Millions taking out gym memberships in a New Year effort to lose weight have been warned about poor value and failed promises.
Citizens Advice says it deals with thousands of complaints from people trying to cancel memberships because they have been let down.
And it says many people feel they are not getting value for money from the often hefty annual fees.
In the 12 months to the end of November 2017, its Consumer Helpline dealt with 2,360 people on issues relating to gyms, health clubs and fitness studios – 197 cases per month.
Citizens Advice have said many people feel they are not getting value for money from the often hefty annual fees(stock image)
On top of that its offices across England and Wales provided face-to-face advice to over 1,000 people to help them deal with problems with the same companies.
And another 60,000 people looked up the ‘cancelling a gym membership’ advice pages of the charity’s website.
Citizens Advice said that over a third – 35per cent – of calls to the helpline were complaints about services not being up to scratch. This included the gym being closed for long periods of time, classes being shorter than advertised, people struggling to book prepaid personal training sessions and poor quality facilities, including a lack of hot showers.
One in seven complaints related to the terms and conditions of club membership. This included many cases where people felt they were unfairly trapped into an annual contract. One in ten were unhappy that the gym failed to deliver on promises to offer a bespoke exercise plan.
One man called Citizens Advice for help getting out of a 12-month contract after he was unable to use the gym as expected. He had to queue to use equipment and faced long waits in the changing rooms.
60,000 people looked up the ‘cancelling a gym membership’ advice pages of the charity’s website. One in ten were unhappy that the gym failed to deliver on promises to offer a bespoke exercise plan(stock image)
A woman turned to the charity after signing up to her local health club expecting it was going to be fully refurbished, but the improvements were never made.
Consumer expert at the charity, Kate Hobson, said: ‘At this time of year we’re bombarded with offers for health and fitness memberships, which can ask for a lot of money or commitment up front.
‘It’s really important to do your homework before you sign up to any gym, health club or fitness studio. Make sure you know how long you’re committing for, how much it will cost you, and think about how often you’ll need to use it for it to make sense on your budget.’
It advises people considering joining a gym to keep a copy of any adverts or special offers that tempted them to sign up.
One man called Citizens Advice for help getting out of a 12-month contract after he was unable to use the gym as expected. He had to queue to use equipment and faced long waits in the changing rooms(stock image)
The group said people should read the contract carefully to ensure how long it runs for and whether they can leave early.
It said the public need to know their cancellation rights. Some gyms might offer a ‘cooling off’ period to allow people to change their mind within 14 days, others allow people to quit based on paying an exit fee.
Citizens Advice said people should put complaints in writing if their gym does not meet their expectations.