Latest Jackie Skelly Scam

baxterfly

I should have known better. I joined Jackie Skelly Ballsbridge in May, and made it clear to them that I only wanted to stay for 5 months, and if this membership option is not available, then I wont join.

.The membership person I spoke to informed me that this would be okay, and that i was to keep it low key (a bulls**t sales ploy)and not tell anyone about it. She offered me 25 euro joining fee and 59 euro a month, and I asked her was there any fee at the end of the 5 months, even thought the form says 12months. She said no, and that she would "put it on the system". I joined.

So I ring up today, and find out from the manager that I cannot leave after 5 months without buying out my contract or transferring over the amount. She said we dont do 5 month contracts, even tho the sales person in May said they do. She said anything had to be agreed in writing, so like tough. She said the sales person doenst work there anymore, trying to pass it off on someone else.

I'd like to discourage anyone joinging Jackie Skelly due to their manipulative "tell you one thing until; they get your bank details and signature" policy. If you do join, make sure you ask any arangements to be agreed in writing. I dont have many legs to stand on, but theres nothing stopping me cancelling my direct bedit since Im leaving the country anyway.

Vegeta

go to the legal forum and ask about oral contracts. think they are binding here but they will clear it up for you.

what ever you do don't pay them

rubadub

Bank of Ireland screwed me in a similar way, just remember 99% of sales people are lying scum.

eth0_

My housemate signed up for a "three month special contract" with LA fitness in Dartry, but when I looked at her contract it says 12 month and it cannot be broken. She says the sales woman said it would be fine but we shall see...why can't they put the ACTUAL term on the contract?

AARRRGH

Just don't pay them. You won't get bad credit as they are not on this list -

http://www.icb.ie/membership.php

Note: a sales person in Vodafone successfully pulled this trick on me too.

eth0_

dublindude wrote:

Just don't pay them. You won't get bad credit as they are not on this list -

http://www.icb.ie/membership.php

Note: a sales person in Vodafone successfully pulled this trick on me too.

No, but they will sell your debt to a debt collector and cause you a lot of stress. LA fitness did this to me in Belfast. They even found out my address in Dublin and sent me letters saying they were taking me to court. I never even signed their contract!

baxterfly

eth0_ wrote:

My housemate signed up for a "three month special contract" with LA fitness in Dartry, but when I looked at her contract it says 12 month and it cannot be broken. She says the sales woman said it would be fine but we shall see...why can't they put the ACTUAL term on the contract?

Yeh its likely they will try and screw her around with the writing part of it. Ive learned now that verbal contracts mean crap. During the phone call the manager on the phone said that no one has a lower rate than me. I told her I knew someone who did, and she said give me there name and I'll tell you exactly how much their paying. Im pretty sure its against the rules to discuss membership of other clients details. Just goes to show theyll say anything to you.

dublindude wrote:

Just don't pay them. You won't get bad credit as they are not on this list -

http://www.icb.ie/membership.php

Note: a sales person in Vodafone successfully pulled this trick on me too.

Cheers Dublindude for that info about credit rating. Put me mind at ease.

EdgarAllenPoo

cowzerp wrote:

has signed a 12 month minimum contract-verbal agreement means nothing as it cant be proved-your meant to read contracts. i think its your own fault!

Exactly. If you don't read what you sign you can't blame anyone else. Sorry.

The key is to not trust a word a salesperson says and only go by what's written down.

How do places like Jackie Skelly get away with charging fees like that anyway?

Why would someone pay that much to join a gym? At that rate it would be cheaper to buy the stuff yourself and set a gym up at home.

It's silly money.

rubadub

She said anything had to be agreed in writing, so like tough. She said the sales person doenst work there anymore, trying to pass it off on someone else.

Might be too late, but you could do up a fake letter confirming your 5 month contract signed by the ex employee!

Why would someone pay that much to join a gym?

I often wonder that, and wonder what profits they are working on. THere should be government run non-profit gyms if they really are serious about health issues.

the_syco

Gyms make their money from people who pay the 6 or 12 month thing, go for 2 months, and then never return...

Did a 3 month contract with JS's, in Swords, luckily, as after 2 months, I never really went back.

nesf

GDM wrote:

Exactly. If you don't read what you sign you can't blame anyone else. Sorry.

