of:
(h) automatically extending a contract of fixed duration where
the consumer does not indicate otherwise, when the deadline
fixed for the consumer to express his desire not to extend the

contract is unreasonably early."

and..

8.1 A clause which states how long a contract has to run is likely to be among its most important 'core' terms

24 If a lesser term in small print can be used, relying on customer inertia, to extend the contract period beyond what the consumer would normally expect, it is not a core term, and is liable to be considered unfair.

8.2 Particular suspicion attaches to a term in a contract for a fixed period which, if early notice to cancel is not given, automatically commits the consumer to a renewed fixed term.

8.3 The OFT considers that an over-long cancellation notice term may also be unfair in a contract which continues indefinitely rather than for a fixed term. Consumers entering such contracts normally expect to be able to end it a reasonable time after they decide they no longer want or can no longer afford what is provided under it. If they are required to make a cancellation decision too far ahead of time, they are liable either to forget to do so when they need to, or wrongly to anticipate their future needs. In either case, the effect of the term is the same as that of an 'automatic renewal' clause – they experience an unintended extension of their payment obligations.

I want to know the following -

1. Why was the 'rolling nature' of the contract not clearly explained to me at the time its was signed. I signed a "12 month contract" I have completed those 12 months.

2. As they hold my telephone number and home address why was no effort made to contact me to see if I wished to be locked into another 12 month contract?

3. I tried to bring the contract to an end several times but I was told it was "too early" then told it was "too late" - the window to cancel is unfair.

max2009 · 6 April 2009 at 2:09PM

It is in black and white in the contract the procedure.Ignorance is no excuse.

runon · 6 April 2009 at 2:18PM

They could put in their contract that they would punch me in the face if I stopped paying.

Because it is "in the contract" does not mean it is fair or that it can be enforced.

The OFT tends to agree.

runon · 6 April 2009 at 3:36PM

After speaking with Consumer Direct 0845 040506

Seems I need to be quoting The Supply of Goods Act as well.

Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982. Sale and Supply of Goods Act 1994. The Sale and Supply of Goods to Consumers Regulations 2002, Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 and Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999.

VA failed in their duty to keep me informed (the 17 day window to cancel).

It is reasonable to assume that VA had that information on their computer system. As a member of the general public, it cannot be assumed that I would have had that informaton to hand. As VA is acting as business, it is their responsibility to keep me informed.

Been advised to keep making the monthly payments but state these will be claimed back.

Got a reference from Consumer Direct and they are very interested on the developments (or lack of them) on this issue.

jolly_roger_3 · 9 April 2009 at 6:34PM

im having the same grief - faxed them cancellation with 3 months to go and they kept charging me after this then they now want me to "buy out of contract" - Im kicking off big time

Cancellation of Virgin active gym membership

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