Gym shuts days after taking renewal fees

Reporter: MARINA BERRY
Date online: 23 February 2010

AN angry gym-goer was enticed to part with next year’s payment early with a special offer, days before the company closed down.

The 50-year-old, who does not want to be named, had been a member of Gym and Tonic in High Street, Oldham, since last March.

She told the Chronicle she opted to pay £247 for next year’s membership more than a month ahead of her renewal date to take up a special offer of 12 free sessions of Flabelos — a vibration exerciser.

But when she turned up for her regular exercise class this week, she found the shutters were down and a notice on the door saying it had ceased to trade due to financial difficulties.

She said: “I feel disappointed and hurt. I paid in good faith, and now I think my money will have gone down the drain.

“There will be more than just me in this position and a lot of the members are quite elderly.

“I think the people who run the gym must have had some idea they would go bust when they took my money early.”

The women-only gym remains closed, but members have been sent letters by Oldham-based insolvency services company Bridgestones, inviting them to a creditors meeting on March 11.

Bizarrely, there is a further notice which says the meal arranged for February 26 will go ahead as normal, and the Chronicle believes it was a farewell party for a member of staff who was due to leave.

Bridgestones was unable to say how many members the gym had. It said the company had not gone into liquidation at this stage, but it had ceased trading.

The Evening Chronicle tried to contact Gym and Tonic for a comment, but calls to the gym number went to an answering machine.