LA Fitness shamed into dropping contract

THIS is what happens when you have mangers that don't have commen sense.
Imagine being in business and getting a phone call from the Guardian and all you had to do to redeem yourself was drop the chargers in the first place!.
 
Gym chain LA Fitness has been shamed into dropping the £360 contract it was enforcing in the case of a heavily pregnant woman who had fallen on hard times, thanks to pressure from Guardian readers who were willing to pay her bill.
Seven months pregnant Hannah, a reader from Billericay in Essex, had written to the newspaper in December 2011 after her husband lost his job, leaving the couple living on state benefits.
The couple, who were also about to move 12 miles away from their nearest gym, had been loyal LA Fitness members for seven years and asked the gym chain to reconsider the two-year verbal contract it had tied them in to. However, the gym insisted the couple pay the full 15 months left of the contract, which would cost them £780.
"Despite us sending LA Fitness a letter proving my husband has been let go from his job, his employer didn't use the word "redundant" in the letter, so LA Fitness will not accept it as a valid reason to terminate the contract," said Hannah. "I have been told that being pregnant entitles me only to temporarily freeze my membership. We do not drive but moving away does not apply, as we need to be 20 miles from the nearest gym to cancel. We just cannot pay."
To make matters worse for the couple, the house they were due to move into then fell through, leaving them facing homelessness.
The couple wrote to the Guardian's Consumer Champions' column for help but despite repeated arguments from the newspaper citing both legal and compassionate reasons that the couple's outstanding charges should be reviewed, the gym chain refused to budge. After six weeks it agreed to waive six months fees, a position that still left the couple unable to pay the remaining £360 .
However, on publication of the letter, dozens of outraged readers contacted the paper offering to pay the couples outstanding contract costs. The story then circulated on Twitter, causing even more outrage and more offers of money for the couple. Others were so outraged that they decided to cancel their own memberships with the gym chain.
"Just wrote to LA Fitness and ended my membership. DD [direct debit] cancelled. Let them sue us all," said one.
The Guardian contacted LA Fitness again and it has now agreed to waive all remaining charges for the couple.
"Having reviewed the case in question, we appreciate that this is a unique situation and that the couple are undoubtedly going through a very difficult and distressing time," it said in a statement. "We appreciate that their circumstances have changed dramatically since they first signed with us, and on this occasion we will waiver any further membership fees with immediate effect."
Hannah, who is due to give birth in two weeks, said she was "gobsmacked" by the support of those who had offered to pay the couple's contract costs for them and "ecstatic" that the gym chain had changed its mind. "We really needed some good news at the moment. You have no idea how grateful we are to you and all those people who wanted to support us. You have been a complete answer to our prayers."
 

That's the problem with these places, they just don't care or think about mitigating circumstances.

I had a bad back accident last year... Couldnt walk for a month, was out for 6months ... Sent David Lloyd all medical letters from hospital and asked to cancel.. They refused said they would freeze it for 3 months.. Took me 2 months to terminate the contract... Lots of phone calls/ letters/ time!

Lummy, PR nightmare!!
 
Funnily I cancelled DL membership citing my A.S. - if anything traiing is good for it

Woohoo. Billericay in the news.
 
The place is utter rubbish. Typical awful chain venue, know a few people who've done classes there and it's just an albatross around their neck working there.
 
There is a more hardcore gym around the corner, and recently a Studio360 opened less than 2mins walk down the road.

Good on the readers of the newspaper. Shame on LA Fitness!!

Seems a couple of my friends has similar bad experiences with LA Fitness in bilelricay and Fitness first in brentwood.I was a member of LA Fitness Billericay for a couple of years when I was new to training and used a PT. Was fine while I got my base knowledge and wanted to let contract expire. They wouldn't accept verbal confirmation at front desk so had to send written letters and chase for 3 weeks to ensure they got - cancelled my DD as well just in case.
Now down the gym down the road Agila - much friendlier less posey people and real good dow to earth staff who are happy to help. Wish id gone there in first place.

Good on them for getting the right result Im not sure if I could have been so diplomatic if i had just lost my job my home etc. I would go pretty mental at them most likely physical... Such bastards I mean unemployed and pregnant ffs what numpties glad the were shamed. 

Good stuff.
 
I've had trouble with a gym membership at a large fitness chain that is probably not first in everyones mind. I had a 6 month contract. However at the end it was carried on, and they started to take monthly membership from my account. Mainly due to me not making sure the DD was cancelled (lesson learned). When approached they reffered me to the company the employ to deal with these matters. This company claimed I had a 12 month contract and insisted I would be paying. I simiply informed them that as it was a msitake with the gym company, and if they wanted more money they could take it up with them. Good day sir! Never heard anything again.

