Planet Fitness Sandton Gate – Denied Access During My Free Membership Period

I joined Planet Fitness Sandton Gate in July after receiving a written offer from their sales consultant, Teddy, which clearly stated that July and August were free.

What should have been a simple gym membership has turned into weeks of frustration and extremely poor customer service.

I first contacted the Sandton Gate General Manager, Lerato, on 13 July with questions regarding my membership. I received no response. I followed up again and still received no response.

When an incorrect debit was subsequently processed during my free membership period, I contacted Planet Fitness repeatedly trying to get the matter resolved. I sent emails, followed up with Head Office and Customer Service, and supp**** the WhatsApp correspondence confirming the offer I had been given.

Teddy himself acknowledged that there was a problem and told me that the matter was sitting with Head Office to be fixed.

However, on 17 August I was denied access to the gym.

Teddy then provided me with a reference number that I was supposed to use for access while Head Office sorted out the problem.

On both 18th and 19 August, I returned to Sandton Gate and once again could not access the gym. I gave reception the reference number and asked them to speak to Teddy, who was actually there at the time. I stood waiting for approximately ten minutes before eventually being allowed through.

This is the part I simply cannot understand.

How can Planet Fitness sell me a membership with July and August free and then deny me access to the gym during August because of an administrative issue on their side?

I have done everything possible to resolve this. I have emailed the General Manager, contacted Customer Service and Head Office, followed up repeatedly, supp**** the written evidence and spoken directly to the consultant who signed me up.

Yet I have been the one doing all the chasing.

There has been no proper resolution, no meaningful communication and, most disappointingly, no genuine apology for repeatedly preventing me from accessing a gym during a month that Planet Fitness expressly offered to me for free.

I have now asked Planet Fitness to cancel my membership because I have completely lost confidence in their ability to administer it correctly.

I joined Planet Fitness to go to the gym. I should not have to arrive at reception wondering whether I will be allowed in, produce reference numbers, ask staff to speak to other staff and stand around waiting while they decide whether I can exercise.

For me, this is no longer about a billing error. It is about the fact that Planet Fitness failed to honour the membership offer I accepted and then denied me access during a period in which I was specifically entitled to use the gym for free.

After weeks of trying to sort this out, I would at the very least have expected someone from Planet Fitness to take responsibility, resolve the problem and apologise. That still has not happened.