Contract signed with no cooling off period

AllGrownUpWithSavings

On 25 April I signed a contract to a 90 day online fitness programme and agreed to 3 x £990 payments - 1st payment on 25 April (paid over the phone by credit card), 25 May and 25 June. 

I felt pressure to sign up as the salesman told me I couldn't go away and think about it and had to make the decision in that phone call there and then. He also said once I had made the first payment and received the online content I HAD to pay the rest of the money. 

I stupidly agreed even though I had huge doubts. 

The contract I signed, again, which I was told I had to do on the phone there and then states:

"The client understands once they have been accepted into the programme that they are obliged to pay the full amount in one payment of £2500 (inc. VAT) or in two recurring monthly instalments of £1400 (inc. VAT) or three monthly instalments of £990 (inc. VAT). If any payment plan is agreed between the Client and the Company, the Client must pay back the agreed fixed amount of money every month until the balance is cleared. The Client must understand that this is not a monthly subscription which may be cancelled, the full payment plan must be honoured and payments must be made on time as agreed. The client understands that there is no cooling off period and once access has been granted to the Clients Area, payments will not be refunded partially or in totality to the client. Once access has been granted to the Clients Area, the full payment must be made either in full or as part of a payment plan agreed between the Client and the Company"

When I signed the contract, I had not seen the specifics of the programme. 

When I looked later in the evening at the programme, I found that it wasn't anything new. I felt sick as this was very similar to every other plan tried before.

I contacted the company last night and had a very long conversation with them saying that this isn't right for me and that it is similar to what I have done before. The salesman made it very clear that I couldn't change my mind. He said I am legally contracted to pay the company another £1,800, that i had the online content, that there was no cooling off period, that he told me all this on the phone call which was recorded with me agreeing to those terms and that his legal tram had made the contract water tight and I couldn't get out of it,  and that he would pursue legal action. 

I said I wanted to leave and that he could keep the £990 if he would waive the rest of my payments. I mentioned that he said the programme is highly sought after so he would have no problems replacing me but he wouldn't do that. He did agree to break down the remaining balance to 8 monthly payments of £247.50 but i had to sign another contract to agree that. It was 2.30am, I was tired and upset, so I signed it. 

I had a really restless night and still wish I hadn't signed up for this.

Is there anything I can do? 

Sorry this was so long. 

Aylesbury_Duck

AllGrownUpWithSavings said:

On 25 April I signed a contract to a 90 day online fitness programme and agreed to 3 x £990 payments - 1st payment on 25 April (paid over the phone by credit card), 25 May and 25 June. 

I felt pressure to sign up as the salesman told me I couldn't go away and think about it and had to make the decision in that phone call there and then. He also said once I had made the first payment and received the online content I HAD to pay the rest of the money. 

I stupidly agreed even though I had huge doubts. 

The contract I signed, again, which I was told I had to do on the phone there and then states:

"The client understands once they have been accepted into the programme that they are obliged to pay the full amount in one payment of £2500 (inc. VAT) or in two recurring monthly instalments of £1400 (inc. VAT) or three monthly instalments of £990 (inc. VAT). If any payment plan is agreed between the Client and the Company, the Client must pay back the agreed fixed amount of money every month until the balance is cleared. The Client must understand that this is not a monthly subscription which may be cancelled, the full payment plan must be honoured and payments must be made on time as agreed. The client understands that there is no cooling off period and once access has been granted to the Clients Area, payments will not be refunded partially or in totality to the client. Once access has been granted to the Clients Area, the full payment must be made either in full or as part of a payment plan agreed between the Client and the Company"

When I signed the contract, I had not seen the specifics of the programme. 

When I looked later in the evening at the programme, I found that it wasn't anything new. I felt sick as this was very similar to every other plan tried before.

I contacted the company last night and had a very long conversation with them saying that this isn't right for me and that it is similar to what I have done before. The salesman made it very clear that I couldn't change my mind. He said I am legally contracted to pay the company another £1,800, that i had the online content, that there was no cooling off period, that he told me all this on the phone call which was recorded with me agreeing to those terms and that his legal tram had made the contract water tight and I couldn't get out of it,  and that he would pursue legal action. 

I said I wanted to leave and that he could keep the £990 if he would waive the rest of my payments. I mentioned that he said the programme is highly sought after so he would have no problems replacing me but he wouldn't do that. He did agree to break down the remaining balance to 8 monthly payments of £247.50 but i had to sign another contract to agree that. It was 2.30am, I was tired and upset, so I signed it. 

I had a really restless night and still wish I hadn't signed up for this.

Is there anything I can do? 

Sorry this was so long. 

