Cancelling a direct debit for a gym membership

MPAlex

Hello,

I joined a branch of MegaGym in early December, when I when to train i wasn't happy with the gym facilities so went home cancelled my membership and direct debit.

I have recently received a letter regarding my direct debit being cancelled and the company requesting immediate payment.

Question is, where do I stand regarding payment for a service i have never used and cancelled with days of signing up for the gym?

Many thanks in advance for the responses.

Alex

System

You can't just cancel a DD. You need to abide by the terms of the gyms contract in regards to payment and cancellations.

soolin

MPAlex wrote: »

Hello,

I joined a branch of MegaGym in early December, when I when to train i wasn't happy with the gym facilities so went home cancelled my membership and direct debit.

I have recently received a letter regarding my direct debit being cancelled and the company requesting immediate payment.

Question is, where do I stand regarding payment for a service i have never used and cancelled with days of signing up for the gym?

Many thanks in advance for the responses.

Alex

Did your contract give you the right to cancel, and if so did you cancel exactly as per the contract requirements?

arcon5

You say you cancelled your membership? How did you do so? Writing, verbally, other? Do you have a copy of the contract? If so does it require notice? Most say minimum 1 months notice to coincide with the anniversary of the payment .

Caz3121

did you call Harlands to cancel? (as per Mega Gym website)
Did you receive written confirmation of your cancellation?

shaun_from_Africa

As with most gym's, they have a range of membership options, some are flexible and are on a one month rolling contract and others (the cheaper membership deals) are a 12 month minimum term.
https://megagym.yourclubuk.co.uk/signup/
so your cancellation rights will depend on what you signed up for.

unholyangel

Caz3121 wrote: »

did you call Harlands to cancel? (as per Mega Gym website)
Did you receive written confirmation of your cancellation?

Is that their finance/debt collection company? If so, you can give notice to the gym (as ruled by the high court in OFT v Ashbourne Management Ltd).


This is what the ruling said:

Unfair terms – notice

Agreements 6, 8, 9 and 10 each provide, by clause 3, that notice of cancellation must be given to Ashbourne . This, says the OFT, is contrary to the average consumer's expectations and is unfair. The average consumer who wishes to cancel is likely to give notice to the gym club, with the result that the cancellation is ineffective and the consumer remains liable for the monthly subscriptions.


I agree and do not believe this is seriously disputed by the defendants. Indeed, the matter having been drawn to the attention of the defendants, Agreement 7 provided for notice to be given either to Ashbourne or the club. But the later agreements to which I have referred reverted to the form objected to.

Caz3121

unholyangel wrote: »

Is that their finance/debt collection company? If so, you can give notice to the gym (as ruled by the high court in OFT v Ashbourne Management Ltd).

This is what the MegaGym website says

How do I cancel my membership?
We have a company that administers our memberships and all cancellation requests are handled by Harlands, who can be reached on 08712 501 424 (please note this is a premium rate number).

fluffnutter

We can give all the advice there is but until the OP comes back and tells us a) what the T&Cs of his membership were and b) how he 'cancelled', we're as in the dark as he is.

unholyangel

Caz3121 wrote: »

This is what the MegaGym website says

How do I cancel my membership?
We have a company that administers our memberships and all cancellation requests are handled by Harlands, who can be reached on 08712 501 424 (please note this is a premium rate number).

Yeah I searched for their exact wording on the site after reading your post to see if they gave the option of both or just the management company

If someone gives notice to them (mega-gym) they'd have to legally accept it though due to the high court ruling.

There is actually a scenario very similar to OP's detailed in the judgement (consumer started 36 month membership 1st april, stopped 1st july as facilities werent satisfactory...was chased by ashbourne but the gym involved stepped in and agreed to the difference between what she had been paying per month - based on 36 month membership - and what she wouldve paid if she had just paid per month....they didnt make any ruling so to speak but he did say that he found this approach as fair). As I said, no ruling as such but perhaps mentioning it to them will persuade them to offer a similar settlement to the OP.


Gym contracts are notorious for being unfair and its rare to find a gym that doesnt try and include a financial penalty (illegal and unforceable under UK law) for early termination.

5.1 It is unfair to impose disproportionate sanctions for breach of contract. A

requirement to pay more in compensation for a breach than a reasonable

pre-estimate of the loss caused to the supplier is one kind of excessive

penalty. Such a requirement will, in any case, normally be void to the

extent that it amounts to a penalty under English common law. Other types

of disproportionate sanction are considered below – Part III, Group 18(c).


5.3 Other kinds of penal provisions which may be unfair are damages and costs

clauses saying that the supplier can:

•
claim all his costs and expenses, not just his net costs

•
claim both his costs and his loss of profit where this would lead to

being compensated twice over for the same loss

•
claim his legal costs on an 'indemnity' basis that is, all costs, not just

costs reasonably incurred. The words 'indemnity' and 'indemnify' are

also objectionable as legal jargon – see below, Part IV, Group 19(b).


5.6 Cancellation penalties and charges. A term which says, or is calculated to

suggest, that inflated sums could be claimed if the consumer cancels the

contract is likely to be challenged as unfair. For example, a penalty for

wrongful cancellation that requires payment of the whole contract price, or

a large part of it,
is likely to be unfair if in some cases the supplier could

reasonably reduce ('mitigate') his loss. If, for example, he could find

another customer, the law would allow him to claim no more than the likely

costs of doing so, together with any difference between the original price

and the re-sale price.

unholyangel

fluffnutter wrote: »

We can give all the advice there is but until the OP comes back and tells us a) what the T&Cs of his membership were and b) how he 'cancelled', we're as in the dark as he is.

Awww but its been ages since gym contracts came up

Although given the time of year.....that'll probably change in the coming months!