Higher Fee For Lower Option

I recently cancelled my medical aid so I was debited R993 for my Virgin Active membership which I was aware of. I went in to cancel the option of visiting all VA and use just my local VA in Pietermaritzburg (Cascades). When I spoke to an employee end of last year I was informed to come and and just ask to downgrade. I went in today and asked to downgrade. After doing the downgrade I was told that I need to pay R200. I was upset as this was not communicated to me before processing the downgrade. I also then asked if the downgrade will only kick in at the end of the month as I have already been debited for the month of January. I was told that the downgrade is immediate and I will not be able to visit any other VA. This upset me even more as I now payed the full installment plus another R200 to get a normal membership. I also had to ask all the questions and was not told all of this upfront. The employee just told me that's how the system is and you win some and you lose some. This was very unprofessional and not the way I expected to be treated after being a loyal member for many years!