Terms & Conditions of Membership

Introduction

Our aim is to make your membership of Towers Health & Racquets Club as enjoyable and stress free as possible. As part of our club ethos, we have tried to keep our Terms and Conditions simple, easy to understand and as brief as possible.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to email us on [email protected] or ask us in Club at Reception.

Please note that additional terms and conditions may apply to specific activities for which you sign up to.

We reserve the right to make reasonable amendments to these Terms and Conditions from time to time and will inform you when these are significant.

Definitions

The following definitions apply through this document:

You: You and any linked member (adult or child) on your membership.

Linked Member: Anyone who is linked to your membership (e.g. husband, wife, partner or child/grandchild).

Membership Group – the membership of you and your linked members.

We and Us: Towers Health & Racquets Club also known as Club Towers Ltd.

Your Club or The Club – Towers Health and Racquets Club in Clapham Road, Bedford, MK41 6EL.

Responsibilities of Members within a Membership Group

These terms and conditions apply to all adult and child members who are part of your membership These terms and conditions apply to all adult and child members who are part of your membership group even if only one adult has formally signed, or checked the on-line box, as accepting them.

Every adult in your membership group is jointly and individually responsible under this agreement.

This means that:

• If one of those adults requests us to do anything in relation to the membership (including ending it) we will take that as authority from all of them unless specified by you;
• Each of those adults will be jointly responsible for paying all the appropriate membership fees for themselves or any others within their membership group (whether adults or children); and
• Each of those adults will be responsible for paying any extra charges and fees incurred by them, others within their membership group, or their guests.

By accepting these terms and conditions of membership, you and all linked members agree to abide by the Club Rules laid out in our separate Club Rules document. These Club Rules form part of your contract with the Club. They can be found here: https://clubtowers.com/club-rules/

Membership – General Rules & Processes

Acceptance of an application for Membership at the Club is at our absolute discretion (although we will exercise our discretion reasonably, and in compliance with applicable laws). Membership entitles you to use the facilities available at the Club during the hours of your membership and subject to availability.

We offer different membership categories. These membership categories, and the facilities associated with each, may change from time to time. You are entitled to enjoy the use of the facilities under your membership category. All facilities have their own operating hours and restrictions on use, and these may be changed from time to time. Details are provided within the Club and on our website.

Our memberships operate on a calendar month basis, starting from the 1^st of the month. Fees are collected by Direct Debit on or around the 1^st of the month. Our memberships run for an initial period of three full calendar months, called the Initial Term. 

You cannot cancel your membership during the initial term.

After the initial term, our memberships run indefinitely from month to month, until cancelled.

If you wish to end your membership, it will finish on the last day of a calendar month, and you must give a minimum of one month’s notice of such cancellation. For example, if you wish to leave on 30^th April, you must give notice on or before 31^st March. Cancellation requests must be in writing and should be emailed to [email protected] or submitted via the Club App. They cannot be made verbally.

If you have a child linked to your membership, their membership fees are based on their age, and will increase automatically when they reach the next price band. When a child turns 19, they will become an independent adult member and will need to sign their own membership agreement.

The Club can be closed for up to 5 days per annum to allow for essential maintenance work, staff training and other purposes. These dates will be advertised well in advance.  We also reserve the right to close the Club for maintenance purposes for a longer period if needed. If the Club is closed for more than one week at a time, we will refund you a proportionate amount of the subscription fee for the closure. Individual facilities may be closed from time to time due to required maintenance and repair.

Joining the Club

New adult members joining the Club pay a one-off joining fee. If you subsequently leave the Club and then re-join, you will need to pay a second joining fee at the time you re-join.

When you join, you and all linked members in your membership group will have your photographs taken. This is to allow us to check your identity when you enter the Club. Members without a photograph on the system cannot enter the Club.

If you change your mind about joining, simply tell us at any time up to one month before your scheduled start date. You will receive a refund of any joining fee(s) paid, less a £10.00 administrative fee per adult. If you have already attended your welcome sessions or request a withdrawal of your membership past the cut-off date above, no joining fees will be refunded.

