14 days to withdraw from agreement

WaxiesDargle

Hi

I have a new gym membership that the gym do through Ashburn Financial Services. I pay £39 per month through Ashburn for 11 months with a first payment of £39 to the gym itself

The total credit from Ashburn is £429 over 11 months @ 0%

In the agreement it says that under s66A I have the right to withdraw from the agreement as long as I give 14 days written notice from the date of the agreement. It then goes on to say that I must pay, no later than 30 calender days, together with the interest, the amount of credit provided under the agreement...


Does this mean if I change my mind about joining the gym after signing in that 14 days I still have to pay all the £429 to Ashburn?

I've not changed my mind, but I was just wondering what is the point of withdrawing from the agreement if you have to pay anyway!

Cheers

HappyMJ

Yes...you are withdrawing from the credit agreement. You are borrowing money to pay for the gym membership. So if you withdraw from the credit agreemenet you have to pay back all the money that was given to the gym....the £429.

maninthestreet

A credit agreement to join a gym???
Why can't you pay the gym £39 a month via a standing order or direct debit

arcon5

More and more gyms are doing it these days, I think it's ridiculous but suspect they do it to reduce the bad debt rate and guarantee the whole years membership as you are less likely to default on a consuner credit agreement.

But yes it means you have a 14 day cooling off period on the finance after which you are stuck for the year ie. you have to honour the contract you signed. If you do cancel the finance I wouldn't be surprised I they then demanded you use an alternative method of payment, such as your debit card to pay for the year. Another sly tactic some companies use

WaxiesDargle

maninthestreet

as arcon said the gym uses the credit company probably to stop people not paying up...my gym wont accept payment any other way on a monthly basis

I've just re-read my original post arcon and realise that it is written badly...I meant to say if I withdrew from the agreement inside the 14 days...

it says..

'once you have given us notice of your intention to withdraw from this agreement, you must pay us, no later than 30 days beginning with the day after you gave notice, the amount of credit provided under the agreement,together with interest, from the date credit was provided to the day we receive full payment in cleared funds'

shaun_from_Africa

It's pretty much the same as buying furniture from one of the big retailers in the UK.
They might offer interest free credit over a fixed period so you buy an expensive sofa.
As with most credit agreements, you will have the right to cancel it within a certain period (14 days I think), but cancelling the credit agreement doesn't automatically cancel the purchase of the sofa and you will still have to pay for this.

unholyangel

Is it ashburn or ashbourne?

If its the latter, OFT have already taken them to court previously about their agreements.....this may be worth a read to see if your contract has any of the terms they were taken to court for.

http://www.oft.gov.uk/OFTwork/consumer-enforcement/consumer-enforcement-completed/ashbourne/#.USyqh6JA1Pg

WaxiesDargle

It's Ashburn Financial Services, unholy
cheers

the 14 days 'cooling off' period isn't worth anything then if you still have to pay...pointless, unless there is another reason for it

bris

The gym let you take out an agreement to pay by instalments through Ashbourne. Legally they have to give you a 14 day cooling off period where you can cancel the credit contract. The important thing to note though is that cancelling the credit does not cancel the gym membership, you would still need to pay the full year.

WaxiesDargle

thanks bris...so instead of paying monthly I'd have to pay the whole lot in one go

swings and roundabouts init

arcon5

Thanks for clarifying op... I think your interpretation is spot on. Gyms are notorious for locking people in at any and all costs. The recent judgement has deemed contracts lengths greater than 12 months unfair but it seems to me you would have no contractual or legal right to cancel within the 12 months signed up to - unless you challenge their terms which there is actually no guarantee you would win.

Shocking really how health clubs operate!