36 month Martial Arts Club contract **Club backs down completely**

[Challenger01]

Hi All,

 

I'm not sure if I am posting this in the right thread or not. I have a problem similar to advice seeker at the top of this thread. I have an agreement with a martial arts academy that started in July 2014 and lasts for a total of 36 months (3 years).

 

The monthly charge is £100.00 plus I had to pay £400.00 deposit which was reduced to £250.00 but was told I had to sign up on the day or the deposit amount would go back up to £400.00. I am now struggling to pay the monthly fee. I wish to leave the academy and cancel the agreement but was told in no uncertain terms that this agreement could not be cancelled and I have to pay each month wether I attend the classes or not unless I either die or I can prove that I can no longer practice martial arts due to ill health or injury and provide a doctors note to prove this.

 

 

I have taken advise from a telephone legal helpline and the Citizens Advice Bureau who advised me to write a letter stating that the contract could well be in breach of the unfair contract terms in consumer contracts regulations 1999 and that I wished to give 1 months notice to cancel the agreement and if they fail to act on this letter that I would consider challenging the contract at court and gave them 14 days to reply.

 

The letter was sent by recorded delivery approx 7- 8 days ago. I have not yet heard anything back but am keen to take advise on this issue. Is just cancelling the direct debit and my credit/ debit cards and changing my bank details an option and what would be the possible conequences of doing this.

Edited October 7, 2014 by citizenB

[BRIGADIER2JCS]

Hi All,

 

I'm not sure if I am posting this in the right thread or not. I have a problem similar to advice seeker at the top of this thread. I have an agreement with a martial arts academy that started in July 2014 and lasts for a total of 36 months (3 years). The monthly charge is £100.00 plus I had to pay £400.00 deposit which was reduced to £250.00 but was told I had to sign up on the day or the deposit amount would go back up to £400.00. I am now struggling to pay the monthly fee. I wish to leave the academy and cancel the agreement but was told in no uncertain terms that this agreement could not be cancelled and I have to pay each month wether I attend the classes or not unless I either die or I can prove that I can no longer practice martial arts due to ill health or injury and provide a doctors note to prove this. I have taken advise from a telephone legal helpline and the Citizens Advice Bureau who advised me to write a letter stating that the contract could well be in breach of the unfair contract terms in consumer contracts regulations 1999 and that I wished to give 1 months notice to cancel the agreement and if they fail to act on this letter that I would consider challenging the contract at court and gave them 14 days to reply. The letter was sent by recorded delivery approx 7- 8 days ago. I have not yet heard anything back but am keen to take advise on this issue. Is just cancelling the direct debit and my credit/ debit cards and changing my bank details an option and what would be the possible conequences of doing this.

 

 

 

Hi, Welcome to CAG,

 

I will ask site to look in on you.

Edited October 7, 2014 by citizenB

[rebel11]

Hi challenger

 

Welcome to CAG

 

Thread created.

 

The guys will advise as soon they are available.

[BRIGADIER2JCS]

If you cancel the DD it will not affect your credit/debit cards.

Once the DD is cancelled and you have instructed your bank that no further payments are to be made, the club may well attempt to take payment.

You should inform the club of what you have done and why.

 

 

I would expect the club to place a default and report it to Credit Reference Agencies and possibly involve a solicitor and/or a debt collector.

The advice you have been given I think is correct this is an unfair contract, were you given a copy of the contract and were the terms and conditions fully explained before you signed?

[Peterbard]

The CAB adivice is correct have a look here

 

http://www.theguardian.com/money/2011/may/27/gym-contracts-unfair-rules-court

[Bazooka Boo]

A 3 year contract!!!

 

Very very wrong, write the letter informing them you're cancelling and then cancel the DD, and if you have used your credit card to make a payment, or they have your card details, then cancel the card or ensure that any CPA agreement in place on that card is cancelled also.

[slick132]

Hi Challenger,

 

A 3 year m/ship agreement is most likely to be deemed unfair to you as a consumer, and therefore unenforceable.

