Gym refusing to cancel membership

bikermike

Hi all,

Firstly, hello to the forums, the is my first post.

Secondly, I had a gym membership which I cancelled when I moved house. I checked the T's & C's and it said that it was a one-month rolling contract requiring 1 month's notice of cancellation.

So, I duly wrote them a signed letter saying that I wished to cancel my membership, then I arranged with the bank to cancel my direct debit a month later.

They have now sent me a letter saying that they cannot cancel my membership because in order to cancel my membership I need to (a) come into the gym and (b) complete one of their special forms.

They will not accept any other method of cancelling my membership other than one of their special forms which, as far as I can tell, will require me to give them exactly the same information as I gave them in my letter, which, by the way, they claim never to have received, even though I sent it by Royal Mail signed for/tracked/etc (or whatever it's called) - anyway, the main thing is that Royal Mail have confirmed that the letter was delivered to the intended address and has been signed for.

Oh, and they have sent me a bill for the month after I cancelled my DD, because they were unable to collect the money from my account (obviously), and they have said that because I haven't "officially" cancelled my membership, they still require a month's notice after I've completed one of their forms (i.e. another month's payment on top of what they say I now owe them).

Seeing as I now live a considerable distance from they gym, as far as I am concerned, they can stick it where the sun doesn't shine.

Where do I stand on this in terms of my consumer rights?

InsideInsurance

You need to read your contract and see what it says about how you have to give notice to cancel the membership.

If it doesnt stipulate anything then the letter would be considered fine. If it does stipulate that their cancellation form must be completed then you havent abided by the terms of the contract and so still owe the monies for your ongoing contract.

I find it difficult to believe that a court would consider the requirement for a simple form to be completed to be a sufficient obstacle for it to be unenforceable under unfair contracts

ThumbRemote

InsideInsurance wrote: »

I find it difficult to believe that a court would consider the requirement for a simple form to be completed to be a sufficient obstacle for it to be unenforceable under unfair contracts

The gym are imposing two requirements to cancel:
1. Fill out a specific form
2. Do it at their premises

I would argue that both of these are unfair contract terms - they are both unnecessary and clearly only designed to make the cancellation process as complex as possible.

They may get away with insisting on a specific form, but if they are refusing to supply that to you then it's their problem.

InsideInsurance

ThumbRemote wrote: »

They may get away with insisting on a specific form, but if they are refusing to supply that to you then it's their problem.

Coming on site may certainly be less defensible but really need to see exactly what the contract states (-v- what was allegedly said in a telephone call)

Hintza

I don't often agree with ThumbRemote but I do in this case, but read your T&Cs with a fine tooth comb.

Think I would be tempted to tell them to do their worst.

A big plus point is you have proof of delivery of your letter wich will count for a lot if they do go to court.