Gym nasty

Reporter: Richard Hooton
Date online: 10 August 2010

Subscriptions taken, then gym ceases trading

ANGRY keep-fit customers have been left out of pocket after subscribing to a gym that closed down just days later.

They claim to have been cheated out of hard-earned cash after Body Matters in Lees said it was closing for refurbishment only to then shut for good the following week.

The firm, in High Street, continued to take subscriptions, up to £250 for a 12-month women’s membership, until it suddenly ceased trading.

Sharon Smith, from Springhead, said her daughter and another young woman had both lost out.

She said: “They had only taken out a monthly subscription, but it’s just the way it was done.

“They are students and have not got a lot of money so to take the money when they were aware they would be closing down is just not fair.. They were not happy to say the least.

“They took the money off them when the girls were paying in good faith. It was quite expensive as well.”

Gym member Debra Melton (47), of Greenacres, blasted it as a “rotten trick”, telling the Chronicle: “I was on a year’s membership but last Thursday (July 29) I went as normal for my daily gym session and there was a scribbled note on the door saying they were shut until Tuesday for a refit and the carpets cleaned, but when I went back on Tuesday (3) another note said they had ceased trading.

“It’s disgusting and I’m absolutely gutted. A few people have only just renewed their membership and paid upfront for the year. Some have recently handed over £300.”

The establishment boasted a large, fully-equipped gym and three Power Fast tan sunbeds as well as a state-of-the-art separate women’s facility. Prices ranged from £3.75 for a daily visit to monthly charges of £30 mixed, £35 for women, and up to £225 mixed, £250 for women, for the year.

Its phone lines have stopped taking incoming calls but the Chronicle tracked down owner Grant Tupman.

He said: “It’s not a viable business any more. The overheads exceeded the takings.”

But asked how many staff were affected and if customers would be refunded, he said he didn’t have time to talk and hung up.

Body Matters was established in 1997 in Newhey before expanding to open the Lees branch. A spokesman for the sister organisation, off Shaw Road in Newhey, said: “We are two separate businesses. People are assuming they are connected but they are both separate, limited companies. They are not financially connected. We are fine and carrying on as normal.

“The Lees business was closed down for financial reasons. The overheads were killing the business. As quick as he was earning the money, the bills, such as gas, electricity and rent, were coming in and he was getting deeper and deeper into debt and decided to pull the plug.”