ESPORTA REPORT: READ THIS BEFORE YOU EVEN THINK ABOUT BECOMING A MEMBER OF ESPORTA
As you’re reading this now you’re probably thinking about joining Esporta to get in shape or lose a bit of weight. There’s nothing wrong with that and Esporta has some great equipment to help you reach those goals. However there are some things you need to know before you sign their contracts.
I’m going to say this first. If you sign their contract without serious consideration as to what you’re getting yourself in to then you’re a fool. Just like I was…
About 12 months ago I joined Esporta Tunbridge Wells. The facilities were pretty good and the service wasn’t bad. The first day I went in there to sign up they were extremely nice to me. They asked if I was hungry and even gave me a couple of free drinks from the vending machine. (All part of the B*** S*** patter to butter you up and get you to sign their contract.) And obviously they buttered me up quite well because I signed their outrageous contract.
Now everyone says “Always read the contract before you sign it.” But when you’re sat there with the gym staff hovering around you and buttering you up with free drinks it’s extremely difficult to sit there for half an hour and read the small print of a contract that was written by some scam artist lawyer. In fact it’s almost impossible. And Esporta knows this.
After I joined Esporta
So it all started quite well and I went several times a week for the first couple of months and then inevitably like most people I started to lose interest with Esporta which was costing me £76/month!!!
My membership was for a minimum of 12 months and I heard on the internet forums that they were quite nasty and vulture like when it comes to collecting fees so I waited patiently for the 12 months to end so I could cancel my membership.
So in the last 12 months I’ve spent £912 for a gym membership that I barely use. And yes this is a lot of money to me. I’m not rich.
So last week I realised my 12 months were up and cancelled the membership. I just cancelled my direct deposit through the bank and today I get a phone call saying that I’m not allowed to cancel yet because on top of the 12 month minimum contract they want 3 months notice!
So the contract is a minimum of 12 months before you can even tell them you want to cancel and then an extra 3 months for them to allow you to leave!!
Read that again. 12 months before you can even tell them you want to cancel and then 3 months notice before you can leave!!
You’re going to be paying them for the next 15 months at least before you can leave with no way of getting out.
I seriously hope after reading the line above you are having second thoughts about selling your soul to Esporta, err I mean signing up to their wonderful gym.
I bet you’re wondering why they want 3 months worth of notice. Well me too. I have absolutely no idea and there’s no other way to put it than as a scam so they can bleed as much money from you as possible.
So anyway when they called me I basically asked them for a bit of kindness and to give me a break, do you think they did?
The phone call went something like this..
Esporta: Hello, is this Mr X.?
Me: Yes, who is this?
Esporta: This is Esporta and I’m calling you because you cancelled your direct deposit last week.
Me: Yes I did because my 12 month contract was up and I haven’t been to the gym in a long time.
Esporta: Your 12 months were a minimum we then need 3 months notice.
Me: Are you serious?
Esporta: Yes, it’s in the contract.
Me: Ok, well I’ve been a member of the gym for over a year now and in the last 10 months I’ve only gone a few times. Can you give me a break and just let it go? I have been paying you £76/ month for something I don’t even use.
Esporta: No, it’s in the contract you signed so you have to pay..
I ended the phone call there because I didn’t know what else to say. The girl on the phone had a sweet girly voice but she was obviously a little vulture that wasn’t going to let me off the hook.
So anyway that’s where I am now. Esporta are demanding 3 months worth of payment for something that I haven’t used in months and don’t want to use any more. And you better believe that if I don’t pay they’re going to get the debt collection agencies on me as they’ve done with so many other people that have realised they’ve been conned and tried to cancel their membership.
Esporta Report Conclusion
So at the end of the day I was a fool for signing the contract. But I’m no lawyer or contract expert. I’m just an average guy that wanted to get in shape. Yes I should have read the contract but as I said above they were extremely nice to me buttering me up with drinks and hovering around me (Probably trying to make sure I don’t read the contract) I trusted them as have thousands and thousands of others and they’ve pretty much played us like fools.
Esporta’s terms are absolutely outrageous and are in my opinion and the opinion of thousands of other people a total con.
It’s Esporta’s aim to bleed as much money out of you as possible I was a fool for signing their contract but if after reading this you decide to walk in to Esporta and sign their contract then more fool you!
Now if you want to get in shape but don’t want to sell your soul to Esporta then check out Wills P90X Review. I’ve only heard good things about it from lots of people and it’s only a fraction of the cost of a gym membership.
I hope my experience has made you think twice about joining Esporta. Please feel free to make a stand and speak your mind by leaving a comment below. Feel free to give Esporta a piece of your mind. Also if you’re in the same sort of boat as me and have been burned by Esporta yourself then please leave a comment below so you can help prevent others from making the same mistake!
My concluding line… DON’T join Esporta. You will regret it.
As you can guess I’m not the only one who feels scammed by Esporta, here’s some other links to reports on Esporta that I think you’ll find interesting.. (Links below open in new windows.)
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=217072
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=1517083
http://blogs.mirror.co.uk/investigations/2008/05/gym-gyp-at-la-fitness-and-espo.html
http://www.reviewcentre.com/review208540.html
http://complaintsboard.org.uk/2010/02/17/esporta-lichfield-beware/
http://twitter.com/esportasucks
I could go on posting more and more links but I think you get the picture. Still want to join Esporta?
Leave comments below!
I’m a member of Esporta and have been for a number of years. If you were stupid enough to sign a contract without reading it then you only have yourself to blame. When joining new members are told it is a minimum 12 month contract and after that it is 3 month’s notice to leave.
I’m a happy member as are the other 4000+ people at my club.
Have you asked all 4000 members? I doubt it. I bet the majority of them don’t actually go to the gym yet they’re still paying because they have no choice. When I was there it was never that busy..
Yes I feel foolish for signing the contract but at the time I really wanted to go to the gym and thought I’d stick with it. When you’re in the mind set of wanting to get fit you don’t really think about the future payments because your focus is on getting fit. But like most people we have other things to do and lose interest and/or motivation. It’s just human nature and of course Esporta knows this, it’s common knowledge that most people don’t stay on at a gym regularly. It’s just one of those stupid things.
However I and a lot of other people feel it’s totally wrong how Esporta takes advantage of this and makes the contract 12 months minimum and then an extra 3 months notice! So effectively they own you for the next 15 months.
Art, do you not think they’re taking advantage of people? They know that the majority of people are making a snap decision to get fit because someone’s made fun of them for being fat or whatever the reason. The person then comes to the gym and gets buttered up by the ever so nice gym staff and they don’t realise that they’re entering into a 12/15+ month contract!
Personally I think they’re taking advantage of people, myself included. When I was there none of the gym staff spoke about the terms to me at all. All she said was sign here etc…
Also what is the 3 months notice for? Other than to bleed as much extra money from you as possible.
It’s great that you go to the gym regularly Art but you are in the minority because unfortunately most people will come away from their experience with Esporta with a sour taste in their mouth as is evident from the countless sites and forums sharing their negative experience with Esporta. They were also featured on watchdog yet this has done nothing to make them change their policy.
What you are sying is not quite correct. You would have signed an imporant points of membership which summarises the terms and conditions. This clearly states that you have to give three months notice in writing. Cancelling your direct debit does not constitute cancelling your membership.
You can also cancel your membership at any point of your membership and the notice period can run concurrently with your 12 month initial term.
Exactly!
Actually I didn’t really understand a word you meant-and this is the exact type of terminology that Esporta use . To me what you are saying is that you can give 3 months notice at any point. This is not the case as I have recently found out. And, it seems, regardless of any finacial hardship or any misrepresentation of the facts, if you sign their form then you have no other option but to keep paying! Gyms are not for everybody but many of us will want to try to become one of the dedicated members like Art. But for many different reasons ,it does n’t always work out the way we want and to have a company like Esporta who are so unflexible to those who have come on hard times or those who punched above their station , I feel that they are making peoples ability to keep fit a very limited and uninspired one. I for one will never give them my money again. And if being part of Esporta means that you have to be fully commited for and paying for a full year regardless of any circumstance , then i think they should tell you this at the begining.
Actually Ron as I’ve just found out the hard way you cannot cancel your membership early within the 12 months. They are a minimum just like a mobile phone contract.
So it’s 12 months and then an extra 3 months notice which is 15 months pretty much.
I’m another person who feels scammed by Esporta and have now lost a lot of money to them.
In this economy you’d hope they would be kind and understanding to people that haven’t got much money but when I tried to cancel early I explained to them my money troubles because I just lost my job and do you think they cared?
NOOO
Their response to me was “Well if you check the small print…”
They don’t care that I can’t afford to pay now that I’ve lost my job and that I’ve got kids to feed and a mortgage and bills to pay with Christmas just a week a way.
All they care about is getting their money.
Esporta is a total SCAM. Stay far away from them.