written by farangis25 on 10/12/2014
I will add my voice to those who tried to cancel with Fitness First and were ripped off. Before I joined I asked a specific question if I could cancel anytime as I was a contractor and my contract could end anytime. I was assured that all I needed to do was to give a month notice. As my contract ended 3 October in the beginning of September I gave my notice.
In the beginning of October I made a call to check if my membership has been cancelled. Staff on the phone said yes. I got relaxed.
However, like many people here I noticed that my account continued to be debited every month. So, I stopped direct debit with my bank. Right away I received a phone call from a lady (Thomas More FF) who asked me for money, denied my cancellation and threatened me with the collector agency if I don't pay. In her words I should have brought to them evidence that I don't work for a particular company anymore as this was required for cancellation. After that she could cancel my 12 month contract. Nobody ever told me that neither when I joined nor when I gave them my notice. I suggested to send her a copy of my contract (ridiculous!) and then she would cancel my membership. But no money would be paid back and I needed to pay for another month.
As she never emailed me I never had a chance to send my work contract. So, the day after I called to this FF gym again and talked to a member of staff. She said that in her records my membership was cancelled on 28 September but I had to call the head office as their records do not match. So I did. There I was told again that if I provided an evidence that I do not work for my former employer anymore they would be able to cancel it in the end of December. I also need to pay for December and that would be it.
I called to the second lady again to ask her to send me a written confirmation that my membership was cancelled on 28 September. But she already talked to her management and told me that it was not cancelled after all. In this case I emailed to FF HQ my contract with employer stating the end date, then called them to make sure they received it. They did. After that I asked if I could pay for December. They never bothered to send me their bank details. Luckily I had them from one of the previous emails where they asked me to continue paying. So, I paid. Now I am waiting for new nasty surprises.
If despite all this they continue demanding for more money I will start a legal action. There is enough evidence of fraudulent activity here.
Please avoid them at all costs.