Month long nightmare.

I have been a member of Virgin Active for about 7 years now if not more and most of my experiences have been good. However, the last month has been unacceptable.

My girlfriend and I were both members of the Virgin Active N1 City and at the start of the year, we approached the staff to help us change my girlfriends contract, in order to take advantage of the Discovery Vitality benefits. Before making the switch we informed the sales agent that we were moving to Stellenbosch at the end of January and asked if we should wait before we change her contract. The agent however informed us that we need not wait and that we should move immediately and that my girlfriend will even get cashback for January (which she never received).

When arriving in Stellenbosch however we were told that we could not move my girlfriends contract for two months due to the Vitality switch earlier that month (which prohibits any changes 60 days after a new contract) . When contacting Virgin Active we were simply told our system doesn't allow the switch.

Two things Virgin Active, this was not our mistake, we acted on advice given to us by your staff and secondly as the customer I don't give a damn what your system allows or not, what I care about is that I am able to swipe my card and enter the club without having to explain a story everytime a new staff member is on duty. Also for two weeks everything seemed sorted as my girlfriend had access without any trouble, so clearly the system can be changed.

However the access is still a problem and we have been phoning N1 City on a daily basis trying to sort out the problem with the staff member trying to suggest that we were at fault for the move. She also suggested that we just stick it out until the 1st of March because "how many times are you really going to go to the gym In 2 weeks". Well the answer is probably 5 times a week and we have been "sticking it out" for two months now. This is unacceptable.

Stellenbosch Virgin Active was however very accommodating and allowed my girlfriend access after hearing the story and handled our situation with empathy which I am most grateful for. However, with her access still being a problem every time a new staff member is on duty we have to repeat the whole story again.