Manchester City Council (26 006 457)
Category : Other Categories > Leisure and culture
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 29 Jul 2026
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate Ms X's complaint that her gym has decided not to continue applying a discounted membership rate to future renewals. The complaint turns on whether the gym's email created a legally enforceable contractual entitlement. We are not best placed to determine that issue.
The complaint
- Ms X says that her gym agreed in 2023 to apply a discounted rate to her annual membership whenever she renewed it. She says that the gym has honoured this arrangement in previous years but has now decided it will not continue the discount for future renewals. She says the original email should be legally binding and that gym’s actions breach the agreement. She also complains about the gym’s complaint handling.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
- The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone could take the matter to court. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to go to court. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Ms X says her gym promised a discounted membership rate would apply whenever she renewed her membership. She says the gym has since decided it will not continue the arrangement for future renewals.
- To reach a view on the complaint, we would need to determine whether the email created an enforceable contractual entitlement to future discounted renewals and what legal rights and obligations arose between the parties. We are not best placed to determine these issues. We have therefore decided not to investigate the complaint.
- Ms X is also not happy with the gym’s complaint handling. It is not a good use of public resources to investigate complaints about complaint procedures, if we are unable to deal with the substantive issue.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Ms X's complaint because we are not best placed to determine that whether the gym's email created a legally enforceable contractual entitlement.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman