Problem with gym membership debt collectors

danieldjb

Hi guys,
I have recently been contacted by debt collectors for outstanding fee on a gym membership. I cancelled the gym membership months ago (via email correspondence) , and I cancelled all direct debits from my account with the associated membership. The Gym is DW gym in Poole.

Now I've started receiving mail from my gym and a debt collector about apparently not having cancelled the gym membership in time and being charged an additional month (if this is the case, this is their fault , not my own). When I joined the gym the cancellation method was a simple month period and you tell them any day of the week in store, when I had come to leaving they had made it really hard and you had to email and call various people and got 0 response or indication of the process progressing. I had not signed up to that terms of cancellation for one matter.

I'm receiving threatening phone calls, and mail at an address that I don't live at any longer, threatening me with court proceedings etc. A caller from an 'ARC' europe was especially rude to me on the phone, abrasive and horrible behaviour from the 'debt collector' all over £35 that seems to be rising all the time, for a gym membership I didn't use for 2 months.

Do I have to pay this £50 of gym membership that I didn't use (did not enter the premises for a whole month before also because of relocation) , or do I just ignore it?

Thanks

HappyMJ

Debt collectors can ask you for the money. You can refuse to pay. They can't do anything else. If you don't pay they'll refer back to the client for further action which may include a county court visit. They'll rarely do that.

I wouldn't ignore. I'd tell the debt collector there is no debt and I'd tell them to stop contacting you any more.

danieldjb

Thanks for your response, what if they do actually take me to court though? How likely is that ?

The months gym membership was £35, they are trying to charge me £50. I did cancel my membership, and I didn't use the gym but if they do take me to court isn't that going to be extra costly for me? I'm tempted to just pay the money for peace of mind.

thanks

HappyMJ

danieldjb wrote: »

Thanks for your response, what if they do actually take me to court though? How likely is that ?

The months gym membership was £35, they are trying to charge me £50. I did cancel my membership, and I didn't use the gym but if they do take me to court isn't that going to be extra costly for me? I'm tempted to just pay the money for peace of mind.

thanks

The gym has to take you to court not the debt collector. It's very unlikely. They probably sold the debt to the debt collector and have some return from that. They won't then take you to court. They'll write the debt off eventually. I'd just keep writing back denying the debt exists.

If they do send you court papers either pay the debt then or dispute it. It'll be £35 plus £25 court fees. As the court fee is so large compared to the debt it makes it even more unlikely they'll spend £25 to potentially risk not getting £35 from you.

danieldjb

looking through my mail I have found something else (I've been away with work , didn't expect this hassle...) and it claims to be from a Major Law solicitors qouting a debt balance of £50, a court fee of £25, a solicitors cost of £50 and an interest of £4 . This letter says the court option is one they are 'considering' but havn't acted on but havn't done anything.

I'm really stressing out now, not what I needed of a Saturday, nor what I expected. Thanks for your help though, shall i contact my former gym directly?

jenniewb

danieldjb wrote: »

looking through my mail I have found something else (I've been away with work , didn't expect this hassle...) and it claims to be from a Major Law solicitors qouting a debt balance of £50, a court fee of £25, a solicitors cost of £50 and an interest of £4 . This letter says the court option is one they are 'considering' but havn't acted on but havn't done anything.

I'm really stressing out now, not what I needed of a Saturday, nor what I expected. Thanks for your help though, shall i contact my former gym directly?

OP, can you get to the CAB during the week? (they tend to be mon-fri 9-5 or part time within that sort of time basis). They can often find ways around things like this and take things on for you and get things sorted quicker than researching to find out a way around this yourself and watching the fees go up as time goes by. Try to get it sorted as soon as you can because time is money where debt collectors come from.


I think the best people to contact regarding questions would be the debt collectors if the debt has been sold on to a debt collector as they will have all the information, though it being a weekend they might not be available (though don't let that stop you trying).


If you just cancelled the direct debit without telling the gym you were leaving and gave them notice (normally x weeks or similar to this) then this would be why there is a debt which could be building- have you since contacted the gym to let them know you wanted to leave and given them notice that you are going? Otherwise you could find they will try to claw back more and more months worth of fees. Not using the gym sadly would not count for anything where it comes to getting back the fees for the month they are chasing for.


Try to get all the information you have on this debt and what you have done to try to get information or deal with things before speaking to anyone from the CAB to save time. Sometimes if you can speak to someone about the debt and you have a lower income they can offer a payment system if there are fees you are unable to get out of, but please don't let this stress you out, it happens quite a lot with gyms because the cancellation process isn't always made clear and people do get through this.

chuckley

did you cancel by the specific date? did you get a response from the email cancellation? surely the gym contacted you before getting ARC involved?

yvonne13_2

OP try not to worry abouth this issue. You said you sent the email confirming cancellation so if and when they take you to court just have a copy of the email you sent and a copy of the terms and conditions.

I do hope you get this matter resloved soon. I'm sending you a hug so try and stay strong as you've done nothing wrong.