Thanks for your help slick132, I pretty much used your wording and copied the guardian in on the email!! It was a quick response but they should not have been causing me stress in the first place. Another victory for CAG!

Hi everyone I just thought I would up date you all. It's only been a few hours and I have already had the following response: Dear Sarah, Many thanks for emailing Paul Woolf. I’m really sorry to hear about the contact you’ve received from ARC, an external debt collection agency that work on our behalf. I’ve contacted ARC to stop all contact and for the debt to be voided off. This can take up to 48 hours to be processed so if you receive anything during that time, please disregard it. If there is anything further I can help with, please don’t hesitate to contact me. Kind Regards Martyn Jones, Customer Service Manager – Family Division So thank you all for your brilliant advice!! So relieved. I will donate tonight

Thanks slick132. I was wondering how much detail to go into so that helps greatly ,

Thank you for your help!! Off to write my email, I will keep you updated!

Thank you both for your reply. So I completely ignore ARC and email Virgin Active, both the CEO and the local branch that I joined, asking them to prove my commitment to an contract with them, quoting the Guardian article? Also ask them to respond within a reasonable timeframe. Anything else that I need to do/state? Thank you

Hi I would really appreciate some help and advice. In early March this year I enquiried via the website about joining Virgin active gym for me and my husband. I work for a large bank so could take advantage of corporate rates if I was able to prove my employment via bank slip etc. someone called me and gave me the price and asked me if I would like to go ahead, I said I would and gave him my bank details etc he then said I would have to go into my local gym to complete the paperwork etc. I then got some calls from the local gym pressurising me to go in and sign the paperwork, I had just had a baby and I couldn't agree a time for me and my husband to get in together. They insisted it had to be within the next few days so they could get their commission. I wasn't able to make it in to sign and didn't hear anything else from them at all. Roll on two months or so later, I checked my bank account and they had taken two DDs for £105 each. I called up the bank and got this refunded via the DD scheme. Thought it had all gone away, I didn't notify them that I was cancelling the DD. a few days ago, I received a letter from ARC Europe stating that I owe 236.80 and after that my gym membership will continue. So just to clarify, I have never signed anything, I have not received any paperwork at all and have not provided any proof of my employment status. I haven't even set foot through the gym doors and I am still breaking a sweat!! Can they have me for a verbal contract? What do I do now? Many thanks for any help in advance, Sarah