Customer Service Raps

I was a happy Virgin Active customer, until Virgin decided to sell my local gym, leaving me paying £70 per month for access to a gym I hardly use.

I joined in good faith...

I initially joined Virgin Active in Holloway, as it was local to my home and provided the facilities I needed. A few months went by, and my training started to get more serious when I was accepted by WellChild to represent them in the Virgin Active London Triathlon 2012.

I now needed regular access to a swimming pool, but my membership at Holloway only entitled me to use the gym at Mill Hill once per month, so I enquired about upgrading my membership. I still wanted to me a member of the Holloway gym, but was told that I had to change my home club if I wanted to access Mill Hill more than once per month. (Mill Hill is a step up in price from Holloway)

I had read that your home club should be the one you visit the most, but was told that it didn’t matter by staff at both branches. The staff at Holloway arranged for my membership to be transferred to Mill Hill, where I signed a fresh 12-month contract. I was happy to pay around £70 per month for regular access to my two gyms.

... then Virgin Active closed my main gym...

Up until that point I was a happy customer. Then in December I received a letter telling me that Holloway Gym was closing, as Virgin had received an offer from a rival gym chain that was too high to turn down.

Virgin openly admitted that due to financial reasons, they were selling the Holloway gym. This was the gym I originally joined back in December 2011, the gym I have always used the most, and the gym I wanted to be my ‘home club’. I saw this as Virgin breaking the terms of the agreement between us, and after discussion with the staff at Holloway, I cancelled my Direct Debit and looked into joining PureGym, the company that took over the running of the Holloway branch.

... and sent me threatening letters...

Since then I have received numerous letters and texts, each time asking for payment in full. I have tried numerous times to resolve this issue, but Virgin Active customer service department is less than helpful.

I have spoken to 4 different people at customer services, each time explaining my situation and being promised some action on it. Twice I was promised a return call from a supervisor (none ever called) and once I was put through to someone at the Mill Hill branch, who is currently trying to find a copy of my contract and terms and conditions. As yet I have received no indication of any resolution, but have been threatened with debt collectors and bad marks on my credit file.

... without any attempt to resolve the problem.

Virgin Active may feel they have done nothing wrong here, but I feel they have acted in an extremely unfair manner. The service being provided to me has been altered by them significantly during the middle of a contract, yet they expect me to continue to pay the same amount every month.

I have not been offered a discount. I have not even been offered an apology. I have not been offered any alternative deal.

How is this fair?

I direct you to a report by the OFT (Office of Fair Trading) into the unfair contract terms used my gyms and health clubs:

11.2: “Members are legally entitled to receive the service they agreed to purchase and not one which is merely similar. Any term which enables the club to alter the important characteristics of the way the service will be provided is likely to be considered unfair. An example could be a change of opening hours. A change considered ‘minor’ by the club may be important to the member.”

11.4: “Terms that allow a club to vary what it supplies should be clearly restricted to genuinely minor and technical matters. Such terms should be carefully drafted so that they cannot be used to permit changes disadvantageous to the member, particularly with respect to costs, access to the facilities, or the member’s liability.”

In my opinion Virgin Active has altered the service I receive significantly, to the point where I am financially worse off, yet they have made NO ATTEMPT to put this right in any way. (This is a service that is heavily advertised on their website and promotional materials)

So much for living "happily ever active"

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Questions for Virgin Active UK:

1. I was advised to change my ‘home club’ from Holloway to Mill Hill, when this has consequently kept me in a contract I don’t want to be in. Is this fair?

2. Is it fair to sign someone up to a contract boasting “multi-club access across our 122 clubs around the country” when you feel that you can change the number and location of these clubs at any time with no effect on your customers?

3. Can I have a copy of my terms and conditions please, so I can find the part that allows you to change the clubs I have access to in the middle of a contract?

4. How can we get this resolved as easily as possible so that both parties are satisfied?

Regards,

Note: I am NOT just trying to get out of a gym contract I don’t use. I am already a member of PureGym and am happy to prove it.