Paid for gym membership & gym closed

DarrenG1972

Looking for some advice

I paid in Jan 2018 for a 2 year gym membership to gain a discounted rate.
On the 28th Feb 2019 with no notice the gym shut down. This was a small independant gym and not one of the nationwide chains and they had been going longer than I had lived in the area.

I did pay for the subscription using my credit card because I keep on reading that you get better customer protection.

Before I go to my credit card provider, and attempt to get a partial chargeback for the 10 months of my gym membership that I can no longer use, I would like to get some info/advice before hand

As this was for a gym membership, and not a product, do I still qualify for a refund?
As I paid for the subscription 14 months ago, do I still have any protection or is any cover only for the first 12 months?

Thanks in advance for any advice received

[Deleted User]

If they've shut down through insolvency, you'll just be one of a long list of creditors unlikely ever to see what they are owed returned.

I doubt your credit card company will be reimbursing you in the circumstances..

SnowTiger

Moneyineptitude wrote: »

If they've shut down through insolvency, you'll just be one of a long list of creditors unlikely ever to see what they are owed returned.

I doubt your credit card company will be reimbursing you in the circumstances..

Are you suggesting St Martin Lewis and the team at MSE have got it all wrong about Section 75?

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/shopping/section75-protect-your-purchases/

CardinalWolsey

It's a Section 75 claim you want to be initiating, and not a chargeback. The key difference between the two is that a chargeback is where the money is attempted to be reclaimed from the retailer, whilst a section 75 claim is where you are holding the credit card company jointly liable for the conformance of your contract - in other words a S75 claim, failing all else, the credit card company will have to refund you out of their own pockets.

DarrenG1972

CardinalWolsey

Thank you

I will make sure I use the correct terminology when I approach my credit card provider.

Darren

DarrenG1972

Moneyineptitude

I have no idea why they shut down

I received a message saying that gym is temp closed because of H&S, and that is the sign on the door. However when I sent them a query asking when the work would be completed and the gym opened all I received was a terse sentence saying that gym is now permanently closed, no reason why was given

EDIT

It has been pointed out that I made a mistake in this post and I have updated the text to indicate that the gym is 'now permanently closed' instead of 'not permanently closed'

This is the email that I received

"Thank you for your email, unfortunately Apples Health Club is now permanently closed."

[Deleted User]

SnowTiger wrote: »

Are you suggesting St Martin Lewis and the team at MSE have got it all wrong about Section 75?

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/shopping/section75-protect-your-purchases/

Yeah, I failed to notice that the whole two year subscription was paid upfront and assumed the monthly payment would be less than the £100 threshold for a Section 25 claim.

davidmcn

DarrenG1972 wrote: »

I have no idea why they shut down

I received a message saying that gym is temp closed because of H&S, and that is the sign on the door. However when I sent them a query asking when the work would be completed and the gym opened all I received was a terse sentence saying that gym is not permanently closed

That doesn't sound like "shut down" to me, given it was only a week ago. Worthy of a partial refund for the period they're closed, certainly.

Bermonia

I think it is unlikely your card issuer will entertain a section 75 claim until you have confirmation that your membership is no longer valid... if the gum is only shut for a short period of time then would be best to deal with them and ask for a reduction to reflect - way too soon to start a section 75 me thinks

DarrenG1972

DavidMCN

I made a mistake typing that message. Sorry

This is the full message that I received

"Thank you for your email, unfortunately Apples Health Club is now permanently closed."

DarrenG1972

Hello Bermonia


I made a spelling mistake in my message by saying not instead of now

I have edited my post

This is the full text of the email that I recevied

Thank you for your email, unfortunately Apples Health Club is now permanently closed.