STAY AWAY FROM VIRGIN ACTIVE!!!!

On June 26, 2024, I signed up for a gym membership with Virgin Active for myself and my 9-year-old daughter. The sales consultant assured my husband and me that our daughter would be allowed to use various machines, including electronic ones. We were pleased with this information and proceeded to pay the activation fee and officially join the gym.

However, when my daughter started using her membership, we discovered that everything the sales consultant told us was false. From her very first day, several Virgin Active employees informed us that she was not allowed to use the machines and areas we were initially told she could. These encounters were stressful and embarrassing, as we were reprimanded in front of other members in a busy gym.

My frustration with Virgin Active reached its limit, and I decided to contact the call centre to change my membership to a gym where my daughter could be comfortable and safe, and I could exercise in peace without being harassed by staff members.

I started the process of changing my gym location on July 24, and each time I spoke to a Virgin Active employee (Maurice, Lexie, Siyabonga – just to name a few) , I was promised feedback by the end of the day, but they failed to meet that commitment. I have been left chasing after several employees, begging for some sort of resolution.

After my husband emailed a complaint to Virgin Active, I eventually received a call from a manager named Nxolo (email attached). Nxolo mentioned that the reason my daughter was restricted from using various equipment and areas was for her safety. At this point, I would like to raise the following concerns:

Despite our raising concerns, my husband and I have witnessed other members disobeying policies, such as: 1. Members walking around the gym barefoot, even though policy stipulates that shoes must be worn for health and safety reasons. These incidents were witnessed by staff members who did nothing to correct this behaviour. 2. Virgin Active employees assisting members in taking pictures of themselves in the gym, despite signage indicating that pictures are not allowed as this violates other members' privacy. 3. Children as young as my daughter using electronic machines and playing in the pool area without any parental supervision, despite my daughter being told she could not. 4. My husband had an encounter where a picture was taken with him in it without his consent. He raised this concern with Virgin Active management, but no resolution was provided.

These are just a few points; I have more evidence showing the gym's failure to uphold their own established policies and procedures.

When I activated my gym membership on June 26, 2024, I was not given any sort of gym walkabout or induction. I was simply left to figure things out on my own. Luckily, my husband, a member of Virgin Active for over 10 years, assisted me in getting used to various areas within the gym. I raise this concern because I have recently been told by a Virgin Active staff member that a gym walkabout and induction are part of Virgin Active's policies and procedures. I am flabbergasted that Virgin Active stresses the importance of policies and procedures for my daughter, yet they failed to adhere to their own policies.

My concerns are as follows: 1. I was misled upon signing up for the membership. The sales consultant provided false information just to get me to join. 2. Despite speaking to various people and begging for assistance from Virgin Active, no one has fulfilled their commitment to call me back. 3. I am requesting to be moved to a gym that is more accommodating so that my daughter and I are not seen as a problem and all parties are happy. However, it seems Virgin Active does not care to resolve anything as no effort at all has being made to assist me.

I want to raise awareness about the "terms and conditions" that Virgin Active enforces after a family membership is signed. These Sales consultants lie just to make a sale, and the gym does not take any responsibility for their employees' actions. They are simply waiting for this matter to die down and be swept under the rug, but I am not willing to let this rest. I feel I was conned into this membership, and my daughter and I have been unfairly treated. Ultimately, I am the one bearing the brunt of this deceit and unprofessionalism