Gym Membership Advice
For years, the OFT have been keeping a close eye on health and fitness clubs with specific reference to the fairness of their gym membership contracts. Typically, consumers have been required to sign agreements which commits them to a 12 month minimum term, which absolutely ties them in to making the monthly payments for that period. Many consumers have complained that gyms will not release you from this obligation under any circumstances, even in cases of serious illness, redundancy or relocation. Other complaints relate to long notice periods for cancellation and disproportionately high cancellation penalties.
The OFT have focused on the following aspects of contracts for gym membership:
- Claims that gyms will not be liable for death or personal injury, or for loss or damage to property
- Lack of clarity concerning minimum membership periods and notice required for cancellation
- Lack of clarity concerning cancellation charges, or the consequences of cancellation
- Clubs permitting themselves to make changes to their service agreements with you
In addition, the OFT felt that many of the obligations and requirements of the consumer were hidden within complex legal language when they should have been more plainly and clearly expressed. And while gyms could be allowed to impose an initial 12 month minimum term, consumers should be in no doubt on reading the contract that this would be the case. What about long notice periods for cancellation? A three month period is commonly the length of time required, which may seem unfair as it then ties you into a further 3 monthly payments. The OFT recognise that gyms also need to protect themselves from sudden cancellation and don’t consider 3 months to be excessive where you have a ‘rolling’ membership (i.e. not a minimum term contract). However, as with the imposition of a minimum term, this must be plainly and clearly expressed in the contract.
So what is an unfair term and what just bad customer service? We have seen that some of the points above, although dubious are not necessarily unlawful. However, the following are are unfair terms and have been recognised as such as a result of the OFT’s investigation:
- Limiting or excluding liability for death or injury, or for damage or theft of property (includes ‘at your own risk’ disclaimers)
- Excluding liability for any breach of contract on the club’s part, even though you are obliged to fulfil your contractual obligations
- Limiting your ability to take legal action against the club if they don’t comply with their contractual obligations
- Excluding certain statutory rights such as your right to get a refund if the club is unhygeinic or unsafe
- Financial penalties on cancellation, where this sum is disproportionately high. Loss of all monies paid in advance may also be unfair, where this cannot be justified by the gym
- Allowing the gym to terminate or cancel the agreement without reasonable notice, legitimate cause (as per contract), and giving you the same rights.
- An initial minimum term is permissible, but where this includes an automatic renewal to another fixed term, this is likely to be unfair. Similarly, automatic renewal without giving you reasonable opportunity to cancel is unfair.
In addition to the identification of unfair clauses, the OFT recognise that you may not have had the opportunity or the know how to read and fully understand the contract you are asked to sign. Consequently, contracts are required to be written in plain and intelligible language with a prominent warning that the member should read and understand the terms before signing them.
Take Care!
Despite the interest of the OFT, the situation still calls for buyer beware, and care should be taken before entering into such agreements. Bear in mind the following points, 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.
Related posts:
Hi
My wife signed up to a 12 month gym membership. After the 12 month period had ended, we wrote to the company to cancel the membership and subsequently cancelled the direct debit.
Upon receipt of a number of letters from the gym threatening the appearance of debt management companies, I noticed a clause in the contract stating that “It is deemed that notice has not been given unless you are in receipt of a confirmation letter from the club”.
Is this legal?
Surely, this is a means by which gyms can simply keep the money rolling in by not responding to letters that customers have sent requestsing an end to their membership???
Andrew, I would argue this is an unfair term. Are they saying your letter got lost in the post? How convenient. I agree entirely with what you say in your last paragraph. There is a real crackdown on unfair selling practices and threatening behaviour such as this. See:
http://whatconsumer.co.uk/misleading-commercial-practices-unfair-trading-regulations-2008/
Consult Consumer Direct to get confirmation that this is an unfair term and then you can instruct the club not to communicate any further with you.
I am in a similar situation as Andrew. My contract ended in Dec 2007 and I didn’t sign a new one, I sent a termination letter in August 2008 and come October I was still paying for a gym I didn’t go to so I cancelled my DD and called them. I was told I had a signed contract (which I didn’t) and they had received no letter and the only way I could prove it and leave is if I had record of posting it, which I don’t have as it was sent 1st class post.
I have no received several threatening letters and even one from solicitors. This has now gone from £30 owed to £77 to £142 for’ legal fees’.
Does anyone have any advise on this? I am 22 with a new house to pay for and cannot afford to have debt collectors after me
Alex,
I have done some research online which suggests that you have a legal right to ask for a copy of your contract. The club has 12 days in which to comply with this otherwise you are entitled to bring legal proceedings.
