Gym Never Cancelled Account - Say Money O/S

L

Locke

Registered User
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492
Hi All,

Hope I have right section.

Just got call from Gym I used to go too. Say DD has been cancelled and are looking for the money.

Quick Timeline on what happened.

  • Hurt ankle and hadn't been to Gym in 3 months (There systems should verify this as I never swiped in)
  • Sent in letter to cancel membership.
  • 6 weeks passed and DD still there, so I cancelled it.
  • Just called me saying that I owe for two months.
  • They said they never got the letter. They are going to check file again. If not there is no letter they expect me to sort this.
What do you reckon? Has anyone any experience dealing with stuff like this? If they never got the letter, where do I stand?

It was a Monthly fee, not an annual contract.

Thanks
Locke
 
It sounds like they're claiming you have an obligation to pay the monthly fee. Check your terms of reference in the membership application/documents. If its a pay-as-you-go situation you may be okay as long as you prove you weren't there and no-one was using your membership in your place.

You should have sent the letter by registered post or at least followed it up with a phone call and asked them to confirm receipt, or sent them an e-mail requesting a return receipt.

Also:

  • if you simply didn't attend for three months
  • and THEN sent the letter
  • and you're obligated to pay by your membership details
Then they may have a point and be treating you nicely - looking for two months as opposed to three.

I have to say it...

A hurt ankle sounds like a pretty "lame" excuse for not going to the Gym - what are you, a leg?
 
A hurt ankle sounds like a pretty "lame" excuse for not going to the Gym - what are you, a leg?
Click to expand...

It's not really a lame excuse when you can't put pressure on it in a gym. As for 'what are you - a leg?', try and keep it on point and not idiot remarks like that. Also The months that I didn't attend I paid. Then I sent the letter and paid for the following month.
 
Locke said:
It's not really a lame excuse when you can't put pressure on it in a gym. As for 'what are you - a leg?', try and keep it on point and not idiot remarks like that. Also The months that I didn't attend I paid. Then I sent the letter and paid for the following month.
Click to expand...

I think onq meant that tongue in cheek. Lame, ankle injury... geddit? Don't worry, it took me a minute to twig as well. :)

As for your predicament, do you have a copy of the letter and/or the date you posted it? If you have either (or preferably both) you can tell them when it was posted and ask them to check their records of post received that day.

It's certainly possible that they didn't receive the letter, but they need to accept that it's equally as possible that they did receive it and they mislaid it. Asking them to check records of post they received means they can eliminate this as a possibility and if they don't have records of post received, then they can't reasonably expect you to honour their request.

Basically, they wouldn't have a leg to stand on!

Okay, I'll stop now.
 
Have a copy of letter. Date is on it but was sent in normal post (which admittely should have been registered)

Thanks Nova, was also going to sent in a Data Protection Request to get a full record of my details. It is the second time with this gym. The first was on a three month contract. The second time I never signed anything, they simply reactivated my account.
 
Locke said:
It's not really a lame excuse when you can't put pressure on it in a gym. As for 'what are you - a leg?', try and keep it on point and not idiot remarks like that. Also The months that I didn't attend I paid. Then I sent the letter and paid for the following month.
Click to expand...

It was punny joke in part [hurt ankle = lame], but not in total.
Several exercise machines develop the upper torso and arms and also the upper legs, back and abs while placing little or no weight on the ankle.

Next time, charge up your joke detector before reading my posts.

<Sheesh! What is it with these Gym prima donnas?>

ONQ
 
Looking at the NCA's site - http://www.consumerconnect.ie/eng/Hot_Topics/Tip_Of_The_Week/Tips_Archive/Joining_a_gym.html -

You probably need to find out what your notice period is and if you fail to give the required notice, what the gym will demand in payment in lieu of the cancellation period.

According to them cancelling a direct debit linked to a minimum membership period does not cancel any debt that may exist between the gym and the consumer. Also, a gym may be within its rights to follow up on missed payments, as the signed contract agreement is a legally binding document.

But if they didn't get the letter then you are probably in breach, looking at this anyway.
 
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