Golf course membership cancellation

shellaza

I am a monthly payer of a local golf course, the course does not use a credit company to collect it is all done through them 
The course owners have basically said pay or else we will take you to court in line with article 14 of a direct debit form I have never seen
I have asked for maybe 1 month of next year to help me stay loyal to the club along with many other of my fellow golfers 
There are clubs locally offering suspension while they are closed or 10% of next years subs
Our club however are now calling us saying dont cancel the direct debit or we will take you to court 
I feel no loyalty to try pay ny monthly after being treated so poorly, 
Has anyone else experienced this and can they take me and other members to court ?
It is my husband's membership, they are offering to suspend your membership for three months, but you have to prove your in hardship due to coronavirus, which really feels unfair as anyone else gets threatened

bradders1983

Give the local newspaper a try, bit of public shaming and they will back down.

Undervalued

It is not uncommon with gyms and some other membership organisations.

Basically you have most likely contracted to a year's membership but are paying it in instalments. You are not paying for a month's membership at a time. It could very well be enforceable.

I presume you have read the club rules carefully?

Undervalued

bradders1983 said:

Give the local newspaper a try, bit of public shaming and they will back down.

Why?
It is almost certainly in the rules the OP agreed to plus, as I mentioned, it is common with gyms, health clubs etc.

bradders1983

Undervalued said:

bradders1983 said:

Give the local newspaper a try, bit of public shaming and they will back down.

Why?
It is almost certainly in the rules the OP agreed to plus, as I mentioned, it is common with gyms, health clubs etc.

Do you think the golf club have gone about it in a reasonable way?

Undervalued

bradders1983 said:

Undervalued said:

bradders1983 said:

Give the local newspaper a try, bit of public shaming and they will back down.

Why?
It is almost certainly in the rules the OP agreed to plus, as I mentioned, it is common with gyms, health clubs etc.

Do you think the golf club have gone about it in a reasonable way?

It is irrelevant what I think. 

Almost certainly what they are doing is withing the rules the OP has signed up to. Whether it is, long term, a good or bad business judgement remains to be seen but it is one they are entitled to make.

If they will otherwise go bust in the near future unless they get the money in, it may be their last remaining option. Who knows?

sharpe106

You can always vote by your feet and all cancel and join another club.

shellaza

sharpe106 said:

You can always vote by your feet and all cancel and join another club.

There is a group that have cancelled the direct debit the chairman is now ringing them all saying they  may take it further once the month is up, it's the risk of them going through with it and seeing if the club does take them to court  it does sound like the club is in financial trouble and this covid 19 situation is only making it worse  however the course is not in a good state and they have furloughed half their staff  

Undervalued

sharpe106 said:

You can always vote by your feet and all cancel and join another club.

Only at the end of the membership period the members have signed up for. As I explained earlier they have almost certainly committed to a year's membership paid in monthly instalments, not a monthly membership.

These sort of arrangements often attract a bad press although usually, it has to be said, from those who didn't read what they were agreeing to. They are generally perfectly lawful.

I used to be on the committee of a club (not golf but with similar costs and significant land to look after). Back then we allowed an annual subscription to be paid by four quarterly standing orders. We did however make it very, very clear that members were agreeing to a year's membership, not a quarterly one. I am no longer involved but my attention was drawn to their current problems. Their subscription year runs from the 1st of April so they are currently pleading with members to renew even though they can't currently use any of the benefits. Unless most do they will become insolvent within weeks. Had the current problems fallen at a different time of year they would almost certainly have had to enforce payment of the quarterly standing orders if more than an handful of members tried to cancel them. Ultimately their duty is to the club and the bulk of its membership, not individual ones.

sharpe106

Sorry I should have made that clear, at end of contract.