Unwanted Gym Contracts?
| January 25, 2012 | Posted by Editor under Campaigns, Debate, Holderness |
TACKLING EXCESS weight put on over Christmas becomes a national obsession for many people in the New Year. But that good New Year resolution to lose weight, can – and does – get some people into trouble.
While many people will join their local fitness classes at the local community centre or village hall, some instead will fork out and join a professional gym. But quite often as the initial burst of enthusiasm wanes in later weeks and months, and the idea of a weekly visit to the gym becomes less appealing, then people seek to cancel their memberships.
It is when trying to cancel their membership that many people realise they are tied into a contract with the gym and have to keep paying their monthly membership for the next six months or even the full year! So all of a sudden your £20 a month becomes an unused £240 a year! And of course gym fees can be much more expensive than this.
Having to keep paying your monthly gym fees for nothing is bad enough – but you need to read the small print carefully on how to cancel the membership otherwise you may be charged for extra months after your year is up!
It may currently be legal for companies to continue to charge you for unwanted or unused services – but this surely must be morally wrong – especially in cases where the customer’s financial situation changes i.e. through redundancy or injury.
If you have found yourself in this position, then help maybe at hand. The Guardian newspaper has highlighted a case where it was stated that gym agreements that set minimum membership periods of 12, 24 or 36 months are “so weighted as to cause a significant imbalance in the parties’ rights and obligations in a manner and to an extent which is contrary to good faith”.
This does mean that there maybe some basis for a legal challenge to the situation that happens every year when Gyms – including some locally – make a killing out of unwanted memberships.
But please! before joining a gym, see what is on offer at your local village hall or community centre first!
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I foolishly signed up last January with D,W SPORTS FITNESS. In doing that i became ill in the Febuary and never returned, so i have been paying £20 per month to them through my bank. I sent in the cancellation form in too late and now they want an extra month from me. I think its a big big rip off. SO if anyone else thinks this is a big cheek please say your bit on this page, and maybe take it to the press. Once you put pen to paper they have got you. janice