Customers scream "Scam!" as True Fitness shut up shop

[Dagnabbit]

1 hour ago, bbi1 said:

Why are they closing it? It's a great location and always looked busy

 

Will another company take over the lease and buy the gym's equipment?

Probably cash flow - same as California - they got cash in, charging for annual/lifetime memberships and then spent it,.

 

I still think Fitness first is great - no discounts on memberships, no lifetime nonsense, lots of locations and extremely hot chicks in the Promenade branch.... 

[ChrisY1]

Grab the money and run....normal Thai business operating procedure!

[Rgreen88]

I am (was) a member of the gym, and even on the last day the gym was open the salespeople were signing up new members.

The owners of True are pigs.

[moe666]

I go to a small gym here in CM 40 baht a visit no worries about closing down.

[248900_1469958220]

Buy yourself a bench, a barbell, a set of dumbbells and a decent amount of plates and do it at home. For aerobic activity walk up and down your stairs 2000 time like I do or go for a jog......Just get off you butt and do it yourself! With all the information available now on the net you can teach yourself all the right moves.....My gym will close the day I die. 

[bbi1]

1 minute ago, 248900_1469958220 said:

Buy yourself a bench, a barbell, a set of dumbbells and a decent amount of plates and do it at home. For aerobic activity walk up and down your stairs 2000 time like I do or go for a jog......Just get off you butt and do it yourself! With all the information available now on the net you can teach yourself all the right moves.....My gym will close the day I die. 

No thanks, I'll just use the gym equipment at my condo's gym.  Anyway, that would all take up too much space in my room if I were to buy all of that 

[tomwct]

Never pay on advance for Fitness memberships. They come and they will go! Pay by the month and your risk will be small.

[248900_1469958220]

Just now, bbi1 said:

No thanks, I'll just use the gym equipment at my condo's gym.  Anyway, that would all take up too much space in my room if I were to buy all of that 

Ok then..Just buy a set of dumbells and do bench press/flies on the floor. I've switched to that and its actually better. There is less risk of shoulder troubles.....For rows use your dining room chair....

[hansnl]

4 hours ago, steven100 said:

because the owners spend up big on themselves and don't pay the bills  ....  !! 

Turnover is considered profit?

[williamgeorgeallen]

think most of us wise guys know it is better to pay as you go on everything in thailand. 

[Bob12345]

Buy yourself a bench, a barbell, a set of dumbbells and a decent amount of plates and do it at home. For aerobic activity walk up and down your stairs 2000 time like I do or go for a jog......Just get off you butt and do it yourself! With all the information available now on the net you can teach yourself all the right moves.....My gym will close the day I die. 

Did that but it aint cheap: 100k for a powerrack, bench, plates, barbell, and flooring.

[orchis]

my gym is either 35 thb or 60 thb a session 

[Prbkk]

5 hours ago, shady86 said:

This business model doesn't work. Luring members with lifetime membership at dirt cheap price, sooner or later they will run out of money if no more new members. Have seen big fitness companies closing down in Singapore because of this.

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk
 

Aka, a variation on a Ponzi scheme..

[SOUTHERNSTAR]

I think the one in HH also shut down.

[Minnehaha]

I am stunned that these shops cannot turn profit and maintain profits. 

 

[OldSiamHand]

5 hours ago, bbi1 said:

You would notify your credit card company and lodge a complaint. The card company will refund you the money.

One reads many odd and inaccurate things on these boards, but this one is worth commenting on more than others.  

 

Credit card companies will not refund you the money you spend at True Fitness if you tell your credit card company that you did not receive the goods or services you requested.  You can file a complaint with the credit card company, and they may contact True Fitness about the charges (depending on your card), but they will in no event refund you your money.   They will reverse the charges if True Fitness agrees to reverse the charges.

[optad]

These clubs are ponzi-esque. Doomed ultimately to fail if at any given point memberships cannot cover overheads. Never budget on this but use creditors for time to draw down on cash revenues until the last. It is business theft.

[kingstonkid]

The big problems with these gyms is that annual fees do not supply continuous income.  They are dependent on incoming memberships to pay bills.  Once there is a large dip of more than a few months then they are forced to either put their own funds or close.

 

Also if they had not paid rent they are trying to avert the most embarrassing situation.  Locked door with exchange sign saying we are taking over.

[TomAikins]

Most health clubs that I have been a member of over the last 40 years are basically Ponzi scams. They all have to keep getting new members constantly, usually with high pressure sales tactics, to keep enough cash flow coming in to pay what are the huge expenses that are incurred. The capital investment is enormous in the beginning and the operating costs are high too, considering how much space the really big clubs take up. They hope that people will sign up, pay for a one-year membership, and then get bored or lazy about working out and quit going to the club. That way the club doesn't get too crowded from all of the new members they have to keep signing up. I was a member of California Wow when it closed and lost a little bit of money. Any member of True Fitness can forget about getting any kind of refund. There is no money left and if there were then secured debtors would get paid back before any consumers got anything.

[kingstonkid]

And before anyone bashes that this is thailand I can tell you that it happens in Canada and the US quite a bit.

[Sparkles]

Anybody who pays up front for a Gym membership in Thailand needs mental help not help for fitness 

[wvavin]

You don't need to risk yourself financially if you can just simply discipline yourself and exercise anywhere you like. It's your choice.

[fishbrando]

53 minutes ago, OldSiamHand said:

One reads many odd and inaccurate things on these boards, but this one is worth commenting on more than others.  

 

Credit card companies will not refund you the money you spend at True Fitness if you tell your credit card company that you did not receive the goods or services you requested.  You can file a complaint with the credit card company, and they may contact True Fitness about the charges (depending on your card), but they will in no event refund you your money.   They will reverse the charges if True Fitness agrees to reverse the charges.

http://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/6-steps-getting-chargeback-1267.php

[zig]

4 minutes ago, Sparkles said:

Anybody who pays up front for a Gym membership in Thailand needs mental help not help for fitness 

Well, the annual or multi-annual memberships offered by these gyms are way cheaper than their month per month payment schemes, often costing as much as two or three times less for the whole period. I have had few such annual subscriptions in the past and overall I have saved significant chunk of money, even considering that I lost some now.

I suppose this is why many are willing to take such a risk.

 

 

[Jeremy50]

Another over-priced/scamming fitness chain gone bust.  Get out to the park and do some real exercise instead of walking on the treadmill looking at your phone.

[Kabula]

No surprise these fitness centers have been routinely going out of business as long as I can remember.

 

 

[bkkgriz]

Can't people who bought memberships use other branches, or were the memberships tied to one branch? I bought a lifetime pass from Cal Wow and got four years out of it before they went under. Guess I was one of the lucky ones.

[Just1Voice]

I'll stick with the new place that opened up about 2 klm from me in BoSang.  No membership offers, great equipment, just 50 baht every time you show up.  Place started off slow, but in the past month, business has definitely picked up. 

 

[Lamkyong]

is this true fitness company connected with true vision ??

[bbi1]

27 minutes ago, Lamkyong said:

is this true fitness company connected with true vision ??

That's what I always initially thought, it was one of the "True" brands. You would've thought "True" would've gone to lawyers to stop allowing them to trade under this company name but hey, this is Thailand!