De Vere Village Health Club Membership Disagreement

[jinjoe]

In June or July of last year my friend and i decided to join a local health club to get fit, we was told that if we joined up on the day we would only have to pay a certian amount of money for the first three months, i decided to join on my friends corporate membership as this worked out better for me, so we payed up for the first three months and then it was agreed that monthly payments would then be taken from my friends bank account. Unfortunately i didn't realize they had us signed up to a 12 month contract, i never sign upto 12 month contracts no matter what they are, so i contacted the guy who signed me and my friend up the the club and told him i did not want a contract for 12 months nor would i have signed up if that was the case,he then mentioned that's what we signed the contract for and i told him we have not receieved any copy of the contract, straight away he said he would post a copy to me and my friend but that was nealry 3 months ago now and still nothing. I have not used the gymn for about 2 months or more and since have lost my membership card due to losing my wallet.

Recently i've become carer for my elderly father and this has taken up much of my time and finances in addition i only work 4 hours a day in my part time job with a possible reduction in hours when i'm tupeed over to a new employer in a couple of weeks time so i can't afford to be paying for something i no longer need which is something i explained to the guy who signed me up and i told him that having food in my belly was more important that some gym membership that i cannot afford any longer due to unforseen circumstances.

Now today i've received a letter from the Village Hotel stating that i'm owing on my membership and that if they do not hear from me then my overdue account will be passed onto IMFS Debt Recovery Services.

So where do i stand, in the letter it states " in addition should you have joined on a contract membership, on termination of that contract all remaining fees for the term of the contract are due. what does that mean exactly and where can i go from here, help please

[SXGuy]

Re: De Vere Village Health Club Membership Disagreement

Basically, most gym memberships, charge you for a certain period after you cancel, it sounds to me like, they charge you for the remaining months within 12 months when you cancel the contract. Have you actually asked to cancel it, or left it? the longer you leave it, the more they may demand is due, some memberships state you need to pay 1 month more after you cancel, some say 3 etc. You need this cancelled before anything else to stop the increase in charges.

Next you really need to see this contract to know what your rights are. Im afraid your not covered by distance selling with this one, so no 7 day cooling off period to argue, however there may be other factors you could dispute, someone with more knowledge with these matters will advise hopefully.