Being charged for a gym in administration

Angel1981

Hi, ANY help would be appreciated please, I joined a new gym 6 months ago & was paying via monthly DD, on christmas eve they placed a notice in their window stating they'd gone into administration and would update details soon - as a result the gym has been closed since. Naturally, I cancelled my monthly DD with the view to re-instate it if the gym re-opened/was bought out.

Today I received a letter from a company (whom I can only assume are the administrators), they have charged me a £25 admin fee for my DD not being collected this month and have threatened further charges if not paid soon - can they do this?? What exactly am I paying for if the gym is in admin & closed for use? Where do I stand?

googler

Do you have any kind of written contract with the gym? If so, what does that say with respect to termination?

Does this help?

http://www.companyrescue.co.uk/company-rescue/guides/detailed-administration

Daedalus

If the gym was close then they breached their side of the contract and discharged your duty to pay.

You should enter into discussions with them as I assume you need to pay for some/all of December?

DCFC79

OP has had replies on his other thread here

Angel1981

Daedalus wrote: »

If the gym was close then they breached their side of the contract and discharged your duty to pay.

You should enter into discussions with them as I assume you need to pay for some/all of December?

They're paid in advance so if anything they owe me - but that isn't going to happen eh?! Thank you, I'll call them on Monday, the contract does not mention anything about the possibility of the gym going into administration

googler

I'm sure the contract doesn't mention administration explicitly, but I get the impression (whilst freely admitting not to be expert on this aspect of the law) that even though the gym has gone into admin, that your contract remains in force, and that if you want to cancel it, that you do so by any method set out or agreed in the contract, possibly by giving notice to the gym (or their appointed administrator) that you wish to leave.

Does the contract state that if you want to terminate, that you can arbitrarily cancel your DD with no notification to the other side?

Angel1981

It's tricky as I'm not wanting to actually terminate my contract, I just didn't want them taking money from my account whilst they were closed, I'm happy to pay them & continue with my contract once the gym re-opens itself, thats IF it does.
I stopped my DD simply to stop them taking money for services they're not offering - surely they're attempt to take money (whilst being closed) should not incur me a £25 charge

vikingaero

Send the administrators a letter charging them £25 for each time you have been unable to use the gym....

Ask for the full names of the administrator(s) and the name, address and policy number of their professional indemnity insurance. Should give them something to think about.

Buzby

This can be a lot more complicated than you may think. You need to check both the gym and finance contracts (if separate). It is not unusual for Gym's to sub-contract financing to a third party. The finance deal is with the third party (who pays the Gym in full at be start of the year), and your liability is with them NOT the Gym. If the club folds, you have no automatic right to terminate as the fee is not a monthly arrangement.

Your credit file may also be at risk - so these factors need to be explored ASAP.

As for the above suggestion of billing them £25 for non use - nice, but frivolous idea that will be treated with the contempt it deserves. You cannot arbitrarily create your own terms without heir express agreement. You need to work within the one that already exists.

silentkiller

Just do what I do and never pay. I quit my gym as I never went but I apparently still owed them for a month and a half in arrears but I never paid it and they haven't bothered me for a year.

KeepFighting_2

As long as you are paying the Gym I think you will find that you can withold your payment until such time as you know what is happening. I would write to the administrator and say that you are whitholding payment until such time that you are able to use teh gym again. If it never opens you will not get your money back if you pay. This is a clear Breach of Contract and is covered under contract law. You are making payment for a service that is not being provided and therefore the gym/administrator is in breach.