Good luck
I need assistance, I joined Soho Gym & paid upfront for the whole year, its been 6 days & I’ve realised its not for me… I now want to cancel.. but the gym is saying I can’t get refund as its a special offer…
Surely there is a law which states there is a cooling off period, can you help me please & give me some information. I wasn’t given a contract & when i looked at their terms & conditions, there is nothing there.
Many thanks
H
Horun, the short answer to this is that if there is no contract or Ts and cs, then the agreement is legally unenforceable and they have no hold over you. However I would find it strange that there was nothing in writing of any kind. In order to get the money back, you may have to go via the small claims court, but this is easy enough and would be worth it to get back such a large sum of money. There is no cooling off period for gym membership. You should never part with large sums of cash without a contract of some kind, and also without being 100% comfortable with what the terms of that contract.
Hi,
Is it legal to terminate a 12 month contract owing to unsatisfactory service. My gym is staffed by rude and dismissive people, the studios are fifthy (big balls of dust gathering about the floor) and the ladies changing rooms are poorly maintained.
My contract includes a clause limited or indeed excluding liability for theft of property. This is defined as an unfair term above. What are the implication of this, does it have a legal weighting and would it be just cause to invalidate the contract?
Anon, that inclusion of an unfair term wouldn’t validate the entire contract, just that particular term. Therefore if something of yours was stolen, they wouldn’t be able to rely on this to exclude themselves. In respect of terminating the contract due to poor quality, you are within your rights to do this, if it is indeed the case. As well as your obligations to the club, the contract should also state their obligations to you. If what you say is true then they are in breach of these contractual obligations. Even if no mention is made, there will always be an implicit assumption of a duty of care.
A couple of years ago the company that ran my gym was acquired by another company and at the time of the transition some posters went up around the clubs asking members if they wanted to review their membership options. My wife and I were happy with the type of membership we had as it was fully flexible so we didn’t want to change it.
I have recently found out that the fee for new members for our level of membership is £16 less than what we’ve been paying.
I called the head office and they informed me that we should have spoken to a member of staff at the club to “review our membership” and they would have put us on the more favourable rate. As a company they chose not to write to members at the time of the acquisition due to the large volume of mail they would had to have dealt with.
I honestly don’t think a couple of lousy posters is sufficient communication to members about the new rates. Also, they can quite easily send out mail shot telling us all about their personal trainer services so they are not averse to spending some money on stamps.
I have now contacted my gym 4 times by email and twice by phone to state termination of contract on the basis of poor service – inability to schedule teachers for timetabled classes, rude staff, dirty studios and dirty changing rooms. They have ignored all contact so far simply fobbing me off with ‘we’re passed your email to the Regional Manager but can’t guarantee a reply’. In the meantime, they have passed on the debt to a debt collection agency.
Upon phoning Consumer Direct, the advice seemed to be that unless there was something explicit in the contract as to the gym’s obligations, it would be difficult to argue breach of contract. Is this correct as it seems to contradict advice provided above.
The contract does states obligations on the member’s behalf. Can it be argued that recipricol obligations exist on the gyms part? Secondly, is it correct that upon asking for a copy of a contract they have 12 days in which to comply?
Thank you.
I have just been made redundant and do not intend to work anywhere near (as in 50 miles away) in the future. I paid the annual subscription in one payment on 1 September 2008 and the gym have told me that I can freeze my membership (which is no use as I will not be returning) or sell what is left to someone else (which I also can’t do as I don’t know anyone who would want to join).
The contract does say that the annual membership fee is non-refundable but I thought that if you were made redundant it did not apply (it does not say this though).
Does anyone know if I have any rights to my remaining money back?
Frazer, there is no statutory provision in law to protect you if you’re made redundant, so you don’t have an automatic right to get your money back. Gyms might have clauses relating to redundancy or ill health in their contracts, but it is not automatic. The best thing to do would be to rely on the goodwill of the gym and see what they can offer you.
Hi Catriona,
Many thanks for your advice. I have spoken to the gym and they agreed that I could sell the remaining membership on gumtree. I was amazed that I got any responses but ended up with about a dozen enquiries and sold the remaining membership on a pro-rata basis for what I paid for it. So whilt the gym would not give me back my money they were helpful.
