My gym membership is in fact a credit agreement...!

lou031205

I have to be honest, and say that when I told Eastleigh Kinetica that we could no longer afford Gym membership after my daughter was born, and also that we would no longer be able to attend as a couple, which was our original intention, they were fantastic.

All they asked of me was that I write a letter to that effect. With that done, I was released from the 12 month contract 3 months in. That was the Eastleigh branch.

Perhaps a polite letter explaining present difficulties and requesting discretionary release from the contract will appeal to their more generous side? It is quite possible that the person you spoke to was just quoting contract law, rather than your specific situation?

maninthestreet

wallpapermate wrote: »

hello fellow money-savers
in Nov of 2006 i joined a gym. In March of 2007 i informed them that i was moving abroad and would therefore need to cancel my membership. they told me that this was not possible however i can have a 6 month 'break' whereby i wouldnt have to pay anything for that period but my payments would have to recommence after the 6 months. After the 6 months they started to take the direct debits out of my account (and didnt even think to inform me in writing that my membership had been reactivated). I emailed the sales manager a couple of weeks ago and said i wanted to cancel the contract completely. He then emailed me back telling me that this was possible, as i was outside my minumum term of contract. I then called up the sales department to confirm when my last direct debit would be taken and they they informed me that i would have to continue to make payments until May.

My dilemma is that i have it in writing from the person that originally sold me the membership that i can cancel, and now they are going back on their word...for your information the gym this concerns is KINETIKA!!!! (hmmmm, i wonder if they have a Consumer Credit Licence...)

where do i stand legally, as i have it in writing from the sales manager himself that i am able to cancel my contract. i took this email to the bank in order that i could cancel my direct debit and they seemed happy with this. Where do i stand if the gym then try and recover money from me?

Any advice woud be most appreciated!

Sounds like you have to give 6 months notice of termination of the contract.
You will need to read the terms and conditions of the contract you signed to see if it states this.

bap98189

Just cancel the direct debit. It's highly unlikely the gym are going to go to the hassle of taking you to court to reclaim a few months membership. It wouldn't be worth their while.

sarahg1969

You say you are moving abroad? Is this a permanent move? If so, I'd drop them a line, confirming this and telling them that you want to end the membership, and are cancelling the DD.

They are unlikely to chase you any further if you are no longer in the country.