David Lloyd passed on arrears to ARC - Need Advice!

[Drip247]

Hi,

 

I need some advice with a case I have with David Lloyd. I’ll try and keep it short but detailed.

 

I was a standard member for a few months, not up to a year, and had a joint membership.

 

I suspended my membership due to losing job, provided my P45 and was granted suspension at no monthly cost. The maximum suspension time allowed it 9 months. I used the whole 9 months but still don’t have a job. They reactivated my membership in June, but I couldn’t afford it,

 

I sent an email to give my cancellation notice at beginning of July, I owe 2 months arrears which totalled £476. I asked then to confirm they received my cancellation notice and they didn’t reply - still haven’t replied but the automated inbox system confirmed it had been received - I settled with that.

 

Separately, I asked DL if I could set up a payment plan to pay my outstanding arrears and they disagreed and said they have to pass it on to ARC if I want a payment plan. I asked DL to send me an outline of what I owe, which they sent in detail after a week, and the total came to £551 as they added an admin fee.

 

I asked them what for and they said it’s admin fee from ARC Europe. I had not received any correspondence from this ARC Europe at this point so I don’t even know why the admin fee was added. 2 weeks go by now and I email DL at midnight on Monday letting them know I haven’t received any correspondence from ARC. Funny enough, later on that day I received an email from ARC. I am going to paste the body of the email below:

 

 

Dear XXXXX ,

We note that you have not cleared your balance or made payment proposals since our previous letter to you. On the instructions of our client, we can now refer the matter to our Solicitors, Majorlaw Ltd, with instructions to prepare a County Court Claim against you for recovery of the above debt. 

 

What will happen next?

Unless we receive either payment in full or your payment proposals, a Court Claim can be prepared 14 days after the date of this letter. If this action is necessary and we pass the account to our Solicitors for issue, our client is entitled to claim interest under the County Courts Act 1984 at the rate of 8% per annum together with fixed Court Fees and Solicitor’s Costs amounting to a further £261.00. You may want to seek independent legal advice on this matter.

 

What effect could a Court Claim have on me?

If a Claim is issued and the debt remains unpaid, our client could apply for a formal Court Judgment against you. If a Judgment is granted and is not paid within one month, it will be recorded by the Credit Reference Agencies for a period of 6 years and this may seriously affect your ability to obtain credit in the future.

 

What should I do next?

You can make a secure payment to us 24 hours a day with your debit or credit card by visiting our website www.arceuropeltd.co.uk or by calling our automated payment hotline on 01332 647693. Alternatively, please contact our Customer Support Team by phone or live chat within 14 days from the date of this letter to discuss the balance on your account. You may also want to contact one of the free debt advice organisations by clicking here Free Debt Advice.

 

Please note, I had not received any email or letter from them before this point and now the total balance they requesting for is £1671.00!!!

 

There is absolutely no way I can pay this so I just need help on what to respond to this, how they even came to that amount,

 

what can I propose?

 

I am only willing to pay my outstanding arrears, not all this extra stuff. Is there anything I can do?

 

any help is appreciated. 

[dx100uk]

moved to the Gym forum.

 

100's of threads here on DL.

 

shame you paid the 3 months notice.

thats unlawful and you only needed to OFFER 1 months membership which is the industry std.

 

a DCa is NOT A BAILIFF

and have

ZERO legal powers on ANY DEBT - no matter WHAT it's type.

 

sadly you got had!

 

gym debts dont appear on credit files

gyms don't do court.

 

nothing anyone can do to you.

 

dx

 

 

[Drip247]

Hi dx100uk,

 

Thanks for responding to my post.

 

just to clarify, I haven’t actually paid anything.

 

I just received the message from ARC 2 days ago saying I have to pay £1671 to them

 

meanwhile, just a couple days before that DL sent me a detailed outline on what I owe to then in arrears which was just £551,

 

I don’t know how the price increased so drastically and wanted help on what I should reply back to DL and ARc Europe.

 

Should I offer a to pay my arrears in full only?

 

should I offer to pay my arrears+1 months notice amount?

 

should I just completely ignore?

 

What will happen if I completely ignore and don’t pay anything?

 

Thanks

[dx100uk]

Glad you've paid nowt! Well-done

 

I like the last option best!

 

However, you should offer to pay DL the one month following cancellation notification, give them 14 days to accept .

 

They won't!

 

I expect the big sum is the total of both memberships till end of contracts 

 

Dx

[Kyosanto]

Do gyms charge £280 a month now? What is this madness.

[dx100uk]

Was it not a joint monthly?

 

With the fake arrears fees which are unlawful anyway, mugs pay them, which is why the powerless DCA's try it on. 

