How do i legally cancel my fitness first membership

superphe

i joined fitness first about 2 months ago, literally starting my 3rd month today (joined 21st of june) and i want to terminate my membership without having to pay for the rest of the year! how can i do this legally? i read the fine print and it says if you terminate for medical reasons you must have a note, however i have no reason to terminate other than i cant afford it!
any help would be MASSIVELY appreciated!

HappyMJ

Legally? It's not illegal not to pay the membership fees. You can just cancel the direct debit. If you don't pay they may go to court and get a CCJ against you. If the court grants it you will then have XX number of days to pay it so that it does not appear on your credit report.

superphe

HappyMJ wrote: »

Legally? It's not illegal not to pay the membership fees. You can just cancel the direct debit. If you don't pay they may go to court and get a CCJ against you. If the court grants it you will then have XX number of days to pay it so that it does not appear on your credit report.

i dont wanna have to pay the fees i just want a way to cancel the membership so i dont have to pay any longer, is there any way to do this?
im a student trying to save and a stupidly joined the gym without thinking!!!

HappyMJ

superphe wrote: »

i dont wanna have to pay the fees i just want a way to cancel the membership so i dont have to pay any longer, is there any way to do this?
im a student trying to save and a stupidly joined the gym without thinking!!!

You could arrange for someone to break your legs....That'll give you about 3 months where you don't have to pay according the terms and conditions of your contract. There is no way out. If the gym wants to they can take you to court. You can try an reach an out of court settlement if you wish by offering from none to half the remaining contract and they may or may not accept. Then again the gym might not take people to court. It is totally up to them. Google the name of the gym and the letters CCJ and see what you get. I'd take the chance they would not take you to court and then deal with the debt collectors that will be sending lots of mail to you.

wealdroam

superphe wrote: »

...i have no reason to terminate other than i cant afford it!
any help would be MASSIVELY appreciated!

You have signed a binding contract which means you have to continue to pay for your contracted period.

Do not even think about cancelling the direct debit.

If you do stop paying, they will assign you case to debt collectors and eventually court if you continue not to pay.

Best thing is to send them notice of your intention to cancel when the 12 months is up and make the most of the gym while you can.

Have a look at your T&Cs and see if it is possible to assign you membership to another person.
Of course, even if you can assign it, you will need to find someone to take it on.

anna_grant

superphe wrote: »

i dont wanna have to pay the fees i just want a way to cancel the membership so i dont have to pay any longer, is there any way to do this?
im a student trying to save and a stupidly joined the gym without thinking!!!

If you're a student, did you go for the 4 or 12 month option?

http://www.fitnessfirst.co.uk/Fitness-First-Gym-Membership/Gym-Membership-Types.aspx

If it was the 12 month option, you are going to find it difficult to get out. FF are notorious for being difficult to get out of contracts even after the minimum period is up!

If you just stop the DD, they may chase after for the remainign fees as you will have broken the contract.

fozmcfc

wealdroam wrote: »

You have signed a binding contract which means you have to continue to pay for your contracted period.

Do not even think about cancelling the direct debit.

If you do stop paying, they will assign you case to debt collectors and eventually court if you continue not to pay.

Best thing is to send them notice of your intention to cancel when the 12 months is up and make the most of the gym while you can.

Have a look at your T&Cs and see if it is possible to assign you membership to another person.
Of course, even if you can assign it, you will need to find someone to take it on.

This is the best advice OP, you should try everything possible to keep up the repayments or see if it's possible to transfer the membership or maybe even share the membership with another person.

Non payments, leading to a default/CCJ will have a lasting effect of 6 years on your credit status and will lead to refusals for everything from Mobile Phone contracts to Mortgages.

As you've said you didn't think when signing up, you should think long and careful before you even consider breaking the contract.