Angry fitness fans file complaint after Phuket gym goes bust

[webfact]

The angry gym members lost some B2.5 million in prepaid membership fees. Photo: PR Phuket

 

By The Phuket News

 

PHUKET: A total of 36 fitness fans filed a joint complaint with the Phuket City Police against a gym operator yesterday (Aug 4) after the gym closed its two branches permanently without notice, costing the exercisers more than B2.5 million in lost membership fees.

 

The complaint was filed against BigGym, which had one branch on the bypass road and another branch in Chalong.

 

“Some customers have paid their yearly memberships which have not expired, but the gyms have already been closed. I have paid nearly B100,000 for membership,” said one of the members filing the complaint, who asked to be named only as “Mr Pornchai”.

 

Full story: https://www.thephuketnews.com/angry-fitness-fans-file-complaint-after-phuket-gym-goes-bust-80936.php

 

-- © Copyright Phuket News 2021-08-05

 

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[steven100]

yeah    !    file a complaint ..... that'll  fix it .....    you get every cent you paid.

 

seriously though ... there are probably thousand of businesses that went bust that received cash from investors / buyers / subscriptions or what ever.  The only recall possibly ( but very faint chance )   is that in 2-3 years of court battles the company owner is forced to sell the BMW and the Luxury home to pay every membership out. 

[smedly]

common scam

[Sundown]

100000thb for a gym fee? Not even in Central London or LA? And none of them has the vague resemblance of a gym body . Too bad anyway, they have to browse their phone at home and not on the treadmill at the minimum speed.

[4MyEgo]

When I used to use a gym, I would pay per time I went, all too familiar with who ends up with your $'s when they go bust, now I have a home gym and am happy with the gym furniture as my wife refers it.

 

 

 

 

[swm59nj]

13 minutes ago, Sundown said:

100000thb for a gym fee? Not even in Central London or LA? And none of them has the vague resemblance of a gym body . Too bad anyway, they have to browse their phone at home and not on the treadmill at the minimum speed.

       That's what I was thinking.  100000 thb?  Maybe signed up for a lot of extras or a bunch of people on the membership?  I looked at photos of the gym. It looks nice.  Im a member of a large gym in Bangkok.  And I was a member of a large gym in the states. No where nearly that much. 

      

 

 

Edited August 5, 2021 by swm59nj

[Bluespunk]

47 minutes ago, webfact said:

I have paid nearly B100,000 for membership,” said one of the members filing the complaint, who asked to be named only as “Mr

One Born Every minute''

Edited August 5, 2021 by Bluespunk
minute for day

[new2here]

Just off the top of my head, assuming there’s no element of intent to defraud, wouldn’t these folks become essentially unsecured creditors against the business as they either reorganize/restructure or liquidate?

[Pi Tao]

Gold Gym ???

[Heng]

Yeah, just another California Wow.    30k Baht flushed, but lesson learned.      

[gk10012001]

1 hour ago, smedly said:

common scam

yeah, even here in the USA so many gyms wanted pay in advance, or auto renewal, but were impossible nearly to cancel ones membership.  They hope you die or forget about it or give up trying to cancel.  Not quite the same as a place going out of business without really trying to scam but due to unforeseen circumstances like lockdowns and shutdowns.  But still, a good warning about paying for things in Thailand

[2long]

We don't know that this gym chose to go out of business. Nor do we know that they knowingly took more new payments when they realised it was coming to an end.

 

Unlike Thonburi's Pfizer scam, which stinks (to me) of delayed refunds (earning interest) and insider trading on the empty promise (lie????) about having secured the jabs.

[Bob12345]

Thats quite a shocker, especially since Big Gym on bypass road just moved locations a few months ago (they were on the side of Ikea but moved to the other side of the road close to the BMW car dealer there), which sounds like an expensive operation when you are about to go bust.

 

B100,000 for membership sounds like a lot, but maybe it was for a whole family, for more than a year, or included some sort of personal training.

[cyril sneer]

probably gambled away all the money and done a runner

[khunPer]

7 hours ago, webfact said:

I have paid nearly B100,000 for membership,” said one of the members filing the complaint, who asked to be named only as “Mr Pornchai”.

That's a lot of money, but perhaps I'm not up-to-date on gym fees...????

[bbko]

A recent google review says the owner closed the Phuket shop and opened a new gym in BKK, wow.

[scorecard]

7 hours ago, Sundown said:

100000thb for a gym fee? Not even in Central London or LA? And none of them has the vague resemblance of a gym body . Too bad anyway, they have to browse their phone at home and not on the treadmill at the minimum speed.

Would you pay 100,000Baht for a gym membership in the middle of a serious global pandemic which has killed several million people, and which is getting worse quickly? 

 

Strange logic ...

[PAWNEESE]

Maybe he meant he has been a member for years and paid 100k in total.  He was thus making the point he had been a long time customer, and deserved better. Possibly.

 

And now feels hard done by (rightly). Just saying.

[NoshowJones]

21 hours ago, steven100 said:

yeah    !    file a complaint ..... that'll  fix it .....    you get every cent you paid.

 

seriously though ... there are probably thousand of businesses that went bust that received cash from investors / buyers / subscriptions or what ever.  The only recall possibly ( but very faint chance )   is that in 2-3 years of court battles the company owner is forced to sell the BMW and the Luxury home to pay every membership out. 

Paying all that money to use gyms is pure lunacy, unless you are on steroids and want to look like an over muscled monkeyman, surely the best ways of keeping fit are using you own home gym, or cycling, running, swimming. there is also exercise parks all over Thailand, although in my village/small towns case, these machines are not maintained, and when the break they are just left to rot.

[steven100]

15 hours ago, scorecard said:

Would you pay 100,000Baht for a gym membership in the middle of a serious global pandemic which has killed several million people, and which is getting worse quickly? 

 

Strange logic ...

they're crazy ..... 

[RobU]

These fees seem very excessive My gym fee in the UK is £15 per month £180 per year. Air Con plenty of equipment (20 xrcise bikes, 20 running machines, stairmasters 2 or 3 of each weight machine plus loads of free weights .....) Thailand seems to be a very expensive place to get the services I take for granted in the UK

[transam]

My gym charges 20 baht a visit, stay as long as you like....????

But sadly they changed their hours, so haven't been for a while....????

[Andre0720]

Thai people, they cannot even walk, take a motorbike to go a shop 50 meters away.

Small wonder a gym will go bankrupt...