No Deal From Fitness First

For the past week I've been endeavouring to obtain a half-decent deal from the health club, Fitness First. So far they have offered a one-off payment of £348 for 15 months; or off-peak membership for £26.50 per month plus the rotten £30 "administration charge".

I wish them to waive the joining fee and offer me the off-peak rate - £26.50 with three months free; in other words, the first direct debit would be paid in April or May. Perhaps that is a bridge too far for them. I'm not the greatest negotiator in the world at any rate.

As a friend suggested to me, I may have been wiser to strike a deal with them before Christmas. Who knows?

To be frank, I thought they'd have been tripping over themselves to enlist me as a new member, given the current economic climate. Perhaps I am deluding myself.

I have tried to call their bluff by telling them that I may well re-join my present health club ( which is true). That unsubtle ploy hasn't, so far, produced a result.

I have emailed them, again, this morning. It's hard to know whether to sit back and wait for them to contact me again or do as I have done, by emailing them. One thing is for certain: Fitness First, and their sales staff, aren't that desperate to attract new members.