Fitness First....help please!!

tannis

Hi everybody

New here and seeking some guideance on a small problem i have.

I'll try and keep this brief but if you need more info just ask , basically i had a fitness first membership which was cancelled at the end of my contract term as per their instructions and all monies owed including the final months notice were fully paid up , however since then they have reinstated the direct debit and tried to take 2 monthly payments of £35 from a bank account that i no longer use (barclays) , lo and behold there being no money in the account ive now incurred bank charges of £60 approx , Barclays are unwilling to waive these charges so the onus is now with fitness first however its proving to be like getting blood from a stone as you constantly get passed from one person to another and eventually they tell you that someone will call you back which of course never happens , then when you call back they claim no knowledge of the situation , the last call made to them basically ended with me being told that my case would be passed along and if i didnt hear back from them within a couple of days then i could assume that i wasnt getting my money back!!!!

Im at the end of my tether with this to be honest as i followed their instructions to the letter and i made them email me their exact instructions which i have printed off and i also have royal mail tracking confirmation that they recieved my cancellation letter of which i also have a copy , i'm also annoyed at the fact that somehow they reinstated the direct debit/standing order (cant remember which) without my permission and just started to try to take money , surely they dont have a leg to stand on and should just pay me out for the charges incurred from my bank as surely they are fraudulantly trying to take money from me??

Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated

tinkerbell84

Contact your bank. If those direct debits were unauthorised, they will refund them to you under the DD guarantee.

pinkshoes

Go to your local branch and ask to speak to the manager. They should refund the money if the payments are unauthorised. Take along the receipt from fitness first stating that the membership is finished.

I'd also close down the account if you don't use it, as otherwise if it's used fraudulantly, you might not realise and could end up having to deal with more fines!

tannis

Hi thanks for the replies.

The direct debit was cancelled over the telephone (if that matters) , i dont have a letter stating membership was cancelled , not any use i know but cancellation was confirmed in a phone call , like i said i do have proof that the cancellation letter was recieved and copies of all emails and letters sent.

Mark7799

tinkerbell84 wrote: »

Contact your bank. If those direct debits were unauthorised, they will refund them to you under the DD guarantee.

I read the OP differently. Were the direct debits refused and the £60 charges made up of returned item fees? If this is the case, you'll have a hard job persuading FF to cough up. You may be better going through the bank charges reclaim process.

tannis

Mark7799 wrote: »

I read the OP differently. Were the direct debits refused and the £60 charges made up of returned item fees? If this is the case, you'll have a hard job persuading FF to cough up. You may be better going through the bank charges reclaim process.

The account had no funds in as it doesn't really get used anymore , fitness first have requested payments from this account even though i no longer have a membership with them , therefore Barclays have applied charges to my account as the items were unpaid , however the payments should never have been requested in the first place as the money is not owed to fitness first and they were not authorised by myself to try to take it.

Mark7799

But if the payments haven't been claimed then Fitness First haven't had your money (because Barclays stopped the payments when they were claimed). If I read this correctly, I still think your best bet would be to try Barclays under the bank charges reclaiming option.

tannis

Yes i see what you mean , at the end of the day i just want the money cleared whether that comes from fitness first or barclays i'm not really fussed , i understand fitness first haven't had the money but it's because of them attempting to take money that wasn't theirs that has made me incur charges from my bank!!

fiddling_flower_petals

tannis wrote: »

Yes i see what you mean , at the end of the day i just want the money cleared whether that comes from fitness first or barclays i'm not really fussed , i understand fitness first haven't had the money but it's because of them attempting to take money that wasn't theirs that has made me incur charges from my bank!!

However If you had of had funds in the account Barclays would of honoured DD and you'd now be hopping at Fitness First.

Think a letter to HO is in order, with threat of further legal action if unanswered/ resolved.

See if you can get any clarification on cancellation first though, in person at your branch( use a softly, softly approach) somebody may give you confirmation if you ask nicely , if this is where you cancelled.

Blacksheep1979

Deal with both fitness first and the bank, copy them in on the same letters - yes write, don't phone or email. Give them a deadline to sort it out and if they don't then take them to the small claims court as joint defendants - one of them will lose, you don't really care which, guarantee 100% one of them (or maybe both) settle out of court to avoid what will cost them about 10x as much in court costs and inhouse admin fees.