18 year old student in debt, please help!

louise242424 · 15 April 2010 at 1:58PM

I'm not sure if this is the right place to post but I couldn't find anywhere else suitable...
Anyway my Fitness First membership is about £34 a month, even though I'm an 18 year old student they said this membership (think its lifestyle) was best for me and convinced me to use it. Anyway I lost my part-time job a few months ago and I've been looking since but I haven't really had any money. I owe them £34 from March 1st, then the start april i owe another £34, so now i owe them around £68. i really do want to pay it asap, it's just I literally have no money and i'm selling my phone and things on ebay to get the money, it just takes time... (my mum refused to pay for it even though i said i'd pay her back)...
So today i get a letter from C.A.R.S creditlink account recover solution. and it says i now owe £194.75!!!!!!!!!!! I can't call them as i have no credit on my phone. and I went on the website paymyaccount dot co dot uk and there is no info!! even if i had the money i wouldn't go on that site to pay money and i wouldn't pay over the phone. I'm really annoyed now, i don't know what to do, i don't owe them the money it's fitness first but it says fitness first are the creditor.
so what shall i do?? i can possibly beg my mum again to let me borrow the money after showing her this letter but shall i go into fitness first tomorrow and pay the £68 and then it will be over? or do i have to deal with this debt collecter thing that sounds fake, there is now way i'm being scammed into giving them my money. i would rather go to fitness first and pay what i owe (£68) and i wanted to quit my membership after aswell as i am broke. I really can't afford to pay £194 that can't be right, i had no idea they were making the money go up!! if i'd of known I would of told my mum or tried to get the money sooner
Also I really want to quit my membership as I can't afford it, and don't have the time to use it, also whenever i do have the time it's full. but i can't quit until i pay the money i owe, then i have to give a months notice and my contract expires july.

someone please help!!!! is there a way i can just go to fitness first and pay £68 and not pay this £194?!!?!?!?

niccatw · 15 April 2010 at 2:11PM

Hi, welcome to MSE. First of all, take a deep breath! It'll be harder to sort out if you are in a panic!

I think you should try to speak to your gym in the first instance. If you have the £68 you owe, you can offer to pay it there and then. Ask them if they have sold the debt to a debt collection agency (which they must have if you've received that letter) and if they can take the debt back from the agency if you pay them.

I'd also dig out the terms and conditions of your membership and see what it says about cancellation. Gym's are notoriously badfor allowing cancellations, but if you don't have the money, you don't have the money. You can try to negotiate with them (and it's probably best to do this in writing as they can't talk you round in circles then) and see what happens. Though I think, ultimately, if the terms and conditions state you need to pay for the year, they are probably within their rights to sell what they see as debt onto a debt collection agency.

Hopefully some-one else with more experience than me can give more information.

Good luck

louise242424 · 15 April 2010 at 2:22PM

i dont have the £68 but i can tell my mum about this when she gets back from work and she can possibly help me!
yeah i think they have sold the debt, i can scan the letter and show what it says, ill try and do that now.

i also just looked at my membership, i'm just going to write to them a month before my membership expires to quit.

Thanks for your help

DarkConvict · 15 April 2010 at 2:25PM

What has probably happened is you missed enough payments for them to class it as you defaulting on the contract.

Therefore they stop the service (gym) and charge you the remaining contract length * amount per month, + arrears owed and issue a DCA to collect it.

BigCraigJohn · 15 April 2010 at 2:30PM

Guess its like ending a phone contract early.

In that case then surely you would be entitled to use the rest of the gym membership?

DarkConvict · 15 April 2010 at 2:33PM

No, if you default on gym/phone/insurance contracts, the provider is lawfully allowed to stop the service and demand payment in full (to the value of the contract + arrears). You will find it in the terms and conditions you sign up to.

louise242424 · 15 April 2010 at 2:37PM

Thanks DarkConvict, i think that's what it could be as it's around £34 and it would be from march 5months till it expires (july) which would £170, i'm not sure but that could be it lol.
I was wondering if I did pay that £194 would that mean my gym membership is completely over (which i want)?

and BigCraigJohn, I'm not allowed to use the gym membership since march 1st as i didn't pay that month, you cant use it until you pay, and i still cant as i haven't paid this months...
is that what you mean or if i paid it all now, I could use it until july?? bit confused lol

louise242424 · 15 April 2010 at 2:40PM

Ok i get it now lol. I would like to just pay the £68 but i'm now thinking if i had the money to pay the full contract till july then it would all be over. cos really i will still be paying each month to july anyway, maybe its best to get it over and done with now cos i dont have time to use the gym anyway plus i dont really like it and i can use my college gym for free

niccatw · 15 April 2010 at 2:44PM

Thanks Dark Convict; I was hoping you'd be around, I figured you'd know your stuff on this one

.

Louise, I think if you want rid of it and you can get your mum onside, you'd be as well to pay it and get shot of it. Just consider yourself lucky you're learning this lesson at 18 - there's plenty of us who are learning it and we are *a bit* older

. Next time you'll be savvy enough to quiz them or say no thank you

.

I'd maybe also get a free trial of your credit report to check whether they've added a default to your credit file. They may not have yet as you should be allowed time to pay. But if they have, it may be difficult to get new credit, phone contracts or gym memberships for a while.

If they have added it to your file, it will stay on your record for 6 years.

Good luck with your mum

.

DarkConvict · 15 April 2010 at 2:55PM

I had a fight for someone over swinton insurance, and knowing how my mom insurance went wrong i understand more how it goes, disappointing i did it better than their finance department who i spoke to directly.

You will have to speak to the gym, that if you pay up whether or not you can use the services to July it might be too late now. With car insurance, if you pay monthly and stop, you will be told to make the missed payment, if you fail again you are told to pay in full, if you fail that you are charged a cancellation, told to pay in full, and service is ended (even if you pay up)

louise242424 · 15 April 2010 at 3:01PM

I don't want to use the gym anymore anyway. i don't have the time and all i really went on was the treadmill, its quite a small gym as its ladies only and was always full when i had the time to go, the mixed gym is quite far from me...

and about the credit file, is that like a record? after this i definately don't want any sort of contract. i have never and never will go on a phone contract as my mum had a problem with that, this gym is the only contract i have ever been on, i wasnt sure at first but they convinced me to join and i had money at the time as i was working...

thanks for all the help people

18 year old student in debt, please help!

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