Gyms

chocgirl

Hi pricing gyms at the minute, Jackie Skelleys and the new public one are the same price-wise. Haven't been to either one, anyone any advice on which one to go for? Pros and cons. I'm not a big gym fan would just be for basic cardio and and an odd swim.

cuddlycavies

New public gym is great and the staff v nice. Good value. JS is a <SNIP>

extremely non-complimentary review of Skellys removed by mods - sorry cuddly, it may all be true but we've got to watch out for the lawyers... - Loyatemu

The Real B-man

I Wouldnt suggest Skellys see the numourous threads! they still ring me every few weeks with "Special Deals for Ex Members which they only have a few places left untill the end of the day" Seriously do they not get the message i left for a reason! :rolleyes:

dr ro

i was weighing up the two gyms recently too,intent on joining one of them.skellys has gotten an awful lot of bad press lately, but are under new management. The gym area in new centre is small, v small in comparison. And swim times are restricted there too due to schools, lesson and classes etc. I haggled with skellys and got quote for same price as new centre with no joining fee. 6 weeks in now and no complaints. I don't know anyone in shoreline but would be interested to hear members opinions.

chocgirl

Thanks for replies, going to check both out this week and see what I think. Have heard a lot of people badmouthing skelleys though so bit worried.

cuddlycavies

Was at shoreline last night.\open 8 months now and still well staffed, pleasant and clean.

michaelsu

cuddlycavies wrote: »

Was at shoreline last night.\open 8 months now and still well staffed, pleasant and clean.

Shoreline vs Jackie Skelly gym

Dont mind staff as you go for relaxing yourself and staff will not do the work for you.

Jackie Skelly - 12 ( 14... ) month contract, a lot people had bad experience trying to cancel if relocate or change mind ( no chg mind policy with Jackie Skelly - strict 14 months Direct Debit - it's a Devil's Pact )


Shoreline - Contract, 1 month notice thats it... - clear ( i.e. you brake leg tomorrow spouse will cancel the contract and still keep few jojo )

Try Shoreline once, will love there. Jackie Skelly has JACUZZI ! !

-Shoreline pleeeese purchase a JACUZZI for us clients!!

Talent

I was told by two different young ladies in Jackie Skelly recently that the contract my wife signed in November 2007 was perfectly fair and legal because it had been written by the National Consumer Agency.

Not so. In fact this was a gross misrepresentation.

When I checked with the NCA I discovered that they had intervened with JS, and other gyms, following hundreds of complaints alleging their contracts were actually unfair and misleading.

The NCA in October 2008 (a year after my wife signed what she considers an unfair contract) announced that JS had revised their terms because the earlier terms (the ones my signed) were unfair for the following reasons.

1. Exclusion of liability for death or injury to customers
2. Ambiguity in respect of cancellation of contract
3. Ambiguity relating to the length of short-term contracts
4. Lack of clarity in relation to length of the contract - rollover aspects not made clear
5. Practices connected with debt collection

Six months after my wife thought her 12 month contract was ended she got a demand from JS for more than €600 because, despite her contract being flagged on the document as a 12 month contract, the fact that she didn't get a form from JS two months before the 12 months ended, and apply to have her membership cancelled, as far as they were concerned the membership continued and she owed them!

The NCA is trenchant on this point and is of the opinion it was in breach of the European Communities (Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts) Regulations, 1995 and 2000 (see http://www.nca.ie/eng/Media_Zone/Press Releases/New_guidelines_for_gym_contracts.html)

According to their examination of the JS contract (which my wife had signed)

"A number of contracts reviewed by the NCA contained clauses that were unclear about cancelling contracts that had minimum membership periods linked to automatic extensions.
A contract will not be declared unfair by reference to the length of its minimum contract period, i.e. a 12-month contract will not be unfair simply because it is of that duration.
However, the conditions relating to notice periods/rolling membership often give rise to potential unfairness. The following example (actually from the JS contract my wife signed) is an illustration:


"The membership term is for an initial minimum membership period of 12 months. Following the initial minimum membership period, membership shall automatically continue on a monthly basis. Should a member wish to terminate their contract after the initial minimum membership period they must fill in a cancellation request form and a minimum of 60 days notice and 2 monthly direct debit payments are required."

Why does the NCA consider this term unfair?
The NCA is of the view that this term is in contravention of Regulation 5, because, as drafted, it may not be clear to the consumer at what point s/he may cancel the contract.

The NCA interprets the term as meaning that the 2 months notice required to terminate the 12 month contract could be given during the currency of the contract, i.e. at 10 months. However, as drafted, this could be unclear to consumers."

Elsewhere the NCA comments on this type of clause:


"A term in a fixed period contract is likely to be considered unfair if it has the effect of extending the contract in the absence of an unreasonably early cancellation notification or notice period to be performed by the member.
If members are required to make a cancellation decision too far in advance, they are liable either to forget to do so at the required time, or not be in a position to make an informed judgement on their future needs."

cuddlycavies

Maybe the previous post answers the original question in an abstract sort of a way. When the customer has gone to such lenghts to access information to counter the false information given out by JS, it suffices to say that the customer was not happy. I also took them to the small claims court and won. I have had memberships with shoreline, glenview and total fitness sandyford and have no complaints. The shoreline is very nice.

mikedragon32

Talent, while I appreciate your frustration, the OP queried the Greystones branch as a gym and not their business practices. Your posts around the boards would indeed indicate that you are rightly disgruntled, if what you say is true but let's leave that for consumer issues.

At this stage the op probably has their answer, so I'm locking this.