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He got nervous
Port city residents corresponded with the Impuls sports club for a full month, writing letters to the Consumer Rights Protection Service, because they felt that employers would pressure them to pay for services they did not receive.
“The contract with this club was signed on February 14, so my membership in this cube only went into effect on March 14, when the quarantine was already in effect. Two of my neighbors, in whose name the account was also obtained , they are already at risk, they are older. I also decided not to take a risk and give up the club’s services, my neighbors too. But it turned out that terminating the contract is not so easy, it cost us a lot of nerves, “said a Klaipeda resident, who did not he wanted to reveal his name.
First, clients tried to contact the gym and explain the situation.
“It is difficult to call this office on the phone, the respondent says to contact the email with concerns. When he went to the club, his staff also could not honestly explain anything. We feel like they were sending us from one place to another,” said the client. .
The man wrote a request for termination of the contract, but did not recover anything.
Euro: During the quarantine period, sports clubs had to suspend their activities. However, as soon as the hallways opened, the Consumer Protection Service received complaints from dissatisfied customers about monetary matters. (Photo by Vytautas Liaudanskis)
“The club has been inactive since March 13. The club itself has announced that the client’s membership is suspended. This means that no fee is charged. However, when asked to terminate the contract, the spokeswoman for the The club assured me that I had to pay for the club services from March 13 to May 22. That means I have to pay money for what I did not get The gym did not work, did not provide services, in my opinion, maybe it is just an attempt to appropriate money? “- The Klaipeda resident spoke about the situation.
Accredited accounts?
The club asked for 90 euros from the Klaipeda resident. The services of this club cost about 30 euros a month.
According to the explanation sent to the client by the director of the club “Impuls” Eglė Vaupšaitė, the club itself admits that it has stopped the membership of the clients, but still for some reason demands the payment of the entire quarantine period – “the membership period Suspended during quarantine also counts, “says the director of the sports club.
SCRPA is currently investigating more than 30 of those consumer complaints.
The director’s response to the client not only contains errors, but the arguments presented are surprising.
E.Vaupšaitė convinces the Klaipėda resident that the club failed due to the fault of the club itself. The head of the company tries to convince the client that his accounts have been credited for not using the club’s services.
“Although he did not use the services, the contract is for a fixed term and the discount was granted in any case, because the fixed rate did not change. The clients who did not terminate the contracts did not suffer any loss. Without quarantine, the membership was extended proportionally, March invoices were credited. ” – wrote E. Vaupšaitė.
“Maybe I am still in debt if my accounts are credited to the club?” Klaipėda resident asked in surprise.
The head of the Impuls club told the client that he would have to pay the discount.
“If you wish to terminate the membership, the discount amount is calculated. (…) In your specific case, to terminate the contract from June 1, you must pay the discount amount: 90.32 euros. (() Therefore, if you want to terminate the contract, health club, pay the amount of the discount given and terminate the contract, “wrote the head of the club.
Atomazga – after a letter from journalists
Klaipeda residents even received calls from the club administration. By phone, clients were urged to pay as soon as possible, and they were instructed to get to the club as soon as possible.
“We went to the club and asked the director what they were forcing us to pay. Then she already assured us that it was not necessary to do so. We did not find anywhere in the contract that the contract would require a three-month fee called refunds. There is no nor can there be such conditions “, – the people of Klaipeda were surprised.
While the complaint from Klaip Stateda residents is being investigated by the State Consumer Rights Protection Service, which can resolve such disputes for up to three months, residents expressed their doubts to the Klaipėda newspaper.
After journalists approached the director of the sports club E.Vaupšaitė for publication of the comment, three residents of Klaipėda immediately received a call from representatives of the sports club.
“It is already being explained that we do not have to pay. This is how it works here: do you call first, insist, even call the club and suddenly you no longer have to pay? I guess this is the number of Klaipeda residents who are trying to pay for the termination of the contract. ” It is very unpleasant, it is unfair and it is not associated with a good commercial name, “said the resident, who decided not to deal with this club anymore.
Wrong mistake?
In response to the questions sent to the newspaper “Klaipėda”, Donata Visockaitė-Laurinčikienė, Marketing Manager of the sports club “Impuls”, assured that a mistake had been made and that the residents were bothered for a month, because they no longer had to pay nothing.
“After the government announced the entry into force of the quarantine in the country, all contracts with clients were automatically suspended. The club’s period of inactivity really cost nothing to clients, and all who paid for the services In advance they received the same free period after the opening of the club. All clients also have the opportunity to unilaterally suspend or terminate their contracts by informing in advance, according to the terms of the contract “, – assured D.Visockaitė-Laurinčikienė.
The representative of the institution explained that it was not worth worrying about the complaint of a Klaipeda resident who told his story to the editorial office, because an error had occurred.
“There was an error in the system and to terminate the contract you purchased during the promotion and committed to playing sports for a minimum of one year (only if the terms of the promotion apply), a fine was automatically charged for the period during which the country was quarantined. ” “Everything was resolved immediately and both parties were satisfied, by the way, with some other clients in a similar situation. I want to assure you that we really do not ask clients to pay for what they did not receive, and we try to resolve all disputes to favor of customers. ” , – explained D. Visockaitė-Laurinčikienė.
Commentary
Natalia Jarmulkovich
Senior Advisor, Division of International and Public Relations, State Consumer Protection Service
We would like to inform you that the State Consumer Rights Protection Service (SCRPA) has recently received a number of consumer complaints regarding the unilateral extension of sports club contracts and the consumer demand to terminate consumer contracts. service. SCRPA is currently investigating more than 30 of those consumer complaints.
We note that in each specific case it is important to assess what specific terms of service have been agreed between the consumer and the service provider, if the contract does not address force majeure, unforeseen circumstances of the parties, does not discuss the terms of service due to circumstances outside control of the service provider, etc. . If these circumstances are not analyzed in the contract, and the service provider has suspended its activities and did not provide services under the contract concluded, the consumer has the right to not pay the contractually agreed rate for the period during which he could not use the services. and. No services were provided under the contract.
In addition, we inform that the service provider can offer the consumer who extends the subscription contract for the provision of sports club services to the extent that he has not been able to provide services after the quarantine in Lithuania, but in each case such offer must be discussed individually with the consumer. If the consumer does not agree with the extension of the contract and it is not relevant for him to receive services after the extension of the contract, the consumer can reject the extension of the contract and request the termination of the contract after its expiration.
If the consumer wishes to terminate the contract before the end of the contractual service period, the consumer must follow the terms of the contract. If the contract states that discounts are paid in the event of cancellation before the end of the service period, the consumer must pay these discounts, but it will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis whether the consumer has actually benefited from the services and whether there have been actual discounts . In case of dispute, the service provider must prove the above circumstances in each individual case.
If the consumer and service provider fail to find a joint solution in accordance with the provisions of the Consumer Protection Act, the consumer must first write to the service provider in writing with a written complaint and state their complaint.
The Service Provider must review the consumer’s request free of charge and, if it does not agree with the consumer’s requirements, must provide a detailed and reasoned document-based written response to it no later than 14 days from the date of receipt of the consumer’s request. If the consumer does not receive a response from the service provider or receives a response that does not satisfy the consumer, the consumer has the right to request SCRPA for dispute resolution in the alternative (non-judicial) dispute resolution procedure for consumers and vendors and Service providers.
Please note that each dispute situation is evaluated individually and impartially, based on objective evidence provided by the parties to the dispute and other circumstances relevant to the dispute. After evaluating the above circumstances, SCRPA decides to satisfy the consumer’s claim, partially satisfy the consumer’s claim, or reject the consumer’s request. The decision will be binding on the parties to the dispute if neither party files an action in a court of general jurisdiction within 30 days of the decision, requesting that the dispute be examined on the merits. If this decision is not enforced, it can be enforced in accordance with the procedure established by the Code of Civil Procedure.
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