My private gym is closing for 5 days for a festival - but no refund to me!

butler_helen

Ok so... short but sweet - my gym is £32 per month and is open 7 days per week, offering a variety of classes all day. Over the period of a well known festival it will shut down to paying gym members and only be open to reading festival goers.


There's nothing in my contract to say they can/do do this, so surely they would need to either a) refund part of that months money or b) let me go?

Where do I stand with a complaint- I find it very unfair that I will not only suffer the noise, traffic, lost tourists, drunks, empty shops and general suffering but now I can't even escape to my gym! (Also, it's a myth that locals get passes to festivals).

Any ideas anyone?

Googlewhacker

butler_helen wrote: »

Ok so... short but sweet - my gym is £32 per month and is open 7 days per week, offering a variety of classes all day. Over the period of a well known festival it will shut down to paying gym members and only be open to reading festival goers.


There's nothing in my contract to say they can/do do this, so surely they would need to either a) refund part of that months money or b) let me go?

Where do I stand with a complaint- I find it very unfair that I will not only suffer the noise, traffic, lost tourists, drunks, empty shops and general suffering but now I can't even escape to my gym! (Also, it's a myth that locals get passes to festivals).

Any ideas anyone?

Check your contract and see what their closing days are, if it is not stated that festivals or 'their disgression' or words to that effect then you have recourse against them

butler_helen

the only line remotely the same as that is... ''centre programming is subject to change and availability from time to time'' - surely that means they will be open but may or may not run to their usual programme.

Other than that, there is nothing on the t's and c's I have signed.

How should I approach asking for either a refund for those days? it's a bank holiday weekend, so I would have been going more than normal as I am free to do so and not working.

butler_helen

Ok so I've found it through google and they apparently have it in their 'brochure' but that's from 2008. They don't have those brochures in the centre and I was not told of the closure when I joined this month.

unholyangel

butler_helen wrote: »

Ok so I've found it through google and they apparently have it in their 'brochure' but that's from 2008. They don't have those brochures in the centre and I was not told of the closure when I joined this month.

Any special reason they're onlygoing to be permitting festival goers?

Also, are there any other gyms in the area? Do they also do a similar thing?

butler_helen

No special reason except it's on the festival site... or so I'm lead to believe... I wasn't a member last year. The entrance is off the main road though, so I wouldn't exactly say it's 'on the site'.

Basically reading festival pay the gym to let their goers go in and shower/change/eat etc... which doesn't work so well for their paying gym members!

unholyangel

IMO unless it is in your contract, i would say you're entitled to at least a partial refund. They're effectively getting paid twice but only one group are allowed to use the gym on those days.

I would also ask them if there are any other days/dates where they are closed to paying members.

DVardysShadow

As you have signed up within the last month, they have operated a deception if they did not inform you before you signed up.

fozmcfc

I'd definately say something, I don't think it is right to close it for regulars for that length of time. Maybe a couple of hours here and there might be acceptable, but complete closure for days.

At my last gym, even a loss of facilities over a few days could be annoying, let along a complete closure.

I would imagine there will be many who would be unhappy as a lot of people go to the gym daily.

butler_helen

well I thought a lot of people would be annoyed but it would seem that reading dwellers all escape reading for that weekend. I however, have no money and no plans so I intended on working out and getting fit - I could have done loads of classes.

I will write to them tomorrow, rather than talk to the ladies on the phone... who clearly can't do anything.