The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint that the Council refused to refund fees for a gym membership. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault with how the Council dealt with the matter.
The complaint
The complainant, who I will call Mr X, complains that the Council refused to refund him fees he paid for a gym membership that he thought had been cancelled. Mr X says he has paid £500 for a membership he did not use.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
The Ombudsman investigates complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start or may decide not to continue with an investigation if we decide there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
In April 2019, Mr X signed up for a membership at a Council gym. The terms of his membership explained that he would pay £50 per month and that he could cancel his membership by giving 30 days’ notice.
Due to the COVID-19 crisis, gyms were closed, and the Council froze Mr X’s membership. When gyms were allowed to reopen, the Council emailed all members to inform them of the arrangements. In the email it said that direct debits would start again in May 21.
Mr X signed his partner up under a new membership. 10 months later, Mr X noticed that two direct debit payments were coming out of his account. The Council refused to refund the £500 Mr X had paid in membership fees, as it said it was his responsibility to cancel his membership. It did however say as a goodwill gesture that it would refund the fees that Mr X had paid for his partner’s membership, which were around £200.
I will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council. Its terms of membership clearly explain how memberships should be cancelled, and its communications with Mr X prior to its gym reopening made it clear that direct debits would be starting again.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman