On the 15th May 2013, I booked to attend a 2-week Boot Camp trip in Ibiza, commencing on the 18th May for a cost of £2,000.
I found the company details, No 1 Boot camp searching on Google for ‘Boot camps in Spain’ and I spoke to Karen Mackenzie via email to make the booking and paid with my credit card, providing my credit cards on email. The boot camp was based in Ibiza however the company also held boot camps in the UK. The boot camp had been featured in various newspapers and magazines showing pictures of celebrities who had attended the Camp, which included celebrities from reality TV show The Only Way is Essex and Made In Chelsea. Publications in which No 1 Boot Camp appeared, as recently as 27th May 2014 in OK magazine and has also included; The Daily Mail, Best, Ok and Closer magazine.
I left the camp after one week. I had felt sick and dizzy every day and after consulting with my Dr. at the end of the first week and explaining the food that had been provided at the boot camp, my Dr. advised me not to continue, as the diet was not appropriate for 5 hours of exercise per day. Further, being a vegetarian it was clear that the ‘chef’ did not possess the knowledge in relation to what type of foods I should be given. When I asked whether he was a qualified chef he said that he wasn’t but that he took an ‘interest’ in nutrition and had worked in restaurants.
I was also told that being a ‘vegetarian’ was ‘not normal’ and asked whether I had an eating disorder in front of the whole group. I did not/do not have an eating disorder but I imagine if someone did have and they were asked that question, it would have been extremely dis-stressing.
At the ‘weigh in’ at the end of week one, I had gained weight. The weight gain was not my main concern. My main concern was that I was feeling so awful everyday; I am a 37 year old female who considers herself fit who runs every days and goes to the gym and is someone that pushes herself. I felt so ill to the point that I would have to miss sessions and ended up taking to my bed. None of the trainers came to check on me.
Further, the food being given was not appropriate for my needs and I was concerned that no medical information had been taken prior to commencement of the boot camp of indeed throughout my stay. Even a basic blood pressure test was not performed on any of the clients by the trainers. One client was an asthmatic and I was very concerned at the fact that the trainers did not seem to adapt any of the training for her needs. She struggled in most sessions yet the mentality of the trainers was to ‘get on with it’.
Another lady had damaged her foot yet she was told to carry on with the exercise; at the end of the week she had to go to hospital.
Another worrying issue was that once the trainers had left for the day, there was no point of contact for any of the clients. No one from the company was based in what was essentially a villa. From a health and safety perspective this concerned me.
The way in which the camp operated was extremely unprofessional. One of the trainers left the room of one of the guests one morning having stayed the night and apparently from speaking to some of the clients who had been at the camp a few weeks; it was normal behaviour for trainers to sleep with clients.
A hotel referred to on the website and pictures of which were displayed on the website was the Atzaro hotel, a nearby 5 star hotel. This gave the impression to me at the time of booking and to the other clients, that this was the accommodation that we would be staying in.
These pictures and reference to the Atzaro have since been removed from the website. The actual villa address of the boot camp is not given on the website and it is suggested when you book, that you use the ‘resident taxi driver’, who will pick up and drop off from the airport in Ibiza, therefore the address of the camp/house, is not know until you arrive in Ibiza.
On returning to the UK I made a claim against No 1 Boot Camp for a one- week refund on the following basis:
- Misrepresentation: The Defendant has made false/misleading statements about the service they offer, including the use of a different chef to the one advertised, the chef has not a qualified nutritionist and did not catering for vegetarian/vegan diets.
- Performance: The Defendant failed to help me achieve
the weight loss and to provide me with adequately nutritious meals bearing in mind my specific dietary needs, which in turn caused me to be ill every day.
- Failure to exercise reasonable skill and
care (s.13 Supply of Goods and
Services Act 1982): to include non-completion of a medical/fitness assessment and nutritional care resulting in illness every day; feeling faint and no energy etc.
I made the claim on the 12th June 2014 after writing to the Director Karen Mackenzie listing my complaint and the reasons why I had to leave the camp based on my doctor’s advice. I received no response to my grievances.
In a letter dated 11th June 2013 (received on or around the 13th June 2013) from Carter Clarke Financial Recovery, I was informed that a resolution was passed at a meeting on the 6th June 2013 attended by the creditors and the Director Karen Mackenzie to place the company, No1 Boot Camp into Voluntary Liquidation.
I was advised by the liquidators that there was no point trying to reclaim any funds back via the liquidators, as there were no assets within the company.
The company is trading under different names & continuing to trade under the name No 1 Boot Camp, a liquidated company.
After receiving the letter from Carter Clarke, I was surprised to note that the website was still active and when I called the company they were still making bookings.
When I spoke to the liquidators they stated that there is a loophole in the law that simply allows companies to change names and re-open using a different name. When asked whether the company is being properly investigated in terms of not having assets to pay creditors such as myself because in my view it was likely that booking fees were going straight into the bank account of the Directors, I was told by Carter Clarke that this was very difficult to investigate.
After investigating into the company details on the Companies House website myself, it appears that the company has changed its name a number of times (please see the table below) whilst still advertising itself as ‘No 1 Boot Camp’.
To an unsuspecting client, it is not clear from the website that the company name has changed numerous times or indeed that ‘No 1 Boot Camp no longer existed. The only way that this would be discovered, is when you click into the terms on the website and you can see that the company is now called ‘Worldwide Health Retreats’ and is registered in Gibraltar, a known company tax haven.
I am aware of other clients who tried to claim monies back following their experiences, yet were unable to do so successfully.
In the period since 2008 to 2014 Karen Mackenzie has been involved in 4 companies either as Director and/or Company secretary which has essentially been the same company, No1 Boot Camp, but with various name changes and changes to company registration details.
I am concerned that for unsuspecting people looking to book a boot camp in the UK or in Ibiza have absolutely no idea what the status of the company is that they are booking with or that No 1 Boot Camp does not exist as a company.
Due to the lack of health and safety measures and all the other concerns over how this boot camp has been run, if anyone has to make a claim against the company, they are going to be totally unaware of the unlikehood of being able to receive any damages. I certainly would not have booked a trip with a company advertising themselves as a company that has been liquidated and one which has the history such as theirs, including the fact that the company in one of its former guises has been struck off the Companies House register.
Since I booked my trip, No 1 Boot are still trading as No 1 Boot camp and their website is still called the same name. You would have no idea as a potential client that this company does not legally exist.
The company is now registered in Gibraltar. The company states in clause 16 of its terms that an agreement shall be construed in accordance with the laws of England and Wales. They also refer in the terms to their ‘head office’ being based in London, however for the purposes of any claim made against them, the unsuspecting client is probably not going to realise that a claim is likely to be more difficult against a firm offshore and registered in Gibraltar.
I never received any compensation for my suffering or indeed any type of refund, however I have provided this information in the hope that this can protect future consumers looking to book a boot camp with what they would believe to be on the surface a reputable company.
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No1 is the most established and successful residential fitness brand, hosting fitness holidays, fat & weight loss boot camps across Europe - helping clients achieve maximum results in minimum time. Celebrating its 10th year, No1 has camps in Norfolk, Ibiza, Marrakesh and Portugal.
