Dreaded David Lloyd - 12 month Contract Extension

lucybox

Hi all. I know David Lloyd can be a hot topic when it comes to contracts and cancellations, but I wanted to see if anyone had any advice or ideas.

My husband and I signed up with a 12 month membership starting on 01.09.2020 and due to finish on 31.08.20. For various personal and financial reasons, we didn't want to be members after the end of August 2020.

Obviously with the current pandemic, our club has been closed and our membership frozen. It looks like they are planning on making those members who are in their initial 12 month membership extend their membership by the period the club has been closed. I really want to avoid that as it won't work for us for lots of reasons. I have emailed my home club to state that I'd like to give the required three months notice that I don't want my membership extended past 31.08.20 but I imagine they will argue that point when they reopen. Should they reopen for July and August, for example, I'm happy to pay those months as they are within my initial term. 

They have been confirming to members outside their initial term that they can give notice now and it's effectively immediately, which seems unfair that those members are able to make changes and give notice now, but 12 month members aren't. It looks like they are using their 12 month members as a safety net to cushion the inevitable blow of cancellations. 

If anyone has any ideas or is in the same situation I'd love to hear from you. Thanks!

LABMAN

Check your dates?

[Deleted User]

lucybox said:

They have been confirming to members outside their initial term that they can give notice now and it's effectively immediately, which seems unfair that those members are able to make changes and give notice now, but 12 month members aren't. 

Basically you've signed up for a twelve month minimum term which is  currently paused because the gym is closed and so you aren't paying anything. 

 When they re-open the Club will re-activate your minimum term and so  you'll only be able to give notice when you've actually paid twelve months subscription. 

Unfortunately, what you agreed when signing up was to actually pay for fifteen months; a twelve month minimum term plus three months notice.

It's beyond  the gyms control  that the government have told them to close because of the danger of infection. 

Nor is it their fault that you've unilaterally decided that you don't want to be a member past August.

 Even if the pandemic had not hit you would still have had to pay for at least three months past August. 

If you are in financial difficulty due to Lockdown etc, you may be able to negotiate with them to pay an Early Termination of Contract (ETC) but don't expect this to be significantly less than paying for the entire fifteen months that you've signed for..

Sorry

lucybox

Moneyineptitude said:

lucybox said:

They have been confirming to members outside their initial term that they can give notice now and it's effectively immediately, which seems unfair that those members are able to make changes and give notice now, but 12 month members aren't. 

Basically you've signed up for a twelve month minimum term which is  currently paused because the gym is closed and so you aren't paying anything. 

 When they re-open the Club will re-activate your minimum term and so  you'll only be able to give notice when you've actually paid twelve months subscription. 

Unfortunately, what you agreed when signing up was to actually pay for fifteen months; a twelve month minimum term plus three months notice.

It's beyond  the gyms control  that the government have told them to close because of the danger of infection. 

Nor is it their fault that you've unilaterally decided that you don't want to be a member past August.

 Even if the pandemic had not hit you would still have had to pay for at least three months past August. 

If you are in financial difficulty due to Lockdown etc, you may be able to negotiate with them to pay an Early Termination of Contract (ETC) but don't expect this to be significantly less than paying for the entire fifteen months that you've signed for..

Sorry

Hmmm, might be a tricky one but I’m not giving up with them.

While it’s not their fault they have had to close, it’s not mine either! 

The three month notice falls within the 12 months (eg at 9 months you say you don’t want to extend past 12 months) so it’s not a 15 month thing, thankfully. I’m only saying I don’t want to be a member outside of the 12 month period I agreed to be. 

We are both at risk with our jobs so that early termination could be an option but for me, it’s more of a moral thing (I know David Lloyd aren’t know for their moral decisions!) 

[Deleted User]

lucybox said:

While it’s not their fault they have had to close, it’s not mine either! 

So you are admitting  it's not their fault?  

Are you certain the T&Cs of the contract allow you cancel during the 12 month minimum term?

Even if this is the case, your contracted agreement is therefore to pay twelve months membership fees. As you are not paying anything at the moment, where do their "morals" come into it then?

lucybox

Yeah, of course! It's obviously outside everyone's control, no question over that. Given the uncontrollable and unpredictable nature of the pandemic, I think it calls for some fairness on both sides. 

I'm certain that you can only be a member for 12 months, yes. As in, during month 8 of your membership, you can say you don't want your membership to carry on past the 12 month term but it will run until that 12th month. So, in my eyes as I am measuring my membership in 12 calendar months, so I am not looking to cut my membership short per se. I am just not wanting it to go past the end date of 12 months from when I signed the contract. Like I said, if they reopen for July and August, I will happily and rightly pay for those months. They are, however, counting it as 12 monthly payments must be made, I presume.

I suppose where I am struggling is the disparity in how members outside of their initial term can give notice now and it be effectively immediately, meaning they could effectively cease their membership while the club is closed without having to pay for their notice period, but others aren't given that option.  

[Deleted User]

lucybox said:I am measuring my membership in 12 calendar months,

You would very simply  be able to do this by paying up your remaining months of subscription before the end of August. As I've said, this is called an ETC fee. 

Incidentally it's not twelve calendar months you are legally contracted to   but to twelve months worth of membership fees just as you mention.  

Since anyone outside of the twelve months minimum term has clearly already paid at least twelve months of fees,  you are comparing chalk with cheese. 

lucybox

Interestingly, I have dug out the Terms just to confirm my memory and this line has caught my eye:
"Your membership will run for the initial period, which is at least 12 full calendar months and will continue then indefinitely until you give us at least three full calendar months' notice (If you want to end your membership from the end of the initial period, you can give us one calendar month's notice as long as we receive your notice at any time up to and including the day of the final calendar month of your initial period)"
So I figure I could have a basis against any enforced extension given that it talks of calendar months, rather than monthly payments.

tehone

You could argue that when you joined in say in September 2019, you therefore knew that the end of my contract was going to be August 2020, and this worked fine etc, as you were going to move in September 2020 to France/somewhere without a David Lloyd club, thus fitting in with your plans.

I don't agree whereby the club has suspended its services that it can force you past the length of the initial term, and hold you to a minimum length of of contract, regardless of when the end date might end up to be

[Deleted User]

lucybox said:

So I figure I could have a basis against any enforced extension given that it talks of calendar months, rather than monthly payments.

You've still agreed to pay for 12 months membership. In normal circumstances the gym would not be closed and such implicit terms would not be an issue. Basically, currently you aren't paying anything but normally you would be whether attending the gym or not. 

You could argue frustration of contract, but that still wouldn't absolve you from legally (and "morally") owing them what you agreed to pay. 

lucybox

Moneyineptitude said:

lucybox said:

So I figure I could have a basis against any enforced extension given that it talks of calendar months, rather than monthly payments.

You've still agreed to pay for 12 months membership. In normal circumstances the gym would not be closed and such implicit terms would not be an issue. Basically, currently you aren't paying anything but normally you would be whether attending the gym or not. 

You could argue frustration of contract, but that still wouldn't absolve you from legally (and "morally") owing them what you agreed to pay. 

Yeah, I think there are pretty good arguments both ways. We will have to wait and see when they start replying to emails. Would be really interested to hear from anyone else in the same situation, strength in numbers and all. Thanks.