Membership canceled

Virgin Active

It has now been six months of failed attempts to rectify an issue with the billing stemming from the incompetence of your staff Six long months of being stone walled by your untrained and extremely unhelpful call centre My membership finally canceled by Virgin Active over Easter weekend without anyone contacting me nor any attempt to rectify this situation The fact that no one in a management or supervisory position is ever contactable and that a person is forced to deal with call centre employees that have less chance of manning the coffee station than solving an issue I’m sorry but it’s a “systems decision” has become the call centre motto

The beginning I joined Virgin Active through Vitality paying the R185 per month dedicated from my bank account All went well until I was approached by Discovery claiming that if I signed up with Discovery bank I would get a further reduction in my premium as a rebate So I joined the Bank and notified Virgin Active giving them the new Bank details (This is where the first issue crept in I’ll get to this momentarily) *

After the first month I didn’t receive the first debit order deduction-(Let me clarify this I’m sure management may well be as untrained as the call centre staff in this issue ....Virgin Active deducts the full amount for the debit order and Vitality reimburses the full amount less any deductions for not hitting their targets the amount for the debit order is R740

I go and see the accounts people at the gym to find out why the debit order never went through as well as phone both Virgin Active and Vitally They reload all the details and we wait Next month the same issue happens, irritated I go through the same procedure (obviously I’m now in arrears for two months) After a failed debit order for the third time.... * did we realise that they were loading the Credit account details and not the Transmission account details So now I’m in arrears or three months (Vitally say that they won’t reimburse as the fault was on Virgin Actives side ) R740 x3 total R2220 .....many calls and club visits Bongi Raboko and regional Management (Who has to yet contact me back)

So back and forth we go again eventually I get hold of a Felicity Xuza I explain the situation as I have now done numerous times and offer her a solution on my part If she could get hold of accounts department to change the billing for those three months to the R185 x 3 Total R 550 I would then pay this amount out of my own pocket (Vitality say they won’t reimburse as it was an issue with Virgin Active) She agreed and sent me account details for transfer I did the transfer and was rather pleased that I now finally managed to get this issue sorted That month the debit for R840 went off as well as an amount of R185!!!

Unfortunately the matter never got resolved I went back and forth with Felicity numerous times eventually she too disappeared into the woodwork Her successor only lasted two rounds and then disappeared

Forward to Easter Weekend -Gym membership canceled -Out of pocket for the R550 (I should never have payed this like Vitality said it’s due to Virgin Actives incompetence) -The R185 debit order that came from nowhere (Perhaps used as total budget for call centre training in handling irate callers ) The initial sign up up fee (This amount needs to be payed back as you guys canceled my membership)

Surely there must be someone amidst the Virgin Active team that had the ability to to sort out this issue Neill Purdon