Hoist out of order

Twinkle3217

I recently went with a friend to a private gym /fitness club to use the pool. A very well-known national company with branches all over the country.
My friend has been a member there for a while and had checked out the facilities for me beforehand. She confirmed that there were very good accessible changing facilities and a hoist available.  On arrival we were told that the hoist was out of order and they had been told that it was unlikely to be repaired as only 2 or 3 people use it and it was too expensive to maintain.  This was DW Fitness at Thorpe Bay. I will be writing to them and asking them to repair it and let me know when it has been done.

Ami2301

Hi @Twinkle3217 welcome to the community! Sorry to hear this, keep us updated on the progress on this. Let us know if we can help in any way

Twinkle3217

Thanks Ami, I will do. I have only just found this site.  It is very interesting, I will look again.

Sam_Alumni

Welcome to the community @Twinkle3217
Im sorry to hear this, I had a look and found this:

Equality law applies to any business that provides goods, facilities or services to members of the public.

This includes sport and leisure related services, such as:

• leisure centres
• swimming pools
• tennis clubs and tennis courts
• golf clubs
• rugby, cricket and football clubs
• ice rinks
• riding schools and equestrian centres
• gyms
• health and fitness clubs
• rowing and sailing clubs
• adventure centres
• sporting venues.

It doesn't matter whether the service is free, for example, free swimming sessions in a swimming pool run on behalf of a local authority, or whether it must be paid for - it will still be covered by equality law.

So it may be worth speaking to a legal professional. you can find support on the Law Centre website.

Twinkle3217

Ah Sam, thanks very much for this. I didn't think they could get away with this, I have now written a polite letter them and asked to reply. I said that I was considering becoming a member but with no hoist, no can do.  I will let you know what they say. Thanks again.