Hi all,
My partner signed up to a local gym recently with a friend, upon signing up they were told it was a 12 month contract with the first month free. They were also told they had 30 days to try the gym out and could cancel if they didn't like it.
My partner and her friend attended the gym twice over the next 4days but it became apparent that the gym was far too busy at peak times and there was a large amount males that made my partner anxious and uncomfortable (she suffered from anxiety).
My partners friend phoned up with 5days of signing up and was told she could not cancel but they did transfer her membership to another gym.
When we phoned up to cancel under the grounds of misrepresentation and that my partner did not feel comfortable but they said she had signed a contract and we had no legal grounds to stand on.
They did offer to move our membership but the gym was too far away , they also offered an induction session but after dispute and accusing the staff of miss representation my partner feels mor anxious than ever and cannot return for fear of anxiety attack.
I haven emailed a number of times now and have offered to pay the gym any costs for signing and cancelling the membership along with a month for the 2days , an offer I think reasonable given the circumstances.
My complaint has now moved from their membership department to their operations manager who has said he has looked into our complaint and our accusations are without evidence and our membership still stands.
They have said if we cancel our direct debit they will immediately order the bailiffs in- something I really want to avoid as this will not help my partners anxiety !!
What's even more frustrating is that this gym is a a trading name of a council funded charity ! (Run for the good of the community)
What I really want to know is do we have a case here, can bailiffs be appointed when we are disputing the validity of the contract on the grounds of miss-selling.
And can bailiffs even collect on a debit agreement if it is cancelled before the start date (February).
Part of me is tempted to give in but this is£312 we do not have.
Any advice will be much appreciated .