 

Dx 

[Drip247]

I don’t even know why I got myself into this paying such amount to begin with. Not worth it at all.

 

Thanks for the advice dx100uk. I will send them a proposal offering the money I owe + 1 month and no other cost. I’ll update you on the reply. They prob won’t reply for another 2 weeks … if ever.

 

thanks

[dx100uk]

why do you owe from june? who set this 9mts only hold?

 

[Drip247]

I think at the time I told them I couldn’t pay anymore cos I lost my job, they said I get a max of 9 months suspension on the whole joint membership and I was satisfied with that.

 

I suspended it Sept 2021, I guess they just reactivated my account in June?

 

I had completely forgot about it the membership until I saw payment reminder emails in June which led me to cancel in July because it just wasn’t a cost I wanted to add back into my life and I still don’t work.

 

Just hope it can be sorted.

Edited July 29, 2022 by dx100uk
please space your posts!!

[dx100uk]

but where and what regulation determines its only 9mts?

 

it can be sorted by simply ignoring everyone.

 

dx

[slick132]

Hi Drip,

 

If you came to us earlier, we'd have told you to tell DL to do one !!

 

When you were made redundant, you had no need to send them your P45 and you had every right to cancel the m/ship immediately.

 

You had no need to play by their "rules" and can offer them nothing at all, based on their (or ARC's) demands for more than you ever owe.

 

Put your draft letter here before you offer to pay any more and don't worry about Major Law - they can be safely ignored !! 

[Drip247]

Hi everyone,

 

I appreciate all the tips you’ve given so far. My next step was to follow dx100 advice and offer to pay my arrears + 1 month cancellation.

 

I have not replied to ARc, and after about 2 weeks, I have now received this email from David Lloyd:

 

Good afternoon XXXX, 

Thank you for your email, I will be taking over John Smith’s correspondence while he is on annual leave.

The £75 due along with your other charges has been put on the account as a late payment fee, If you are able to bring your account up to date i would kindly remove this fee for you.

Looking at the notes on the account it seems this cancellation request was not seen however i can of course back date the request to when you sent it in which was the 13th July. However if you do with to cancel the membership As you are within your initial term the earliest you can cancel your membership with a months’ notice would be on the 1st January 2023.

What was the reason for your cancellation request?

Chris Car
Membership support advisor
David Lloyd Clubs

What should I do? Is this the point I tell them to do one?

[slick132]

Dear sir or madam,

 

I am now aware of the High Court rulings concerning gym memberships.

 

When I was made redundant you should have allowed me to cancel the membership without conditions. You had no right to demand sight of my P45, nor was I obliged to to freeze the membership insteat of cancelling it.

 

In the circumstances, I will pay you nothing more. Further demands from you and anyone instructed by you will be ignored but may be reported to relevant regulatory authorities.

 

Yours faithfully,

 

Print and send this by post to the gym. Get a Free Certificate of Posting at the PO counter.

[dx100uk]

That's total bs.

 

Pers I think I'd just ignore them 

They are taking you for a fool, esp not being able to cancel till Jan 2023.

 

You sent a P45, someone came up with a magical 9mts figure. It could just as easily been 12mts. They should have cancelled then

 

Ruddy fleecers.

 

Dx

[Drip247]

Hi both,

 

so just to confirm, ignore the email, pay nothing and send them a letter by post stating the above?

 

also, if there is any further correspondence after posting the letter I should just ignore?

 

regards,

 

drip

[slick132]

Yes, send that letter now by post.

 

Probably ignore but let us know what comes back.

[Drip247]

Hi,

 

Regarding posting a letter, at the post office they said in order to get certificate of posting, I have to put a return address.

 

where I’m currently staying isn’t the same address I have on file at DL. Advice on what address to put?

 

kind regards,

drip

[dx100uk]

now address cant hurt you.

 

 

[slick132]

Hi DRip,

 

Interesting - in over 15 years of CAGing, I've never heard of that requirement by the PO Counter. On Certs of Posting  I've been given, it omly confirms the recepient's address/postcode.

 

In any event, it doesn't matter at all. As long as your letter is sent off, the ball is in DL's hands and come back to us when/if they reply.

[Drip247]

Hi all

 

just coming here to provide an update after posting the letter.

 

I have been receiving multiple calls and text messages from Arc which I have been Ignoring. However I have received no correspondence from DL anymore and haven’t received any letters from DL.

 

Should continue to ignore?

 

Will they ever stop calling and texting?

 

thanks,

 

drip247 

 

 

[dx100uk]

block the number reports the texts as spam to 7726

 

 

[Drip247]

Okay I will do that. Thank you