Gym membership

pink_pirlie

My gym, like many others, closed its doors in January after my monthly subs went out. 
They went to online, pre-recorded classes after this date with no change to the monthly fees (£75pcm each).
We don't bave space to do classes at home so politely emailed to ask for our January fees to be transferred to when the gym reopened. 
I heard nothing back and went on my merry way assuming this had been actioned. 
However in February they took our fees again. So I emailed to question this. 
They replied saying I had to give 30 days notice to cancel and this meant I would have to pay both January and February as a result of the closure coming on the 5th January which is the day I sent my email. 
Ideally we want to stay at the gym, although there are other options. We are happy for our subs for January and February to be transferred to when the gym reopens to help with their cashflow, even at 50% a month or something like that if it would help them.
We have had no access to the online classes for the whole period as we don't have a log on to their system, they know this, but I didn't chase it as I assumed our membership was paused as a result of my email. I also didn't collect equipment they gave out to members for the same reason. 

I see my options as:
1) lump it that we've lost £300 for our memberships and continue to go to the gym in future, or

2) fight them for my money back (likely a s75 claim due to the amount) and then not be able to go back as that is likely to sever the relationship. 
It just seems silly for them to lose us as members for the next several year for the price of 2 months. 

I know things are hard for businesses to continue to trade as a result of covid, and I'm willing to be pragmatic over the period it is repaid. But I'm not willing to pay £300 for online classes we can't do and didn't have access to anyway.

What are your thoughts? 

JGB1955

That's a real shame - our local gym has suspended monthly payments immediately upon each lockdown.  I guess it all comes down to their choice...maybe they were already trading on a shoe-string?

unholyangel

JGB1955 said:

That's a real shame - our local gym has suspended monthly payments immediately upon each lockdown.  I guess it all comes down to their choice...maybe they were already trading on a shoe-string?

Their choice to be a cowboy outfit? 

OP, they can ask customers to make payments, but if the gym is closed (for whatever reason, even if not within their control) then they cannot insist on it and should give them the opportunity to cancel without otherwise being worse off if they do not wish to pay. Gyms have always been notorious for unfair contracts. They've repeatedly been in hot water with OFT previously and now CMA. 

tripled

That definitely seems unfair. What's in your contract with them? Is there anything saying that in the event of closure they will provide home workout equipment and classes and you will continue to be charged, or something along those lines?

pink_pirlie

@tripled

I have never seen any T&Cs. We always just paid at the desk each month. If you sign up now it just says "30 days cancellation" and very little else. 

In November they offered a specific membership for online access and said they would refund the month if you had already paid. We didn't take up the offer for online classes and as we hadn't yet paid for November we just started back in December. That month they brought in recurring payments, with January being the first automatic one. 

They sent an email saying they were going online on the day the current lockdown was announced and in that stated "if you are able to continue to support us through this lockdown, we would be most grateful." It also said that full details would be added to their online platform (that we don't have access to).  This is the email I replied to to state that we didn't want to do online classes and that I would be grateful that our membership was paused. In the same email I mentioned once again that we don't have access to the online platform, so we can't see the full details of their plan. 

There are no T&Cs on their website from what I can see. 

tripled

When you first went didn't you have to sign anything? It would be very unusual for a gym not to have any terms and conditions or disclaimers. Ultimately the home workout service they are providing is fundamentally different to the one you signed up for and unless the T&C specifically cater for this scenario it's unlikely to be lawful.

Given they don't seem to be reasonable, if it was me I would serve notice and inform them I am disputing the payments with the bank, along with a request under GDPR for all personal data including a copy of any signed contract. I would instruct my bank to refuse any further recurring payments to the gym (see how do I cancel a CPA - https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/banking/recurring-payments/) and request a chargeback of the payments relevant to the period they were closed. This will then put the ball in their court to prove they are entitled to your money.

If you have separate memberships then you may need to each contact them separately. It may be worth also sending a copy via snail mail.

Dear sir/madam
Membership No: XXX

Following your recent email, we no longer wish to be members and so please cancel our membership with immediate effect.

Please note we still dispute that you are entitled to charge us membership fees since you closed on 6th January (?). As we have been unable to resolve this with you, we will be disputing this with our bank and putting a stop on any further payments. Please provide us a copy of the signed terms and conditions from when we joined, along with any other data you hold relating to our membership under GDPR.

Yours faithfully

pink_perlie

mattyprice4004

It's very disappointing to hear they've acted how they have - our gym paused our memberships immediately.
Is there not a gym you can use that's a little easier on the pocket? I'm guessing this must be a fairly 'well to do' area, but even so £75pcm is rather high. Our gym is £21pcm each.

pink_pirlie

Thanks @tripled

We had a conversation with the owner this morning to try and come to an agreement and he is adamant that the 30 days notice applies but is willing to give us back 50% of what we paid for February (£75 out of £300) as a credit against our future membership. I offered to meet half way to try and keep things civil and said we would accept 50% of both January and February, but this wasn't accepted. 

I said I needed to think about it and that we would go back to him, but I am 100% in disagreement about this. So I think we are going to take the chargeback route but will wait over the weekend because we want to be sure we are definitely willing to sever the relationship. £225 is a lot of money to pay for absolutely nothing! 

Will the offer of the £75 credit impact the chargeback? Clearly doing a chargeback would sever the relationship and we would not be able to return to the facility to utilise it. 
I'm also nervous that the chargeback would be unsuccessful for some unexpected reason, in which case we would be left with nothing. 

Grumpy_chap

mattyprice4004 said:

 £75pcm is rather high. Our gym is £21pcm each.

£75 pcm is the cheapest gym near us.  Where can you get a gym for £21?  Or is it just a sponge mat in the park?

Semple

I wouldn't worry about severing the relationship, gyms are 10 a penny. Their loss is another gyms gain. 

phillw

Grumpy_chap said:
£75 pcm is the cheapest gym near us.  Where can you get a gym for £21?  Or is it just a sponge mat in the park?

It depends on where you live, how far you are prepared to travel. £75 is on the upper side for here, you're getting into free towel on every visit territory for that price. There is a posh(ish) day spa near me that has a good gym, pool & classes that charges around £55.

But there is so much variation in what someone might consider a good gym, if you have regular personal trainer sessions and loads of top of the range equipment in an idyllic setting close to your home then it might be worth it. Years ago I did some mystery shops in council run gyms and they were pretty good and not too expensive.