Because of concerns about its compliance with consumer credit law and the fairness of its contract terms the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has issued High Court proceedings against Ashbourne Management Services Limited which draws up membership agreements for a number of gyms and then collects members' payments.

Under these agreements gym members have found themselves tied in for minimum periods of up to three years, and are unable to cancel their membership within these minimum periods.

If they try to cancel they are pursued for the full amount, which can run into hundreds of pounds. If they do not pay up Ashbourne reports them to a credit reference agency for defaulting on their agreement.

Up to July last year Ashbourne had registered nearly 17,000 such defaults with credit reference agencies.

The OFT and Trading Standards, have received numerous complaints from many who were not aware of the full extent of their liability, or that they could not cancel at all within the minimum period and the OFT considers that Ashbourne’s practices do not comply with consumer credit law and are unfair.

Jason Freeman, Legal Director in the OFT's Consumer Group, said:

'It is important that consumers are able to understand the nature and extent of their liabilities before entering into contracts. The Consumer Credit Act sets out rules to ensure this, and we expect traders offering credit to comply with these.

'Likewise, traders should not use unfair contracts or misleading or aggressive practices in order to put pressure on consumers to pay money that the trader may not otherwise be entitled to.

'We have concerns about Ashbourne's practices, but as the company disputes our interpretation of the law we have asked the High Court to rule on this’.

oft.gov.uk

Debtwizard comment

This is not the first time consumers have had problems with gym membership agreement, and it won't be the last.

Anyone that feels their membership terms and conditions are unfair should inform the relevant gym and any firm that has been instructed to pursue the no payment 'that this alleged debt is in dispute'. If the matter continues then I advise contacting the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) or your local trading standards officer.

Just click on any of the following to understand more about your consumer rights;

Harassment, know your rights

Office of Fair Trading (OFT) Debt Collection Guidelines

We have now formed a guidance document when dealing with firms chasing you for cancelled membership fees.

Although it’s really not our place to give legal advice this article should give you some grounding – do your own research and stand your ground. If more people stood up for their rights it won’t take long for the clubs to amend their contracts and the cowboys will go out of business.

DebtWizard guide to Gym Membership Fees

Another useful guide is the OFT's Guidance on unfair terms in health and fitness club agreements (pdf 525kb).