My gym won't let me end my membership even though I've suffered a seizure: SALLY SORTS IT

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I am having a difficult time with Everlast Gym and my membership. I joined in January 2022 and only went four times. Then, unfortunately I had a seizure in January 2023, that left me in an induced coma and hospitalised for two weeks.

On leaving hospital I was told I must rest and recuperate. This coincided with the anniversary of the renewal of the rolling membership. As you can imagine, I was in no fit state to think about gym membership and a few weeks later cancelled my direct debit thinking this would initiate cancellation of my membership.

However, ten months later I got a call from someone at Everlast saying my membership was overdue as I have not cancelled. I have since sent numerous emails explaining my situation, and documentation, but all I keep getting from them is that I need to cancel my membership and pay £220 for the ten months.

I am appalled that after explaining my situation I seem to be getting nowhere. I am still seeing a consultant in relation to my seizure and I’m on medication and hope nothing like what I went through will happen again. Can you help?

G. W., King’s Lynn, Norfolk

All I keep getting from them is that I need to cancel my membership and pay £220 

Sally Hamilton replies:  I looked at the Everlast contract, which is 17 pages long. Only at page eight did I find the relevant cancellation rules — with the details of different scenarios from illness, relocation and job loss — filling a few more pages.

In short, the type of contract you were on — a one year rolling contract paid by monthly direct debit — will normally need three months’ notice to be cancelled. But the company will consider early cancellation (still with one month’s notice required) if someone has had an accident or is too ill to make use of the facilities for a lengthy period.

When cancellation involves ill health, a member normally needs to provide medical evidence to get out early — and that the health issues prevent someone from exercising for at least three months.

To be fair to Everlast, it does print an online link members can use to request cancellation. You didn’t realise what you had to do to meet their terms, which is understandable as your health emergency was more pressing than dealing with red tape.

However, just cancelling a direct debit without telling a company is risky if money is still owed. Many companies will not only chase this bill but may pass the debt to a collection agency, which in turn can negatively affect your credit file.

Despite your failing to inform the gym of your situation with evidence of your ill health before cancelling the direct debit, I would agree it was odd that it did not contact you for ten months to chase payment.

When cancellation involves ill health, a member normally needs to provide medical evidence to get out early

Since you hadn’t heard a peep, you imagined the deal had been terminated. Once you realised what was required you did send a medical letter from your doctor in December 2023 but seemingly this did not do the trick.

I decided to flex my own (consumer champion) muscle and ask Everlast, which is part of the Fraser Group of companies, to take a more compassionate stance towards your situation.

The company investigated and I am pleased to say soon came back to say it has now cancelled your membership, wiped the £220 debt and refunded the two months’ fees of £44 that you did pay ‘as a goodwill gesture’.

Your experience of attempting to escape a gym contract is one that is likely to be replicated across the UK as resolutions to get fit after the festive season start to falter.

The paperwork often ties members into paying fees for six months or a year — and they might even see contracts renewed automatically.

My advice is to check the paperwork closely. It’s boring, but it can avoid aggravation later.

Wizz Air won't refund our flights in full after my husband died 

Last summer I booked two flights with Wizz Air from Aberdeen to Gdansk in Poland for December 2023. My husband wanted to visit the war museum there. Sadly he fell critically ill in August. 

I cancelled the flights on August 14 and asked for our £759 to be refunded to my credit card. Instead, the airline gave me just £395, which was added to a Wizz Air account as a credit rather than a refund. My husband died on August 22, just two weeks after his diagnosis. In late September, I called Wizz Air to ask for the credit to be converted to cash as I no longer planned to fly with Wizz Air. 

The agent told me the only way to manage this request was via the airline’s online complaints portal.

I did this and attached a copy of my husband’s death certificate. The claim was registered and when I checked online again in mid-October, I saw the claim had been closed and deemed final. I have not received any correspondence from Wizz Air and there is no resolution.

I considered making a complaint via Aviation ADR but was not able to process the complaint as the date of travel was a future date and not historic. My husband would be livid if he thought I had let this go. Please help.

S. D., Aberdeen.

Sally Hamilton replies: I thought Wizz Air could have shown more compassion in such traumatic circumstances so asked it to look at what had gone wrong and why it had refunded so little of the original ticket price.

A Wizz Air spokesman says: ‘We are incredibly sorry to hear of S. D.’s loss and understand that this must be a very difficult time for her. As a gesture of good will, we have issued a full refund to her bank account in light of these circumstances.’

As it turns out Wizz Air hasn’t made a ‘full’ refund. You received just £686. When I asked for an explanation, the airline said the original payment you made included an insurance premium of £36, and customers who cancel need to approach the provider (Chubb) for a refund.

When you bought the flights, you were also charged a £36 membership fee of the Wizz Discount Club, which offers flight and other discounts to members — but it was categoric this is non-refundable.

It failed to explain why it credited only £395 to your account when you originally claimed your refund. I was prepared to push the airline further on this but you told me you wanted to put the matter behind you.

Wizz Air customers in a similar position should note that if they request a refund online it will automatically go into their Wizz Air account, which can only be spent with the company.

If they want it diverted to their bank account, they must phone Wizz Air’s customer service. This comes at a cost, with UK customers paying £1.45/minute to call its premium phone number plus any fees applied by their phone company (this is waived if their refund is approved).

Write to Sally Hamilton at Sally Sorts It, Money Mail, Northcliffe House, 2 Derry Street, London W8 5TT or email sally@dailymail.co.uk — include phone number, address and a note addressed to the offending organisation giving them permission to talk to Sally Hamilton. Please do not send original documents as we cannot take responsibility for them. No legal responsibility can be accepted by the Daily Mail for answers given.