Gym membership cancellation policy. Trading Standards Advice?

dink182

Hi

I joined LA fitness on Friday 9th April. On Monday 12th (yesterday) i was informed by my employer that my contract will be ceasing in a couple of weeks. (Being a locum worker this can happen on occasion) Anway i called the gym and explained that i wuold like cancel my membership for now until i can get some more work, which hopefully will be in a few weeks but no guarentees.

i was told that I was unable to cancel my membership - 'if i had booked via the internet i would be allowed a 10 day cooling off period but as i had joined up in a gym there is no cancellation policy and therefore charges will apply. Explained i had not signed terms and conditions and was told that i would have done 'on screen' i remember doing this but assumed it was direct debit details i was signing and was not given any terms and conditions.... where do i stand on this? i was told that if i cancel my DD my details will be passed to a credit reference agency. But i have only been a member for 4 days! is this right?

artbaron

If you signed the contract in the gym then you're bound by it. The gym isn't responsible for you not reading what you sign. If you didn't agree to anything or they didn't show you a contract then you can't be bound by it, on account of it not being presented to you.

KimYeovil

"Being a locum worker this can happen on occasion"

You know your employment is not secure or constant. It is up to you to maintain your funds to support yourself between appointments. If you were unhappy about this why take out a subscription? And pretending you did not know it was an annual (or whatever) policy is pure disingenuousness on your part.

drsquirrel

It's 4 days... don't they have any kind of cooling off period in their T&Cs? Why would they be that much different online than "in shop" ?

Did you tick a box to show you agreed and read the T&Cs?

Otherwise, just stump it up for the minimum - and visit the place for the maximum amount and get your full use out of it - and then go to the world's free gym afterwards, outside.

dink182

No, we didn't tick any boxes nor were we shown the terms and conditions. I just wondered in terms of 'rights' what the deal was.

The rest of the information is actually not relevent. My only point was can you be bound by a contract that you are not given? ...thats all. thanks for the response.

Hintza

So what did you pay for? You must have some idea of the service you were going to get.

Takoda

Well - you'll have more time to use it now.

angel.cake_2

Buying online give you slightly more legal rights for cancellation as there is the 7-day cooling off period. This does not apply (in the eyes of the law) for things not brought online or by mail order.

You need to check the T&Cs that you must have been given somewhere along the way. If you are adamant that you did not sign anything or tick any boxes on screen (although I thought you didnt do this online?) then, if it was me, I would cancel the DD straight away and speak to the manager of the gym.

If they insist you have a contract, then legally they must provide you with the terms of this contract.

drsquirrel

angel.cake wrote: »

Buying online give you slightly more legal rights for cancellation as there is the 7-day cooling off period. This does not apply (in the eyes of the law) for things not brought online or by mail order.

You need to check the T&Cs that you must have been given somewhere along the way. If you are adamant that you did not sign anything or tick any boxes on screen (although I thought you didnt do this online?) then, if it was me, I would cancel the DD straight away and speak to the manager of the gym.

If they insist you have a contract, then legally they must provide you with the terms of this contract.

7-day cooling off (DSR) doesn't apply to services though doesn't it?

They said they filled out their details at the gym itself, and they(gym) must have been entering their details into their computer. Although I know that some "shops" do their online orders via their own website! If this is the case for the gym you can try and argue you actually did do it online

Equaliser123

drsquirrel wrote: »

7-day cooling off (DSR) doesn't apply to services though doesn't it?

Yes they do unless the "service" is to be provided on a specific date or a specific period.

Fire_Fox

dink182 wrote: »

Hi
I joined LA fitness on Friday 9th April. On Monday 12th (yesterday) i was informed by my employer that my contract will be ceasing in a couple of weeks. (Being a locum worker this can happen on occasion) Anway i called the gym and explained that i wuold like cancel my membership for now until i can get some more work, which hopefully will be in a few weeks but no guarentees.

i was told that I was unable to cancel my membership - 'if i had booked via the internet i would be allowed a 10 day cooling off period but as i had joined up in a gym there is no cancellation policy and therefore charges will apply. Explained i had not signed terms and conditions and was told that i would have done 'on screen' i remember doing this but assumed it was direct debit details i was signing and was not given any terms and conditions.... where do i stand on this? i was told that if i cancel my DD my details will be passed to a credit reference agency. But i have only been a member for 4 days! is this right?

You have agreed to a legally binding contract, you cannot simply cancel by telephone! You should have been given a copy of the terms and conditions, were you given no paperwork at all or were you told they would be e-mailed or posted to you? Why did you assume you were giving DD details, did you not read what was on the screen? LA Fitness do offer no contract options, why didn't you take this if you knew your job was not secure?

I work in the industry, I know how gym chains operate. You will not be released from this contract simply because you are about to be unemployed, if you do not pay your file will be passed to in house debt collectors on commission and later to proper debt collectors. You are risking black marks on your credit file. DO NOT cancel your DD, this can put you in breach of contract which means your membership will be terminated and the whole contract due at one hit - basically you will have to pay for something you cannot use!

You need to get hold of the terms and conditions and find out what you have agreed to and what is the correct way to give notice and when - to head office or to the branch? You may be able to reduce your package to a cheaper level (daytime only) or put your membership on hold (often a small charge). I strongly recommend when you do cancel you do so in writing by recorded delivery.

The good news is that members who use the facilities regularly actually make a loss for a gym, it's the huge percentage of members who pay but never attend that are profitable. As you will be unemployed go regularly, don't buy anything whilst there (drinks), use the showers and save water and electricity at home.