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Thousands of dollars lost, frustrated California Fitness customers are up in arms

SINGAPORE — The sudden closure of fitness chain California Fitness on Wednesday (July 20) has left some customers badly out of pocket, with at least one person having lost about S$8,000 in advance fees paid to the gym. Some customers renewed their contracts only recently.

The closure of multinational gym chain California Fitness has shown that it is not only fly-by-night operations that put consumers at risk. Photo: Ernest Chua

The closure of multinational gym chain California Fitness has shown that it is not only fly-by-night operations that put consumers at risk. Photo: Ernest Chua

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SINGAPORE — The sudden closure of fitness chain California Fitness on Wednesday (July 20) has left some customers badly out of pocket, with at least one person having lost about S$8,000 in advance fees paid to the gym. Some customers renewed their contracts only recently.

TODAY spoke with several frustrated California Fitness customers in recent days:

Mr Cheng, 28, real estate agent

Lost about S$8,000

He had signed up for a five-year package and 80 personal training sessions with the fitness chain in January this year. He paid over S$9,000 at the time. He managed to use just seven out of the 80 sessions before the chain closed.

On the advice of a friend, Mr Cheng went to the Small Claims Tribunal on Tuesday, the day before the chain shuttered, to file a claim for a refund.

Mr Cheng is now stuck with paying back over S$400 a month to his bank for the next year and a half, as he had used the bank’s installment plan to pay for his membership.

Miss Senlina Tian, 38, finance manager

Lost over S$5,000

She had signed up for a two-year package around the end of 2014. Soon after that, she was offered a lifetime membership costing S$5,000, which she decided to purchase. “I feel sad because I think it’s hopeless trying to get the money back,” she said.

Mr Nick Hazlett, 43, director of a recruitment firm

Lost about S$1,200. He renewed his membership in July

Mr Hazlett renewed his California Fitness membership for two years on July 5, on a 12-month installment plan with DBS.

Ironically, his current membership only runs out on Saturday (July 23). Three different sales staff at the gym had been badgering him for the last three months to renew his membership. The counter staff would also remind him each time he turned up at the gym that his membership was about to expire.

“Eventually I told them to make a note on my file to stop harassing me until July. I also SMSed each sales consultant back who contacted me to also leave me alone till July. As soon as July rolled around, they were on to me again to renew!” he said.

He added he did not know about the gym’s closures in Hong Kong before he renewed his membership.

“I am not saying the sales staff were dishonest or knew the financial strain the company was under... and perhaps I should have done more due diligence, but how was I to know?

He said that he would avoid any prepaid memberships going forward.

He is not hopeful about seeing any of his money back. “I am also aware that the list of creditors will be a mile long and we, as members, will no doubt fall well behind the landlord, the bank, the employees in this line-up seeking compensation,” he said.

Ms Tang, 30, accountant

Lost about S$1,600 after signing up in July

On July 7, a sales consultant at the Bugis branch of California Fitness contacted Ms Tang and persuaded her to sign up over the phone that day. But as she was still on a free trial with another gym, she told the consultant that she wanted to start her contract with California Fitness only in August.

She went down to the branch to pick up her contract on July 9. By then, she was aware of the problems at the Hong Kong outlets of California Fitness. But when she asked the sales consultant at California Fitness about the chain’s problems in Hong Kong, she was told that the Hong Kong and Singapore branches were no longer affiliated and that she did not have to worry.

By July 18, the Hong Kong outlets as well as the gym at Raffles Place had shuttered and Ms Tang wanted to back out of the contract. It was too late by then, as her bank had already paid the amount owed to the fitness chain. She filed a claim with the Small Claims Tribunal the next day.

When she subsequently contacted the sales manager who sold her the package, he told her that he had simply repeated to her what he had been told, that the Singapore branches were no longer affiliated with the Hong Kong operations. “I’m just doing my job as the company told us to do,” he texted her.

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