There are some exceptions to that though. Mostly where a salesperson was involved, you've a week or two to cancel iirc.

EdgarAllenPoo

The seven day "cooling off" period. Whoever gave you the contract should have told you about that. If they didn't you might be able to get out of it early.

nesf

GDM wrote:

The seven day "cooling off" period. Whoever gave you the contract should have told you about that. If they didn't you might be able to get out of it early.

I believe (I could be wrong) that it's enough for it to be on the contract you sign and whatever you get to take home and that the salesperson isn't required to tell you during the sale. At least that's how it's worked whenever I've sold or been sold stuff.

comer_97

i was told i was signing a 12 month contract, so after 15 months i decided to give a month's notice and leave. I was told i needed to give 2 months notice!

I said but that contract has lapsed and expired. "Oh no sir, you signed a 12 month minimum contract".

I expressly asked that when joining but was stung by the small print.

bad gym, terrible customer service!

mikemac

I remember joining the Leisure Centre in the Ryan Hotel, Galway. It's the Days Hotel now.

On the contract it stated that I waive all rights to sue the hotel if I was injured on the premises. Or words to that affect. Fair enough if I do something crazy.

But I asked what if a treadmill belt snaps or a ceiling tile falls on me.
The friendly receptionist told me that the waiver was useless if I had a genuine case but most gyms included terms like this to discourage personal injury claims.
I wanted the contract amended but they said no way. In the end I signed and luckily never got the chance to test this.

Maybe gyms do have to face many stupid claims from chancers but it's bad form to put something like this in a contract. I have seen it in other gym contracts too

Boston

You can't sign your rights away like that.

siochain

GDM wrote:

Exactly. If you don't read what you sign you can't blame anyone else. Sorry.

The key is to not trust a word a salesperson says and only go by what's written down.

exactly if you sign a contract stating 12 months its 12 months. Always get it in writing up front.

flywheel

just a suggestion, if the form / contact says 12 months on it, cross it out and write the specific dates / duration you have agreed with the sales person... and pay attention to any cancellation details etc... it's a standard form so if your contract isn't standard amend it to suit... as they have agreed it with you then there shouldn't be a problem... make sure to take a copy home and file it!

has worked for me in the past doing a short term gym subscription... i just said, i'm going to amend this with our specific agreement if that's ok and proceeded to cross out a few things and noted the new info (mainly duration and cancellation details)...

PeakOutput

your post is basically word for word what i said about 4/5months ago here

i rang them had an argument they told me the debt collectors would be around.......5 months later nothing and iv moved house so its over

they will not chase you for it bar a few letters

cancel your direct debit with your bank and leav it at that

JenK

i work in a gym, not in sales thankfully. the membership staff are on commission and will sell you the moon if they could. the easiest thing is to cancel your DD( we've told people on the sly to do it if they really want out), they wont send debt collectors as the rest of your contract is hardly worth the effort.

you do sign a 12month contract usually and if you try get out of it early they'll pull it out and show you what you sign. next time just watch out for this and go cancel that direct debt!

Sangre

Exactly. If you don't read what you sign you can't blame anyone else. Sorry.

it doesnt matter what the contract says if the person LIED about what it says. you do not have to honour this contract. Its simple misrepresentation.

If it actually went to court you could summon the ex employee who would be unlikely to lie under oath as he won't take the rap. Of course this will never go this far.

King of Kings

folks
just cancel your DD - and brazen t out. It's not worth their while to take you to court over that.
Also banks etc.. don't give a ****e about bad debts of that nature so your rating is safe.
i did it with total fitness years ago and now i'm back again as a member.

SprostonGreen

If you've left Jackie Skellys and you still receive text messages from them, write to them asking them to stop.

They are not meant to retain information like that, six months after contract.

ozchick

Sorry you had a bad experience. I guess the key is getting everything in writing...
Im a member at JS Ballsbridge too and find it excellent - get my money's worth as I go every second day, its pretty comparable with decent gyms in Oz. Other gyms we looked at were just crap with their equipment, change rooms etc.

And how many people buy equipment and dont use it at home? A membership is a comittment to me, and so is staying fit while living here.

