I joined Fitness First on the basis of a verbal agreement I reached with a member of staff regarding the use of kick bags.Everything went fine for a few months as I was able to use the kick bags whenever I turned up! Then one night I was told that they were not available for use anymore for legal reasons. Since that was the reason I joined up I terminated my contract with FF on the basis that there was breach of contract since I was not getting the service I signed up to.

Well,so far I have had 4 demands for money, the 4th was a demand for £265 with a threat that if I did not pay they would send round the debt collectors! I have written three times to my local club regarding this, I received no reply! I wrote to their head office and received a reply,although I don't think whoever answered my letter actually read it since he didn't seem to grasp the concept of breach of contract! I contacted trading standards about this but all I can do is keep reminding them that they are the ones who breached the contract!

These guys are real cowboys! They are happy to charge you £30+ per month but if you write them a letter they don't want to know,all the demands for money I received had a premium rate phone number for me to call,needless to say I left the phone on the hook and wrote another letter instead!

 

Typical fitness first!!!!!
There left hand don't know what there right hand is doing!

 

I wish people would read their contract before either moaning, screaming, shoutuing or being abusive to fitness first staff. I would at fitness first and that is all we get all day. Put yourself in our shoe's. It is not nice. you people shout at us and we are not alowed to shout back as we have to be professional. Once you have signed a contract you have signed a contract. that means that you have to follow EVERY term and condition in that contract. no where in the contract does it say about "Kick backs" for example. If you wanted to cancel your membership then you would need to put it in writing and send it by recorded delivery to the gym that you joined up with or send it to us at head office. you can only cancel if you are out of your minimum term and the cancelation is taken from when we recive the cancelation letter not from when you have sent it (also stated in your contract). Also your cancelation is taken from the end of that month we recieve your cancelation letter. For example we recive your cancelation letter on 14th March the cancelation will be taken from the 31st march and your final payment will be april. Simple isn't it. So all i ask is before you call us, please read your contract and if you do not have a copy then please call us and we will send you one free of charge.

 

Hi,
The contract actually fails to mention any specifics about those whos minimum term has expired who want to cancel their contract. I am now a member of Virgin Active (and although I haven't cancelled so I don't know what would happen) they have it so all direct debits are taken at the start of the month. Very sensible. My problem is that a calendar month's notice means more than a months membership fees - I do not think this is right. If you take money on the 6th of the month the membership month starts then.

However, this is besides the point. I posted my letter (so reasonably should have arrived) but FF claim they didnt open it (this isnt my problem..!) and so I owe them another month. I have the same problem as everyone else - the people at the club dont understand the problem so I write to FF and it is as though they are not even opening the letters! I have told them several times that I no longer live at the address they keep sending letters to and give them my new address (which I also tried to do before I cancelled) but they just ignore it. I am cancelling because there is no longer a FF club (they sold it to FitSpace - the EasyJet of gyms) so to me they have breached contract as they can no longer provide me a service... but no one seems to think this is an issue. Why should I pay membership fees to belong to a non-existant gym?!

 

haha i didn't even sign a contract unless you forged my signature.

oh and to the dude who works at FF you still lie to us all.

Infact i could of probly got a free membership for how they dealt with me :P

anyways we got ripped off thanks a bunch now can you kindly fuck off and let us all bitch in piece?

 

NEVER EVER JOIN FITNESS FIRST; YOU WILL REGRET IT

I cancelled my membership well in advance of the 1 month required notification period.

During my last month there (paid), I cancelled my bank DD (as I had a feeling if I didn't they would take the money even though I had cancelled).

I then went travelling for 2 months. Upon return to the UK I had a number of rude, threatening letters from them claiming I had cancelled my DD without formally cancelling my membership or giving them notice. There were also two BIG RED letters from debt collection agencies, issuing me with threat of court summons.

Just about keeping a lid on my rage, I called Fitness First. Needless to say they had no record of my membership cancellation. They were not only asking me for the 2 months membership fees, but had also issued me with late payment charges. Not wanting to get into a legal fight, I paid the fees (but obviously ranted at them for a while. They did not give a f*ck! No apology issued.)

