Gym membership question... :)

mattyprice4004 · 11 Oct 2009 at 19:18

The Craig said:
I think I've read it'll give you a bad credit history too with debt collectors chasing you .
The only way to solve this problem is to go to the gym more often .

Nooo, you sound like everyone else

JBuk · 11 Oct 2009 at 19:18

This is the reason I didn't re-join a gym not so long back

they used to allow monthly payments and a cancel anytime policy but then they changed it to a one year sign up

If you agreed with them then you will probably have to pay unless they are very nice to you and let you cancel for a small fee

The Halk · 11 Oct 2009 at 19:32

mame said:
I'm still not sure gyms can justify contracts. the above example could apply to most companies that deal with the public. Cinema, supermarket, loads of things. I think a company should just make and sell a product that sells itself rather than trying to trap people and by trap I'm talking about the people who join and then for whatever reason can no longer use it.

It makes good business sense to stop people cancelling their contracts at will, but also to show a little bit of flexibility to ensure the gym keeps a good name.

Personally I'd charge an extra 50 quid on the first month and tell customers it is a deposit which will be either refunded on request after one year has been paid for, or by default used for month 13 and 14, and month 15 will be free.

sigma · 11 Oct 2009 at 19:35

R B Customs said:
They waved (is that the right spelling for that?)

I think it's waived.

Sukh · 11 Oct 2009 at 19:41

Just join those 24 hour gyms with no contract, just monthly rolling payments next time

Vixen · 11 Oct 2009 at 19:46

rover416i said:
It doesn't cost them any money for me to leave - I hardly ever used it and won't be doing anyway. I've been literally 10 times.

You're the best kind of customer as far as a gym is concerned and they'll be losing money if you leave. The worst customers for gyms are the ones who use the facilities and classes regularly, because then they have to pay for maintenance and staff.

It's unlikely that you'll be able to get out of the contract without paying, but there's no harm explaining your situation to the membership department and seeing if anything can be done. If nothing else, there might be a cheaper plan you can drop down to such as offpeak only access.

There are quite a few gyms now that offer rolling monthly contracts, so that may be something to look at if you decide to go back later.

Glaucus · 11 Oct 2009 at 19:55

I hate all these 12month contracts, especially ones which auto renew.
It's a way of fleecing the customer and should be regulated, unless they are giving you free or discounted hardware/items like mobile phones/ sky or virgin boxes. They should have to offer rolling monthly instead.

The Halk · 11 Oct 2009 at 19:57

AcidHell2 said:
I hate all these 12month contracts, especially ones which auto renew.
It's a way of fleecing the customer and should be regulated, unless they are giving you free or discounted hardware/items like mobile phones/ sky or virgin boxes. They should have to offer rolling monthly instead.

I agree with that. Any contract should renew monthly or require customer interaction to review.

In this case though it was during the initial 12 month contract.

Orion21 · 11 Oct 2009 at 20:12

Would you be able to 'transfer' the membership to someone else if you knew someone who wanted to go to the gym?

I don't know if this is allowed, but if you're not using it and it's still only one person I don't see the problem. Except for maybe an admin fee to change details.

DampCat · 11 Oct 2009 at 20:49

No, because then they'd be gaining a new customer for less than the 12 month contract that would be standard otherwise. I doubt they'd let that go through.

mame · 11 Oct 2009 at 20:55

The big gyms that have started advertising 'no contract' deals arn't usually worth looking at. I looked into 2 or 3 of these recently and you pay quite a bit more each month for the privilege. Also they slap on various start-up fees and keep saying "... but we waive these if you sign a contract. It's only worth doing if you know you will only use it for a 3-4 months.

Hades · 11 Oct 2009 at 21:00

When I was with Fitness First they allowed me to suspend my membership for a year (with a minimum £5 a month fee). So if you can't cancel it then you may be able to suspend it for a bit.

mattheman · 11 Oct 2009 at 21:12

rover416i said:
Afternoon GD,

I have a membership with a well known gym, and when I joined I agreed to join for 12 months.

Now my circumstances have changed, and I wish to cancel. If I cancel the DD can they legally chase me or do anything in fact?

