Credit Resolution Services - Gym Membership

MexicanJoker

Hi all,


First time making an account here though I've been lurking these forums for quite some time.


Apologies if this is posted in the wrong section, but my partner is having a dispute with Credit Resolution Services at the moment for a debt that we're really not satisfied she actually owes.


The short version of the story goes like this:


My partner joined a local gym and signed a contract, in person, which stipulated that remain a member for a minimum of twelve months, or else she'd have to pay a cancellation fee.


Not long after a year was up, she has since switched gyms to one of the larger chain gyms as a benefit from her employer. She called the gym to advise she would cancel her direct debit at the time and there appeared to be no objections to it.


Several months passed and suddenly she started receiving letters from Credit Resolution Services who are chasing her for £271; £200 of gym fees they claim she owes and then an extra £71 of fees they have slapped on themselves.


As far as debt collectors go, they have been pretty aggressive and are bordering on harassment - calling daily without leaving voicemails, three letters in as many weeks and they're already throwing around threats of CCJs.


Where it gets strange, however, is that our first idea was to contact the gym who may have been happy to call off their dogs, hoping this was a mistake.


It turns out the gym has changed ownership between the time of cancellation and now. None of the phone numbers found online work anymore, but we did manage to find the mobile number someone who used to work there, who gave us the email address of the current owner.


My partner has emailed the current owner outlining the situation and has not received a response.


She has requested that CRS conduct all future correspondence via email so that they can't bully her on the phone or overload her with dodgy information, to which they have agreed.


Our latest correspondence is an email from CRS, which we have not yet replied to as we're looking for advice. The email is as follows (with identifying information removed):


"Further to your recent contact with CRS.

We have been passed your file by Sweat Fitness Academy in regards to unpaid arrears due under the terms of your Membership Agreement.

On 21 JUN 18 you entered into a Membership Agreement with Sweat Fitness Academy via an online sign up process. Upon providing your details, including your name, address, bank account details, e-mail address and date of birth, you agreed to pay monthly instalments of £24.99 for a minimum period and give relevant notice when you wished to cancel.

Confirmation of your Membership was issued to you on 21 JUN 18 to the [PARTNER'S EMAIL ADDRESS] e-mail address provided.

As your payments were not honoured and you failed to rectify your breach of Agreement charges were applied to your account and your file was referred to ourselves for collection, in accordance with the Terms and Conditions of your Agreement.

Having signed your Membership Agreement online you have entered into an enforceable contract and you remain liable to clear your account balance. There not being a signed document would not make you any less liable to pay.

Sweat Fitness Academy have not received the relevant notice from you to cancel your Membership. If you believe you have given the correct notice to close your Membership, we request you please provide evidence of this.

Please contact us within the next 7 days on 01444 449165 to discuss repayment of your balance.

Yours sincerely,

[NAME OF COLLECTIONS MANAGER]

Collections Manager"


Here are some key things about this email:


1. The email address the gym used to chase payment was incorrect. CRS confessed to this on the phone, but this piece of information is suspiciously absent from the email.
2. They want my partner to prove that she cancelled it - which was done verbally, several months ago, is this fair?

3. They have STILL not proved the debt, which I was under the impression they were required to do? She specifically requested a copy of the contract in the phonecall that prompted this email so that we can see what has been breached ourselves instead of taking their word for it. They have not provided this.
4. They claimed she entered into a contract online, which is not true. She specifically signed a physical contract at the gym in person.


Does anyone have any advice on what to respond? They're chasing so aggressively and pressuring her into immediate payment and it's really stressful and intimidating.


Thank you for reading to the end and thank you in advance for any advice anybody might be able to provide.

WhenIam64

This comes up often.

On the negative side, there is a signed contract and that is what is in play here. On the positive side, it appears they are attempting to claim for a non-existant breach of contract (£200) and mythical costs (£71).

Check the terms of the agreement against the Consumer Rights Act 2015 "grey list"

https://www.ihasco.co.uk/uploads/resources/RESOURCE_Blacklist_and_Grey_List_of_Terms.pdf

If they cannot show the term that has been breached (likely small print) simply report them to the CAB national consumer helpline as that is the feed into Trading Standards now. Tell them it has been reported and offer them the chance to go to court to prove the terms and the outcome of that case will be passed to TS as evidence of their misleading and aggressive business practices.

CRS is now called Harlands, and if you search on that name, you'll see earlier comments about these business practices.

https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/search?q=Credit+Resolution+Services