Membership Cards & Club Entry

Once your membership is active, you can download our App and use this to generate a QR code, which will enable you to gain access to the club. If you do not have a smart phone, you may request a membership card.

You must have your Membership Card or QR code swipe available for security and verification on each visit to the Club. If you attend the Club without a valid Membership Card or QR code, you may be asked for proof of ID or be refused entry to the Club.

Your membership is personal to you and cannot be transferred to another person. You must not lend your membership card to another person or use your QR code to admit another person.

If another person uses your membership card or QR code to try to gain entry to the Club, we have the right to end your membership with immediate effect and with no refund due. Please see the section on ‘Cancelling your membership’.

To protect all of our members, we may ask to see another form of identification (besides your membership card) before we allow you into our Club.

If your Membership Card needs replacing, we charge £5 charge for a new card. When your membership ends, you are required to surrender your Membership Card back to the Club.

Changing Membership Categories and Linked Members

No changes can be made to a membership during the Initial Term of 3 months, except for upgrades and No changes can be made to a membership during the Initial Term of 3 months, except for upgrades and additions.

All changes to a membership take place from the 1^st of the month, and you will need to advise us by the 15^th of the previous month (to enable direct debit changes to be made).  Changes can include:

• Moving to a different membership category.

• Adding additional services such as Premium Membership or Locker Rental.
• Removing a linked member (e.g. a husband/wife, partner or child leaving the Club).
• Freezing your membership (see later section for more detail).

Requests must be in writing and should be emailed to [email protected] or submitted via the Club App. They cannot be made verbally.

If one adult member leaves the Club from a linked membership, the member who remains will become an individual member. Any member who leaves (adult or child) needs to give one month’s notice, as described in Section 2, after the Initial Term.

If two adult members request to unlink from each other, each member will become an individual member, and we will need separate direct debit details for each.

Adding A New Linked Member to Your Membership

If you wish to add a family member to your membership (e.g. a husband, wife, partner or child living at the same address) then you must complete the form on the joining page of our web-site (https://clubtowers.com/product/joining-fee-existing-members/) and pay the applicable joining fee. The new member will then join the waiting list and we will communicate their start date to you.

Super Off Peak Membership

The super off-peak category is currently our only membership category whereby a waiting list does not apply.

Depending on the date you complete your application, you may need to wait until the 1^st of the following month to allow introductory sessions to be booked in. We will advise of this when you apply.

If you wish to upgrade to full Membership from super off peak, the waiting list will then apply. The team can advise of the likely start date. An upgrade request must be in writing and should be emailed to [email protected] or submitted via the Club App. It cannot be made verbally.

Child/Junior Members

We are a family club and, as such, we warmly welcome junior members. However, junior members have a responsibility to behave reasonably. Similarly, parents and guardians are responsible for the behaviour of their children at all times within the Club and must ensure that this behaviour is reasonable.

Junior Members under 16 must always be under direct adult (parent or guardian) supervision, unless supervised by our staff within our Crèche or in a Coaching /Swimming lesson. In all scenarios the parent / guardian must remain in the Club.

Junior members must not put themselves or other people in danger or prevent other members from enjoying the Club or its facilities. If your child is behaving unreasonably, we have the right to speak to you or your child about this.

If your child continues to behave unreasonably, whether on one visit to the Club or over a number of visits, we will try to resolve the issue by meeting with you. If we cannot sort out the issue during the meeting, we have the right to suspend the child from using the Club.

If we suspend your child, you have the right to appeal in writing to the Managing Director, Matthew Towers, stating the reasons why you believe the suspension should be lifted. 

You should note that there are a number of Club Rules relating to junior members. These cover ages at which junior members can use different facilities, and the supervision of junior members by parents or guardians whilst at the Club.

At no time can a child member aged 15 and under be left within the Club without a responsible parent/guardian also remaining in the Club.

Please refer to the Club Rules for full details and ensure you are familiar with these. 

