AlzayUK300

iTrader: (2)

Yesterday I joined Bannatynes Gym on a 12 month contract, I paid my monthly fee in advance and a £10 joining fee. Total £58

I asked the membership girl if there were any special offers as they normally have something going every month, she advised me there wasn't.

You can imagine my anger when I just come home from work tonight to find a flyer offering no joining fee and September free.

Having signed a 12month contract less than 24 hrs before I was told I don't have a cooling off period ( I thought I'd cancel it and sign up again ) I can't see anything about a cooling off period in the contract.

Where do I stand?

Terminator X

iTrader: (7)

Cooling off period is the Law isn't it so stands even if nothing written in the Contract ie Contract can't break the Law!

TX.

Edit - not quite so simple

http://www.which.co.uk/advice/how-to...ghts/index.jsp

Pjamie

Depends where you signed it. If you went there personally and signed on the premises, there is no legal cooling off period. If you did it over the internet there may be but if their service started immediately (you could go down and use the facilities right away) you would probably be stuffed there too.

Terminator X

iTrader: (7)

^^ If the OP has been verbally advised of no offers yet there are some he may have a case?

TX.

Neilg7777

iTrader: (9)

I would go back and speak to a manager and tell them the situation taking the flyer with you. I work in this field as an assistant Manager and if i found out this had happened i would not be happy. They are trying to get people through the door as a lot of places are struggling so they would want you to be happy. (i hope)
Neil

Leslie

Worth going along and having a meaningful conversation with them I'd have thought.

Les

Jaybird-UK

Just tell them "Im out"

pslewis

You were happy with the deal as it was.

It's only £58 .. which you were happy to pay for what you are about to receive.

So, I can't see why you are worried (as without the flyer you would have been a happy bunny!).

That said, you were lied to when you signed up. The answer you received from your question was a lie, therefore you were basically tricked into signing a Contract - that Contract is now null and void as the 'Current Offer' answer was 'Material' in your decision to sign.

Therefore, return with the flyer and demand that offer.

If they will not do that state, quite firmly, that they sold the Contract with false information and therefore you consider it broken. If they will agree that you can walk away from the Contract (IN WRITING!!!!!) then you will not request compensation.

However, if they fail to acknowledge the mis-selling of the Contract then you give notice that you will sue them in the County Court. Ask them for their Trading Name and the HeadQuarters address to serve the summons upon.

And do it!!!!! You WILL win, you WILL get compensation, you WILL NOT have to attend Court as they will settle first (they always do).

The Zohan

http://whatconsumer.co.uk/cooling-of...cancellations/

7 day cooling off period is for distance/doorstep selling and similar.

I would have a polite friendly but firm conversation with the manager if i was you.

GC8

How wise are you? Youre the wisest...

PaulC72

As said before go and speak to the manager and see if they can help under the circumstances. Failing that get into the den and as the man direct ;-)

Pjamie

That's assuming that the person who dealt with the contract was aware of any offers being made. Companies make all sorts of different offers at different times and there's not much you can do about it. They have one price (deal on offer) on the internet and a different one in store - both running at the same time, both offering different deals. The staff instore may not know about the internet deal.

Banantynes could easily argue that the offer of a free month was only available to those who received the flyer the following day, and the deal wasn't applicable on the date the OP signed up or to anyone walking through their doors that day. If you buy a TV at Currys (god forbid) and they put on sale the following day, Curry's didn't do anything illegal, you certainly wouldn't be able to sue them, and if you asked for compensation you would be laughed at.

The manager, if he has any discretion, may be willing to do you a deal, but that would be his decision. If you go in ranting and raving, quoting dubious law, you won't get anything.

You were only lied to if the person signing you up was aware of the deal. If they weren't then the polite approach is more likely to get you what you want.

pslewis

I don't agree ... and niether would a Judge.

The question asked was, "Are there any current offers on?"

Answer was, "No" from the Company representative.

The Company has a duty of care not to mis-sell Contracts .... ignorance is no defence.

I agree, be polite ........ but don't mess about either, be firm.

You are in the right, you can sue, they will pay all your expenses and compensation and get very bad publicity ....... they will, without doubt, give you what you want if you ask.

You can now get 3 Months Free and no Joining Fee - or, quite simply, you will give an interview to the local jounalist

Pjamie

I don't want to argue with someone from an "old Codgers Home", someone with your rep, or with your illustrious posting history, but I can't agree that a Judge would agree either - they can be curmudgeonly old gits.

Caveat Emptor and all that. "Are there any current offers on?". "No" is the reply, and that is the truth. There was no offers available at the time the OP signed up at the premises. Had he asked, "Are there any offers today or in the next few days?" then a lie may have been told..but only if the rep was aware of it and the offer had been disseminated...something the company may not have done until the following day. You can only lie if you know about the offers, and a company representative cannot know everything a marketing department has in hand until they are told about it.

I can't say I know all the facts here, and that's the problem. We can make assumptions based on what the OP has written, but neither of us have all the facts at hand. I certainly wouldn't encourage anyone to even contemplate legal action based on what is known as you cannot guarantee any chance of a win. You'd also have to consider whether the stress and strain of a court case would be worth it over £58.

Threatening to talk to a journalist will only get their backs up, and it may not show the OP in the best light. It could end up backfining on them with their membership cancelled (anything in the contract about that?) and no refund.

