A Gym warning!

dealornodeal_3

My younger son, whom is 30 this year joined the local gym. He signed a contract at £27 per month, for 2 years. having had problems with his employment he failed in complying with the contract. He was sent threatening letters, and a letter from their Solicitor. He contacted the Gym, whom required the £780.00 in one go, and is now skint!:mad:

Has he any legal rights, any help will be appreciated, thankyou in anticipation?

custardy

he signed up to a 2 year contract
did he approach the gym and explain his circumstances or just stop paying?
this is how gym business models work,they want/need people to be tied to contracts and even count for a % of them never showing up

Beast

No. He signed a contract, he broke a contract, he has to pay.

Teigan

Often I think with Gyms you pay a finance company rather than the Gym directly unless you pre-pay for a year or 2 years in which case you get a really good deal.

dfh

I suggest he write to the gym explaining his circumstances and appealing to their better nature ( if they have any ! )

Pollycat

dfh wrote: »

I suggest he write to the gym explaining his circumstances and appealing to their better nature ( if they have any ! )

I think that would have been a very good suggestion - but it appears that the OP's son just stopped paying but didn't contact the gym until they involved their solicitor.
Not only that, if he was supposed to pay £27 per month over 2 years, that's only £648 for the 2 years but the OP says they wanted £780 from him.
It also sounds like he's paid up - if he's skint.

dealornodeal wrote: »

My younger son, whom is 30 this year joined the local gym. He signed a contract at £27 per month, for 2 years. having had problems with his employment he failed in complying with the contract. He was sent threatening letters, and a letter from their Solicitor. He contacted the Gym, whom required the £780.00 in one go, and is now skint!:mad:

Has he any legal rights, any help will be appreciated, thankyou in anticipation?

Has your son paid the £780?

As others have said, he's signed a contract so I think he'll have to kiss goodbye to his money.

esuhl

It's strange that they're demanding £780 when he committed to pay £27 x 24 months (= £648).

dealornodeal wrote: »

Has he any legal rights, any help will be appreciated, thankyou in anticipation?

He has the right to not be charged fees that he hasn't agreed to.

Are you saying that he is being charged too much or forced to pay the fees up front? If your son is behind on paying the subscription, are there late payment fees to pay or is he being charged interest? Did he agree to pay the full amount up front if he missed a payment? It would be worth him checking the contract to see what he has agreed to pay and making sure that he is being charged correctly.

Obviously he can't just get out of a contract because he can't pay (what the point of a contract be otherwise?) but you may be able to come to an arrangement with the gym if they're feeling generous. Don't hold your breath, though.