MSE News: Fitness First hikes prices by up to a third

kmd74

Definitely call FF to challenge your fees increase. My letter said mine was going up by £9.95 (27%) per month, yet when I called they straight away said it was an error and that the increase was (only) £7 per month (18%). Still complete rubbish and a rip-off which I am trying to figure out how to get out of, but is slightly less :mad: than originally thought.

ChiGun

wavey_dave wrote: »

I took out a discounted membership of £41 in May for a year. My increase is to £52.90! I phoned FF who said it was in the terms and conditions to increase the price. They offered to reduce it to £46 if i changed my membership to one club only. I phoned OFT who said if it was in the terms and agreements then it was legal. They suggested i sent a letter to FF with my complaint.

My wife and I also signed up to a "special promo" in June 2010 for 12months paying £41 per month. We both received letters from FF on 09/12/10 (dated 30/11/10) stating our subs increasing to £47.25!!

Called FF, but said it was part of the terms and conditions that they could increase prices at any time even if in contract. I also found out that not everyone will have the same price hike, but it depends on what package, home club and part of the country you are in. Was told I could not cancel and they couldn't do anything about it as "it was a decision made by the board of directors".:T

Called Consumer Direct who advised writing to FF with the complaint, which I shall do. Also came across a post written by Alexis on another website (Bitter Wallet) who suggests the following:

"Posted by Alexis | December 8th, 2010 at 3:36 pm

1. I suspect this may be a breach of Section 5 of the The Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999:
   5.—(1) A contractual term which has not been individually negotiated shall be regarded as unfair if, contrary to the requirement of good faith, it causes a significant imbalance in the parties’ rights and obligations arising under the contract, to the detriment of the consumer.
   (2) A term shall always be regarded as not having been individually negotiated where it has been drafted in advance and the consumer has therefore not been able to influence the substance of the term.
   (3) Notwithstanding that a specific term or certain aspects of it in a contract has been individually negotiated, these Regulations shall apply to the rest of a contract if an overall assessment of it indicates that it is a pre-formulated standard contract.
   (4) It shall be for any seller or supplier who claims that a term was individually negotiated to show that it was.
   I would quote the above if you attempt to cancel or have January’s amount reduced the normal amount with 20% VAT. "

Will include in letter anyway. Any comments from anyone?

southgirl

Hi all!
I have also been affected, I've just sent a complaint to FF, awaiting reply.
In the meantime I have opened a facebook group where we can all join forces. Please join: Fitness First: Fight the unfair price increase!


Please PM me if you have any questions

Ps. This is my first post I hope it is o to ad the group since it's relevant to this thread :A

jjmoore

Hi all. I recieved a letter saying my £32 a month will increase by £5 to £37. I am still in the minimum term as I signed up in March of this year so have a few months to go.

I rang up customer service and it sounds like everyone is getting the same spiel; "it's a decision taken by the board of directors". Also, the guy used the "did you even read the contract?" line, to which I said I had and fair enough if I had a get out clause. I put to him that the clause is unfair as they could increase the cost by £100 a month after the first month and I can do nothing about it until the minimum term is up. His reply? Very thoughtful: "that's ridiculous, it wouldn't go up that much". Not the point mate, the clause is there, I'm trapped.

I also said the sale person told me that when I signed up the cost will stay the same for the first year, I specifically asked about this during the signup process and was told it may go up a little after the first year, but not before. I told the CS person, his reply: "he couldn't have said that", "yes he did.", "no, that's not right, it says in the contract we can increase it".

Do these people not want renewed business? That's one less they'll have next year from me, I urge everyone else to do the same.

Any advice on what to do next? I will definitely be writing a formal letter of complaint to head office and Mr. Gamble. What an apt name he has... hopefully this one won't pay off.

fitnessworst

Consumer_2_u wrote: »

Maybe we need to start a collective complaint against this years extortionate percentage increase in membership fees? If enough FF members complained, then maybe Mr Gamble would reduce the fees to a reasonable level?

fitnessworst.co.uk

we cant let them think that treating their customers so unfairly is ok ... please everyone take a few moments to write a few words and let FF know that we wont take this lying down ...

girleight@

http://www.oft.gov.uk/shared_oft/business_leaflets/unfair_contract_terms/oft373.pdf

It surely must be unfair.

12.1 Terms allowing the club to make unrestricted
increases in the costs of membership are
likely to be considered unfair especially if the
increases are inescapable. The member may
have entered the contract at one price but
would not have done so at the increased
price. Clauses which allow the variation of
such terms have potential to cause members
serious detriment because the terms lie at
the ‘core’ of the contract.
Importance of a right to cancel
12.2 The example unfair terms below appear to allow clubs to increase subscription rates,
even in the initial fixed membership period. In the first example, various increased or
additional charges could be imposed on members without their knowledge. Fair
charges are those made clear at the start of the contract and those where adequate
notice is given of increases together with a right to cancel membership without
penalty if they are unacceptable.