Other Charges

There are extra charges for some facilities and services (e.g. group coaching, creche, personal training (PT), workshops, etc.) and we reserve the right to charge for other activities.

Charges may vary from time to time. For details of all charges and fees, please contact Reception at the Club.

If you or a linked member incurs any extra costs at the Club, which are not paid for at the time, the Club will add the charges to your account and take payment using your direct debit instruction.

Guests

Adult members (over the age of 18) may introduce a guest to the Club. The adult member making the introduction is called the Introducing Member. No more than three guests can be introduced at any one time.

On every occasion that a guest is introduced to the Club, the Introducing Member must:

• Sign the guest in at Reception.
• Pay the guest fee.
• Ensure the guest completes a Health Commitment Statement.
• Stay with the guest at all times; and
• Make sure the guest is aware of, and keeps to, our Club Rules (see separate Club Rules document).

Please note that the introducing member is responsible for ensuring that the appropriate guest fee has been paid. Please contact Reception for details of the guest fees currently payable.

• Full guests may use all the facilities at the Club available to the introducing member.
• Tennis (or Squash) guests pay a lower fee but may only use the tennis (or squash) courts, locker rooms and café/bar, and none of the remaining facilities. 

Introducing Members can sign in the same adult as a squash or tennis guest up to a maximum of four times per year.

If you or your guest do not adhere to the terms set out in these Terms and Conditions (or any other Club rules), we may withdraw the right for you and/or any linked member to invite guests to the Club or take another appropriate sanction.

We reserve the right to refuse a guest entry to the Club. For example, former members, former members of staff or persons who have had a membership application rejected may be ineligible to be a guest.

Changing Rooms

The individual accessible gender-neutral changing space upstairs does not allow direct access to poolside and does not have shower facilities. Members wishing to swim that are using gender neutral facilities will need to access poolside from the terrace and will have access to a poolside shower. 

We provide:
a. separate-sex communal changing rooms (based on biological sex); and
b. An individual use, accessible, gender-neutral changing space upstairs in the Club.

The separate-sex communal changing rooms are designated for use by individuals according to their biological sex and allow direct access to poolside facilities.

Disability/Inclusion

If you have a disability and require someone to help you use the facilities at the Club, you can sign your helper in as a carer without payment of a guest fee. However, your carer can only support you in your use of the facilities. If they wish to use the facilities themselves, they will need their own membership.

We have a pool hoist available and trained staff who can assist you in and out of the pool if required. Please inform Reception on arrival if you require assistance.

Freezing (Suspending) your Membership

You may freeze your membership at any time, provided you have not already served notice to end your membership, subject to the following rules:

• You must give at least 2 weeks’ notice before the freeze is due to commence.
• The freeze must start on the 1^st of a calendar month.
• The minimum period is 2 calendar months, and the maximum is 4 calendar months.
• You can only freeze your membership once per calendar year.

To freeze your membership, you will need to email [email protected] stating the start date and number of months you wish to freeze or use the Club App to provide this information.

If you have suspended your membership, you will not be allowed entry into the Club as a guest during the period of suspension, nor can you represent the Club in home tennis/squash matches.

Whilst your membership is on freeze, you will be charged a small monthly fee unless the freeze is on medical grounds, for which supporting documentation, such as a doctor’s note, will be required.

If you have a linked adult membership (e.g. with a husband, wife or partner) and you suspend only your own membership, your linked adult will pay the equivalent full, single memberrate for the period of the freeze.

An adult member can request to freeze the membership of individual linked children.

If linked adult members both wish to suspend their memberships, both names must be included in the suspension notification email. In this case, the memberships of any linked children will also be automatically suspended.

If you freeze your membership and the freeze period starts during your initial period, we will extend the initial period by the number of months that your membership was frozen.

Freezing your membership is not the same as ending your membership. If your membership is on freeze and you subsequently decide to end your membership, the usual notice period and Initial Period terms and conditions continue to apply.

Note that some student plans have their own specific rules around freezing. Please refer to our detailed descriptions of these.

