Beijing, Nov. 8 (Xinhua): My gym is closed! There is no shortage of fat, can you get the money back?
"Swimming and fitness, get to know it", we can always hear the call of "kindness" in the streets and near the subway station.
However, the gym is like a "love rat". Before you get a card, you are obedient. After you get a card, you just ignore it. If you are not careful, you may "disappear" without a trace.
Data Map: Young people gather in the gym to train in full swing. Photo by Zhong Xin
"My gym suddenly closed."
"Come on, turn around, do high-temperature yoga sit-ups, spin pilates, and soak medlar in a thermos; Come on, take a deep breath, swim a few meters in fun run in the morning, and paddle a dumbbell rowing machine. Don’t give up until you reach your goal. "
The lyrics of Calories can be said to be a true portrayal of contemporary people’s fitness.
In order to realize "vest line", "A4 waist" and "peach hip" … … Many people "send" money into the gym, hoping to achieve an S-shaped figure and eight-pack abdominal muscles.
But now, many people find that the gym has quietly closed before losing a layer of fat. He Yuan, who went to college in Changsha, Hunan, encountered this situation.
He Yuan said, "Before, Changsha Star Burning Olympic Sports Gymnasium held an activity, saying that it was a full refund after the card was issued, and it was returned in ten times and ten months. I got the card in June. Now I have only returned 6,700 yuan, and 12,000 yuan has not returned, and the gym is closed. "
In the face of substantial discounts in the gym, He Yuan is not without doubt. "I asked many times at the time, and the coach said that the boss was hard in the background. When running private classes, too, private education has been selling for performance, and stressed that nothing will happen, and it will be heart-warming when talking. " What’s more, He Yuan felt that spending a lot of money didn’t produce any effect.
Data map: People exercise in the gym. China News Service reporter Yin Liqin photo
Zhang Lin, who lives in Wuhan, Hubei Province, also suffered from the closure of the gym and the fact that the money could not be refunded. "Before, I gave two two-year cards to the elderly at home at the Jijian Swimming and Fitness Club on the second floor of Poly Huadu in Yangjiawan, Wuhan. I swam three or five times a month, and the fitness equipment was basically unused. Less than a year now, the gym is closed and I want a refund. The boss said that I have no money and I have to go through the bankruptcy process. "
"Recently, many gyms have closed down, mainly because the market environment is not good. Now it is common for four or five gyms to appear in two kilometers in Fiona Fang, and the competitive pressure is growing." Xiao Zhu, a gym coach in Beijing, told reporters. According to the report of Forward-looking Research Institute, the fitness industry is currently experiencing a middle-aged crisis, and more than 60% of traditional gymnasiums are facing difficulties in operation and face losses or even closure.
Prepaid card "pie" becomes "trap"
There are quite a few consumers who have experienced similar cases with He Yuan and Zhang Lin. According to the "Analysis of Complaints Accepted by the National Consumers Association in the First Half of 2019" published by the China Consumers Association, there were 7,738 complaints about fitness services, and the number of complaints increased by 72.6% year-on-year. "The main reason for the large increase in complaints about fitness services is that merchants run away after prepaid cards, causing group complaints."
The White Paper on Fitness Industry in 2018-2019 also shows that in 2018, a total of 3,099 gymnasiums were closed, with a closing rate of 4.36%, and 528 gymnasiums were closed within one year after their establishment.
In 2019, Haosha, a brand with a history of 20 years, became a landmark event. Due to the failure of capital operation, almost all the 160 stores and 300,000 members of Haosha Fitness were closed or transferred, and the employees and member consumers of Haosha Fitness became the buyers.
People exercise in the gym. China News Service reporter Yin Liqin photo
At present, Shi Hongliu, the chairman of Haosha International, and Shi Hongyan, the legal representative of Quanzhou Haosha Fitness Club Co., Ltd. have all been listed as untrustworthy by the court, involving more than 1.2 billion yuan.
"In order to recover the huge investment in the early stage as soon as possible, traditional gyms tend to choose the business model of oversold annual cards (prepaid cards): after the new store landed, it set a higher retail price and launched a low-priced annual card, which formed a large number of advance receipts, and then expanded the new store with the advance receipts, thus falling into an inertia cycle.
"Buy one year and get half a year", "50% discount card purchase", "mega promotion" and "rebate". In recent years, in order to compete for customers, various preferential activities have emerged one after another in gyms. Once the annual card is issued, some netizens said that the coach will be screaming around you that the movements are not standard and you can’t train, so you can buy private lessons.
A coach commented in Weibo.
"The oversold annual card model is a bet between the gym and customers. The bet is that customers who apply for annual cards will not come to the gym often." A gym coach said that the advance payment quickly brought huge cash flow.
There are even criminals who temporarily rent the platform, use the guise of "new store is about to open" or "renovation and upgrading" in the gym, and use low prices or card preferential activities to fool consumers into buying pre-sale cards. Once they receive funds, they will quickly roll up the money and run away.
"Advance payment is not a profit. Advance payment is used to fill the upfront investment, and it also pays for future membership services, personnel salaries, equipment maintenance and other costs." An industry analyst said that due to high operating costs, blind expansion and other reasons, once the capital chain breaks, it can only be closed.
Can I get the prepaid money back?
He Yuan recalled, "One month before closing, it was in the cashback period. As a result, the gym said that the funds were not enough and they would receive it together next month. If only I had paid more attention to it at that time. " Zhang Lin, who ran a member’s gym, was in arrears with the rent of more than 330 thousand yuan and was sent a collection notice by the mall.
Looking at it comprehensively, consumers need to pay more attention to whether the gym rent is paid in full, whether the staff salary is paid on time, whether the funds can be turned over, etc., to judge whether there are business problems. But once the enterprise closes, how to deal with the advance payment? There are relevant provisions in the law.
For example, Article 107 of the Contract Law stipulates that if a party fails to perform its contractual obligations or fails to meet the contract obligations, it shall bear the liabilities for breach of contract such as continuing to perform, taking remedial measures or compensating for losses;
Article 53 of the Law on the Protection of Consumers’ Rights and Interests stipulates that if an operator provides goods or services in advance, but fails to provide them in accordance with the agreement, it shall fulfill the agreement or return the advance payment according to the requirements of consumers.
A "shared fitness cabin" in a residential area in Lanzhou. China News Service reporter Yang Yanmin photo
"These two laws are still in the category of civil and commercial law, and the mandatory restrictions on operators are not enough." Yan Bing, director of Beijing Yuntong Law Firm, told reporters that gyms are basically small and micro enterprises, and it is difficult to find people whether they are closed down or running away. Unless it is in the name of opening a gym, it is a fraud in criminal law to collect money and run away.
Qiu Baochang, a member of the Expert Committee of the China Consumers Association and a lawyer of Beijing Huijia Law Firm, suggested taking precautions, setting up a special account or condominium account for advance payment, setting up a deposit, and regularly announcing the use of advance payment to consumers to ensure consumers’ rights and interests. (He Yuan and Zhang Lin are pseudonyms in the text)
(Author: Xie Yiguan)
