Cancelling my Gym membership - what are my rights?

chokolat2

Hi guys, long story short,
I signed up to the Club and Spa beginning of April (first month free, no joining fee), it is a 12 month contract.
Having used the gym for the duration of April and once at the beginning of May, I left my gym stuff in the locker once overnight (|I wasn't aware that members shouldnt really do this) anyway, only to come back next day to find a different padlock on my locker. The housekeeping staff had a done a break in and cleared out all lockers that were in use that evening after closing. Apparently this is done randomly several times a month.
I had 10 items in my lockers - 7 of which were returned to me. 3 have mysteriously gone missing including my new hardly worn jacket.
Having raised this at reception, they stated that they had notices all over the building that stated this as a warning a few days up until clear-out, which is a complete lie, they did not I was there earlier in the day. I also saw how the housekeeping documented what they took out of my locker as "clothes"...not specifically what type and how many items of clothing.

I made a complaint to the general manager of the gym, as I got no where with reception staff. Ok fair enough they have the right to empty those lockers, but that means they are taking responsibility for my items while transferring them from the locker to the bag! I finally received a reply today (they emptied my locker on 7th May!), which he stated that the housekeeping staff took everything out, and do not recall these missing items. Well of course they are not going to admit it if one of them did take it!
Anyways during my inital complaint I highlighted a few other points in which I was not happy about, including the incompetence of their staff, one telling me one thing, someone else another, I had to pay extra £1.50 for towels (thats per towel!) which should have been included...and most importantly I did not receive the Terms &Conditions until after a month and a half into my membership!
I obviously asked to cancel my membership as due to everything I have lost trust to use them, and have no intention to in the future. They steal my items and don't owe up to it, let alone the GM has not even apologised for the "inconvenience" !!
The General Manager is refusing to admit fault and keeps referring back to those stupid T&C's that I only received 1 week ago after asking for it for 1 month and a half.
He keeps referring back to this:

The Club accepts no liability for loss or damage to property of members or guests on the Club premises or in the car park other than loss or damage suffered as a result of the Club's negligence.

What does the last part mean anyway? I believe that it is their negligence the fact they couldnt transfer all my items into the bag, and managed to loose a few along the way..
I have also checked their T&C's out properly, nothing anywhere to say I couldnt leave my items in the lockers neither about their procedures to empty them.
I have asked for a face to face appointment with the GM to discuss further..so we will see..
Whats everyone's opinion? Do I have the right to cancel my membership?

arcon5

If they broke open the locker and took possession of your property then i'd say they was involuntary bailee' of your goods and therefore have a duty of care. This includes taking reasonable steps to locate the owner or where the owner is known to issue two notices in writing that they are going to dispose of the goods.

These notices they quote may well be valid if for example another member broke in to the locker and stole your goods, but imo not in such circumstances unless you abandoned them in a communal area.

chokolat2

Thanks for your reply. Yes the first girl who I spoke to just said "We empty the locker, put everything into the bag, and then just wait until someone turns up, makes themselves known to collect it" .....seriously what a joke! There actually was an Amazon receipt in my locker too...which also went missing with my full name, address and tel number.
To add to this too, while they were searching for my bag of items (their first attempt) they could not find it at all. I asked them to have another look, which then they found and said "oh, the label fell off, so we had to physically go through each bag".
Jokers.

comeandgo

Hi when you say your locker, was it totally for your use and no one elses, I know in our gym we are only to use them for the duration of our session, not to keep things in over time and they too have times they open them all and take the things out as some people misuse the lockers.

arcon5

chokolat2 wrote: »

Thanks for your reply. Yes the first girl who I spoke to just said "We empty the locker, put everything into the bag, and then just wait until someone turns up, makes themselves known to collect it" .....seriously what a joke! There actually was an Amazon receipt in my locker too...which also went missing with my full name, address and tel number.
To add to this too, while they were searching for my bag of items (their first attempt) they could not find it at all. I asked them to have another look, which then they found and said "oh, the label fell off, so we had to physically go through each bag".
Jokers.

In which case, imo, they are taking on responsibility for goods merely by having a lost property box/bag.

You do though have an issue still if they deny the lost goods ever being in there.

Cancelling may still be an uphill battle if they deny all knowledge of it. Even if they don't, your entitlement may simply be the value of the goods rather than rescission of the contract. Although a cleverly worded letter may be worth a shot.

bris

Back to the point, you have no right to terminate your contract, they will see this as an excuse to try and get out of it. They will deny all knowledge, especially if no one else has a problem with missing goods and see you as a chancer trying to get out of a contract.

Before you can take it further you need to prove the goods were missing, if you are the only one with a problem it's unlikely you will get very far. To stand any chance make a complaint to the police.

ValHaller

chokolat2 wrote: »

The General Manager is refusing to admit fault and keeps referring back to those stupid T&C's that I only received 1 week ago after asking for it for 1 month and a half.

Well, there is half a chance for cancellation in the argument that you do not accept the T&C's now you have finally received them. But you will need to be specific about which T&C's, propose a reasonable alternative and be prepared to accept that your alternative might be accepted. And your objections have to be more than trivial.

It is a difficult but not impossible position to take. But you only have a 'reasonable time' to take up this option - like in the next few days.

chokolat2

Thanks guys for all your comments. Yes I did think about reporting to the police, but actually wanted to give the Club an opportunity to sort this out!

In regards to "the reasonable time", i also agree. I have complained straight away, but the GM takes a really long time in replying to my emails, hence why I asked for a face to face appointment. So I dont know if he is doing this on purpose...for example he promised to me via email on Friday that he will investigate and have a full response by Tuesday. I didnt receive anything yesterday, so I emailed again today to say I am still awaiting. His email a few hours later said...

[FONT=&quot]Apologies for the late reply, due to the bank holiday weekend gaining access to a copy of your signed agreement it took longer than anticipated.[/FONT]

As if.....By the way wot he emailed me with my signature on was a Direct Debit agreement - not the T&C's!

chokolat2

By the way, does anyone know how many days I have to report theft to the police?

[Deleted User]

Presumably if you left your stuff at the gym overnight in a locker that was for general use, then you left the Club with THEIR property ie a key or something which was used to lock the locker and which you should not have removed from the premises without their permission!

lucy03

victoria61 wrote: »

Presumably if you left your stuff at the gym overnight in a locker that was for general use, then you left the Club with THEIR property ie a key or something which was used to lock the locker and which you should not have removed from the premises without their permission!

This wouldn't matter. If someone rents a property and leaves things behind this doesn't mean that the landlord can just throw their things away. There is a duty of care and in my view the gym has breached that duty of care. The gym didn't own the property they took from the lockers and should have made reasonable efforts to ensure it was properly returned to the owners.

Businesses can't disclaim their obligations with "we are not responsible for property left here" if they have been negligent or not shown reasonable care.

I would personally write to the gym asking for the contract to be suspended given the poor level of service not meeting your initial expectations. But you should be precise on what this is and not make it personal about individuals. I would mention that you would be prepared to justify this cancellation in court but would accept a reasonable resolution.