I would certainly give it a try with the manager because there's no harm in doing so. Most decent managers will be happy to provide a deal if he explains his view, but it will be at their discretion for good customer relations and not because of some threat to "sue".

It's just my opinion, but I'd hate to see anyone rushing to court based on what is known at the moment. The chances of winning are slim, the stress is high, and if Bannantynes go for costs and get it bumped up from small claims, then the costs could be huge. Court action is not for the faint hearted. It's easy to say "I'll sue", but the action of doing so is anything but.

Ant

Taking them to court for a months gym membership

Terminator X

iTrader: (7)

Company staff give advice as the company not as an individual so should / are expected to be aware of offers available. I'll not say ignorance is no defence as some may think that I'm agreeing with PSL

County Court is virtually cost free to start a claim ... most people don't use it although they should.

Even the County Court What is the loss to Bannantynes though ... just the annual fee which the OP has to pay anyway ie there is nowt to lose & everything to gain

TX.

Dedrater

Agree with the above, but this would never be dealt with a judge ffs.

Pjamie

Oh dear, looks like I'm digging a deeper hole.

What part are you referring to. The one that says...."Are there any current offers on?". "No" is the reply, and that is the truth. There was no offers available at the time the OP signed up at the premises.

You're making a few assumptions that aren't in evidence, such as..

1. The offer WAS available at the time to OP signed up.
2. The company rep LIED when asked if there was any current offers on.

I'm making assumptions too, but mine are based on innocent until proven guilty. You've already judged, sentenced, and executed them.

As I've previously admitted I don't know all the facts, but neither do you. You're assuming skulldugery on the part of the rep (and by association Bannantynes) where my view is that you can't be certain of that given what is known. You'd need more evidence before you went running off to court to sue them.

My view was that advising court action, or going to visit the manager quoting "law" and accussing someone of untruth, without more evidence than is available, would probably not be the best thing to do.

You can't assure anyone of the outcome based on what is known and you can't say for certain that the judge would agree with anything because we don't know enough. You can speculate all you want, but you can't guarantee the outcome or even give good odds based on what has been posted.

What the OP does is up to him, I was providing an alternative view on the matter. I can't tell you what a judge would say - only the judge can do that. I can't predict the future, but I can see the other side of the story. It was a bummer he didn't get the deal, but I wouldn't bet any money on him winning any court case without knowing more.


I can't speak for England, but I'm sure the cost of submitting a Small Claim is more than £58. Would it even be worth it?


Yep, even the County Court where, since he is making the claim, would need to lead at evidence and prove he was lied to. Proving his claim is a lot different than defending it, and much more difficult. Going to court is not a pleasent experience. Small Claims might be more user friendly, but his action could probably be very easily defended by Bannatynes.

There's also the fact that Bannantynes might get the case moved out of the small claims track where the OP would then be exposed to the other sides costs....worse case scenario, but forewarned.

Do I think Bannantynes would do that? I don't know, but I wouldn't have thought so. Will the manager give him a deal if he asks? I don't know, but he probably would if he's approached correctly.

I agree...mostly. If they give him a better deal out of good customer service and some sympathy for him missing out on a deal that was available 24 hours later (my assumption!) then they lose nothing.

If the OP goes around, as per advice, accusing people of lying to him and then attempts to extort (let's call it what it really is) a better deal by threatening to go to a local newspaper if Bannantynes don't give him what he wants, then Bannantynes have a lot more to lose. They would be forced to defend themselves and the OP might find themselves getting more attention that they wanted.

It's my opinion. Not every company is bad and not every sales rep is a liar. I think you need to take a balanced view on whether the OP really was a victim of some sort of conspiracy to do him out of a free month's membership or whether there were other circumstances that could explain what happened. I took the view that given what was known, and on the balance of probabilities, it was more likely is his timing was just unlucky. I certainly would not condone threatening "exposure" to a local rag or taking court action until much more was known because it could easily backfire.

If he was lied to then I'd be the first to say "go for it!". I just couldn't do that at the moment.

Terminator X

iTrader: (7)

It's not £58 - he's signed for a year ie £48 x 12 = £576 + £10 to join

TX.

Leslie

I would certainly pay attention to the advice from PSL.

Les

Lisawrx

iTrader: (1)

It's awkward because it most likely depends on the start date of the offer. If it wasn't valid until the day you received the flyer then the assistant hasn't lied to the OP. It's bad luck more than anything, and in my opinion a bit bad service not to be informed of an upcoming offer considering it was due to start the following day (assuming that).

However, bad service or not, I'm not sure it would give grounds to get out of the contract or to claim against them. The best advice given so far is speak to the manager and see whether he/she is willing to honour it as a good will gesture, but be calm and polite when asking. I'm no expert but assuming the offer wasn't valid at the time you signed up, I can't see that they have legally done anything wrong. Different kettle of fish if it was valid at the time.

Terminator X

iTrader: (7)

You don't know that & neither do I.

I haven't. I posted "Company staff give advice as the company not as an individual so should / are expected to be aware of offers available". No assumption of lying there just that they're expected to know so if they don't know (or indeed lie), tough.

Agreed, last resort IMHO too albeit still a step available to the OP.

True although you only need to muddy the waters ie reasonable doubt.

£30 so less although perhaps not worth it.

TX.

pslewis

Whatever the costs are of filing a claim are refundable by the loser ... in this case, the Gym!

Therefore, it is FREE to sue and so much pleasure is gleaned from getting what you think is fair and just.

DYK

They should of named it Sharks Den...