This is fairly off topic but something I thought that might possibly assist a Hueligan or two.
My nephew joined a gym only for lockdown to hit. I have drafted a pretty decent (and long and boring) letter which covers everything from the basis of frustrated contracts to the Covid act including their various supporting statutory instruments.
So if anyone in England and Wales only has managed to get themselves into a gym contract only to get hit by lockdown but the gym is either insisting payment or an extension on their terms and you don’t want that then send me a direct mail and I’ll give you a boilerplate to fill in the blanks.
For the avoidance of doubt this in no way represents any form of legal advice however it is a useful consumer tool when trying to deal with difficult finance companies (which is basically what a gym contract is in contact with).
I thought gyms are not allowed to deduct money if the are closed - even if there is a contract and a SEPA mandate. Everything else would be unfair and should be illegal.
All my local independent gyms and CrossFit boxes have been switching to online sessions and renting out equipment to members through the closures. I guess the big chains aren’t doing that?
Likewise but some will try to extend the contract instead. Which introduces a whole host of issues for some people in itself.
The entire point of the frustrated contact concept which I have written about is based primarily upon the concept of something Lord Radcliffe wrote “It was not this that I promised to do”.
But it seems a number of gyms are radically changing the periods in time for when they wish to make their charges, mainly as a customer retention point for themselves, and whilst I have great sympathy for that fitness industry it does not allow them Non haec in foedera veni to ride roughshod over the legal rights of their customers.
It’s interesting to see how the different gyms are responding.
Nuffield Health, where I have a membership, have not been charging for any days they’ve had to close. They simply modify members’ direct debit payments automatically, which seems the fairest way, and takes any hassle or concern away from the member.
However, I’ve been out-of-contract with them for years, so I’ve no idea how they’re handling that particular element of it.