David Lloyd Gym Membership

seoxpert

Hi, I signed up for Davi Lloyd Membership a week ago and I called them today to cancel it. They are now asking for a valid reason, I told them I got a new job and can not commit to gym. They are now asking for proof of the new job???

Does anyone know the cooling off period for cancelling David Lloyd membership?

Thanks!!

unholyangel

seoxpert wrote: »

Hi, I signed up for Davi Lloyd Membership a week ago and I called them today to cancel it. They are now asking for a valid reason, I told them I got a new job and can not commit to gym. They are now asking for proof of the new job???

Does anyone know the cooling off period for cancelling David Lloyd membership?

Thanks!!

Did you sign up on their premises? Is there a credit agreement involved?

seoxpert

Yes, signup on their premises, its 1 year contract (dont know if a credit agreement is inolved)

unholyangel

Okay, normally there is no cooling off period when entering into a contract face to face on their business premises. Although if an agreement is particularly lengthy or complex, a cooling off period may be required in order to achieve fairness.

But no cooling off period doesn't mean you can't cancel. Just you might not be able to cancel withing being liable for reasonable losses incurred by them due to your breach. Theres no entitlement to any sum that could be reasonably saved - by finding another customer perhaps.

Now with that in mind, perhaps point out to them that we're approaching new year resolution time - usually a gyms busiest time of the year hands down which means they can't really claim losses beyond the end of december as they'll have plenty of new customers to offset the losses caused by your cancellation. Meaning you shouldnt really be paying more than 2 months (this month and next months).

Double check its not subject to finance though as that can complicate matters a bit more. It should be relatively easy to spot as finance agreements need to contain certain information by law in order to be enforceable - total borrowed, interest rate, interest paid, total repayable etc.

powerful_Rogue

unholyangel wrote: »

Okay, normally there is no cooling off period when entering into a contract face to face on their business premises. Although if an agreement is particularly lengthy or complex, a cooling off period may be required in order to achieve fairness.

But no cooling off period doesn't mean you can't cancel. Just you might not be able to cancel withing being liable for reasonable losses incurred by them due to your breach. Theres no entitlement to any sum that could be reasonably saved - by finding another customer perhaps.

Now with that in mind, perhaps point out to them that we're approaching new year resolution time - usually a gyms busiest time of the year hands down which means they can't really claim losses beyond the end of december as they'll have plenty of new customers to offset the losses caused by your cancellation. Meaning you shouldnt really be paying more than 2 months (this month and next months).

Double check its not subject to finance though as that can complicate matters a bit more. It should be relatively easy to spot as finance agreements need to contain certain information by law in order to be enforceable - total borrowed, interest rate, interest paid, total repayable etc.

But surly those joining up come January will be signing up anyway and would make no difference as to whether the OP is a member or not.

Its not as if its something tangible where its one or the other.

gettingtheresometime

If you do have a new job then simply show them a copy of the offer letter, ensuring all personal (such as salary for example) are blacked out. Job (pardon the pun) done.

If of course you were lying.......

NeilCr

powerful_Rogue wrote: »

But surly those joining up come January will be signing up anyway and would make no difference as to whether the OP is a member or not.

Its not as if its something tangible where its one or the other.

Quite.

That would only seem to work if in January membership is full and, if the OP, left someone would take their place. I've been using gyms for a lot of years now and never known a full membership.

@unholyangel I thought gyms could lock you into a contract of no more than one year (like the OP) unless you have good reason (loss of job for example). I know DL were one of the gyms who were subject to an OFT investigation in 2013 and had to clean up their act.

@seoexpert - to be honest sounds like DL are trying to help. Take the evidence of your new job along and see what they say. That would seem to be easiest course of action in the first instance

ETA.

Some additional information here

https://www.unlockthelaw.co.uk/News/cancel-your-gym-membership/980524601.html

unholyangel

powerful_Rogue wrote: »

But surly those joining up come January will be signing up anyway and would make no difference as to whether the OP is a member or not.

Its not as if its something tangible where its one or the other.

Then it would be up to them to show that they have actually suffered a loss. As we tell people looking for compensation on here, you're only entitled to provable losses that can't be reasonably mitigated. You can't start arguing the ifs and buts because it would have no end - what if the OP not cancelling had a butterfly effect and stopped 10 people from joining? What if - by posting here - 10 more people sign up to that chain of gyms? What if OP gets run over by a bus tomorrow and the membership has to be cancelled anyway? You can't go off what ifs, only what losses have actually occurred according to the natural course of things.

bris

unholyangel wrote: »

Now with that in mind, perhaps point out to them that we're approaching new year resolution time - usually a gyms busiest time of the year hands down which means they can't really claim losses beyond the end of december as they'll have plenty of new customers to offset the losses caused by your cancellation. Meaning you shouldnt really be paying more than 2 months (this month and next months).

Doesn't work like that, no gym will ever turn away a customer as they are never at capacity. You know that this wont work, buyers remorse is not getting the OP out of a gym contract and he has no rights too.

unholyangel

NeilCr wrote: »

Quite.

That would only seem to work if in January membership is full and, if the OP, left someone would take their place. I've been using gyms for a lot of years now and never known a full membership.

@unholyangel I thought gyms could lock you into a contract of no more than one year (like the OP) unless you have good reason (loss of job for example). I know DL were one of the gyms who were subject to an OFT investigation in 2013 and had to clean up their act.

@seoexpert - to be honest sounds like DL are trying to help. Take the evidence of your new job along and see what they say. That would seem to be easiest course of action in the first instance

ETA.

Some additional information here

https://www.unlockthelaw.co.uk/News/cancel-your-gym-membership/980524601.html

I believe I said that OP has no statutory right to cancel but that they can still cancel - just not without being liable for reasonable losses incurred by the other party and that the other party have a duty to mitigate their losses where reasonably possible (as is the common law in breach of contract situations).


Theres also been a court case - albeit small claims so no precedent - where a woman wanted to cancel her contract and they tried billing her the remainder of the minimum term. York county court decided that 1 months fees was reasonable instead and awarded that amount.

ETA: Should perhaps mention what the gym originally claimed was 3 months - and the judge felt that unreasonable so reduced it to 1 month.

Mrs_Ryan

Word of warning- they're a nightmare and they lie through their teeth. I had a membership with them but then I became ill with a worsening of a current condition. They asked for proof of the condition which I supplied. They then said the letter was out of date because it had been dated April 2015 (this was May 2016) which was utter rubbish because I had sent the letter from the clinic I had attended the month before and the doctor had ordered me to take it easy and said so in his letter (I had the original copy and the date was definitely correct) I told them that was wrong but they threatened the usual blah blah.
They sent it to a debt collection agency who hounded me so much that I sent a fed up email to them saying I had done all I could to prove I had medical reasons for not using the membership and that my health was too bad to cope with their constant hounding. I also said that if they didn't sort it I was going to the press.
Fifteen minutes later I had a very effusive email from the club manager who said she had seen a copy of the letter and she was closing the membership and wiping all fees immediately.