 

The High Court case in 2011 brought by The OFT against AMSL changed the way gyms and their admin companies could behave. See here - http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?320766-Ashbourne-Management-Services-Ltd-Contracts-longer-than-12-months

 

I'd cancel the DD mandate via your bank immediately. Then write to the Club saying :-

 

I have taken advice and understand that 3 year membership agreements are no longer considered fair to consumers. This was established in the High Court ruling in 2011 between The OFT -v- Ashbourne Mgt Services Ltd.

 

I hereby cancel my membership with immediate effect and the DD mandate with my bank has been cancelled.

 

If you make demands for current or future payments, your membership agreement and business practices will be reported to Trading Standards as a formal complaint.

 

Since the AMSL case and rulings, it is highly inlikely that your CRA files will be affected by this as the CRA's are wary of reporting gym-related data. If any such CRA data was reported, you could take action quickly to get it removed.

 

[Challenger01]

Hi all,

 

Many thanks for all your advice. For whoever asked about if I have a copy of the contract, yes I do. The contract is drawn up by a company called Smartpay.UK who manage the payments and direct debits on behalf of the academy. It also says at the bottom of the agreement that Smartpay.UK is a trading name of PJ Marketing and Management Ltd. The company is registered in England and Wales NO. 05289432.

[slick132]

Hi Challenger,

 

Send the letter in post #7 to the gym, and a copy to Smartpay UK with a covering letter saying, "I enclose a copy of the letter sent today to the gym.".

 

Take both letters to a Post Office and get a free Certificate of Posting for each letter. No need to pay for RM Signed For delivery.

 

Keep us informed ............

 

[Challenger01]

Hi Slick 132,

 

I have already sent a letter recorded delivery ref my 1st post saying that I want to give a months notice and referring to the unfair terms in consumer contract regulations 1999. I sent it to the martial arts club but not the academy. should I send a copy of that letter to smartpay saying that a copy has been sent to the martial arts club or just devise a new letter?

 

I have to admit, I really do not know what to do, wether to go down the court route or to just say to them in a letter, enough is enough, I am cancelling.

 

Thanks for replying so promptly to my previous post.

[slick132]

Hi Challenger,

 

I would write the letter in post #7 and send as per my advice in post #9.

 

I see no reason to give the club or admin company a month's notice to quit, or to pay them any more.

 

Re your comment about "going down the court route", we've seen many hundreds of cases here over the past several years and 99.9% never get anywhere close to a court. The admin companies know that their m/ship agreements simply won't stand up to scrutiny in court.

 

[Challenger01]

Many thanks for your continued help and advice Slick. It is certainly proving very helpful indeed.

[Challenger01]

Hi All,

 

Just posting to give an update on this thread.

 

I received a letter back from the academy. The academy had been in touch with Smartpay and Smartpay have agreed a 3 month cooling off period. According to them this is in line with OFT regulations but I'm taking that with a bit of a pinch of salt.

 

However, since last posting I have been to see the doctor about an old injury that has flamed up again (nothing to do with the martial arts) but the doctor has told me that I will never recover 100% this time and that I will have to give up martial arts for good anyway as there is a sizeable risk that martial arts training could cause even more damage.

 

There is a clause in the contract that says if you are diagnosed with a permanent medical condition/ injury that the contract will be cancelled immediately on production of a medical certificate issued and signed by a doctor. The doctor told me that they only issue medical certificates for employers but has given me an official letter that says I can no longer carry on with martial arts for medical reasons. I will photocopy this letter and send a copy to Smartpay (recorded delivery). Although having a permanent injury is upsetting and painful, hopefully it will be a sufficient enough reason to get me out of the contract now. Even if it isn't and they don't accept the letter, the direct debit has been cancelled with my card/s and bank details changed anyway as I have no intention what so ever in paying for a service that I cannot benefit from.

 

Many thanks to everyone on this thread who responded and helped me deal with this tricky issue.

Edited October 20, 2014 by Challenger01

[BRIGADIER2JCS]

Hi All,

 

Just posting to give an update on this thread.

