When a Gymnastics Academy Swapped My Paid Holiday Sessions and Refused a Refund

Back in November I signed up, via an online form, for three gymnastics sessions for my daughter over the school summer holidays. The deal was part of a promotional offer, so I paid straight away with my debit card and felt happy that the holiday plans were locked in.

Fast forward to June, and my inbox started buzzing with confirmation emails for a venue I never booked. At first I thought maybe my account had been hacked – after all, the address was on the other side of town, a place I’d never heard of.

I wrote to The Gymnastics Academy asking what was going on. Their reply was a little bland: the original venue had closed, so they had moved my booking to another site and even shifted one of the dates. The twist? I hadn’t been told about any of this until the email landed in my inbox.

The new location was a nightmare to reach by public transport, and the substituted date clashed with work commitments. I asked politely for a refund, hoping they’d understand the inconvenience. Their customer‑service team replied that, according to their terms and conditions, I didn’t qualify for a refund.

Now, I had indeed clicked through an online terms page when I booked, but I can’t find that document any more. A quick glance at the Academy’s current T&Cs online shows no clause that explicitly allows them to change a venue or date without offering a refund. That raised a red flag for me.

Consumer‑rights expert Gary Rycroft (Joseph A Jones & Co) says such a clause could be illegal under the Consumer Rights Act 2025. “It’s likely to be unfair for a trader to unilaterally change fundamental aspects of a contract, such as the venue or date,” he explains. Even if a term exists, it isn’t automatically enforceable if it’s fundamentally unfair to the consumer.

The Academy, through its lawyers, fired back, calling my account “untrue, inaccurate and misleading”. They claimed I’d actually contracted with a different legal entity that owned the now‑closed venue, and that the relevant operating company’s T&Cs clearly allowed date and venue changes. They even boasted about a “Primary Authority Partnership with Trading Standards”, implying their terms had been vetted.

Because I paid by debit card, I could initiate a chargeback with my bank. The bank reimbursed me while they investigated, warning that the Academy could try to reclaim the funds if they disputed the claim. In the end, the Academy didn’t fight the chargeback, so I was left with my money back – but not without the headache of finding emergency childcare for three working days at the last minute.

My experience underlines how important it is to read the fine print, but also to know that some “fine print” can be struck down as unfair. If you ever find yourself in a similar bind, remember you have a chargeback option and you can always seek advice from a consumer‑rights solicitor.