Gym membership - no contract

Sadie_Matteo

Hello all

I joined a gym in January 2013, the gym has been newly set up last year. I had been going "pay-as-you-go" to some classes there but they were advertising new membership deals so i decided to join up to the £40 p/mth for a 6mth period which is anytime use of gym & classes. I called in, spoke to the owner about joining - there & then I filled out a direct debit form and that was it. There was no contract, I did not fill in or sign any other form. The only other form I ever filled in previously was a medical form and that was when I was doing the PAYG classes.

Does anyone have any advice on what my rights would be for cancelling? If I didn't sign anything then am I right in thinking that I can cancel at anytime? I want to leave this gym as the customer service is non existent, they don't offer a good selection of classes and to be honest I'm bored with doing the same circuits class week in week out with no option of doing anything else.

I would be grateful if anyone could help with some advice and maybe point me in the right direction of what is best to do. The owner & his partner are quite unapproachable about this as I have a friend who tried to broach this subject with them and was given the brush off. I do want to do the right thing though, I don't want to leave myself open for possible legal action etc. I know this was a bad decision on my behalf by the way, to sign up but the more I have went there, the more I have realised it is not the gym for me.

Many thanks in advance.

Sadie.

arcon5

In the absence of agreed terms and noting you pay monthly it would be seen as reasonable to give one months notice to fall in line with te date of payment.... For example if you joined on the 20th of the month it would be reasonable to give 1 month notice from the 20th of this month, this exiting the contract on 20th April.

I'm sure if they pursued you legally a judge would also accept this is reasonable an deny their claim.

If though they are being awkward, best to make sure you have proof that notice was issued. Get proof of postage and keep a copy of the letter, staple them together and store them somewhere safe in case you need it. Or of course you could send it recorded delivery and save a copy of the signature and proof of delivery.

Sadie_Matteo

Thanks very much arcon5 for your reply, that was along the same lines as what I was thinking. It's a tricky one when there are no terms and conditions to protect either myself or them. I'll get a letter sent to them recorded delivery, the payment date is the 1st of each month so I will pay April then cancel after that.

ThumbRemote

Cancel either on or before 1st April. Otherwise they may claim one months notice from 2nd April takes you to 2nd May, so the payment due 1st May is payable.

Best bet might be to write now, stating that you are giving notice of terminating the contract on 30th April, therefore the payment for the final month will be taken 1st April, and after that you can cancel the DD.

Sadie_Matteo

Thanks Thumbremote Ok I'll get a letter drafted up tonight and sent off recorded delivery tomorrow as per your advice, don't want to be paying anymore than needs be.

Fire_Fox

Verbal contracts are valid in law they do not have to be written, but you should have been given access to terms and conditions.

Agree one months notice, but a FULL month coinciding with membership periods, this may not be the same dates as payment periods. If you are unsure you might give more notice than you think you need to. If you joined on (say) 10 January, your first payment could cover 10 Jan to 9 Feb or 10 Jan to 31 Jan depending how much you paid, it does not cover 1 Jan to 31 Jan. This affects when your last payment is, how much and what dates it covers.

Send the letter recorded delivery, keep a copy, the Post Office receipt AND screenshot of the Royal Mail 'signed for' notification. Be careful how you word the letter, be sure you are cancelling a monthly rolling contract not a six month minimum term contract.