Legal advice needed - cancellation period

pablakeman · 23 October 2019 at 2:21PM

Went to cancel gym membership and was told they need 14 days notice for cancellation, as was stated in the terms and conditions.

News to me - whilst I did agree to terms and conditions, I did what most people do and didn’t read (it’s a gym membership, not a mortgage). I believe there is a bit of legal protection for something as key as a cancellation period being buried in TandCs, especially when no actual logic for them (no reason for the clause except to catch people out in my eyes, it’s not like they need 14 days notice)

Any advice appreciated - was a member for about 10 months and feel this cancellation period is at beat unfair and at worst mildly illegal due to it being buried in t and c’s. Thoughts?

Manxman_in_exile · 23 October 2019 at 3:46PM

pablakeman wrote: »

Went to cancel gym membership and was told they need 14 days notice for cancellation, as was stated in the terms and conditions.

News to me - whilst I did agree to terms and conditions, I did what most people do and didn’t read (it’s a gym membership, not a mortgage). I believe there is a bit of legal protection for something as key as a cancellation period being buried in TandCs, especially when no actual logic for them (no reason for the clause except to catch people out in my eyes, it’s not like they need 14 days notice)

Any advice appreciated - was a member for about 10 months and feel this cancellation period is at beat unfair and at worst mildly illegal due to it being buried in t and c’s. Thoughts?

My thoughts are that you are mistaken.

1. When entering into any contract which requires me to make regular payments, I always make sure I read the T&Cs so that I understand what I'm voluntarily signing up to and how I can cancel it. True, it's not a mortgage but it is your hard earned cash that's paying for it.

2. If you read some of the other threads about gym membership on here, you might come to the conclusion that only 14 days notice is far from unfair.

3. No such thing as "mildly illegal", which this cancellation clause isn't anyway - at least I don't think so.

Fire_Fox · 24 October 2019 at 6:53PM

pablakeman wrote: »

Went to cancel gym membership and was told they need 14 days notice for cancellation, as was stated in the terms and conditions.

News to me - whilst I did agree to terms and conditions, I did what most people do and didn’t read (it’s a gym membership, not a mortgage). I believe there is a bit of legal protection for something as key as a cancellation period being buried in TandCs, especially when no actual logic for them (no reason for the clause except to catch people out in my eyes, it’s not like they need 14 days notice)

Any advice appreciated - was a member for about 10 months and feel this cancellation period is at beat unfair and at worst mildly illegal due to it being buried in t and c’s. Thoughts?

Emboldened suggests your lack of experience in life and in business, not their unreasonable terms and conditions.

Minimum terms and notice periods are commonplace, not a rarity. They crop up in gym membership contracts/ mobile telephone contracts/ broadband contracts/ landline telephone contracts/ pay TV package contracts .....

If not part of the legally binding contract, where should minimum term/ notice period be listed? On the club/ centre noticeboard? In itsy bitsy, teeny weeny writing on the back of your membership card?

The slimier chains require a full calendar month's notice, in writing, once the minimum term is up .... knowing you probably joined on the 2nd of January. The logic is £££££.

They can and do pass on defaulters' details to debt collection agencies BTW.

DCFC79 · 24 October 2019 at 8:58PM

Was it not mentioned to you when you signed up ?

Anyway there's nothing wrong with the 14 day notice period in fact 14 days is very good, other gyms ask for more.

D_M_E · 24 October 2019 at 11:27PM

You've found the 14 day notice period, now you have to find out if you can give the notice at any time or if you have to wait until you have served the minimum term before giving said notice.

Calpol4life · 24 October 2019 at 11:32PM

No logic?

Imagine you work at said gym and 50 members dropped off with no notice.... gym becomes commercially unviable and job losses become imminent....

Are you happy as a work at that gym that you don’t get paid for that month Bacar ‘that’s what’s fair For the consumer?’

There are more people on this earth than you, and therefore rules like this are implemented to protect those people too.

vacheron · 25 October 2019 at 1:31PM

pablakeman wrote: »

.....whilst I did agree to terms and conditions, I did what most people do and didn’t read (it’s a gym membership, not a mortgage). I believe there is a bit of legal protection for something as key as a cancellation period being buried in TandCs.....\

I must not be "most people" then as I would certainly take 5 minutes out from my busy life to read a one page sheet before signing up to an ongoing finincial contract which could easily run into hundreds of pounds per year.

I'm also surprised that you think it unfair or illegal that they put the terms and conditions regarding cancellation into the Terms and Conditions section? :huh:

Why do you believe the cancellation policy is more "key" than all the other terms and conditions? Have you perhaps considered that it only seems more "key" to you because this is the specific clause you currently have an issue with?

Legal advice needed - cancellation period

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