Mis-Sold gym membership

[shoes17]

Hi Thanks - im on the mend now so back on my feet

 

Can I clarify - shall I send this to Lyle Hill or the DCA ?

 

Thank you once again

[slick132]

Send it to Lyle Hill and just ignore the DCA for now.

 

[shoes17]

Hi - I sent the request off and have now received back copies of 2 documents that i have signed. One is a copy of the credit agreement which you have seen - the other is titled "Pre-Contract Document" and literally just has club name and address, my name and address , and then says " this contract is between the club on one part and the member on the second part - membership start date and period of membership" it then says financial details - no depsoit plus 36 monthly dd payments of £20 starting 1/11/11 and until further notice then my signature and lyle hill address.

 

I have not received any T&C's literally just 2 pieces of paper.

 

Thanks

 

So far

 

Shoes

[slick132]

Letter to Lyle Hill :-

 

Dear sir or madam,

 

I refer to my membership with xxxx gym which started in October 2011 and which I cancelled in March 2012. Notice of cancellation was sent in March 2012 to the gym and to Eazipay.

 

I will not be making any further payments to you or the gym for the following reasons :-

 

1. When I joined the gym, I specifically asked if I could cancel if my worked moved me away from where I was living at the time as that was a distinct possibility. I was told that cancelling in such circumstances would not be a problem. My employer sent me to work at a location 50 miles away from the gym in January 2012, although I only cancelled in March 2012.

 

2. At the time of joining the gym, no mention was made of me being tied into a 3 year credit agreement. Had this been mentioned, I would never have signed any such credit agreement.

 

3. The credit agreement itself does not comply with the strict requirements of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 and/or Consumer Credit (Agreement) Regulations 1983, which state that the signature box must be in the prescribed form and include the warning:-

 

This is a Consumer Credit Agreement regulated by the Consumer Credit Act 1974.

Sign it only if you want to be bound by it's terms.

 

In this respect, the credit agreement is not properly executed and can only be enforced by a court according to CCA 1974, s.65(1) :-

 

65 Consequences of improper execution.

 

(1)An improperly-executed regulated agreement is enforceable against the debtor or hirer on an order of the court only.

 

4. If you take any court action to seek enforcement, I will defend vigorously on the basis of non-compliance with the Consumer Credit regulations.

 

5. Furthermore, I will defend on the basis that the gym membership and credit agreement are for a 3 year period. This is contrary to the ruling made in the case of The OFT v Ashbourne Management Services Ltd in 2011 when Mr Justice Kitchin stated in his Penal Order against AMSL that a contract for any longer than 12 months should allow for and enable cancellation on payment of a reasonable** amount to compensate the gym for the cancellation.

 

6. Furthermore, I will defend on the basis that I was given verbal assurance that I could cancel if my work moved me away, as was indeed the case.

 

**Bearing in mind Mr Justice Kitchin's ruling and Penal Order against AMSL in 2011, I am minded to offer you one month's fee as reasonable compensation for the cancellation.

 

I am prepared to offer you £20 in full and final settlement of all amounts due from me in respect of the gym membership and/or credit agreement. My offer is valid for 14 days (plus 2 days for service) from the date of this letter.

 

If you fail to accept my offer, it will be withdrawn and I will pay you nothing and reserve the right to ignore further communication from you.

 

I will also draw this matter to the attention of the OFT on the basis that the credit agreement was faulty and it was used misleadingly. I will also ask the FOS to make a formal investigation into the use of a non-compliant 3 year credit agreement.

 

Yours faithfully,

 

[shoes17]

Thanks - ill get this sent off - they did send a hand written complimenbt slip stating that all correspondence should be with Debt collectors??

 

Should I also ask for written confirmation that this matter is now closed???

 

Thanks again

[slick132]

Hi Shoes,

 

No, I think the letter can be sent exactly as above. Use Recorded Del'y of course.

 

Ignore the suggestion that you only deal with debt collectors and ask nothing about the matter being closed for now.

 

[shoes17]

Thanks - will get this done and let you know if anything else happens!

 

Shoes

[shoes17]

Hi

 

I sent the letter and havent heard anything in writing since - however the debt collectors rang me on Saturday and I just told them that i had already confirmed in writing that i refuse to speak to them on the telephone, they said they hadnt heard anything from me so i told them to speak to lyle hill and ended the call. Was this the right thing to do?

[slick132]

Hi Shoes,

 

You did absolutely the right thing to end the call and not get involved in any debate.

 

No word back from Lyle Hall which means they failed to accept your offer to pay a month's fee as notice.

 

So your offer is now withdrawn and the ball is in LH's court.

 

Let's see if and how they respond ...............

 

[shoes17]

HI

 

I have heard nothing from Lyle Hill or DCA - should i do anything further ?

 

Thanks

 

Shoes

[slick132]

Hi Shoes,

 

No, the ball is firmly in their court for now.

 

The silence is good but it's too early to think this is over yet.

 

[shoes17]

Hi

 

I still havent heard a thing - do I need to do anything?

 

Shoes

[slick132]

Hi Shoes,

 

As long as you got a receipt for the letter, the ball remains in their court and you need do nothing.

 

I suggest you check your CRA records in a few weeks, and keep an eye on them afterwards just to ensure they don't try and sneak through a late payment marker or Defualt.

 

[shoes17]

HI Thanks for your reply - still havent heard a thing - checked my credit score the other day and so far all clear!

[slick132]

Hi Shoes,

 

This is good as the more time that passes, the less likely they are to take any further action.

 

I won't say any more for now as I don't want to jinx things.

 

Keep us updated please.