Gym membership - resigning mid year

scubascuba3

I've been a member for many years, the "new" T&Cs say if I leave mid year I have to pay for entire year. I can't recall signing any T&Cs when I joined and certainly wasn't notified of the new ones and definitely haven't agreed to them.

I know I can cancel the DD etc etc but I'd like to know if there is any legal case regarding these gym contracts or even other similar club contracts?

I heard that their was a case where the gym wasn't allowed to enforce the full term of membership but it's a bit vague.

unholyangel

Its a complex area which can't be answered with a simple yes/no I'm afraid.

Ideally, ask your gym for a copy of your signed contract. You don't need to have a signed contract in order to have a contract (don't even need to have anything in writing) but it does help prove what was agreed and gyms - being so notorious for shady practices - tend to have contracts for this reason.

In essence, a party can only be bound by the obligations they agreed to accept at the time of contracting. Now while they can't change the terms of an agreement without your consent, what they can do is notify you they intend to change the terms and - providing you can escape the contract without being worse off for having entered it - you can either accept the changes or end the contract. You may potentially have a claim for damages if there are any, but you can't force them to continue the original contract.

That also works the other way though - if you breach the contract then you become liable for losses they incur due to your breach. A party who suffers losses has an obligation to take reasonable steps to reduce their losses if possible (for example by finding another customer) and not to take any unreasonable steps to increase their losses.

But try and get a copy of T&C's first. Although be aware that just because something is in T&C's, doesn't necessarily mean its legally binding/enforceable (needs to pass the fairness/transparency/plain language requirements).

scubascuba3

I've got the new T&Cs but these are the ones i knew nothing about, wasn't notified and definitely didn't agree to them, so the start of the year kicked off as usual but secretly these T&Cs had been changed but not circulated. They aren't even on the website.

Geoff1963

I think the Office of Fair Trading ( as it was ) used to have a list of typical "bad" contracts, and one of them was 12 month gym membership.

Undervalued

scubascuba3 wrote: »

I've been a member for many years, the "new" T&Cs say if I leave mid year I have to pay for entire year. I can't recall signing any T&Cs when I joined and certainly wasn't notified of the new ones and definitely haven't agreed to them.

I know I can cancel the DD etc etc but I'd like to know if there is any legal case regarding these gym contracts or even other similar club contracts?

I heard that their was a case where the gym wasn't allowed to enforce the full term of membership but it's a bit vague.

Basically it depends whether you have agreed to a year's membership but are paying in monthly instalments or simply a monthly membership.

Although gyms seem to get a bad press in this respect this can also happen with other types of clubs etc. For some outdoor activities for example people would be tempted to only pay for the summer months yet the club's overheads maybe nearly the same all year.

bris

12 month memberships are fine, it's the 24 month ones they kicked off about.


You can and will be held to the contract.

unholyangel

scubascuba3 wrote: »

I've got the new T&Cs but these are the ones i knew nothing about, wasn't notified and definitely didn't agree to them, so the start of the year kicked off as usual but secretly these T&Cs had been changed but not circulated. They aren't even on the website.

So ask them to prove they made you aware of the changes & that you agreed to them. If they can't do that, ask them for the original T&C's you agreed to. If they can't do that, remind them that it would be for them to prove that any term they seek to rely on was a term of your contract and its also for them to prove that you are in breach of that term. Put it in writing so you have a record of what is said.

The one thing you need to watch out for is if there is a credit agreement in place. If so, even being late on a payment can affect your credit history. They'd have to get you to agree a new credit agreement every year though (as thats how credit based gym contracts work) so I think its highly unlikely that you wouldn't be aware of that.

In the meantime, google OFT v Ashbourne Management and see if any of the terms discussed in that action are similar to the terms they're trying to enforce.