To my absolute shock, I received a letter days later saying "Thank you for paying the late payment charges, we will now resume collecting monthly DD payments from your bank account". Essentially they treated it as if I had paid the charges in order to CONTINUE to be a member, rather than to be shod of them.

Another call to head office and they assured me that this was an error; that they now recognised my cancellation and that they needed no more payment from me.

The last I'd hear from them, I thought...

Went on holiday, returned two weeks later to find that they had contacted my bank and REINSTATED the Direct Debit. They had also successfully taken a month's membership fees for the month of May. I now have to call them again after Bank Hol weekend. I don't hold high hopes.

CONCLUSION: NEVER, EVER JOIN THIS CHAIN. The stories of bad experiences are legion. I hated it while I was there, too:

1. Dirty equipment

2. Aggressive new member recruitment policy despite the club being dangerously over-full (literally dangerous: people were getting into minor fights as members in the weights area kept bumping into each other; it was also unbearably hot)

3. Aggressive Personal Trainers hurrying you off pieces of equipment, and then staying on said pieces for hours

4. Rude, dumb, unhelpful reception staff

[All applies to the Shepherds Bush club in London, btw]

 

-dude... The guy said that there was an agreement with the dude who signed him up! Don't have a go at this man who wouldn't know too much about how contracts work! public aren't supposed to go out and learn a degree in contract law just so they can join a friggin' gym! Just accept that you can only blame your OWN COLLEAGUE for being an idiot and not saying "ollddd up! ya cant use the gym for the kick bagz coz maaateyyy, it aint on tha contract, and if anythin appens its down ta youuuu"

The only thing thats was on ur colleagues mind was "haha he's fallin' for it =commission!!!"

If this guy thought he had an agreement and then it was breached 2 him then isnt it the employees fault for not informing him that it was not possible? (BEFORE he signed the contract)

Don't blame an angry member of the public that was LIED TO when YOU KNOW that ff have tight contracts and lie alot JUST to trap people as much as possible. If I was lied to i'd be verry angry.

Although I personally never have problems unlike most people who use this gym, im one of the few who has been in and out of court since the age of 16, I know all these systems inside out, you must understand that not everyone has a degree in law and fitness first uses this fact to make their money.

If I was in a job like that working for minimum wages and measley £30 commision per person if im lucky, HELL, I would wonder what ever happened to my life!! LOOOL! Thinking of it that way I can kind of understand why you guys lie.. but then again just ACCEPT it you will get shouted at and abused by angry customers its KARMA!!!! now u will teach ur children to finish college and hope the apple falls farrrrr from the tree.

 

Oh my GOD! one answer READ YOUR CONTRACTS! In writing means in writing. cancellation request by recorded post.....

 

its all one sided.fitness first only need to contact you via 2nd class post,and assume 3 days after THEY have posted to you, and that you HAVE received corrispondance..... .now us the member, HAVE 2 write,and send it recorded delivery!!!!! .fitnesss first is the worst club to join.the club i was at,allowed violece and drug deals to take place within the club,allowing non members to enter,and (DEAL)
unlike other big proffesional companys,fitness first do not bring in unbiased managers to sort out problems.infact they are so far up each others backsides,protecting and covering up for incompetant managers.even the staff at head office. get straight on the phone to the club that you may have a problem with,and tell them that you are moaning//complaning about them.i personally know this has happened 3 times at the bognor regis facility.as long as the manager doesnt spend money,head office love them.head office dont have the back bone to talk to their customers,they hide behind their solicitors,and try threatening you with court action
.IM STILL WAITING TO TALK TO MR ELUSIVE (JOHN GAMBLE). HE HAS A NICE VOICE MAIL STATING THAT HE VALUES YOUR COMMENTS AND THAT EITHER HIMSELF OR ONE OF HIS EXECUTIVE STAFF WILL GET BACK TO YOU.......................... WOT RUBBISH. HE DOESNT HAVE THE BACK BONE TO CONTACT YOU..TRUST ME, IVE LEFT QUITE A FEW MESSAGES ON HIS DIRECT LINE 01202 682999. HE KNOWS HOW HIS STAFF OPERATE AND CONDUCT THEMSELFS,BUT CHOOSES TO HIDE THESE PROBLEMS.
do yourself a favour find a different gym.