Gym Membership problems

DomTom

I'll start off by saying i have seen the other thread but i wanted to start my own so to not hog it the other one.


This summer I worked over in Kent and got myself a 6 week gym membership (special offer) as it suited my needs, I was going to be there for 8 weeks. They made me sign a load of stuff, made payments fairly complicated by saying i'd be paying for some by card and some by direct debit? anyway i didn't care just wanted to go to the gym.

I cancelled the gym membership 6 weeks in, and now i'm getting letters saying they're pursuing payments. I rang up to be told that I signed a 6 month contract :eek: what the hell i say? i was there for the summer not 6 months!

Apparently i've signed the contract and should have been more careful. Surely this can't be legal? there is one local to me here in wales but i need to drive to it, and i was unaware i had the 6 months with them so i've already signed up to a new gym local to me.

what do i do??

i've asked for the membership to be suspended, been told it can't be done until after the 6 months period.

Nirvana9

It's an awful practice and surely not legal to lie about the terms of the contract, but presumably, you have no proof they told you it was six weeks (unless there is a recorded phone calls or something).

I've heard similar stories many times about gym sales people lying their !!!!!! off to get people to sign, but still, I don't think there's much you can do about it (except perhaps, giving the Daily Mail a call?!)

DomTom

the 6 week offer was a real one, alarm bells should have rang when she asked for direct debit, and i did ask why she needed them, and she said it was to pay off the remainder?
the gym chain in question is DW sports

Nirvana9

If it was a 'real offer' then surely you must have some kind of proof? A flyer or something?

somethingcorporate

What did the contract that you signed say? 6 weeks or 6 months?

DomTom

i paid for a 6 weeks upfront and apparently signed up to 6 months at the same time, and they're saying they've got a signed direct debit, which is true, they do, they didn't tell me it was for a 6 months contractt though!? honestly i did get scammed into it, i'm not an idiot but i do trust people too much.

Crazy_Jamie

DomTom wrote:

They made me sign a load of stuff, made payments fairly complicated by saying i'd be paying for some by card and some by direct debit? anyway i didn't care just wanted to go to the gym.

Do you have copies of what they made you sign? Irrespective of the direct debit being set up, did you actually sign a six month contract? Simply signing up to a direct debit would not be enough to tie you in to a six month contract. However, if you have signed a six month contract then the weight of evidence starts against you, but it is not necessarily an insurmountable problem depending on what was actually said in the conversation between you and the representative. It just makes things significantly more difficult.

DomTom

well the conversation took place in june this year, and i couldn't recall it word for word, all i know is that i never had any intent to sign up to a 6months contract considering that the gym i signed up to is over 200 miles away from where i go to uni!

i haven't got a signed copy of the contract, i disposed of it, but i do have a receipt for #50.83 at DW sports Broadstairs. must have been for the upfront payment.

they claim to have a signed copy of a contract

arcon5

DomTom wrote: »

well the conversation took place in june this year, and i couldn't recall it word for word, all i know is that i never had any intent to sign up to a 6months contract considering that the gym i signed up to is over 200 miles away from where i go to uni!

i haven't got a signed copy of the contract, i disposed of it, but i do have a receipt for #50.83 at DW sports Broadstairs. must have been for the upfront payment.

they claim to have a signed copy of a contract

Ask them for a copy.

Then if it says 6 weeks tell them to shove it, if it says 6 months your pretty much stuffed. This is why you should always read legally binding documents before agreeing to/signing. Gyms are notorious for their underhand tactics!

DomTom

i'll ask them to send me a copy of it. how bad can it get if i leave my bill unpaid? not too fussed about a slightly lower credit rating, i've got a pretty good one to date.

vuvuzela

DomTom wrote: »

i'll ask them to send me a copy of it. how bad can it get if i leave my bill unpaid? not too fussed about a slightly lower credit rating, i've got a pretty good one to date.

It can get to debt collectors, default, CCJ and a ruined credit history for a subsequent 6 years. Check the contract when they send you it and make sure you carefully read anything else you sign in future, before you sign it.