Looks like they all "chain" gyms are a bunch of robbing bar-stewards. DL took over the gym I used to train at and changed the contracts from one months notice to three. When I cancelled I took in the contract that I had signed but they were having none of it. Finally got it sorted out and left, but noticed a couple of months later they had "omitted" to stop the DD. By the time they had sorted it out a further months money had been taken and it then took an age to get it all back. Now a member of a privately owned gym, great equipment, always clean, friendly staff and clientèle, half the price of DL and no contract whatsoever. I would never consider joining a "chain" gym again, shame on them all

Paddy, sounds like the same chain I used to train at that DL took over. We'd been there over 7 years and they cancelled our membership on the day they took over as we were due to pay but hadn't been reminded (paid annually). They were no doubt after us signing the new terms.....no way, we promptly left and joined a local private place that saved us £700 a year!! Not to mention they swapped all the Hammer Strength for Technogym!!

This whole issue will be changing for the better soon. The proliferance of no-contract budget gyms is squeezing the bottom end of the market (previously Fitness First and then LA next up on a national scale) hard and they'll probably end up having to compete on some terms at some point.

^^^ I hope so... Ive chain gym Ive ever encountered were tw@ts, its just the degree that varies.
 
I love the line in the article "Having reviewed the case in question, we appreciate that this is a unique situation"...  
ie we wont be giving anyone else a break like this, since its 'unique'...
 
In their position Id be VERY tempted to sit in the entry area, in full view of any potential members they were showing round, taking my ED test/tren shot... pretty sure my membership would get cancelled in less than 3 months!

 

I fell on hard times a couple of years back was training at Esporta and I had 6/7 months left. Obv they didn't accept my reasons. Tried everything and one day I had my contract out looking through and to my absolute delight I noticed not only had they put the wrong name in my direct debit but the contract stated that I was on a 12 month contract and all I had to do was give a months notice. (They were raging it was a old contract I was given) Walked out of there so happy lol 

What is so frustratiung about the chains, is that as a gym member you have to pay a full membership for everything, including the pool, sauna, all classes, etc.  Yet most hardcore gym members do not go to any of the above. 
 
Yet most operate a swimming pass, which is a fraction of the cost where they can just use the pool any time they want, with cordoned off lanes for the priviledge.  I don't see why I should subsidise these other classes, or pay for facilities I don't use, when the extra revenue they are earning is not being pumped back into the gym.  The gym members are usually subsidising the running costs of a swimming pool, extra staff etc.
 
They are not interested in the main part of the gym once it is set up on the whole and do not listen to its members whatsoever.  I agree also that these big 24 hour places with everything are going to really hit the chain gyms hard as they garner market share, I hope they do too.

The problem that the large chains have is they can not have one rule for one and one for another.
 
People talk about wanting to get out their contract with these chains a lot, and I can see why, BUT if they make it easy for people it would get abused ALOT.
 
The story above is pretty extreme and terrible for the family involved. Common snese should have prevailed here but didnt.
 
I wonder how many new letters they have now had from people who have 'lost their job and cant pay ect'....
 
I can see things from both sides TBH
 
tbip2001

wato19


I fell on hard times a couple of years back was training at Esporta and I had 6/7 months left. Obv they didn't accept my reasons. Tried everything and one day I had my contract out looking through and to my absolute delight I noticed not only had they put the wrong name in my direct debit but the contract stated that I was on a 12 month contract and all I had to do was give a months notice. (They were raging it was a old contract I was given) Walked out of there so happy lol 

 
Agreed! i always thought chains should have a basic gym membership were you cannot do classes at a cheaper price.

dont see why u have to be on a contract makes things such a pain in ass.  12 months or 24 months is such a long time so much could happen in that time
 
whats wrong with having to pay as you enter.
 
doesnt effect me I wd never join a contract for a gym or be in a commercial gym.  i feel sorry for those (pea) that have no choice

Simple maths isn't it. Lots of places charge £4 a session, go 15times a month and you've shelled out maybe double what you could have paid by direct debit or standing order.
 
If you go 'often' it's likely to be cost effective - 6months in on PAYG and you've paid as much as you would have for 12month contract

I've been a member of my local council gym for about 6 - 7 years, they've recently had a refurb and it's very big, modern, huge glass windows, massive gym area, olympic pool, lots of classes, steam room, sauna etc etc....
 
Anyway, i've been paying £33 a month since the beginning, and it's never changed.... - but for new members wanting to join (since the refurb), and for me if i cancelled and rejoined = over £60 a month.
 
For this reason i'm rather liking being contracted in :)

tbip2001


The problem that the large chains have is they can not have one rule for one and one for another.

People talk about wanting to get out their contract with these chains a lot, and I can see why, BUT if they make it easy for people it would get abused ALOT.

The story above is pretty extreme and terrible for the family involved. Common snese should have prevailed here but didnt.

I wonder how many new letters they have now had from people who have 'lost their job and cant pay ect'....

I can see things from both sides TBH

tbip2001

 
Agree 100% some of the Managers have no authority and then when it gets to the admin team then no common sense comes into it
 
Wrongun!