Warning Bannatynes Gym -Unfair Contract Terms

mccannce

UPON JOINING BANNATYNE GYM I FOOLISHLY DIDNT BOTHER READING THROUGH THE ENTIRE CONTRACT SO I DIDNT REALISE THEY HAD A 3 MONTH CANCELLATION FEE- I HAD SIMPLY ASKED THE LADY IF AFTER THE 12 MONTH CONTRACT I COULD LEAVE WHENEVER I CHOSE- AND SHE REPLIED YES OF COURSE- NOT A LIE IN FAIRNESS BUT SHE KEPT THAT INFORMATION FROM ME - ALL SHE WANTED WAS MY SIGNATURE I SUPPOSE! AFTER 2 YEARS WITH BANNATYNNE I PHONED TO CANCEL MY MEMBERSHIP AS I HAD BROKEN MY ANKLE- I HAD TO GET A LETTER FROM MY DOCTOR TO STATE I WAS UNABLE TO USE THE GYM FOR A MINIMUM OF 8 MONTHS- WHICH I DID- THEN I RECEIVED A LETTER LAST WEEK STATING THAT MY APPLICATION TO CANCEL HAD BEEN ACCEPTED AND I HAVE TO PAY £98 FOR CANCELLATION FEES??? WHAT????
APPARANTLY IT'S A £50 ADMIN FEE AND £48 FOR FEES OWED FOR A 30 DAY NOTICE PERIOD- I DONT EVEN KNOW WHAT THATS ABOUT? I DIDNT GIVE ANY 3O DAYS NOTICE- I CERTAINLY DIDNT GET THAT NOTICE BEFORE I BROKE MY ANKLE. IT'S A DOWNRIGHT DISGRACE!!!:mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad:

Zippy123

liam8282 wrote: »

I can understand what people are saying here but just because something is written into the t & c's doesn't make it right.

If a company decided to put in the t & c's, if you cancel you have to pay us £1million, would that be right, just because you signed it??

Of course it is!

At work we spend months putting deals together for clients and have mimimum terms of 12 months with 6 months notice and the last big deal had fees of over £1m if they left us within a year because it cost us about that much to put everything in place for them.

A gym will need to find a replacement member, their costs will stay about the same. They may have taken someone else on when so many people signed up so if they all leave without notice its going to cost the gym.

Read the contract, you don't need to sign it if you don't like it!!!

Zippy123

Landprofits wrote: »

3 months is indeed an unreasonable notice period to cancel a subscription for somehting you no longer want or need.

That depends on what the suppliers set up costs are!

Mobile phone companies want 13 months tie in 12 months contract and 1 months notice because of the subsidised cost of the phone. Cancelling after one month is possible but will require you to pay a penatly.

What if the supplier had stocked up on parts 3 months in advance because thats how long it took to order goods in. Three months notice would seem reasonable in those circumstances.

coffee_king

OK, so this is where myself and my partner stand with this.

We went to the gym on 10/01/2010 and took on a 12 month contract starting on 01/02/2010.
We actually paid from 10/01/2010 to 31/01/2010 separately so we could get using the gym there and then. I cant remember if it was advised for us to start the 12 month contract on 01/02/2010 by us or them to be honest.

We are now about to move home to a completely new area and I too did not realise until last week (Yes I know thats no excuse) that they had a 3 month cancellation policy.

So I emailed them (and hand delivered) my cancellation letter on 19th November 2010.

Hoping that maybe they would just take 1st Jan 2011 as the last payment (as that would be a full 12 months).
Otherwise I hoped that we would just have to pay for those 19 extra days taking it up to 19th February 2011 but of course no.

They want me to pay for the entire last month of February (with me being able to use it up to the end of February).

Any thoughts or suggestions?
It does state 3 months, but not 3 FULL months as from the start of each month.
What if I had gone in on the 2nd of a month? We would have had to pay for a whole extra month nearly.

