How difficult can it be to join vitality

I registered at a Virgin Active gym and as per procedure, the gym applies on my behalf for Vitality towards the end of last month. a representative of Discovery called me to confirm that i will join viatality, which i did. To my surprise, 15 days later i am told that my membership is not yet completed. On inquiry, i was told that my membership on starts on May 1, and it is beyond me why my membership has been pushed 1 month later. And i have been told that to 'back-date' my membership, i will have to pay cash... as opposed to a debit order that normally goes off in arrears. To say the least, this is an inconvenience, and it will be the third time that somehow discovery has failed to provide a smooth service to me, firstly my medical aid was stopped at some point, secondly i had a hard time to change the banking details when i moved companies