Cancelling my gym membership

olly300

KittyBoo wrote: »

I joined Cannons last April and have been off work since July.
I am still off work now but before Christmas, I wrote to them and gave them a copy of my sick note and said I was unable to use the gym.
They have deferred my payments until June but then they stated that the remaining 10 months of the contract are still due to them.
I don't know what happens if you stop the Direct Debit.
I would imagine they pass the debt to the recovery agents which will probably incur more charges.
Think I can either pay it and not go or pay it and use the facilities even if it is just for a swim and a sauna.

In your particular case it would be easy to get out of the gym membership due to your condition not allowing you to use the facilities you are paying for.

Get one further doctors note a month before Cannons are due to take payment covering the same number of months as the first note you obtained from the doctor.

After sending that note in if you still can't use the facilities a month later due to your condition being long term send Cannons a letter stating "that due to your condition being a long term condition, you feel it falls under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 as amended* therefore the contract between both parties is now frustrated and you will be terminating the contract and will not be making any further payments to them. If they pursue you, you will have not choice but to take further action against them including legal action. "

If they then both to chase you immediately contact the media i.e. Watchdog, local paper plus Trading Standards. It's much cheaper than going to court and will serve the same purpose.

*This may not be true but no one would be able to prove it unless you decided to take the company to court.

Paul1969

Yes I will keep you informed but the more people who stand up to this unfairness the better.
Why the 3 month period of notice? Its not like a job they have to recruit someone to fill your position?? It’s very unreasonable when you have been a member over and above the initial years contract, especially during the current hard times. I didn’t agree to sign up for a life time/long term membership, if that was the case it should have been made clear but it wasn’t. I have not signed or agreed to anything since. I would like to hear Bannatyne’s reply.
Just as a matter of interest, my father was a member for a year but paid a one off lump sum for the year. He didn’t have to advise them he was leaving, it just lapsed and nothing happened. So why are members who pay by DD different? I am well outside of the 12 month period and I can’t see what their problem is? They are not losing out so how can they expect me to be out of pocket for a service I am no longer using. I have paid up front and I don’t owe anything, in fact they are better off because they have been paid for something I have not been using.
I would also like to hear from other ex-Bannatyne’s members in similar circumstances.
Paul.

Paul1969

..oh forgot to add if I do get treated badly then I will give them some negative publicity. I have been a good memeber; always paid promptlyn and they have had a lot of money out of me the past few years. I'm sure it would put a lot of people off joining especially all the pensioners they seem to be recruiting.

I can understand now why Duncan Bannatyne is so smug about saying that his business is not being affected by the recession.

Optimist

Beckymarshall07 wrote: »

My understanding is that if you get a doctors note saying you are not medically fit to exercise (make a reason up for doc - bad back or whatever) they legally cant expect you to maintain contract. This is what someone at fitness first told me.

Then someone at Fitness First told you wrong. You are effectively signing a credit agreement when you join a gym and agree to pay in instalments.

The gym is entitled to expect that contract to be maintained. If they do give any leeway owing to sickness that is their prerogative, unless it is written in the contract.

It is also a rolling contract and somewhere on the form that the member will have signed will be a something similar to this " unless the member, four weeks before the expiration of the current membership, gives the company written notice terminating the contract the member agrees that membership shall automatically continue for a further 12 months"

It is good policy if you intend to cancel said agreement to get a receipt either from the gym directly or by sending your cancellation by recorded delivery

KittyBoo_2

olly300 wrote: »

In your particular case it would be easy to get out of the gym membership due to your condition not allowing you to use the facilities you are paying for.

Get one further doctors note a month before Cannons are due to take payment covering the same number of months as the first note you obtained from the doctor.

After sending that note in if you still can't use the facilities a month later due to your condition being long term send Cannons a letter stating "that due to your condition being a long term condition, you feel it falls under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 as amended* therefore the contract between both parties is now frustrated and you will be terminating the contract and will not be making any further payments to them. If they pursue you, you will have not choice but to take further action against them including legal action. "

If they then both to chase you immediately contact the media i.e. Watchdog, local paper plus Trading Standards. It's much cheaper than going to court and will serve the same purpose.

*This may not be true but no one would be able to prove it unless you decided to take the company to court.

Thanks for that. I will do that when the time comes.

Paul1969

Its a pitty I can't attach on here as I could show you a copy of the payment details, T & C's I signed. Doesn't mention about a rolling or continuing contract. This was back in 2004 so may have changed as I know OFT got involved (see previous post).

Optimist

olly300 wrote: »

In your particular case it would be easy to get out of the gym membership due to your condition not allowing you to use the facilities you are paying for.

Get one further doctors note a month before Cannons are due to take payment covering the same number of months as the first note you obtained from the doctor.

After sending that note in if you still can't use the facilities a month later due to your condition being long term send Cannons a letter stating "that due to your condition being a long term condition, you feel it falls under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 as amended* therefore the contract between both parties is now frustrated and you will be terminating the contract and will not be making any further payments to them. If they pursue you, you will have not choice but to take further action against them including legal action. "

If they then both to chase you immediately contact the media i.e. Watchdog, local paper plus Trading Standards. It's much cheaper than going to court and will serve the same purpose.

*This may not be true but no one would be able to prove it unless you decided to take the company to court.

I'm sorry but that is not correct. The gym have provided the facilities and it is hardly their fault if the person who signed the contract can no longer make use of said facilities. The contract did not specify that the member has to use the place. Its nothing at all to do with the DDA.

Its a credit agreement same as you would sign for a car you wish to buy via hire purchase. If you find three months after buying it that you are incapacitated owing to an illness you can not reasonably expect the garage to give you your money back on the car.

markelock

Optimist wrote: »

I'm sorry but that is not correct. The gym have provided the facilities and it is hardly their fault if the person who signed the contract can no longer make use of said facilities. The contract did not specify that the member has to use the place. Its nothing at all to do with the DDA.

Its a credit agreement same as you would sign for a car you wish to buy via hire purchase. If you find three months after buying it that you are incapacitated owing to an illness you can not reasonably expect the garage to give you your money back on the car.

it depends what the contract says. for esporta, illness preventing use is a sufficient reason to leave.

Optimist

markelock wrote: »

it depends what the contract says. for esporta, illness preventing use is a sufficient reason to leave.

Indeed, but obviously not the case with Cannons or Kittyboo would not have had a problem.

olly300

Optimist wrote: »

Indeed, but obviously not the case with Cannons or Kittyboo would not have had a problem.

Last time I was a member of Cannons you could defer your membership if you had an injury , medical condition or became pregnant which meant you could not use the gym. I know because I had a sport's injury and my membership was deferred for 6 weeks.

However if you develop a condition which means you repeatedly have to defer you can argue that the original contract between both parties is frustrated due to that clause as you will never be able to use the gym for the foreseeable future.

Companies in general don't like people implying that they are discriminating against them. So they tend to drop cases where discrimination is mentioned rather than pursuing them.

Therefore your analogy with buying a car is not relevant in this circumstance.