Dodgy personal trainer, extortionate cancellation fee - can I fight her?

7sefton

Hi everyone

I started with a local personal trainer earlier in the year. She charges £480 for a block of ten lessons, but let me take the first two at a ‘pay as you go rate’ of £60 each. When I decided to do the block of ten, she let me just pay the difference (I.e £120 + £360 = block of ten for £480).

To cut a long story short, it was a nightmare after the first two. She was late to appointments, brought her 2 year old child along to session (which made me uncomfortable and concerned for her safety), and generally wasn’t really pushing me to achieve my goals. After 6 sessions I sent her an email asking to cancel, and was then treated very rudely by her:

- First she refused to deal with me for 30 days
- She then referenced a set of terms and conditions from her website that I’d never been aware of, nor signed
- These stated that she would take £180 administration fee for the time she apparently spent researching my exercise programme

By my maths, I should be entitled to a refund of £192 as follows:
6 lessons at £48 = £288
£480 - £288 = £192

The whole experience has been awful and has left me very upset (it took me a long time to pluck up the courage to see a personal trainer and now feel completely let down). She’s keeping my money and not returning any calls.

Is there anything I can do? I saw a recent news story from Which discussing unfair terms for subscription services and how all fees should be fair under the Consumer Rights Act 2015. Could I take her to court, or do you have any other advice for how I can try to resolve this?

Thanks

pinkshoes

For starters, I would be seeking a 50% (or at least partial) refund for the lessons she brought her daughter. This is NOT acceptable.

If she was late, did you still get a full session?

Fosterdog

If you are cancelling then any sessions you did have would revert to the £60 rate meaning she only owes you:
£480-£360=£120

With the sessions she was late to, did also stay after what should have been the finish time to make up the missed time?

How long was each session? Where were the sessions held? Your home, a gym, a community hall? How many sessions did she bring her child to? Did you request at the time that the sessions be postponed to a more suitable time when she wouldn’t have her child?

7sefton

She was 25 minutes late to one lesson and offered to keep going for the full 60 mins (the official length of each session) but I think I could only do 50mins in total as I had another appointment to go to.

The sessions took place in a private studio she rents in an office complex.

The daughter situation came about because she claimed not to be able to see me in the evenings unless she could bring her daughter along. She didn’t tell me how old her daughter was and promised she would sit on the side and read quietly. What actually happened was her daughter was 2 years old and very boisterous, and kept trying to hang onto her mum’s leg while I was supposed to be getting a PT session. She then started running round when I was trying to exercise. It was after this session that I decided to cancel as it clearly wasn’t working.

Thanks for your help so far.

Fosterdog

In the case of being late once she did offer to stay later, annoying but these things happen. You probably could/should have arranged to add on an extra ten minutes to your next session to make up for it.

When did the daughter situation first get discussed? Was it before sessions started at all that she said she could only do evenings on the understanding that she can bring her or was it after you had started the sessions and her circumstances changed. Were your sessions always evening ones or did you have day sessions and then you needed to change to evenings and she said she could only change if she brought her daughter? Was her daughter brought to every session, if not, how many was she brought to?

7sefton

She was late twice - the 25 mins was the worst.

When I signed up she said she could be flexible but only later said this flexibility in evenings would mean her daughter would need to come. I didn’t really feel like I had a choice so agreed, but as explained it clearly did not work so after that I decided to cancel.

This all added up to an unsatisfactory experience, hence my desire to cancel and then disappointment at the extortionate and disproportionate cancellation fee.

I’m really looking for some advice on whether I should take her to the small claims court or similar for imposing unfair fees.

Thanks again

hollydays

She’s a single mother with a small child.
A 2 year old should be in bed in the evening:(
Very difficult for a mother trying to elevate herself

pinkshoes

I would seek a refund of:

4 x £48 = £192

Then £48*(1/6) = £8 for the 10 mins you missed out on when she was late.

Then £24 for the session where she brought her daughter due to the constant distractions which was not what you paid for.

Total £224.

Put this in writing in a 'letter before action' giving her 14 days to pay, making it clear that being late twice then bringing a two year old to a 1 to 1 training session was not acceptable, hence the termination of the of the contract.

You will then need to state that failure to pay will result in court action.

She may be a single mum, but she has clearly taken on more than she can manage.

Sarastro

I'd probably give small claims court a go...you might get something back from her but I'm not sure how it will be judged.

The thing that stuck in my mind was the comment you made about feeling let down having plucked up courage to go to a PT - I think that's such a shame as they should be there to help you. Not all PT's are the same. I really suggest you try small claims: if something happens, great; if it doesn't then draw a great big line under it and move on. You will be wiser for next time.

Abbey1991

Fosterdog wrote: »

If you are cancelling then any sessions you did have would revert to the £60 rate

Why? I'd be more inclined to pay 60+60+48+48+48+48 given that the trainer seems the one more at fault

Money_maker

hollydays wrote: »

She’s a single mother with a small child.
A 2 year old should be in bed in the evening:(
Very difficult for a mother trying to elevate herself

At £48 an hour, I see no reason why she could not arrange care at home for her child. The OP paid for a professional service and has been trying to elevate HERSELF. Who's elevation is most important?