LA Fitness......Again!

[Raspberry Beret]

Hi all,

 

Sorry in advance, I know gym membership has been done to death. I am hoping for some specific advice.

 

I cancelled my membership at LA Fitness a couple of months into the contract and signed up elsewhere because I wasn't happy with the gym. Old, broken down equipment etc was my main complaint. I sent their head office a letter explaining why I was cancelling.

 

I received no reply to my complaint from LA but began being pestered by ARC. I sent my complaint letter to LA Fitness again, including another letter asking for a signed copy of my CCA and including a £1 postal order. This letter was signed for but I got no reply.

 

I continued to be chased by ARC and Trevor Nunn. I ignored all their letters and am now being chased by Scotcall who threaten doortep collection.

 

I intend on ignoring them too but wondered if I this is really the right thing to do? LA Fitness can't be bothered to respond to my complaint, that much is clear, or provide me with a copy of my CCA. Should i send my complaint and CCA request to Scotcall instead in the hope it will be read? Are LA legally allowed to pass an account to debt collectors when it is in dspute?

 

Thanks for your help,

A.

 

Edited January 20, 2009 by Raspberry Beret
Too much waffle!

[slick132]

Hi RB,

 

As you sent them a CCA request, I assume there was a credit agreement governing a loan taken out to join the gym.

 

I think you should write to the gym confirming why you cancelled your m/ship and enclose copy letters sent to date.

 

Tell them they are in breach of the OFT Guidelines on Debt Collection including, but not limited to, Sections 2.6(h), 2.8(i) and 2.8(k) and will therefore be reported to Trading Standards and to the FOS.

 

Confirm in your letter that you will not discuss this by phone and they must reply in writing.

 

See the link to the OFT DCGuidelines in my signature below.

 

You can send to any DCA a copy of your letter to the gym to warn them off.

 

See if you get any reply.

[Raspberry Beret]

Thanks Slick - will do.

[saqqara]

Refer to my post (Virgin Active instructed to pay up).

 

I took Virgin Active to court first and won! It was a doddle. I was even allowed to claim for my parking and sandwich on the day.

 

Once you've won you've got a great claim then for harassment from ARC.

[sh1974]

Something that may help LA folks. If you look at the agreement of the contract it does state that memberships will not be cancelled if you write in. You must PHONE in your cancellation to the member services department. Phoneing the club won't work. I've seen a lot of these LA threads saying people wrote in cancelling memberships and didnt have them cancelled. This would be why.

[andie_303]

As someone that managed LA clubs (for my sins I am now a reformed character) the reasoon they put in T&C's you have to phone to cancel is a ploy to talk you out of cancelling. If it helps we had an incident in a club near mine where they cancelled memberships as someone had cited the provision of services act (kinda like the sale of goods act but relates to things on contracts normally phone contracts etc) as they said the services provided by the club were not the same as what they had been led to believe they would be by the salesperson when they signed their contract - Consumer Direct were involved and LA cancelled the contract.

Just a thought for you