Hahaha, paveway. Yeah, I know that any guilt is irrational - I was just having such a f*** of a week and they copped my wrath. Better them than the missus I suppose :D

I think he's going to be in for a ride with them..

So are fitness first, universally, the biggest f***ing pirates around? Who the hell owns them and how have they gotten away with all their alleged s*** for so long? (not to thread derail).

I reckon their bread and butter must come from bringing in the fresh meat and burning them.. I predict franchise collapse and rich f***ers in elizabeth bay cackling hysterically about it!

So are fitness first, universally, the biggest f***ing pirates around? Who the hell owns them and how have they gotten away with all their alleged s*** for so long?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BC_Partners

Here is a description of them:

BC Partners is a private equity firm specializing in buyouts and acquisitions financing in Europe and the United States. The firm invests across all industries

Doesn't really sound like a group of people that care about customers, whether or not their businesses have any longevity, or have any clue about any particular industry other than padding their own pockets.

Better them than the missus I suppose :D

it's not like you beat up on a chick

she knows it's her fault

Update. Reply from Consumer Affairs (embedded links removed):

Dear Pinky

Thank you for your enquiry lodged through the Consumer Affairs Victoria (CAV) website.

You can find advice about your consumer rights about refunds on the CAV website. This information can help you decide whether you would be entitled to an exchange, repair, refund or store credit for the product or services you have purchased.

If the trader is unwilling to negotiate with you regarding this matter, you should write a formal letter to them. For assistance about what to include in your letter please see the Sample Letters of Complaint provided on the CAV website.

To discuss further options available to you or clarify the information, please call CAV on 1300 558 181.

Please note that the information contained in this email is of a general nature only and should not be regarded as a substitute for legal or professional advice.

Yours sincerely

ENQUIRIES BRANCH | CONSUMER AFFAIRS VICTORIA
Department of Justice | 113 Exhibition St Melbourne VIC 3000 | GPO Box 123 Melbourne VIC 3001 | p. 1300 558 181 | f. 03 8684 6001| e. consumer@justice.vic.gov.au | www.consumer.vic.gov.au

(available Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm except public holidays)

The sample letter of complaint is almost identical word for word to what I have written to them originally.

^ canned reply

Pinky they're pretty busy, I know my mother has at least 3 actions pending with consumer affairs. Tends to be when you build a house using contractors when s*** goes wrong they NEVER want to fix it no matter how clear the contract was when they took the money.

Just keep pressing both ends. Don't let this s*** happen, I don't, it's how I was raised.

Oh and for most people's information - you can't change law just because you tried making an unlawful agreement in the terms of purchase.

Speaking of fitness first, the part in the contract where it says if you cancel you will be charged the full amount, is that legal?

Yeah, I've just cut and pasted my email and put it in a letter. Will post it on the way home. All in a day's work for me as an office bitch.

Speaking of fitness first, the part in the contract where it says if you cancel you will be charged the full amount, is that legal?

It's very contentious. Nice issue for Consumer Affairs.

As my lawyer says, half of a contract is 'bluff & intimidation' - you never know what will stand up in court, because hardly anything is ever tested in court in these kinds of contracts.

We had a long discussion about it because I was getting our employment agreements redone and he put in there a 2 month notice period if the employee wants to leave our company which I thought was pretty ridiculous, so I questioned why he put that in there.

Speaking of fitness first, the part in the contract where it says if you cancel you will be charged the full amount, is that legal?

IANAL; but I'm pretty sure since that's pretty 'unfair' it may not be enforcable.

if u buy a cake and eat half a cake are you allowed to return the rest?

Speaking of fitness first, the part in the contract where it says if you cancel you will be charged the full amount, is that legal?

your are not entitled to a refund if you just change your mind or unwilling to use a service

last edited by myWhiteWolf at 23:35:12 12/Mar/10

bumping this thread to find out what happened pinky (and to get my question answered).

if u buy a cake and eat half a cake are you allowed to return the rest?

I love analogies. A better one would be if you agree to buy a cake a day for 6months and after the first month you change your mind, do you still get charged even though they haven't made you the cakes for the 5 other months?

your are not entitled to a refund if you just change your mind or unwilling to use a service

this has nothing to do with refund. I haven't paid 6 months worth of cakes yet, but if i opt out at half way, according to the contract I have to pay for the the rest. Even though I haven't used their service.

The update is they are ignoring me. The problem for them is that I love a personal challenge and I am still able to find free time.

I'm only posting my official written letter today. I wrote it the other day but didn't print it. It's good to go now though, so probs have another update in a week or two from now.

The answer to your question is that the Fitness First policy is very disputable - if it's affected you personally I would dispute it ASAP.

I await this decision. I requested a refund from CDWOW on Monday and they cancelled my order but I still have not seen a dime.