Crikey, £33 a day for an online fitness programme?

As I understand it, this is what is considered a distance sale, which should come with a cooling-off period, but... I think the cooling-off period is ended as soon as the customer accesses the service.  That appears to be the operating model of the company and why they think they're legally watertight, but I don't think they are.

The bit that jumps out at me is this:  "The client understands that there is no cooling off period and once access has been granted to the Clients Area, payments will not be refunded partially or in totality to the client."

That seems to trample over your consumer rights, because although a cooling-off period would end as soon as you access the service, that sentence actually states there is no cooling-off period in any case.  There's also the matter of you not being provided with the terms before payment, which I suspect also undermines their position.

I'd speak to your credit card in the first instance.  They should be able to help.

Consumer rights aside, there are so many free online fitness resources available.  If you need something specific for a medical condition, for example, then make sure you consult your GP before embarking on anything and then look for a decent, local fitness trainer who can coach you.  I can't believe any online content delivered over 90 days is going to be effective enough to be worth £3,000.

AllGrownUpWithSavings

Aylesbury_Duck said:

AllGrownUpWithSavings said:

On 25 April I signed a contract to a 90 day online fitness programme and agreed to 3 x £990 payments - 1st payment on 25 April (paid over the phone by credit card), 25 May and 25 June. 

I felt pressure to sign up as the salesman told me I couldn't go away and think about it and had to make the decision in that phone call there and then. He also said once I had made the first payment and received the online content I HAD to pay the rest of the money. 

I stupidly agreed even though I had huge doubts. 

The contract I signed, again, which I was told I had to do on the phone there and then states:

"The client understands once they have been accepted into the programme that they are obliged to pay the full amount in one payment of £2500 (inc. VAT) or in two recurring monthly instalments of £1400 (inc. VAT) or three monthly instalments of £990 (inc. VAT). If any payment plan is agreed between the Client and the Company, the Client must pay back the agreed fixed amount of money every month until the balance is cleared. The Client must understand that this is not a monthly subscription which may be cancelled, the full payment plan must be honoured and payments must be made on time as agreed. The client understands that there is no cooling off period and once access has been granted to the Clients Area, payments will not be refunded partially or in totality to the client. Once access has been granted to the Clients Area, the full payment must be made either in full or as part of a payment plan agreed between the Client and the Company"

When I signed the contract, I had not seen the specifics of the programme. 

When I looked later in the evening at the programme, I found that it wasn't anything new. I felt sick as this was very similar to every other plan tried before.

I contacted the company last night and had a very long conversation with them saying that this isn't right for me and that it is similar to what I have done before. The salesman made it very clear that I couldn't change my mind. He said I am legally contracted to pay the company another £1,800, that i had the online content, that there was no cooling off period, that he told me all this on the phone call which was recorded with me agreeing to those terms and that his legal tram had made the contract water tight and I couldn't get out of it,  and that he would pursue legal action. 

I said I wanted to leave and that he could keep the £990 if he would waive the rest of my payments. I mentioned that he said the programme is highly sought after so he would have no problems replacing me but he wouldn't do that. He did agree to break down the remaining balance to 8 monthly payments of £247.50 but i had to sign another contract to agree that. It was 2.30am, I was tired and upset, so I signed it. 

I had a really restless night and still wish I hadn't signed up for this.

Is there anything I can do? 

Sorry this was so long. 

Crikey, £33 a day for an online fitness programme?

As I understand it, this is what is considered a distance sale, which should come with a cooling-off period, but... I think the cooling-off period is ended as soon as the customer accesses the service.  That appears to be the operating model of the company and why they think they're legally watertight, but I don't think they are.

The bit that jumps out at me is this:  "The client understands that there is no cooling off period and once access has been granted to the Clients Area, payments will not be refunded partially or in totality to the client."

That seems to trample over your consumer rights, because although a cooling-off period would end as soon as you access the service, that sentence actually states there is no cooling-off period in any case.  There's also the matter of you not being provided with the terms before payment, which I suspect also undermines their position.

I'd speak to your credit card in the first instance.  They should be able to help.

Consumer rights aside, there are so many free online fitness resources available.  If you need something specific for a medical condition, for example, then make sure you consult your GP before embarking on anything and then look for a decent, local fitness trainer who can coach you.  I can't believe any online content delivered over 90 days is going to be effective enough to be worth £3,000.

Thank you Aylesbury Duck.

I know. £3k for what is available online and what I already know. It's utter madness what I've done.

He was a very good salesman and said there was no going away to think about it and call back as that meant I wasn't committed and there were plenty of people who would bite his hand off for the opportunity.

