I have been stitched up by Virgin Active. Anyone know if I can take this futher?

Honeybee_2

Is there a way in which a lower fee can be negotiated, then paid off as a pro forma?

digp

That may be an unfair clause. Fancy testing it in the courts?

stevemLS

Whilst I don't practice consumer law, I am a lawyer and I don't think it would be regarded as unfair.

The relevant Schedule of the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 (as amended) sets out guidelines as to what might be unreasonable:

The matters to which regard is to be had in particular for the purposes of sections 6(3), 7(3) and (4), 20 and 21 are any of the following which appear to be relevant—

(a) the strength of the bargaining positions of the parties relative to each other, taking into account (among other things) alternative means by which the customer’s requirements could have been met;

(b) whether the customer received an inducement to agree to the term, or in accepting it had an opportunity of entering into a similar contract with other persons, but without having to accept a similar term;

(c) whether the customer knew or ought reasonably to have known of the existence and extent of the term (having regard, among other things, to any custom of the trade and any previous course of dealing between the parties);

(d) where the term excludes or restricts any relevant liability if some condition is not complied with, whether it was reasonable at the time of the contract to expect that compliance with that condition would be practicable;

(e) whether the goods were manufactured, processed or adapted to the special order of the customer.

southernscouser

IWantToBeFree wrote: »

Like you said, it was, in the small print. It is assumed that when you sign a contract you have read the terms and conditions, therefore it was brought to your attention, its not the companies fault that you failed to read it.

I have come across 12 month rolling contracts in many circumstances, the main one being my leisure pass from my old LA. They certainly aren't uncommon.

Well I for one have never heard of it and I'd even question it's legality. Just because something is written in a signed contract it doesn't mean it's legal.

And how many people genuinely read all the small print. I'd have a seizure after term number 8,140,876 secition Z, sub-section 171.



OP, I'd question the fact you weren't told at the start that you only had a 17 day window per year to cancel, which frankly is a p!ss take. I'd also politely tell them you'd be more than willing to stand outside their doors and scare off potential customers.

mymatebob

southernscouser wrote: »

Well I for one have never heard of it and I'd even question it's legality. Just because something is written in a signed contract it doesn't mean it's legal.

And how many people genuinely read all the small print. I'd have a seizure after term number 8,140,876 secition Z, sub-section 171.



OP, I'd question the fact you weren't told at the start that you only had a 17 day window per year to cancel, which frankly is a p!ss take. I'd also politely tell them you'd be more than willing to stand outside their doors and scare off potential customers.

I don't think you even need to get to the small print

On the membership page of their website the first mentioned is "Diamond Membership"

Fixed price for life as opposed to their "12 month contract membership" which is listed next

http://www.virginactive.co.uk/VA/Content/Membership/Membership.aspx

dhughes23a

I implore you all to write to BBC’s Watchdog and it could feature in an upcoming programme, particularly at the moment in the ‘fitness season’.

Go to bbc.co.uk/watchdog/gotastory/

Click on Subject “Sport, Leisure and Entertainment”, then sub category “Health clubs and leisure centres”.

This is what I wrote:

Virgin Active gyms partake in a very unfair practice in the membership contracts. One of their membership packages the “Diamond Membership” requires that you sign a 12 month rolling contract. Therefore if you do not cancel the membership by "the seventeenth day of the twelfth month”, then you are automatically entered into another 12 month contact. Virgin Active do not send a reminder at the end of each 12 month period. The cancellation fee is the remainder of your 12 month contact. Therefore I am in a situation where I have been a member of Virgin Active Health Club for nearly 7 years and will need to pay in excess of £700 to cancel my contract. Do watchdog feel this is fair or acceptable? I am not alone on this issue, a quick Google search brings up many forums, e.g. [I gave them a load or links]

TheRock

Hi There

you should be able to suspend your membership and reduce the payment to £5 a month as long as you no longer use the gym, it's not ideal but if you dont use the gym at all now....granted you'll be paying £5 a month for nothing but it's better than £40 a month for nothing.

Hope this helps.