This is why I don't use CDWOW and instead use GAME UK, I have to pay postage but their system is so much better, money is not taken untill your order is dispatched. But I should add that the 2 orders I have canceled via CDWOW were refunded in full.

this has nothing to do with refund. I haven't paid 6 months worth of cakes yet, but if i opt out at half way, according to the contract I have to pay for the the rest. Even though I haven't used their service.

This is what telcos do with mobile phone contracts... I have always just taken it up the tailpipe assuming it was legal for them to do it.

This is what telcos do with mobile phone contracts... I have always just taken it up the tailpipe assuming it was legal for them to do it.

I have a mate who has fought telcos on these issues and he's been very successful in getting what he wants, so I wouldn't just cop it mr hardware style, take it to the man!

Also, I had to take an issue to the Energy Ombudsman once and they solved it immediately without any further input. I collected all records, dated them, scanned them and wrote a letter and scanned that too - whacked it all in order in one PDF file and emailed it to the Ombudsman.

Basically two energy companies were rorting the privatised elec provider situation we have here in VIC. That was for my friend's wife though, not me. She's not so crash hot at English so I offered my charitable services.

They cant win.
Go find a barrister and then bill them for the legal fees.
You already have enough evidence.

nah just kidnap their children and refuse their release until you get your refund.

Winrar.

Hi there Pinkbits!

There is no time limit on when a person can undertake a course, so you are more than welcome to complete a course at season’s end, or alternatively we also run courses on weeknights if that suits you better. Our coaching course calendar can be found at the following link: http://www.footballfedvic.com.au/content.aspx?file=7250|19616k

To our knowledge we are not breaching the fair trading act as this has been company policy for quite some time, not just for FFV but many other organisations, however, because the course was cancelled by FFV, we will grant you a refund on this occasion back to the credit card that you had paid with. Please allow 72 hours for this to hit your credit card.

Kind regards,

Andrew

They blinked.

good work pinkster. way to stick it to the man!

Nice work, love this line though.

To our knowledge we are not breaching the fair trading act as this has been company policy for quite some time, not just for FFV but many other organisations,

So because they have been doing it for a long time and other people do it, its legal? wrong answer.

Good you got your refund. Too many people just take it when dealt with things like this, not me though.

Yeah I was waiting to see what you guys think before I commented - but I agree with you, he faltered because he wasn't so sure anymore since I was quite aggressive (but hopefully not over-the-top aggressive).

Aggressive?

I still politely request a refund and also suggest that you read this Act and amend your policy.

You beast!

:P

Good work :)

yeah thats pretty weak, I got called a consumer terrorist after months of emails/phone calls/letters demanding my money

yeah hows that going teq

You should post on a forum that is used by other people like yourself that would have also been inconvenienced by the rescheduling.
I doubt you were the only one complaining.

faceman most of the time you seem to not actually be talking to anyone, just talking.

it's bizarre

yeah hows that going teq

www.f***backloads.com

nice work pinkeh.

you taken those r-tards to court yet teq?

Dude you're f***ed. Apparently Garry's a really top bloke!
It's astounding that they created an anti BJ website in response to yours.
Pretty epic saga.

Pinky, you were being assertive, not aggressive. teq was being aggressive :O

^ what BillyH said.

I was trying to be assertive, so thanks, I guess it worked ;-) It's a fine line.

lol tequila, seriously - didn't fade give you a good contact? It's small claims court all the way.

didn't fade give you a good contact? It's small claims court all the way

I think he didn't turn up at the hearing to show them he meant business ;)

It's astounding that they created an anti BJ website in response to yours.

Haha the anti BJ web site makes me not want to use them even more than f***backloads.com does.

The anti BJ web site is clearly a violation of privacy. They posted your residential address :-/

old addy but still, they did post private details that they shouldn't have
I did end up getting some cash out of them

I only created that website because they threatened trog regarding my posting a thread about them (way back when it was originally going down)
they said take it down or else, yet the thread was ancient and hadn't had a reply for months .. so they should have let sleeping dogs lie
it did show up if you google backloads though, thats why they're pissed :)

i suppose backloads is hoping that if you google backloads now that teq's website named f***backloads.com doesn't come up if the word of the removalist company in brisbane queensland and victoria named backloads is entered into the search engine.

I heard they take it up the backload

Brett johnson!

Ripples

[img-brett johnson]

If you can't deliver the goods or services as described then you must offer a full refund. No agreement hocus pocus can change this. How the f*** this is a surprise is boggles my minds!

That didnt stop telstra wholesale charging my ISP $50 when they connected the phone line to the wrong building on my property (at their own fault) then wanted more money to reconnect it to the correct building. I flatly refused to pay and my ISP waivered the fee for me.

Telstra are a$$holes

I heard that Steak & Brett Johnson Day was last week. Anyone get a Brett Johnson?

weedy, sounds like that's what your ISP was telling you. Maybe they stuffed up (hence why they would 'waive' the second fee)

nah if telstra did that to any of my customers i'd eat that cost and chase telstra myself
i honestly believe telstra are difficult and f*** up bills on purpose in their favor because lots of people just wouldn't bother chasing them up