MH, Just because something isn’t stated explicitly in a contract doesn’t mean it isn’t an obligation. You would assume it to be the case, like quality, fitness for purpose or as described. There is an assumption that any service will be carried out with reasonable care and skill – this is your statutory right and if it doesn’t occur, you can still claim breach of contract even if the contract makes no reference. My advice would be to write to them stating the above and give them 14 days to respond. Consult their complaints procedure and don’t be bullied by a debt collection agency. The 12 days you refer to is the time a provider of credit has to produce a credit agreement. It wouldn’t apply unless you have signed a credit agreement.
hi, like many of you in December 2008 my contract expired with my gym (as far as I was aware). I wrote to them in November after receiving a letter saying my member ship was due to expire, stating that I didn’t want to continue after the commitment period. I then received a letter and a phone call stating that it was a rolling contract, and I should have given them 3 months notice. Despite numerous emails and letter to the gym and promises to call back, they never have. I have now been referred to a credit agency, whose response has been rude and abusive. I noticed in my contract that i hadn’t ticked that I received terms and conditions, therefore if it stated in them it was a rolling contract, then i would have been none the wiser as the only conditions I was shown were the ones actually printed on my contract. Where does this leave me legally? Any info gratefully received!!!!
Lisa, the legislation regarding Unfair Contract Terms requires that you have adequate notice in order for you to cancel a rolling membership, and for you to be informed in plenty of time. If you claim that your contract makes no mention of a rolling contract or the cancellation policy, and you have not been given anything where this is indicated (and there is no proof that you did read them), the contract may be legally unenforceable and they can do nothing against you. Ask them to tell you where this is stated and to provide proof that you signed (or ticked) against it. Also advise them that you will be consulting the OFT for Unfair Terms. In the meantime, don’t be intimidated by these debt recovery agencies, they make money out of being bullies, they are not bailiffs and have no legal powers. See also: http://whatconsumer.co.uk/unfair-contract-terms/
Hi, I wonder if anyone has any advice for me? I joined LA Fitness is July 2008 and wish to cancel as I have moved house. I am told that the cancellation fee is £239 given that my contract runs until July 2010, however this is only if I am now more than 20 miles away from an LA Fitness. This seems disproportionate (my monthly membership cost is £39) and unreasonable. I am not more than 20 miles from one of their gyms, although I would have no reason to go to the nearest gym which is more than 5 miles from me. So, my cancellation fee would be £624, i.e. paying for the remainder of my contract term. Again this seems disproportionate and unreasonable. I have asked for a copy of the contract I signed. Do I have any legal standing to refuse payment?
Hi I’m looking for some advice on leaving my gym (David Lloyd). My wife and I joined late last year, and were at pains to say that we would not be able to commit to the full 12 months initial period as we were due to move abroad this April. We were told that this wouldn’t be a problem, as lots of people were doing this these days; however we asked the person who signed us up to write this into the contract. The following words were used: ‘Can cancel with one month’s notice if moved away abroad for work.’ We are both teachers and were signed up under the special ‘teachers rate’. when we tried to cancel however, we were told that this clause, as detailed in the members’ handbook, only applies to those ‘forcibly’ relocated with work (e.g. those in the armed forces), and as such we do not meet this criterion allowing for early cancellation. However, the handbook makes no mention of this clause- the only written record is that hand written into our contracts. Despite having written to them three times on this, they have not responded in writing, only being willing to discuss the matter on the phone, where they said ‘they do not advise cancelling the direct debit. Where do I stand with respect to cancelling payent?
Rob, It seems the Gym are interpreting the clause in their own way and not in the spirit with which it was intended. If you are on a teacher’s rate, then the understanding was clearly that you would not be moving abroad as a member of the armed forces! You should look to the new 2008 Consumer Protection Regulations which would cover you. See: http://whatconsumer.co.uk/misleading-commercial-practices-unfair-trading-regulations-2008/
See also:
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2008/draft/ukdsi_9780110811574_en_1
Refer to Regulation 5 & Schedule 1. You will have to threaten them with the involvement of Trading Standards
When signing up a gym I clearly advised that there was a chance I would be moving interstate. I was reassured before I signed the contract that if this happened the gym would find someone who wanted to take over my membership. When I did relocate I was then told that if I wanted this to happen I would have to find someone myself who would like to take over my membership, otherwise I would have to pay the full course of my membership. Nothing was written on the contract. As I was completely misinformed, do I have a leg to stand to cancel my membership?
Hi on 24th march 09 my wife joined curves gym on a regular membership fee of £29 for a minimum of 4 months and could be terminated by 30 days notice in writing.
shortly into the new year my wife gave her notice to quit for a time as money was becoming an issue however on the 10th of this month, they took the full amount out by direct debit. We have tried to contact them many times and are told “thats just the way it is” “the manager isn’t here” what can i do?
