GYm Membership

terriblesaver

Hi Guys

Any advise on gym membership ???
Far short of dying there appears to be no way to cancel before the 12 month period has expired - this will be at the end of October and frankly I could do with the £50 a month right now. I have not been to the gym in over 2 months now and my hubby is getting ants in his pants about forking out for it monthly - he is threatening to cancel the SO but I dont want to get nasty letters etc.

All ideas welcomed with open arm ... especially ones that have been put into practice and have worked!

lazy&indebt

To be honest (and please someone correct me if this is the wrong action to take) when this happened to me, I cancelled the direct debit and never went back! They don't check your credit rating for gym membership - at least they didn't with me, so it didn't appear on my credit file or anything. Didn't have a letter or any kind of contact from them either!
But to be hnest, they were so incompetent, I porbably could've carried on going even after I weren't paying them anymore!

cleanyspringy

Who do yuo have the membership with??

sparklymessygirl

Could you make an appointment to see the manager and be really upfront about how it is contributing to your money problems and anxiety and how as a responsible organisation you would appreciate their support.

If no joy with cancellation could you ask to freeze the membership and pay a monthly fee for this (I think Virgin allow this at about £7 per month)

Finally, as a previous poster said just cancel and hope for the best - the worst they can do is sue you for it through the courts and if it came to that I guess you could start paying up again.

Good luck
Sparkly

biglad

i work for a gym and they do send out letters and will try to sting you. One thing to try is say you didnt know you was signing up for a 12 months contract and you want a copy of your contract to make sure what you signed for. more often than not they dont mark the correct section to say your on a 12 month so you could get out of it. which gym is it

briona

terriblesaver wrote:

Hi Guys

Any advise on gym membership ???
Far short of dying there appears to be no way to cancel before the 12 month period has expired - this will be at the end of October and frankly I could do with the £50 a month right now. I have not been to the gym in over 2 months now and my hubby is getting ants in his pants about forking out for it monthly - he is threatening to cancel the SO but I dont want to get nasty letters etc.

All ideas welcomed with open arm ... especially ones that have been put into practice and have worked!

Easy... appeal to their sympathetic sides!

A friend of mine hadn't bothered to go to her gym for four or so months, during which time they had been continuing to debit the payments. She then turned up in person and told her gym she'd been ill for a few months but had not gotten around to informing them. She said she no longer wanted the membership, as she still felt 'under the weather'. And, perhaps through fear of her collapsing whilst on their premises, they let her cancel it AND even refunded her three of the four month's payments!

It might not be very politically correct [but then neither is charging someone £50pm for the 'privilege' of keeping fit!] but it worked...

lazy&indebt

cleanyspringy wrote:

Who do yuo have the membership with??

I think they're called peak fitness. Not sure if they were a chain or not. Not even sure if they were privately owned or owned by our council

cleanyspringy

lazy&indebt wrote:

I think they're called peak fitness. Not sure if they were a chain or not. Not even sure if they were privately owned or owned by our council

Phone them and ask them for a copy of there terms and conditions or if you can defer it for say 6 months??? are you paying the minim um?

niceshoes_2

I had this problem some years ago when I joined LA Fitness.

I too tried to cancel due to various problems, gave 28 days notice and cancelled DD - had about 3 months left to pay.

They were actually very unhelpful and passed case to a debt collection agency.

You did, at the end of the day sign a 12 month contract, so they do expect you to honour it and with me took every step to ensure that I did.

I ended up paying of the membership, just for peace of mind, so they really do pursue you.

Lucie_2

Different companies will go to varying lengths to pursue you for the remainder of your contract. With many of them you have signed a credit agreement, which is legally enforcible, so they will pass your details onto a debt collection agency. Others may just take you to court for breach of contract.

You need to find a copy of this agreement & see what it says. I've never heard of peak fitness, so they aren't likely to be part of a big national chain.
The only way I've ever known memberships be cancelled sub-12 months is death, disability, serious illness (requires doctors note) or leaving the country.
If they're a small one man band type of outfit & don't seem 100% professional they may not be able to find a copy of your membership agreement. If that's the case swear blind you were never told it was a 12 month contract.

terriblesaver

terriblesaver wrote:

Hi Guys

Any advise on gym membership ???
Far short of dying there appears to be no way to cancel before the 12 month period has expired - this will be at the end of October and frankly I could do with the £50 a month right now. I have not been to the gym in over 2 months now and my hubby is getting ants in his pants about forking out for it monthly - he is threatening to cancel the SO but I dont want to get nasty letters etc.

All ideas welcomed with open arm ... especially ones that have been put into practice and have worked!

I have no idea where I put the contract nor who finances it - the gym is Fitz Health Club in Harrow