Esporta Gym Membership

K321

Looking for advise on rights when cancelling a gym membership - i joined esporta but due to new job moved out of the area 4 months from starting the membership. Notified them of change of address details however they then lost the details and when I cancelled my membership they continued to send correspondence to old address. Next thing, I'm being phoned by a debt collection agency on Christmas eve for payment. Issue is that nearest gym is 50 miles from place of work so pretty impossible to make use of. I can't believe that I can be held to a year’s membership when I could only use it for 4 months of the year! Any Suggestions?

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OlliesDad

K321 wrote: »

Looking for advise on rights when cancelling a gym membership - i joined esporta but due to new job moved out of the area 4 months from starting the membership. Notified them of change of address details however they then lost the details and when I cancelled my membership they continued to send correspondence to old address. Next thing, I'm being phoned by a debt collection agency on Christmas eve for payment. Issue is that nearest gym is 50 miles from place of work so pretty impossible to make use of. I can't believe that I can be held to a year’s membership when I could only use it for 4 months of the year! Any Suggestions?

Unfortunately it is the case with gyms that you do sign a contract to tie you in for 12 months which they will not let you out of.

Some gyms do allow you to cancel, but charge you quite a large cancellation charge.

As they will have your signature on the contract, you will be liable for the charges.

Gingernutmeg

There is (or was) a clause in Esporta contracts that if you move and your nearest Esporta gym is more than a 45 minute drive away (I think) then you can cancel. It might be worth going to the AA route planner, printing off the route with distances and journey times and sending it off to Esporta with a letter and a copy of a recent utility bill (to prove you're living at the new address). We used this clause with OH and although it was a bit of a struggle to get them to accept it - it's amazing the number of people they'll pass you around - they did eventually let him leave, although I think he ended up paying for a few months he couldn't use. Might be worth having a good read of the contract and writing a letter. Another point with Esporta is to make sure that you get ANYTHING they say in writing, particularly if they say you can leave the contract. They're very good at promising things and then denying that they said it.

rl290

There are two issues here:

1) Were you allowed to cancel the membership before the 12months were up? Refer to your T&Cs for this - either: (a) you can cancel, (b) you can cancel for a cost, (c) you cannot cancel and must continue to for the full period. In the case of (a), write to the debt collection agency and Esporta by recorded delivery explaining that you cancelled and are not liable for any debt (also refer to (2) below). In the case of (b) write to them saying that you will only pay for the cancellation fee and not any additional fees added (again, refer to (2) below). In the case of (c), your original letter was not valid - you are obliged to pay, but could try and plead to their kindness (see my final paragraph).

2) They lost your new details. Could you clarify this: did they acknowledge receipt (was it by recorded delivery)? Assuming they did definately receive this letter, then it is their fault that they had to resort to a debt collection agency - so, I would state that I am unwilling to pay any fees relating to this. Only pay the cancellation fee/fees for the full term BUT NOT any debt collection fees which was the result of their own mistake.

Regarding your final point about "I can't believe that I can be held to a year’s membership when I could only use it for 4 months of the year," while it is not your fault that you could not use it for the full year, it is not their fault either. In a perfect world, a "nice" company would use common sense and say "ok, you can't use it, so we'll cancel your contract as we are no longer providing you with a service." In reality, they will point at the legally binding agreement that you have signed and point out that you are obliged to pay even if you moved away (or whatever the contract states). You could try asking them to be nice to you and use some common sense should case (c) be the one in question...

R

polr

Esporta let you put your membership on hold for a few months (3 I think) Maybe that would help if you are away from home for just a short while? Or, can you transfer it to a friend?

Pssst

Ahh,,the old Gym membership scam. If you sign a contract,you are obliged to abide by it. Gyms know that people sign up and then drift away. Thats how they make their money and they often ensure that they enforce payment.

peast21

Its worth looking at the local authority or charitable Trust managed gyms in your area. Increasingly they offer either short-term contracts or no contracts at all. I work for one, but won't bother saying where as this isn't a sales pitch!

Many of the premium gym brands rely on their contracts to sustain their business models, but recent government pushes on obesity are seeing some lower priced memberships coming in across the whole marketplace (private and public), and the local government gyms are under pressure to remove as many barriers to people joining gyms as possible. There really is no reason for contracts in 2009 - if the gym offers a good quality service at a fair price you will be likely stay, and if you don't then the gym is probably not the right option for you.

Bluebeard69

Check your payments made to them during the 4 months and work out exactly how much you owe them. I had the same thing with my local gym (VIDA) when I moved. They passed on the debt to a collection agency but the amount did not match what would have been what I owed them. After several letters from them asking for payment, and me sending letters back asking them to identify where they got their figure from and to explain it, they couldn't and stopped sending requests! I had copies of bank statements confirming payments I had made which threw out what they were asking for. They gave up in the end!

Moral - Check what they are asking for is correct!

Art_2

Have you discussed this with Esporta?

I am a member of Esporta and find them very helpful on memberships.

Regards,
Art.

Julesy

I'm a member of Esporta too and am not at all surprised by this. They are a total nightmare in terms of admin and shameless when it comes to ways to make money. The latest is that they have added a clause to their T & Cs from 1st March to say that if you want to cancel your membership (at any time), you agree to having an interview with the manager of your club before you will be 'released'. Actually, as they have only advised members of this by means of a notice on the noticeboard at the club, rather than sending out something we need to sign, I doubt that they can actually enforce this.

I'd fight it; chances are you may have to pay something to leave your contract early, but just as likely is that they are grasping at an opportunity to make more money out of you that they are legally entitled to!

sharriso74

Been a member for a almost I year I thought and haven't really used it so I thought oh good it's coming to the end. No what I was told was that it continues to roll by direct debit and I have to give 3 months notice. Notice for what I'm out of contract I thought