Adnan Fasil, of Alexandra Road, Peterborough, says he quit his membership of Fitness First in Westfield Road earlier this summer after discovering his year-old son had a rare genetic terminal disease called GM1 gangliosidosis.

But he says that now, despite assurances it was OK to terminate the 12-month contract, he has been receiving letters from the gym demanding payments and finally threatening him with a collection agency if he doesn’t pay up.

He said: “When my son was diagnosed with this condition I decided to quit the gym and spend as much time with him as possible.

“I was about halfway into a 12-month contract when I cancelled it but when I explained the situation to the gym they said it was fine.

“However, since then, I have been receiving letters from the company asking for money.”

He said he had contacted the gym again and head office, which said the matter was sorted, but then last week he received the letter about the debt collection agency.

He added: “The whole thing has been a shambles.

“I don’t want these people to come around my house.

“My son, who is our first child, has a maximum of two years to live. I just want to be able to spend time with him without this extra stress.”

A spokesman for Fitness First said: “We are consistently monitoring and evaluating our procedures in regards to member communication and administration. It is our policy not to talk about individual member cases with anyone other than the member involved.

“However, we have written to this member and are pleased to confirm a resolution has been reached.

“With more than 420,000 members in the UK, member satisfaction in all areas of our business is very important and something we take very seriously.”

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