Credit Resolution Services/More Energy Gym

Hi, hoping someone can advise me further here. I had a gym account with More Energy, which I cancelled. I thought I had cancelled at the end of the contract - I apparently cancelled a month too early. Tried to resolve this directly with the gym and they refused, referring me to deal with Credit Resolution Services. The outstanding payment was £20, and CRS wanted £126.50. I sent the following letter:

CRS Ref no:
More Energy Ref. No:

To whom it may concern:

Further to your letter dated 07 December 2012 and our subsequent phone conversation during which you told me that you would not be willing to settle the account for the actual amount owed to More Energy, which is £20.00, I have considered the matter and I believe that you are being unreasonable and that these costs are unfair.

I reiterate my position that no basis for the amount of charges was laid down in the original credit agreement and are therefore not lawful.

Furthermore you have not clarified in writing who owns the debt and how you traced my current address. Nor have you provided me with a copy of the original contract that I signed.

To clarify matters,

I DO NOT ACKNOWLEDGE THE REMAINING DEBT AND THEREFORE REQUIRE YOU TO SUBSTANTIATE IT BY PROVIDING THE FOLLOWING DOCUMENTATION AS REQUIRED BY OBLIGATION, WHETHER YOU ARE THE ORIGINAL CREDITOR OR NOT, UNDER SECTION 189 OF THE CONSUMER CREDIT ACT 1974.

1. True copy of original credit agreement
2. Statement of account
3. Copy of the executed deed of assignment from Vitality to Credit Resolution Services.

I enclose a cheque to the value of £1 which represents payment of the statutory fee payable under the consumer credit act. I understand that a copy of my credit agreement should be supplied within 12 working days from the date of this letter. The sum supplied should not be used to reduce any debt, indeed to do so is unlawful.

I am disappointed you have refused my reasonable offer to conclude this dispute.

I understand that you may commence legal action against me. Any legal action you may contemplate will be both vigorously defended and contested and consider this matter to be in dispute. As part of my defence in any court action you will be asked to justify your charges giving a complete breakdown of the costs.

Furthermore, I will be making a counter claim against CRS for misrepresenting your charges as a debt I am liable for in the absence of any contractual obligation on my part. I draw your attention to the OFT guidelines on debt collection:


Charging for debt collection

2.9 Charges should not be levied unfairly.

2.10 Examples of unfair practices are as follows:

a. claiming collection costs from a debtor in the absence of express contractual or other legal provision.

b. misleading debtors into believing they are legally liable to pay collection charges when this is not the case, for example, when there is no contractual provision

d. applying unreasonable charges, for example, charges not based on actual and necessary costs

e. applying charges which are disproportionate to the main debt.

I consider your charge of £126.50 to be disproportionate to the main debt of £20.00 and not based on actual and necessary costs.

I look forward to receiving your summons. Your assurance that you ‘would be successful if this goes to a hearing’, is purely speculative on your part and therefore was written solely with the purpose of intimidating me into paying this disputed charge.


Indeed I believe you may be in breach of the:


Malicious Communications Act 1988. This deals with the sending of letters or articles for the purpose of causing distress or anxiety'. A person found guilty can be fined in the magistrate’s court. To prosecute successfully the letter or article sent would have to convey:
1. a message which is indecent or grossly offensive;
2. a threat; or
3. information which is false and known or believed to be false by the sender.

I believe you cannot know whether or not your claim will be successful until a Judge decides, so you have sent me information which is inherently false and thus constitutes a threat. If you continue to harass me in this manner I will be forced to take action under the Protection from Harassment act 1997.

Furthermore I have today written to the Office of Fair Trading reporting your unfair practices and calling into question your fitness to be licensed as debt collection agency.


I look forward to receiving the information requested within the statutory time limit.

I received this letter back, on the 9th February:

Dear____

Further to the above matter, and your communication received in our office. We enclose a copy of your Membership Agreement along with your Terms & Conditions. Please note that the Agreement you entered into was a Membership Agreement and not a Credit Agreement, so does not fall within the Consumer Credit Act 1974.

We do not need to obtain a Deed of Assignment from our client until such times we take legal action [sic] and therefore the debt at that time passes to ourselves, until that time, we act under the Laws of Agency.

We confirm that we will accept £60.00 in full and final settlement, which is the debt passed to ourselves by our client, which does not include any Debt recovery charges.

Please call the undersigned on 01444 449165, by the 16 February 13, to make the payment of £60.00, by card, to bring the matter to a resolution.

We look forward to hearing from you.


The attached documents include my membership application form, and a terms and conditions for a different company called Energy Fitness Professionals - which I think is loosely linked, but the these terms and conditions do not look the same (and are littered with grammatical errors).

Is this in fact a credit agreement? And do I have to deal with them as they did not respond for almost two months? Any help is greatly appreciated.