The Right to Cancel your Membership

We reserve the right to cancel your membership with immediate effect in the following circumstances:

• Verbal or physical abuse, or intimidation or harassment of our staff by yourself, one of your linked members, or one of your guests in line with our zero tolerance policy.
• Verbal or physical abuse, or intimidation or harassment of other members by yourself, one of your linked members, or one of your guests in line with our zero tolerance policy.
• Repeatedly ignoring or breaking the Club Rules.
• If, with your knowledge or permission, another person uses your membership card/QR code, or the membership card/QR code of one of your Linked members to enter the Club.
• If we receive any complaint about your behaviour or that of a linked member or if you or a linked member persistently behaves inappropriately.
• Ignoring the rules for Guests laid out in Section 9.
• If for any other reason we believe that it is not in the Club’s interests to allow the continued membership of you or your linked members.

If we cancel your membership, you have the right to appeal in writing to the Managing Director, Matthew Towers, stating the reasons why you believe your membership should not be cancelled. After a thorough investigation, his decision will be binding.  

If we cancel your membership for any of the reasons described above, we have the right to keep a proportion of the money you have paid under this agreement to cover any reasonable costs we have incurred. We will also not accept any future applications you make for membership at the Club.nt to cover any reasonable costs we have incurred. We will also not accept any future applications you make for membership at the Club.

Failure to Pay your Membership Fees

If you do not pay your membership fee when it is due, we will write to you to let you know and we will try to take the payment from your account again later in the month. We reserve the right to charge an administration fee of £20.00 for each missed payment.

If this second payment attempt is unsuccessful, we will notify you again and temporarily block access to the Club for you and any Linked Members (adults or children) until the payment due has been settled. The missing payment can be conveniently made in the Club or by calling the Club at any time after the representation has failed.

Continued failure to make payment may result in your membership ending, and any debt will remain on your account until settled.

We may refer any missed payments, including any future payments that are due as part of your contract (for example, payments you owe for the rest of the initial period or for the notice period), to a debt-collection agency and this may have an adverse impact on your credit rating.

Cancelling your direct debit does not mean you have given us notice to end your membership. You must give us written notice as outlined in the earlier section: Membership – General Rules and Processes.

Feedback and Complaints

We welcome feedback from our members at any time, verbally, via email, via our Club app, or through one of the boxes in the Club. If you put your name on the feedback, we will always respond to you.

We strive to offer the very best facilities and service at all times, but inevitably things will go wrong on occasions. If you have an issue at any time, please do let our staff know immediately and we will endeavour to fix the problem as soon as we can.

If, for any reason, you are not completely satisfied that the issue has been resolved, please do address your concerns to the General Manager. If you are still not satisfied with the outcome, then please address your concerns in writing to Matthew Towers, Managing Director.

Liability

You and your guests are advised to take good care of your personal belongings whilst at the Club, and to use the lockers provided, secured by a padlock. We do not accept liability for damage or loss to your property or a guest’s property that may occur on the premises or within the grounds of the Club, other than the liability which arises from our negligence or our failure to take reasonable care.

We do not accept liability for the injury or death of any adult or junior member or guest that may happen on the premises or within the grounds of the Club, other than the liability which arises from our negligence or our failure to take reasonable care.

All members must sign a Health Commitment Statement on joining the Club which highlights our responsibilities as a Club, and your responsibilities as a member and consumer.

Nothing in these terms and conditions limits any rights you might have as a consumer.

Data Protection

We will deal with all information we hold about you in line with our privacy policy, which can be downloaded from our web-site.

We will periodically send you information to keep you up-to-date with the latest developments at the Club, and make important announcements about facility closures, health & safety issues, membership fees, and so on.

Taking up membership implies that you agree to allow us to send you this communication and there is no way to opt out. We will not send you any marketing material on behalf of third parties. We will never sell your personal information.

We adhere to the General Data Protection Regulations of 2018 and full details can be found in our Privacy Policy. If at any time you want to know what information we hold about you, or want us to correct any of the information that we hold, then please contact “The Data Controller” via email ([email protected]) or surface mail, or speak to Reception.