Virgin Active does not care if you lose your job, you must pay them to cancel membership!

I took up memberships at Virgin Active Tygervalley, for my wife, my daughter and myself. Less than 10 days later (I think it was 7 work days later), my employment basically terminated. I approached Virgin Active to cancel my membership and they said I would have to pay thousands of Rands to cancel, yet we barely used the gym 3 times. I had already paid a couple of thousand Rands to activate our Virgin/Discovery memberships. I had basically just joined, lost my job, and Virgin Active did not give two-hoots! They have no ethics policy to include reviewing special circumstances an exercising leniency under such circumstances. A contract is a contract, and if they don’t adhere to it, they may go bankrupt, right? It was obviously impossible for Virgin Active to be ethical and humane by waiving the cancellation fees or at least allowing me to cancel my membership in that 10-day window, without penalty. I mean 7 to 10 days is significantly outside their policies to even consider it and from their perspective I must have been trying to rob them. When I attempted to cancel the first time, I was advised that it would work out significantly less in cancellation fees, if I simply cancelled after 3 or 4 months. What a freaking lie! I am now stuck with having to pay arrears as well as penalty charges! Since I have been unable to pay any of my debts (I mean that is what normally happens when you are unemployed) I am stuck with more stress, and a higher likelihood of stress-related health issues, thanks to Virgin Active! Thank you Virgin Active for your attitude of “we don’t care”! I hope that you lose some members and that you go bankrupt, so you know how I feel being without a job and having you kill my spirit with unnecessary debt.

Take this as a warning before joining Virgin Active. You are better off with a smaller Gym that will allow you a 30-day cancellation notice, without them going bankrupt.