Hi.
I called Virgin Active to enquire about joining. I gave them my card details to pay for the firs month and bank details so they could get the direct debit form ready for me to sign. I later decided that I did not want to join, so i told them and didn’t sign the contract. That was in November 2009, they had already taken the first DD payment but I cancelled the direct debit after I told the club I wouldn’t be signing the contract. Since then I have been receiving monthly letters asking for payment. Can they claim any money?? Can I just ignore the letters? They are a hassle!
Martin
Martin, It is never a good ideal to ignore such letters. I would write to their Head Office explaining the situation and asking them to stop sending the letters.
I signed a 6 months contract with a Gym. Paid first couple of months in advance and locker. I left my gymwear locked up but it was removed and “disposed of” eventhough it was paid until the end of the month. I complaint and did not get nowhere so send a letter cancelling my membership and stopped DD. Now I have these people sending me letters asking me to pay the remain of the contract (about £150). I have explained I will not pay as the value of my lostb goods cover in excess that cost. Any light on legal rights that protect me here?
Thanks!
Also, they never answer to my first complaint. I undersand they have 21 days to do so otherwise they are accepting my statement, can someone clarify if this is correct?
In October 2008, I enrolled myself and my then 16 son in the local branch of Bannatynes. I was given the form to fill in there and then over a complimentary cup of coffee – all very cosy and pleasant. It all seemed fine and just before signing, I asked the manager what the notice period was. He clearly said three months and I signed the form. If he had (truthfully) told me that there was a 12 month minimum period of membership, I would defintely not have signed, as I had doubts about our commitment.
After a couple of months, my son just was not using the centre at all and I was struggling to find time to go.
I duly wrote and gave three months notice. At the end of the third month, I cancelled the direct debit.
Bannatynes then informed me that I owed them £600 as the minimum term of the contract was 12 months.
I have tried to argue that I was mislead by one of their managers but to no avail. Furthermore, I have told them that if I had wished to regege on a contract, I would not even have bothered with three months notice. I am an honest person and have never had any debt at all. I genuinely believed that the required notice was three months.
They are not taking any notice of my letters of explanation and are now threatening court action.
I am fully aware that I should have read the small print and bitterly regret not doing so now. On the other hand, I would expect their staff to give me an honest verbal answer.
Apart from not finding time to go there, I was not always impressed with the facilities,as on three occasions, there was no hot water.
Furthermore, there was no consistency in the so called personal training offered to my son. The trainers did not always turn up on time or sometimes not at all.
I would welcome any advice on this matter. I am prepared to argue it out in court, but if I don’t have a chance of success, I might as well pay them.
Thanks in advance
I signed up to a gym at their premesis and was promised a 10 day cooling off period. I called up the head office a couple of days later asking to cancel my membership and was assured that my membership was cancelled. I notice that they still took money from my account via direct debit, after calling them up a second time they told me that i had never called and I had no rights to cancel my membership. I have telphone records for calling them and they say that they record all telephone conversations. Do i have any rights?
I was a member of a gym for about a year and a half paying $36 a month. I then went away to college, and put it on hold, meaning they only take $7 a month while I am gone. After 3 months passed, and I was still in away at college, they started taking $36 from me again. They said that it says in the contract that the “put on hold option” is only available for 3 months. I signed the contract papers without reading them too well(about 3 pages), but I still feel like this is illegal and they should have told me this. They took 3 payments from me ($110). As a college student, my money is very low and I am hoping to get this money back. Do I have a case?
I have been a member of Esporta for about 6 years, When I was made redundant 2 months ago, I canceled all non essential direct debits inc. esporta and called them to cancel my membership and tell the that I would pay the final month payment as soon as I was able. Since then I have had letters and emails from a debt collection agency demanding the 1 month membership fee Plus charges totaling £110 and threatening legal action.
Do they have the right to add these charges after I had informed them that I was canceling my membership?
In February, both myself and my husband signed online with a gym that was due to open in two weeks time. We paid the signing fee and the first months payment.
That was in February. It is now nearly May and the gym isn’t open yet!! We went to an “open day” on Saturday and the site is a building site!!!! Nothing is done. It is bare concrete, no electrics, no toilets fitted. Nothing. The salesman who took us round the site explained that it would all be completed in the two weeks remaining to the NEW opening date. (It has been delayed 3 times now!)
I have had to rejoin my old gym, pay another admin fee for the change and a higher monthly rate to train. I have a bodybuilding competition in September and my training programme has been turned upside down.
