Xercise4less/CRS/Zinc Group

[ccra1986]

Hi there,

 

I'm looking for a bit of advice on a gym membership gone wrong.

I was a member at Xercise4less in Renfrew,

I joined within a couple of days of the 8.7.14 on a 12 month option.

 

 

By April 2015 I knew I was moving out the area and wanting to cancel after the 12 month period was up.

I took a cancellation letter into main reception at the start May stating that my membership

should cancel after my June payment. I didnt go again because I had moved house.

 

It was only in January when I received a letter from CRS to my new address

that I owed them £207.10 for missed payments of membership.

 

 

I tried dealing the centre direct but they refused saying it had been handed over to the 3rd party.

After reading on here I seen I wasnt the only one with the problem

so I used a couple of the template emails that I seen and sent them off.

 

All was quiet till April when they gave me an option 'to pay significantly less' and close the deal.

It was still £140 they wanted so I ignored them.

Now it has been passed over to the Zinc Group after receiving an email from them yesterday.

 

Sorry for being long winded here but can anyone suggest what I can do next to get this lot of my back

. They are a nightmare, not to mention a stress I can do without at the moment!

 

Below I have put copies of the most recent emails CRS and the new one from Zinc.

What frustrates me is that they had my email and mobile number

the whole time but didnt once think to get in touch that way.

 

Thanks in advance,

 

Chris

 

CRS email:

 

Dear.......

Re: CRS Ref No: / Xercise 4 Less Ref No:

 

Further to our previous correspondence,

we initially wish to advise that letters regarding your arrears have been sent to you on

27th October 2015, 11th December 2015 and 12th January 2016 prior to our letter of 5th February 2016.

 

 

These earlier letters, however, were sent to the address you supplied, which was ********, Renfrew, Renfrewshire, .

We have had to employ tracing agents to locate your current address

and our costs in doing so have been added to your balance because of this in line with the terms of your agreement.

 

The balance of £207.47 consists of three missed payments of £9.99,

three £25.00 administration fees, £66.50 recovery fees and £36.00 trace fee.

 

We have contacted the club regarding your request for cancellation and have been advised that:

 

"This member never filled out a cancellation form and did not follow procedure,

she has offered to pay us 9.99 for her final direct debit payment. This was refused."

 

For the above reasons we must advise that the balance of £207.47 is correct and due.

As a goodwill gesture we are willing to accept £132.47 as final settlement of this debt if paid in full within 7 days.

 

 

Payment can be made by Credit/Debit card by calling us on 01444 449165.

Alternatively, cheque/postal orders should be made payable to Credit Resolution Services

and sent to CRS, 2nd Floor, Rockwood House, 9-17 Perrymount Road,

Haywards Heath, West Sussex, RH16 3TW.

 

A payment plan can also be set up if you are unable to settle in full, although we do charge a little extra for this.

 

If you are experiencing financial difficulty, there are organisations who offer free debt advice and assistance such as Step Change (0800 1381111), National Debtline (0808 8084000) and your local Citizen Advice Bureau.

 

Please ensure a payment or response is received within the next 7 days, so we can avoid further action being taken.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

David Castle

 

Collections Department

 

 

Zinc Group email:

 

 

Dear Sir / Madam,

 

Welcome to the Zinc Group,

we have been instructed by our client to assist you with the resolution of your account

 

 

. We would therefore like to invite you to review the options we have made available to you as a priority customer,

these have been designed to make the process as simple as possible

while ensuring that you have full control of your circumstances.

 

At Zinc we understand that not all of our customers are the same,

but we are committed to treating all of our customers fairly.

 

You can visit our website...................or contact your personal account manager in order to:

 

Client

 

CRS on behalf of Xercise 4 Less

 

Your Zinc Reference

 

 

Your Client Reference

 

Current Balance

 

£207.47

[slick132]

Hi CCRA and welcome to CAG

 

Firstly, you need to stop taking Harlands/CRS seriously. They're nothing but a bunch of chancers who take advantage of the fact that X4Less have a tendency to "lose" cancellation letters and fail to process cancellations properly.

 

Ignore the latest rubbish from Harlands/CRS, Zinc and Spratt Endicott.

 

Let them make all the empty threats they like. Let them pile on as many gym, admin and tracing fees as they like. Just because they say they're payable doesn't make them payable.

 

I see no need to reply to Zinc at all. X4Less are so famous for "losing" cancellation letters or failing to process cancellations, they have a poor chance of winning a court case which is why they tend to avoid taking any such action.

 

Read other threads and you'll see nobody needs to take Harlands/CRS seriously, or anyone they call in to harass you for payments.

 

[gregs07]

Just ignore them set spam phaser to trash, let them send as much rubbish as they like they will do nothing. They're just hoping you'll bite and pay them, hence the offer of a reduction.

[ccra1986]

Hi again,

 

Appreciate the replies, i'm glad you have both said what I thought best to do. I didn't think they had a leg to stand but i'm not sure because i've crossed paths with people like this before.

 

Thanks very much again!!

 

Chris

[slick132]

Hi CCRA,

 

Do you have a copy of the cancellation letter that you took into the gym in May 2015 ?

 

You say you tried calling someone and were told the debt had been passed on to a 3rd party. I know this was in the past but stay OFF the phone completely and keep everything in writing only. This is a good rule for all financial disputes, not just for gyms.