False information given about cancellation fees!

Please can somebody help,<br> When I signed up with Virgin Active I asked about the cancellation fees and I was told that I can cancel the contract at any time and there will be no cancellation fees due to me at all, when I went to cancel the contract as I was unemployed, I was told I had to pay a fee that I could not afford, when I told them I was not told about this fee, they responded saying well there is nothing we can do and that I have to pay the fee or else they will hand me over to the lawyers, I find this all very wrong and I refuse to pay something that I was never told about.