I have no physical items from them, and have been a member for about 5 months.

Cheers
Mat

Go see the manager explain that due to circumstances out of your control you are unable to pay.

stoofa · 12 Oct 2009 at 09:50

mame said:
I'm still not sure gyms can justify contracts. the above example could apply to most companies that deal with the public. Cinema, supermarket, loads of things. I think a company should just make and sell a product that sells itself rather than trying to trap people and by trap I'm talking about the people who join and then for whatever reason can no longer use it.

A gym is absolutely nothing like a cinema, supermarket etc.
A gym is in essence a club and you are paying for 12 month membership of the club.
You can use the club facilities as often as you like within those 12 months.

The fact you're paying monthly is to make payments easier for you - I expect the gym would be happy to take all of the money up front if that was your prefered option.

A supermarket is nothing like a gym.
The cinema "can" be - I own an Unlimited card which gets me unlimited cinema for a year.
I pay this monthly, however it was still a 12 month contract that I signed up to and if I want to cancel the membership early I would be expected to meet my financial obligations (12 months membership).

ThuggedOut · 12 Oct 2009 at 10:14

Send in a letter to explain your change in situation. I did this after paying the full amount for a membership and received funds back. If they say no....then they say no! but if you cancel the direct debit you will have some unwanted calls from debt collectors!

xxalxx · 12 Oct 2009 at 11:53

Most gyms let you break contact for medical reasons though. Esporta let you do this.

titchard · 12 Oct 2009 at 12:05

I think your three options include:

1) Just use the gym.
2) Pay the reminder of the contract up front and think wisely about getting locked in to purchases in the future.
3) Speak to the manager and hope that she/he is an understand person.

I paid for my gym membership upfront for the year - but it made it about £80 cheaper and I had the money at the time, so I was lucky in that respect. Hope you get it sorted but don't be surprised if they don't budge, you agreed to pay!

Rich

Banzai_Joe · 12 Oct 2009 at 12:06

This pigs me off too. In extenuating circumstances, they should have some flexibility, which to be fair, some do.
I pay £47pcm for my gym on a 12 month contract. Yet for a rolling monthly contract its £62 month, which is an absolute outrage. £15 extra for the ease of quitting when you like (with one months notice of course).
However i can pay £5 to suspend the membership for a max of 3 months at a time, so that's not so bad.
If you can prove your inability to pay or train due to changing circumstances beyond your control then ALL gyms should be made to honour a termination of contract imho.

callmeBadger · 12 Oct 2009 at 12:06

Just inform the bank to halt all payments to the gym. It will take the central processing dept months to figure out what has happened. A contract like this does not carry legal weight, so they can only enforce throught civil courts, why would they bother, not really good advertisment for them.

Cancel it, at the bank and see what happens, they will write a few times before smacking around your credit rating to much, if so agree a minimal repayment plan at a fraction of the cost of the monthly charge. The gym should contact you way before anyway just to make sure you've not changed your bank account details and not kept them informed.

The post several above with all them members joining and then leaving after the gym a couple of months then sending the gym into a downward spirral, I'd be one of those leaving. Gym's supply a service, not enough machines / staff / class capacity I would think i've been duped and they failed to live upto there side of the aggrement. Pay now and keep paying and eventually the service we agreed to provide might appear. No thanks.

titchard · 12 Oct 2009 at 12:10

k.Jacko said:
This pigs me off too. In extenuating circumstances, they should have some flexibility, which to be fair, some do.
I pay £47pcm for my gym on a 12 month contract. Yet for a rolling monthly contract its £62 month, which is an absolute outrage. £15 extra for the ease of quitting when you like (with one months notice of course).
However i can pay £5 to suspend the membership for a max of 3 months at a time, so that's not so bad.
If you can prove your inability to pay or train due to changing circumstances beyond your control then ALL gyms should be made to honour a termination of contract imho.

I can see why it peeves you off, but the extra £15 on the rolling contract is there for insurance for the business, with you on your 12 month contract they have a guaranteed 12 x £47, while with the rolling contract the worst case scenario is that they have maybe 1 or 2 months before the person packs it in.

Rich