Gym membership cancelation

andycris3107

Can anyone confirm what the cooling off period is for gym membership?
I signed up 11 days ago for our local council leisure centre but after 3 visits I want to cancel - the changing rooms are filthy and we have had to queue constantly for the changing rooms.

I understood that there was a statutory 14 day cooling off period but they are saying that it's only 10 days.

andycris3107

After posting I realised that I actually only signed up on 7th January and as today is 17th January then I am within the 10 days cancellation that they stipulate.

Apparently not.

The gym counts today as being the 11th day (?????) and won't budge.

Can anyone shed any light on this?

wealdroam

Is this a credit agreement you have signed?

What does it say about cancellations in your agreement?

arcon5

I'm pretty sure you have no statutory cooling off period.

gik

arcon5 wrote: »

I'm pretty sure you have no statutory cooling off period.

...particularly when you have used the services three times?

gettingtheresometime

andycris3107 wrote: »

Can anyone confirm what the cooling off period is for gym membership?
I signed up 11 days ago for our local council leisure centre but after 3 visits I want to cancel - the changing rooms are filthy and we have had to queue constantly for the changing rooms.
.

Then complain on facebook and wait another week - the post Christmas rush will soon vanish!

unholyangel

andycris3107 wrote: »

Can anyone confirm what the cooling off period is for gym membership?
I signed up 11 days ago for our local council leisure centre but after 3 visits I want to cancel - the changing rooms are filthy and we have had to queue constantly for the changing rooms.

I understood that there was a statutory 14 day cooling off period but they are saying that it's only 10 days.

Was it a finance agreement? Those are the only ones that usually come with a statutory period to cancel - however if the contract you have is particularly lengthy or complex, you might be able to argue that they should give a cooling off period in order to comply with unfair terms legislation (comes under binding consumers to hidden terms).

BTW a gyms busiest time is right after new year - with people making resolutions they're never going to stick to. Give it a few weeks and you'll likely see an improvement. In the meantime make a complaint and if its ridiculously bad, ask for a free month/reduction in monthly charge. Or if your schedule allows a bit of flexibility - ask the staff when their quieter times are - even if just until the new years rush dies down.

andycris3107

Please let me expand on this as I have now had an official response back from the gym.

The membership was taken out on 7th Jan by my wife, however MY details were written on the contract. That is to say that while the contract is in my name my wife actually signed it.

The cooling off period as per the contract is stated as:

3.1 You have the right to cancel your membership for any reason by sending or taking a written notice of cancellation, addressed to the Manager at your Club within ten days of joining (i.e. within 10 days of us confirming that we have signed your Membership Application Form).

The reason we wish to cancel is that the facilities are in very bad condition and not as they were when my wife visited. There are queues for the changing rooms which are mixes with small cubicles. There are some family cubicles but many are defective as there are no locks on the doors and therefore cannot be used. The cleanliness of the changing rooms is very bad.

On that basis on 17th January I decided to cancel.

The response from the gym relating to the cooling off date is:

Point 3.1 clearly states the rules on our cooling off period, which confirms that the deadline of the 16th has been missed.

Point 3.1 is outlined above which they say clearly indicates that the cutoff date is 16th whereas when I asked the simple question to my colleagues every one of them said that the cut off was the 17th so either everyone is misreading the condition or their interpretation is incorrect.

Additionally in relation to the fact that my wife has signed a contract not in her name:

Point 8.4 clearly states that the signature of one member of the family membership is confirmation that the Terms and Conditions have been accepted by all parties.

I actually read this slightly differently in that I would suspect that were I to sign a contract in my name and indicating a family membership I am accepting that my family is bound by the agreement whereas they are saying effectively that I am able to sign a contract that is made out in someone elses name.

Am I flogging a dead horse here or is there some hope?

wiogs

The contract is signed and that is day one, the 7th, ten days later is the end of the 16th.

That is how I image the gym is interpreting this, which is how I would too.

bell123321

Sorry if this does not apply but I belong to a council run gym and we had a 10 day cooling period where we could get our money back. After the 10 days could not get our money back that we paid upfront but we just have to give 5 day warning before the direct debit is due to go out to cancel our membership and just pay for the month we use/are members.

unholyangel

wiogs wrote: »

The contract is signed and that is day one, the 7th, ten days later is the end of the 16th.

That is how I image the gym is interpreting this, which is how I would too.

If a term is ambiguous and could be interpreted more than one way, the interpretation most favourable to the consumer (the party who did not write the contract) would prevail.