Anybody with gym membership with Ashbourne Management Services?

[djdave]

Hi,

 

I'm in dispute with Ashbourne and am in the process of taking them to court for breach of the Data Protection Act, and I need a small favour.

 

If anybody here is a member of a gym who uses Ashbourne to collect their fees, would you be willing to scan & email (or photocopy and post) a copy of their contract (with your personal details removed, obviously!) and the T&Cs?

 

If you can help, please drop me a PM.

 

Thanks,

Dave

[Tau]

Hi dave.

Sorry that you are also having probs with these . I dont have a copy of any paperwork either mate.

[djdave]

I just thought I'd give this a bump and say pretty please, can anybody help?

 

[mrmarmite]

cant you get them to post copy to different address?

[frank550]

Hi

 

not sure if its too late but I have the piece of paper i got when I joined a local gym that would appear to be an ashbourne one. we also are in dispute with them. i would gladly scan you that sheet if you want it, pm me an email address

 

cheers

[Sue2U]

Hi Dave,

 

did you get the copies?

[Sue2U]

Dave

 

before you query the sender its from my wifes account!!!

 

cheers

 

Frank

[djdave]

Hi,

 

Yes they arrived safely thanks. I did email back, but I guess you didn't get that. It proves what I'd thought all along: that it was merely a contract and not a regulated credit agreement. This all helps to weaken Ashbourne's arguement!

 

I've filed my Allocation Questionnaire and included draft directions asking the court to put Ashbourne to strict proof that I'd breached the T&Cs of any contract, now I'm just playing the old waiting game.

 

If there's anything help you need with your problems with Ashbourne, just let me know.

 

Thanks again

[djdave]

Good lord.

 

Even though I've claimed against Ashbourne, they've still written to me with a standard threat-o-gram demanding £285.

 

Exactly how stupid are they?

 

Needless to say I'll be forwarding a copy to the Court, and to the OFT who are dealing with my complaint against them.

 

I've tried to stay calm throughout all this, knowing that I'm in the right, but they're really doing my head in.

 

[djdave]

Afternoon all!

 

I've not been on the forum for a while and it turns out I've got several PMs asking for advice on dealing with Ashbourne Management Services.

 

I'll attempt to answer all the points raised in the PMs here on this thread for several reasons. Firstly it'll save me typing lengthy replies to PMs (lazy I know), secondly it will let others benefit (hopefully) and thirdly it gives other members a chance to correct any inaccuracies. I am not a lawyer, and any advice is simply based on my own experiences.

 

Q: How can I get out of my contract with Ashbourne?

A: It seems to vary depending on when and where you signed the contract, but basically you either need to have moved out of the area to a place where they don't have any partner gyms; or have a medical condition which prevents you safely using a gym. I cannot and will not condone simply breaking a written contract simply because you changed your mind or don't bother going to the gym any more.

 

Worryingly it seems that some people have signed 36 month contracts believing them to only be for a year. My understanding is that if the contract is in any way misleading it could well be invalid. My advice would be to contact Consumer Direct or CAB.

 

Q: I've cancelled but Ashbourne still demand money and have put a default on my credit file.

A: Don't expect an easy ride. Ashbourne's corporate site proudly boasts how registering defaults is the best way of dealing with accounts, presumably because there's so little burden of proof unlike, say, going to court. Also the sums in question are typically relatively low so "debtors" are more likely to pay up than fight on (thought not me, and if you're reading this then presumambly not you either).

 

All I can suggest at the moment is to send them a statutory notice under s10 of the Data Protection Act requesting that they rectify any incorrect data and inform the CRAs of such. If my experience is anything to go by they'll ignore it, so send a follow-up after 21 days. If you still don't get any joy, report them to the Information Commissioner.

 

I'm hoping that once I've taken Ashbourne to Court that they'll think twice about ignoring anybody else's Statutory Notices or playing silly beggars again. Sadly the County Court doesn't set a legal precident in the way that, say, the High Court does. But once the case is over I'll gladly make details available in the hope that, should you go down this route, your local Court will take its lead from this case.

 

I wish I could help more, but until all these arguements have been thrashed out in Court I'm in the dark as much as you. I'm genuinely looking forward to my day in Court, partly becuase I want this over with but also becuase it's become apparent that Ashbourne think they can treat their customers with such contempt.

 

I won't let them get away with it.

[djdave]

I've finally got my Court date, September 29th. I'm looking foward to hearing them justify their behaviour over the last three years.

[slick132]

Hi Dave,

 

I see from your user profile that you had some success with this.

 

Can you please update us on how you resolved this.

 

There's still a steady stream of complaints about Ashbourne and other gyms and their sharp practices.

 

[truckersburd]

Hi Dave,

 

I see from your user profile that you had some success with this.

 

Can you please update us on how you resolved this.

 

There's still a steady stream of complaints about Ashbourne and other gyms and their sharp practices.

 

 

I would also be interested to hear how you got on...only a few months to pay before I can get out of this contract however the behaviour of the staff is appalling and threatening

[ANTIASHBOURNE]

Good news! visit

http://blogs.mirror.co.uk/investigations/2010/03/watchdog-takes-gym-company-ash.html

 

Hi I'm am so glad to hear about this company being pursued by Watchdog. The way the staff treated me was appalling. They asked for 2 proofs of identity when I advised them I was moving address. This I did & they then said that wasn't enough & I had to send my driving licence aswell. Meanwhile still wishing to take money from my account. Luckily I had cancelled the Direct debit. They sent a letter on a friday saying I had 7days to pay the debt which they had added a £10 admin charge to, then on the following Monday (i.e. the next working day)I had another letter saying I had 3 days to pay & they had added another £5 to my bill! I basically paid another month just to put an end to the grief they were giving me. My account has now been closed. However, I reported them to the Office of Fair trading who wish me to give more details. Hooray! They will have their Karma after all

[slick132]

Hi AntiAshbourne and welcome to CAG.

 

You should take a look here - http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?268101-Ashbourne-Management-Everything-You-NEED-To-Know%21%21%281-Viewing%29-nbsp

[fatdog]

DJDave

 

Don't expect too much from your day in court. It will be you, the Judge and a 'legal representative' acting on behalf of Ashbourne who will not know anything about the running of the business - and will give the standard line of "I'm here to act on behalf of Ashbourne to defend this claim in full". They won't say much else, instead relying on their "statement of fact from the client" to answer any questions.

 

From my day in court with them, this riled the Judge somewhat as I had raised very specific questions which could not be answered. The judge delayed the hearing for another day so that John Wright (MD of Ashbourne) could attend but they plauyed the same trick again and he refused to attend.

 

Don't worry though, sounds like you have everything in hand. One thing - print off the pages from their website - the ones that brag about how they default people. This won't go down with the judge - especially in this economic climate!!