Exercise your Rights when Joining a Gym
It’s that time of year again. The annual new year rush to join the gym. Health and fitness clubs will sign up more members in January than at any other time of year, and in your enthusiasm to join, you will probably sign there and then without reading through the all important Ts and Cs of the contract. You will then get to Easter, realise you’ve only been three times and want to cancel.
Many people have found themselves in this situation and been shocked to discover they have signed up to an initial 12 month minimum term, which cannot be cancelled. Those slightly better off face a three month notice period or an extortionate cancellation fee, but in each case, most people say they would not have joined if they had known about these terms. For years, the OFT have been keeping a close eye on contracts for gym membership with reference to this lack of clarity concerning membership, cancellation and other unfair terms. But above all, the advice is to read and fully understand what you are signing – because there is no cooling off period.
- Take the time to read through the Ts and Cs. Take it away if necessary – it is your right to have reasonable opportunity to familiarise yourself with the contractual terms before signing.
- Take particular note of clauses in relation to tie-ins, notice periods and cancellation penalties. Do not mistake the notice period for cancellation with the length of the contract.
- If the contract contains clauses which refer to automatic membership renewal, ask for this to be removed, or make a note of the date by which you should inform them.
- By law, the contract must be presented in simple, jargon-free language. if you are unsure about anything ask for full clarification
- A contract is a two-way process. Don’t be afraid to ask certain clauses to be struck out if they seem unreasonable or you are not happy.
- Take extra care with introductory offers and special deals. Clubs may waive their joining fee but still charge you the equivalent as an ‘admin’ fee. Always read the small print.
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I am a member of David Lloyd Leisure. My husband signed the contract on my behalf as he began paying as a Christmas present last year. The monthly fee of £68 by direct debit is paid from our joint account.
He was sent a letter last week -dated 2nd January to say that due to a processing error that he was overcharged and that the money would be refunded back into the bank account by Wednesday 7th January and as a compensation that a guest pass would be issued on production of the letter.We assumed that the overcharge would only be a small amount (£10 or so) but when I checked our bank account I found that £729 had been taken which left this account overdrawn and over the overdraft limit. My husband phoned Barclays Bank who said that he would receive bank charges of £22 and would be charged another £22 if the account remained over the overdraft limit for more than 5 days.
He also contacted David Lloyd Leisure (phoned twice) but no one got back to him.He then went there in person to find out what was happening. Neither the manager or the deputy manager were available and sent a young girl out to explain that this had happened to several other members and that someone in head office was at fault and had been dismissed. My husband explained how he had phoned twice (she said that they were too busy to phone back!) how their error had left us with bank charges and that the compensation offered was derisory. The David Lloyd person said that he couldn’t possibly have any more guest passes and did he realise that they are actually worth £15 each!And that although she was sorry for what had happened that basically it was tough!
He is going to Barclays in person tomorrow to sort out the bank account (previously just phoned their general number – probably India). We are so cross about this that we would just like to leave now, but we have to give 3 months notice or face a debt collector.Has the gym broken their contract with us? Please advise.