I'm an adult and I should have ended the call as was my gut feeling but he caught me at the wrong time when I was feeling really down about myself and he was promising and saying all the right things. I felt pressured and didn't want to miss the chance to change my mindset. 

I'm an idiot. 

Aylesbury_Duck

AllGrownUpWithSavings said:

Aylesbury_Duck said:

AllGrownUpWithSavings said:

On 25 April I signed a contract to a 90 day online fitness programme and agreed to 3 x £990 payments - 1st payment on 25 April (paid over the phone by credit card), 25 May and 25 June. 

I felt pressure to sign up as the salesman told me I couldn't go away and think about it and had to make the decision in that phone call there and then. He also said once I had made the first payment and received the online content I HAD to pay the rest of the money. 

I stupidly agreed even though I had huge doubts. 

The contract I signed, again, which I was told I had to do on the phone there and then states:

"The client understands once they have been accepted into the programme that they are obliged to pay the full amount in one payment of £2500 (inc. VAT) or in two recurring monthly instalments of £1400 (inc. VAT) or three monthly instalments of £990 (inc. VAT). If any payment plan is agreed between the Client and the Company, the Client must pay back the agreed fixed amount of money every month until the balance is cleared. The Client must understand that this is not a monthly subscription which may be cancelled, the full payment plan must be honoured and payments must be made on time as agreed. The client understands that there is no cooling off period and once access has been granted to the Clients Area, payments will not be refunded partially or in totality to the client. Once access has been granted to the Clients Area, the full payment must be made either in full or as part of a payment plan agreed between the Client and the Company"

When I signed the contract, I had not seen the specifics of the programme. 

When I looked later in the evening at the programme, I found that it wasn't anything new. I felt sick as this was very similar to every other plan tried before.

I contacted the company last night and had a very long conversation with them saying that this isn't right for me and that it is similar to what I have done before. The salesman made it very clear that I couldn't change my mind. He said I am legally contracted to pay the company another £1,800, that i had the online content, that there was no cooling off period, that he told me all this on the phone call which was recorded with me agreeing to those terms and that his legal tram had made the contract water tight and I couldn't get out of it,  and that he would pursue legal action. 

I said I wanted to leave and that he could keep the £990 if he would waive the rest of my payments. I mentioned that he said the programme is highly sought after so he would have no problems replacing me but he wouldn't do that. He did agree to break down the remaining balance to 8 monthly payments of £247.50 but i had to sign another contract to agree that. It was 2.30am, I was tired and upset, so I signed it. 

I had a really restless night and still wish I hadn't signed up for this.

Is there anything I can do? 

Sorry this was so long. 

Crikey, £33 a day for an online fitness programme?

As I understand it, this is what is considered a distance sale, which should come with a cooling-off period, but... I think the cooling-off period is ended as soon as the customer accesses the service.  That appears to be the operating model of the company and why they think they're legally watertight, but I don't think they are.

The bit that jumps out at me is this:  "The client understands that there is no cooling off period and once access has been granted to the Clients Area, payments will not be refunded partially or in totality to the client."

That seems to trample over your consumer rights, because although a cooling-off period would end as soon as you access the service, that sentence actually states there is no cooling-off period in any case.  There's also the matter of you not being provided with the terms before payment, which I suspect also undermines their position.

I'd speak to your credit card in the first instance.  They should be able to help.

Consumer rights aside, there are so many free online fitness resources available.  If you need something specific for a medical condition, for example, then make sure you consult your GP before embarking on anything and then look for a decent, local fitness trainer who can coach you.  I can't believe any online content delivered over 90 days is going to be effective enough to be worth £3,000.

Thank you Aylesbury Duck.

I know. £3k for what is available online and what I already know. It's utter madness what I've done.

He was a very good salesman and said there was no going away to think about it and call back as that meant I wasn't committed and there were plenty of people who would bite his hand off for the opportunity.

I'm an adult and I should have ended the call as was my gut feeling but he caught me at the wrong time when I was feeling really down about myself and he was promising and saying all the right things. I felt pressured and didn't want to miss the chance to change my mindset. 

I'm an idiot. 

Don't beat yourself up over it.  Any one of us is just one lapse of concentration away from an ill-judged purchase or a scam.  Focus on what you can do to remedy the situation, and I think your first port of call is your credit card company.  Simply tell them that it was a sale conducted over the phone, that you weren't provided with any contractual information before payment and that once you had paid the first instalment, it was clear that their terms contravened your consumer rights to a cooling-off period.  Be prepared to be challenged that because you've accessed the service online, you may have waived the cooling-off period, but reiterate that a) you weren't provided with any terms before payment, and b) that when you did see the terms, part of them appears unlawful.