Cancel Fitxxxxst Membership

Hi po, this would be the first time that i will be asking some legal advice for my concern. So here is the story: i signed up for a fitness first membership (gym) last 7-11-10, for a 12month minimum contract with them,we where easily encouraged with the accomodating personnel and the good facilities then, they got my credit card to have it enrolled for auto debit, they told us when we sign up that whenever we wanted to discontinue the contract wew could have it freez or transfer it with ease, after 4months of the contract i wanted to get out of it because i am not happy with the services their giving and their facilities are not as expected (i.e. hot shower are inconsistent, TV on the dedicated room was not working anymore, this are the two main reason why i joined) ..and when i asked them what options i have, they say there is no way out, and they even refuse to help me find someone to transfer my account to, and the last time i wen there, asking a personnel to give me options what he told me is to cancel my credit card, although i will still be billed (is this true? even if i cancel my card, they could still bill me?) i just ignore it daw, he said this in a very unpolite way and left me after, this was very embarassing at that time for there where people around, they where very rude when they knew that you would want to quit. can you help me find the best way for me to get out of the contract?..and not be billed anymore monthly (6months left in the contract) since i am not going there anymore since december, but still paing the credit card company...please please help. thanks

a contract's validity cannot be left to just one of the parties.
you will have to show that the company made substantial breaches to your contract which warrant a cancellation, otherwise it will be considered valid.

call your credit card company to cancel the payments; they might allow it. some people do go to the extent of canceling their credit card to escape.

they will allow 3 months worth of payments to lapse then they will start sending demand letters. you'll end up as bad creditor on the ccap black list.

i've not heard them actually sue a customer.

thanks for the reply sir. just wanted to clarify some:
1- you will have to show that the company made substantial breaches to your contract which warrant a cancellation - how do i actually do this? in writing? as experience, they would not entertain complaints in person, they would ignore you and pretend they are listening(well obviously not) or wont even have anyone talk to you when you ask for a manager after they knew your purpose..

2- i have called my cc company, and they told me they could not decline to pay the gym, for they will show them the binding contract even if i will ask them to not pay the gym, they even told me that as experience fitness first always bill their customer thru their credit cards even if the card was cancelled already. the bank cannot do anything about it. is this true?..

3- what if i lost my card, have it replaced with a different account number but of the same bank,have all my current bill transferred (coz i still want to pay for the dues ive used) and then inform the gym i dont have that cc active anymore, pay them in cash, but i wont really na.. that way i wont get any prob with my bank, only with the gym (which i dont damn care,or do i?).. do you think that would work?..my concern is what if the gym wont allow me to have my monthly due paid in cash, since the contract says i should be paying in card...and i dont have the contract with me, they wasnt able to give it to me, and i didnt bother before to get it...huhu...help..

be tough on your credit card company. tell them in your opinion, the gym has breached the agreement and you are instructing them to stop payments. if not, threaten or actually cancel the credit card and fully pay all existing debt. be firm and i bet they will give in.
if you pretend to lose your card, they will only send you a replacement with the same number.

note, substantial breach means they failed with their obligations. you have to show that they misrepresented their service. i don't think you could. in truth, you are the one breaching the agreement by refusing to pay.

copy that sir...cguro first that am gonna do is to get a copy of my contract so i know what are the grounds for me to terminate or have it void, for the FF people clearly will never help me on it. I do understand the bank, but i think i have to follow your suggestion as last resort, for i really dont wanna mess up with the bank, with FF i am more than willing to. A lot of people have been havng the problems that i have, you might want to have some reading aswell, just in case (google will give you a lot of results)..thanks sir.. i hope i could find answers before the they debit me another months bill for march...sigh..i hope i could give it to charity n lng, mas matatanggap ko pa.