I am now seeking to cancel the new membership as I really don’t think it will be ready in two weeks after what we saw. The guy prepared us all for a further delays intimating and stating “the only thing that will hold us up is staff sickness”.
I would like to know what my rights are in cancelling my contract due to there being no services to offer or gym to use!!!
They have stated via email that although they took month the second month they will not be taking a DD until June. Great considering I have paid for two months I have not been able to use a gym that doesnt’ exist yet! I am considering taking this to the papers I am that cross! Strangely enough nobody returns your call when you ring the Salesmans phone and the number advertised on Fit24UK website is dead!
Hi, I joined a Nuffield gym in January of last year and asked about corporate membership, which I now know I would have been entitled to, and was told that it wasn’t available to me. Due to football injuries I have been limited to 15-20 (maximum) visits in 12 months and decided to cancel my membership in February of this year.
I emailed their head office and asked that the 30 day notification period be waived as I had originally been mis-sold the membership (£36 p/mth instead of £32 p/mth for corporate) and in effect paid more than a full month’s subscription unnecessarily. I didn’t receive a response and have now been asked to pay the ‘outstanding’ month.
After discussing with the general manager I have been told that the staff member would not have given me the incorrect information even though I had specifically asked about the corporate membership at the time. I am not prepared to make the payment as I believe it is unjust – where do I stand legally?
Thanks,
I had my phone stolen from a locked gym locker at Esporta in Islington. As most gyms, they have a dislaimer for thefts from locker rooms. However, if a private club provides lockers with their own form of security – their own keys which you use by putting a £1 coin into – then they have created a false impression of security for your possession and are therefore liable. If I had used my own lock and this had happened then I would feel that it was my negligence for buying a substandard lock. Can i not argue that the were negligent in their duty of care for protecting their clients possession, while creating a false sense of security?
Hi, I cycle to work and like many employers nowadays we share a building which does not have showering facilities. Nuffield Health sold me access to their shower and locker facilities as part of their services to the buidling in which we cohabitate. There are various disclaimers about using the environment, but I pay the same amount for just using the shower and lockers and everyone else who also uses the (poorly maintained and stocked) gym. About 2 months I went to retrieve my belongings from my locked locker to find it had been emptied with all of my belongings (including wallet, personal mobile, front door keys and more) moved to another area of the buidling and locked away. No notification provided, no member of staff on site. There is a disclaimer which says that lockers will be emptied in the evenings and they are for sessional use only, but Nuffield sold me access to the locker and guaranteed me that as long as it was emptied daily there would be no problems. I have maintained this requirement from the outset and have not quibbled or complained about any of their facilities.
It is clear that their member of staff emptied the locker despite being fully briefed about whose it was and the sale terms, and now Nuffield are refusing my request for an apology for the inconvenience and are blaming the actions of other people for this scenario. I have requested full repayment of money on the basis that the T & Cs which I signed have not been maintained and it was their member of staff who broke into the locker. That same member of staff also stole the £1 coin used to secure the locker!! Unsurprisingly they are rebuffing this request, but they agreed to provide me a service as long as I maintained my acceptance of their conditions which I have diligently done so. Is there any hope of me getting my money back if I take them to court? In hindsight I should have immediately logged a call to the police and got a crime number. As the entire is access controlled with CCTV on the entrance they could not deny their actions. Any ideas / support / endorsement of the fact Nuffield are crap?
I signed a three year contract with a gym after a government get fit promotion. I gave the gym three months notice to quit after realising it wasn’t for me – I only went for a few weeks. I paid the three months and then cancelled my direct debit. They say I cannot cancel unless I am physically unable to go and they need a doctors letter or I move. This doesn’t seem fair – I haven’t stepped foot in the place since January. I told them I gave up my job for health reasons and now have no income but the call centre lady dismissed that out of hand – any advice?
Hi,
I signed up with Virgin Active for a 12 month contract 4 days ago and then found out my colleagues at my new work go to a cheaper, more convenient gym.
Is there any way I can cancel the contract. Also bear in mind the sales rep who signed me said it would be pro-rata from the 1st. So in that case, officially the contract hasn’t even started!
I’m paying a lot of money here and think there must be a way to cancel the contract.
Any thoughts?
I joined a Nuffield gym for a 3 month period, and specficially requested the membership be cancelled at the end of that period. This was confirmed by the staff memeber at the time.
I now find they have been taking money from me for a further 4 months, and now deny any such conversation took place, or that there are any notes on the account.
Their records show I did not visit after the agreed end point, yet they refuse to refund the amount.
Absolute charlatans