LA Fitness v Me :(

chatterbox63uk

Hi Guys I am a first time poster in this forum and would greatly appreciate some help.

I know the topic of gym memberships comes up frequently so I will keep this as brief as possible.

I joined LA fitness in September 2008 and have duly paid my membership fees every month for the 'initial term' of my membership, being 12 months. About a month before my initial term expired i checked my agreement declaration which i signed which states that "after the initial 12 months, i/we agree that the membershp continues on a monthly basis by paying the membership fee" fair enuf so i took that to read pay and stay a member dont pay and not a member. I also checked out their web site and could find no terms and conditions on there (at that time I believe they are there now) I also asked a member of reception staff at my gym and she confirmed my thoughtsm, just cancel the DD she said. So after my 12 months i duly cancelled my DD expecting to hear no more.

I had a telephone call off the DD department last week demanding 2 x £35 off me, when i told them i had cancelled the DD as i had completed my initial term they advised me i had to contact membership services if i wished to cancel. I called them and they said they would terminate but I still had to pay the 2 x £35. I told them i would dipsute this.

I therefore wrote a letter to their head office on 14th October explianing my sitution and requesting that they waive the money. I am still waiting for a response to this letter.

However today I got a telephone call from DD department advising me that if I didn't pay them by Friday they were adding £40 admin fee to my bill.

Can they do this if I have disputed their claim against me?
Will I have to pay the 2 x £35 and should i just pay up now (begrudgingly)

Rather stupidly despite making several checks before cancelling my DD the only thing I omitted to do was turn my membership declaration over where the t & c's are printed

I look forward to your help, thank you in advance for your help and your advice.

isplumm

Hi,

So what does it say in the t&cs ... give a month's notice in writing?

If so, then I'm afraid you owe them the £70 .... but if it says

"after the initial 12 months, i/we agree that the membershp continues on a monthly basis by paying the membership fee" only ....

well then you might have a chance ....

Mark

chatterbox63uk

Hi Mark, thanks for responding.

Okay the front of the declaration, where i signed the agreement it states "after the initial 12 months, i/we agree that the membershp continues on a monthly basis by paying the membership fee"

But it does not say, please see overleaf for cancellation process.

Unfortunately on the back of the form in the T&C's it does state that to cancel you need to ring customer services one month before.

Whats most annoying is that I checked with a member of their staff on the cancellation process and was misinformed.

isplumm

chatterbox63uk wrote: »

Hi Mark, thanks for responding.

Okay the front of the declaration, where i signed the agreement it states "after the initial 12 months, i/we agree that the membershp continues on a monthly basis by paying the membership fee"

But it does not say, please see overleaf for cancellation process.

Unfortunately on the back of the form in the T&C's it does state that to cancel you need to ring customer services one month before.

Whats most annoying is that I checked with a member of their staff on the cancellation process and was misinformed.

Hmmm .... did you not read the t&cs when you signed the contract?

Anyway I would bite the bullet & pay .... but make sure that they have definitely accepted your cancellation - get something in writing.

Mark

chatterbox63uk

Hi Mark, rather stupidly i didn't read the terms and conditions. the guy who registered me was rather in a hurry as had another appointment after me and told me it was just all standard stuff. Plus the paragraph I mentioned earlier was in quite large bold writing near where I signed and it appeared to me quite straight forward, keep dd running and be a member, cancel dd and not be a member which of course is exactly what they want you to think.

I am sure there are thousands like me who have been caught like this and its damn annoying. Escpecially after being misinformed by a member of their staff.

I might leave it a few days and see if they respond to my letter then I guess swallow my pride and pay them.

Thank you very much for taking the time to respond.

pinkshoes

Although their initial text is ambiguous, if it does clearly say they require 1 month written notice, then you will have to pay.

When you send the cheque, send it recorded delivery with a letter confirming that this is the outstanding balance and your membership is now terminated.

chatterbox63uk

Hi Pinkshoes thanks for the response,

I have this afternoon spoken to member services (somebody actually helpful!) and he has e mailed me confirmation that my membership will be cancelled. He has also confirmed that as the case is in dispute the £40 admin fee will not be added.

So, I will await their response to my letter, although I know it will not be in my favour it has to be worth a try. I also intend to write to the manager of LA fitness in tunbridge wells and make him aware of how head office treat their clients. If all else fails I will just beg lol.

Yes ambiguous indeed, stragegically placed and ambiguous (clever people eh!!)

We seem to spend our lives protecting ourselves from e mail scammers trying to obtain our bank details and other cons its inevitable that somebody always gets us in the end!!

Tozer

Just to confirm, they cannot unilaterally add a £40 admin fee.