I have similar concern with Jheneid’s. I also signed up a 12 month exercise commitment with fitness first three months ago. It was my first month going to the gym, to be exact, second week when I started not feeling good. I had coughs and shortness of breath. Until third week I consulted a doctor. I was diagnosed that I have asthma in excerbation and it was somehow exercised induced. It was severe that I was admitted to the hospital for days. So I decided to cancel my membership with this medical reason. I formally wrote a letter of cancellation stating the medical reason and attached medical certificate/recommendation from my doctor before the first month ended. However, they did not process my request, instead gave me options to freeze (paying 20% of the monthly due) or transfer to another person. They said that these are my only options because I signed up a 12 month “contract”. I insisted to terminate my membership since first month has not yet lapsed and I have valid medical reason. And so just to make sure they can’t charge on credit card, I declared it lost and did not activate the replacement (this is what I’ve learned after reading several forums). Now, they are calling me to pay the 2nd-4th month due because they can't charge on my credit card but they did not bother to process my cancellation. I have stopped using there facility the week I was diagnosed of asthma. Like Jheneid’s I was not given a copy of the membership policy. I don’t know if they unintentionally or intentionally don’t give policy copy. But I do remember the staff mentioning provision on termination can also be case to case basis. I believe medical reason is on of it. Can you give me advice on this? Is there something will protect us clients/customer regarding unconscionable or adhesion contracts?

Don't believe if they say even a cancel credit card that still they can charge you a certain amount that's a lie! Don't you get the word canceled? It means its not valid anymore. Cancel your credit card and get a new one. Either call your card issuer that your card has been lost and you need to block it right away and issue a new card! That's it. I am a member of Fitness First and that is what I did.

i wouldn't agree that the gym's agreement is unconscionable. they gave you a discounted rate in exchange for a commitment for a longer period. the rule is that the law will not step in to save you from a bad decision.

klaire, you can argue "frustration of the enterprise" because your asthma prevented you from fulfilling your obligations.

Is it ok to bump this thread?

I have a similar experience.
Last November, I signed up for FF membership, but was unable to do so because I do not have a credit card. An associate offered his credit card. I initially wanted the 5-month plan since I still have a slimmers world membership at that time (and plan to extend), but was persuaded (almost to the point of duress) by the associate and membership staff to sign up for the 12-month plan. I was not issued a copy of the contract. The membership staff said it is in their system.

Last January, that associate asked FF to unbind his credit card details to my account.

Last February, that associate and I had a misunderstanding, to the point that he got very angry and issued a lot of stressful words through text (could this be considered slight oral defamation?), this caused undue stress, and I decided I no longer wanted to be connected to that person and to FF.
A few days later, I went to FF with a letter of cancellation in an envelop (also enclosed is the locker card). I asked the front desk staff for a manager. The front desk staff made me wait around 5-15 minutes while supposedly "calling for the manager". After this, I gave the envelop to the front desk staff, and told her to give it to the manager and contact me back. The front desk staff asked if I have contact details, in which I replied I have my contact details (phone, address, email) in their system. I have never went to any ff facility every again.

Since I have just read this thread, I found out that the contract should be honored by FF too by providing the best facilities. Upon reading from many sites relating horror stories with FF, I never knew that I could have also included the reasons I initially loathed from the place:

• very stinky/dirty locker/shower rooms
  
• slippery comfort/shower rooms
  
• urinals not being flushed by maintenance, it stinks
  
• defective dressing room locks
  
• no available lockers at peak hours
  
• non-secure lockers (found out when I accidentally opened an adjacent locker to put my bag)
  
• airconditioning (which is one of the reasons I liked to sign up) was defective
  
• some equipments are defective and are unavailable from time to time
  
• constantly harassed to refer my contacts (this was very very stressful, sometimes during mid-workout or late at night when I'm already sleeping)
  
• not mentioning the incompetence of the staff (specially the front desk)
  
• very loud music (some speakers are located beside equipments members are using)
  
• sudden changes in closing time (within 30 minutes) without informing the member who just walked in, forcing the member to finish working out within 30 minutes
  

I never heard of them ever since, until this morning. I received a text telling me that my monthly dues were not successfully debited from my credit card on record.

Note that from the beginning of the contract, (Nov) I paid for my own account (even billed Nov even for a few days only) up to before March.

Do I need to issue another cancellation letter with the new reasons? (It is possible they will give an excuse that they "lost" the envelop)

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.