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Gym - Broken Headphones

Hi, I am here looking for a bit of advice. I joined a gym about two months ago in a bid to get healthy (I am on the winning side at the moment!! :T). The gym I joined has a console attached to each piece of equipment which you can plug your headphones into, these are attached by two cable ties.

I had been using the main gym area mainly which is kept well, but occasionally the 'mini gym' which is females only. In the mini gym they have only one bike which the console had been 'dangling' from for a few weeks as one of the cable ties was broken. I had seen people using the bike with the console & noted that the staff didnt seem to think anything of it, so I plugged in my headphones not really thinking any more of it.

Of course my headphones within a few minutes had got caught on the pedals and were snapped.. I went to the manager on duty and explained the situation, pointing out that the console had not been attached properly for some time & I assumed it would be okay as I had seen others using it. The manager told me she did not have the authority to issue a payment or any form of compensation to me but someone would be back to me to let me know what they would give me for compensation, she took my headphones at this point.

Two weeks passed and I had asked about my headphones abouy half a dozen times and left many messages for the 'Top Manager' to get back to me. Today I was called and told that they do not think it was anything to do with them, I had to point out again about the faulty console and she went away to speak to the finance director! The call was returned and I was told they only accept partial liability as apparantly the cable on my headphones is too long (I don't see a sign anywhere stipulating cable length?)!!! I was offered a set of headphones from the gym worth about £5, but to actually replace my headphones will cost about £30!

I am so angry about this situation and just want it resolved I don't feel offering me some shoddy headphones as a replacement is adequate and am not sure where I stand legally. To be perfectly honest if I was not tied into a contract I would take my custom elsewhere and i'm feeling very bitter about it :mad:.

Any words of advice or even if you think i'm ranting for the sake of ranting, all comments more than welcome, thanks.

To give you a better idea, the bike is one where your legs are straight ahead of you and paralell to your body, I have also used the same bike in the main gym numerous times without any problems - nothing wrong with the cable length!

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Comments

  • Halloway
    Halloway Posts: 1,612 Forumite
    To take several points in no particular order:

    They are not going to 'stipulate' a cable length - that would be next to impossible. The safety or otherwise of a headphone's cable is something that you the user needs to consider because it's very easy to get tangled up even with shortish cable runs and correctly-working gym equipment.

    That the console was already broken and out of its normal position I think seriously weakens your case. Had the console broken whilst you were using it then I think you would have a stronger case.

    From this point if you want to pursue this case further you are going to have to take legal action. Is this worth it for the sake of £30? I think you have to try and accept that made an error in plugging in the phones to the broken console.

    FWIW in the rare occasions in my life I have dared venture into a gym I've always taken my own MP3 player. In my experience it is too easy to get headphone cables tangled up in gym equipment even when the latter is not faulty and it's safer to keep ones audio 'self-contained'.
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