Fitness First CVA - Can I cancel?

beccya89

My local fitness first is also one that they are looking to sell to another company - what I am wondering isvif they sell to a more expensive company will I be able to still use the gym at my contract price now or will i be expected to pay more to go to the more expensive gym?! there is no other fitness first anywhere near where I live! So very confused.

arcon5

Rick_E wrote: »

I was actually going to make a post about this Fitness First situation myself.

I'm not looking to leave like the OP, however I'm on a contract with my local Fitness First for another year and a half and the KPMG letter stated they intend to sell it.

The letter itself though is extremely vague and offers little information about the consequences.

If they can't sell the gym, will they simply shut it down?

If they sell the gym to another company, do I then loose the ability to use other Fitness First gyms? After all this is part of what I also pay more for in my contract.

If its sold to a company who cut the facilities such as sauna, steam room, classes etc and they cut the price to a no thrills gym... am I going to continue to be charged what I am now, when I'm getting a lesser service?

Or if they sell it, do I continue to be a Fitness First member, however I no longer have a gym local to me owned by them? In which case, surely it's a breach of contract? As I'd rather just get out and take out a membership with somebody who is local to me, such as Virgin or a local Independent.

I imagine you will do yes, unless both companies form some kind of agreement (which is highly unlikely). I imagine this would give you a strong case to exit the contract

bris

beccya89 wrote: »

My local fitness first is also one that they are looking to sell to another company - what I am wondering isvif they sell to a more expensive company will I be able to still use the gym at my contract price now or will i be expected to pay more to go to the more expensive gym?! there is no other fitness first anywhere near where I live! So very confused.

They would have to honour your existing contract, any potential buyer will take on the client's contracts as they are. The price increase would have to be on renewal.

beccya89

bris wrote: »

They would have to honour your existing contract, any potential buyer will take on the client's contracts as they are. The price increase would have to be on renewal.

Ah ok, I was just worried that they might say 'either pay more or transfer to your next nearest fitness first'.

brettcta

Fitness_First wrote: »

Thank you for your feedback, the reason we are directing members to the email address is that we have relevant qualified people to answer any queries there.

do your relevant qualified people not have access to a web browser to come here?

also, you need to contact MSE to be registered as a business poster

wealdroam

Fitness_First wrote: »

Thank you for your feedback, the reason we are directing members to the email address is that we have relevant qualified people to answer any queries there.

Ok, sounds reasonable.
You've now had a few days to consult those experts. Have they an answer to the straightforward question that the OP posed...

Does anyone know whether I have the right to cancel my membership on the basis of the company's new arrangements?

Also, you will have noticed that your earlier post was removed.
Have a read of the forum rules concerning companies.

JShillAFC

I'm a Platinum member at Brighton and although it's not up for sale, the other club in Holloway I use is. I spoke to FF on Monday. It's unlikely I will be able to use Holloway once it changes to another provider, so I asked if I could cancel my 12 month contract and they said no as my contract was at Brighton. They told me that a changeover at Holloway (or any of the clubs up for sale) was unlikely to happen for several months.

Rick_E

JShillAFC wrote: »

I'm a Platinum member at Brighton and although it's not up for sale, the other club in Holloway I use is. I spoke to FF on Monday. It's unlikely I will be able to use Holloway once it changes to another provider, so I asked if I could cancel my 12 month contract and they said no as my contract was at Brighton. They told me that a changeover at Holloway (or any of the clubs up for sale) was unlikely to happen for several months.

Holloway is actually my home club.

I contacted them at the e-mail address provided above to ask a number of questions, the response though I found very disappointing. It's basically just been copied and pasted from some official script, one part was basically even repeated twice!

The gist of the message was that the club will be transferred to another operator, and I can transfer to them at no extra cost should I wish to do so. They plan to have the details of which sorted by December. They don't have any details about who might be taking over though. My question about what happens if a buyer can't be found was completely skipped over. Although I mentioned nothing about wanting to leave or anything, the e-mail was also quite stressing about terms and conditions still applying and the e-mail even comes from the retention department. I would guess lots of people are trying to leave... perhaps many just because they don't go the gym anymore.

It's really annoying though.
I use this as my home club because its so close to me.
But I also use some of the Central London ones sometimes when working as well as one outside of London when I occasionally stay with some relatives. I'm now either going to not be able to use those anymore, or I'm going to have no home club.

Rick_E

Well the CVA has been agreed upon today.

Reuters are reporting that some of the gyms they've put up for sale could be bought within a few weeks time.

Rick_E

Just thought I'd add that I've received a letter this morning stating that my home gym is closing at the end of the month. My membership will automatically be terminated unless I tell them otherwise.

Oh well, time to find a new gym that isn't as close to home then.