Thanks

KEZA1

i have had terrible problems 2 years ago i signed up , i went in there 2 wks later and told them i was going 2 cancel because of ill health and was told 2 bring my photo card round n the agreement back round 2 them i done that showed them the medical form im 100 % sure he photocopied it the young lad and he told me that was fine he would pass it 2 his manager when she come back, 2 yr down the line i have received a court letter , i rang banatymes and asked them what the hell is this , the guy told me you don't get a cooling of period and you cant cancel i say well why haven't i received any letters regarding this he tried 2 say 3 letters had been delivered and posted back not at this address , and have told me 2 fill in the page of the court letter what ever it was i done that and now its being took further it is 2 years down the line they know i haven't a leg 2 stand on because of the time lapse i told him i was on benefits and was suffering bad with stress and this is how they treat people i would like 2 state if the letters was sent back why wasn"t one sent recorded delivery i had received promotion letters what a joke i think he is deceiving 2 many people and he is a joke i used the gym once or twice and its goin 2 cost me 300 quid well il fight it as much as i can the trouble is they are quick enough 2 get u to sign up and throw all theses offers but are not quick enough 2 accept they are wrong as i personally went round there and the worst is its my word against his its a difference when u have money u can fight cases like this but he knows i havnt as i told one of his employes while speaking 2 him its a true saying money go 2 money and thats why you are so well off by misleading people..and the small print i can jus see the letters on here never mind the small print ..

lucylucky

^^^^^^^I don't know about small print but I cannot read or understand the above post!

paddyrg

Of course, you can always give a month's notice to cancel, cancel the payments, let them know you don't think 3 months is fair and question whether it was a reasonable term in the context of the contract - and invite them to sue you for the other 2 months if they wish to. In all likelihood, they will know it's not worth it and be smart and walk away.

sweety

Am looking to sign up for a joint membership deal - am i right to think the contract will be for 12 months with a 3 month prior to end cancellation period?........because my wife has been told its monthly and that we can leave after 3 months if we dont like it!! This doesnt seem to be what you other folks have encountered!! Should i get their version in writing or maybe just avoid,,,,,,

coffee_king

coffee_king wrote: »

OK, so this is where myself and my partner stand with this.

We went to the gym on 10/01/2010 and took on a 12 month contract starting on 01/02/2010.
We actually paid from 10/01/2010 to 31/01/2010 separately so we could get using the gym there and then. I cant remember if it was advised for us to start the 12 month contract on 01/02/2010 by us or them to be honest.

We are now about to move home to a completely new area and I too did not realise until last week (Yes I know thats no excuse) that they had a 3 month cancellation policy.

So I emailed them (and hand delivered) my cancellation letter on 19th November 2010.

Hoping that maybe they would just take 1st Jan 2011 as the last payment (as that would be a full 12 months).
Otherwise I hoped that we would just have to pay for those 19 extra days taking it up to 19th February 2011 but of course no.

They want me to pay for the entire last month of February (with me being able to use it up to the end of February).

Any thoughts or suggestions?
It does state 3 months, but not 3 FULL months as from the start of each month.
What if I had gone in on the 2nd of a month? We would have had to pay for a whole extra month nearly.

Thanks

I wrote back with the following, and they responded by saying my membership will cease on 19/02/2011 with the last payment of £53.72 being taken on 01/02/2011.
So this does work, but of course it wont get you out of your 3 month notice period.

Firstly I would like to state that three months notice period is an extortionate amount of time to cancel anything (Even mobile phones are 1 month after end of initial contract) but I see this is currently being investigated by the Office Of Fair Trading.
Paragraph 6d states 3 months notice, it does not state anywhere 3 months and then the days after this period taking you up to the end of the month.
We have therefore given notice until so that our last day at your establishment should be 19/02/2011.
Therefore on 1st February 2011 you should take 19 days of payments (not a full month at £86.00).
So:-
(£86.00 x 12 months) / 365 days
x 19 days = £53.72 - Amount that should be taken on 1st February.

Please confirm that the amount has now been changed on your system via email.

Please feel free to use this as a template anyone else who is trying to be conned to continue membership to the end of the month.

grubby23

Hi all,

I had a 12 month contract with Bannatynes which expired just now. I payed the whole amount in advance. They sent me a letter explaining that I should contact them to talk about my contract extension options. I am wondering if I still need to cancel the contract explicitly
or if my contract with Bannytnes is settled now. As I have not set up a direct debit I assume they cant just take more money from my account?

Any ideas how best to proceed?

Many thanks,

PS.: Is says on their writing: Your membership is due to renewal on 15/1/ and if you pay annually then bla bla.
Doesnt this mean it has expired if I do not do anything?