Fitness centers draw consumer ire

Amid a Korean exercise boom, complaints about fitness center memberships filed at the Korea Consumer Protection Board totaled 1,078 in the first quarter, up 15 percent from a year earlier.
According to the government-run agency, membership cancellation complaints accounted for more than 88 percent of the total, followed by gym operators’ refusals to give refunds even after they go out of business, at 7 percent. Some charged that the fitness centers they registered with turned down their refund requests when they had to terminate a monthly or annual contract. Or the gyms charged an excessive penalty for breach of contract.
According to agency guidelines, consumers are entitled to a refund of membership fees minus 10 percent of the total amount if they want to quit before they even begin using a gym. When the cancellation occurs in the middle of the contract period, the refund will deduct fees for the days used plus 10 percent of the total membership fee.
“We found the majority of complaints about fitness centers came from company workers in their 20s or 30s who were forced to cancel their memberships due to changes in working hours or heavy workloads,” the agency said in the statement.

By Seo Ji-eun Staff Writer [spring@joongang.co.kr]