 

I received a letter back from the academy. The academy had been in touch with Smartpay and Smartpay have agreed a 3 month cooling off period. According to them this is in line with OFT regulations but I'm taking that with a bit of a pinch of salt.

 

However, since last posting I have been to see the doctor about an old injury that has flamed up again (nothing to do with the martial arts) but the doctor has told me that I will never recover 100% this time and that I will have to give up martial arts for good anyway as there is a sizeable risk that martial arts training could cause even more damage.

 

There is a clause in the contract that says if you are diagnosed with a permanent medical condition/ injury that the contract will be cancelled immediately on production of a medical certificate issued and signed by a doctor. The doctor told me that they only issue medical certificates for employers but has given me an official letter that says I can no longer carry on with martial arts for medical reasons. I will photocopy this letter and send a copy to Smartpay (recorded delivery). Although having a permanent injury is upsetting and painful, hopefully it will be a sufficient enough reason to get me out of the contract now. Even if it isn't and they don't accept the letter, the direct debit has been cancelled with my card/s and bank details changed anyway as I have no intention what so ever in paying for a service that I cannot benefit from.

 

Many thanks to everyone on this thread who responded and helped me deal with this tricky issue.

 

 

Hi challenger,

 

 

Interesting point o OFT guidance the OFT ceased to exist in April 2014 the FCA is thr regulator now.

Sorry to hear about you health but I think you are out of the clubs clutches now!

[slick132]

Hi Challenger,

 

In my opinion, based on many years of experience helping others here, you have no need at all to produce any medical evidence.

 

The 36 month contract is unenforceable according to The OFT (when they still existed) and, more importantly, based on the High Court ruling in the case of The OFT v AMSL in 2011.

 

I suggest you stick to your guns and refuse to pay any more on the basis that the m/ship agreement was unfair to you as a consumer, and unenforceable.

 

You need only write the shortest of letters back to the Academy confirming this and telling them that it is their responsibility to ensure that no further demands are made of you.

 

[Challenger01]

Hi All,

 

All letters and documents sent, direct debit cancelled with bank details changed. I informed them of my injury with a doctor's letter to back it up and told them that I wasn't going to accept 3 months notice and that the 1 months notice I had given them already (given on the 29th September 2014 for the 29th October 2014) was perfectly sufficient and that both Smartpay UK and the academy had a responsibility to ensure that no more demands were made of me.

 

Again, many thanks to all those who replied and helped with this issue. It is a massive weight off my shoulders now.

[slick132]

Hi Challenger,

 

Noted, but please keep us updated of developments, so we can advise further as necessary.

 

[Challenger01]

Hi All,

 

An update. I received a phone call from Smartpay UK this morning. They have agreed to my demands of immediate termination with no further payments due. They put it down to the doctor's letter but I suspect really it was more to do with the contract terms and conditions and they were looking for an excuse not to admit that.

 

An e- mail has just come through from Smartpay UK whilst typing out this posting that confirms what was discussed in the earlier phone conversation.

 

Again, many thanks to all those who helped on this thread.

[slick132]

Hi Challenger,

 

I think you're right. They would be unable to enforce an agreement in excess of 12 months and would not risk taking court action to do so.

 

Glad this is now sorted for you and thread title amended to reflect your **success**.

 

If you can manage a site donation, it will help us to keep helping others, thanks.

 

[Challenger01]

Hi Slick,

 

Here is the e- mail they sent to me:

 

Dear Mr -----------

Thank you for your recent letter regarding your Smartpay agreement. This is to confirm that as you have provided a medical certificate we can waive the 90 day cancellation notice and close the agreement and no further payments are due.

 

Here is my e- mail back to them:

 

Dear Ms --------,

Many thanks for your reply. Still do not know where you got the 90 days from though as this is not a legal requirement and I gave the recommended 1 months notice which ended on the 29th October 2014 anyway.

Still no reply yet.

[slick132]

As long as they're not chasing for payment, I wouldn't worry about corresponding further with them.