But the Bank of Ireland as mentioned....ARRRGGHH! When they joined me to my husbands account it automatically deleted his internet banking pin (though internet banking is a joke in Ireland) so he had to go to his local branch (not any branch) and give them a letter explaining what they had done and asking for it to be fixed!!!!

Gruver

I had a similar problem with Jackie Skelly in Ballsbridge. I resigned my membership earlier this year by completing a form which was given to me by the then Manager, Hugh. I signed the form in his presence and handed it back to him. Given that I was dealing with the Manager I felt it was reasonable to assume that my cancellation would be processed correctly. Mysteriously my form was lost and Jackie Skelly continued to debit my bank account for 6 months longer than they should have done until I noticed. I foolishly hadn't been monitoring my bank account. Having realized the mistake I called Hugh and made my feelings known to him. He recalled that I had resigned and said that he would arrange a refund. Funnily enough I didn't hear back from him and when I called a couple of weeks later I learnt that he had left the company! He's not a bad guy and I've been trying to get in touch with him so as he can help me in my dispute with the accounts team. If anyone knows Hugh's last name or has contact details for him I'd appreciate it if you could PM me. In the meantime - anyone else that is resigning their membership - get a copy of the form and send it by registered post and call the office each week until they acknowledge it. It will save you a serious headache.

ragg

personally, i'd cancel the DD - but i'd also ring them and threaten legal action. even get a solicitors letter warning them to back off. What they have done is illegal. Saying an employee has since left doesn't cut it, as they are responsible for their employees actions.
Also, in future make sure you get written confirmation from the sales person of any non standard agreements

ragg

even better, go public in a local paper - laocal rags eat that **** up & people will think twice about joining up with the robbing bastards.

drdeadlift

I dont know why anyone would give over their bank details to this crowd,the amount of bad press i hear about them im shocked they are still around.If you just paid upfront its normally cheaper.

Zamboni

Serioulsy people. JS?

For christs sake stop joining them.

I have no sympathy for anyone that has any problems with JS.

They are a shower of gougers and if you don't know that you're been living in a cave.
Their recruitments adverts, their interview process, their accounts, the mission objective, the countless stories, the countless 'lost' cancellation forms, the endless direct debits.

I agree with Dr Deadlift - I cannot believe this company still functions. I put it down to a copmbination of idiots who sign contracts without reading and don't check their bank statements and unethical sales teams.

babi-hrse

odds are the sales person does not work there anymore!
i've met the one who i joined with in a party and he told me he didn't work there anymore and he didn't want to talk about it!
i think they drop people if they don't meet their targets - which is understandable so it seems obvious the recuiter was desperatly trying to get names down to keep their job and eventually they lucked out somewhere in less than 5 months!

just my opinion and sketchy details

squod

Zamboni wrote: »

Serioulsy people. JS?

For christs sake stop joining them.

I have no sympathy for anyone that has any problems with JS.

They are a shower of gougers and if you don't know that you're been living in a cave.
Their recruitments adverts, their interview process, their accounts, the mission objective, the countless stories, the countless 'lost' cancellation forms, the endless direct debits.

I agree with Dr Deadlift - I cannot believe this company still functions. I put it down to a copmbination of idiots who sign contracts without reading and don't check their bank statements and unethical sales teams.

+1 Who the F would join a place like this? No sympathy OP, sorry.
JS don't come close to being a gym.

Lazarusheart

I had a similar situation I joined the Maldron Hotel gym in Hanover Quay Dublin 2. I knew I would leave the area once my lapartment lease was up in 7 months time. The sales person said to ignore the 12 months stated in the contract and told me as long as I gave them 1 month notice it should be fine. And kudos to the Maldron gym - they kept their word and I had no problem leaving

Gator

An absolute joke of a company, I really think we should start something in this forum to discuss transparency of Gym contracts (particularly JS), I think this would be good for people deciding to join certain gyms. I think JS are scum and do not have a clue on how to properly instruct someone on how to train.

tomdublin

The way this gym seems to treat its customers is awful, but I wonder why people keep joining it. Anyone who googles it immediately gets a list of horror stories. In other countries with effective consumer protection legislation, an outfit like this would have been closed down long ago. I also wonder why the Irish media are so coy in reporting what this company does (I just remember one story on RTE once which showed how sales staff is trained to pressure pepole into joining by making them feel insecure about their weight).