Nice Gains For The Fighting Fit

Sydney Morning Herald

Wednesday April 5, 2006

By Denise Cullen

Joining a gym and getting into shape should lead to lighter body, not a lean bank account, thanks to new protections.

The bleeding obvious happens around this time of year. Time-poor sedentary

types wake up to the fact that almost half a year is gone and their "must do" exercise regime hasn't happened.

Everybody knows you're supposed to have at least 30 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise a day.

But to achieve greater health and fitness benefits, especially as extra protection against heart disease, national guidelines recommend vigorous activity.

The guidelines define vigorous as an activity that makes you "huff and puff" - something the more slothful members among us will be familiar with just from walking up the stairs at work.

Sports such as aerobics, squash, jogging, cycling, football, netball and rowing will get your heart rate up and do the trick. But you need to do this activity at least three to four times a week, for at least 30 minutes.

Which brings us back to your average punter. Sadly, few people have enough discipline to cycle, run or jog without someone coming after them with a big stick, which is why the gym industry is thriving.

Once people sign up - annual membership fees range from $400 to $1200 - consumers tend to feel duty bound to get their money's worth.

And there is a lot to be gained from having the right equipment, professional help and some camaraderie from other puffed-out souls.

But it doesn't always work. So it is best to have a trial run before you sign up to such a substantial commitment. Most gyms will allow you attend casually with rates ranging from $10 to $20.

This way you will find out whether you are likely to stick to it long-term and justify the outlay. Otherwise your membership fee is money down the drain.

While gyms are quick to sign people up with special offers, it is best to ignore the hard sell and take your time to examine the membership contract.

Tough legislation has dramatically cut gripes about gym contracts in NSW, but hundreds of complaints still pour in south of the border each year.

From July 1, 2004, to the end of February 2006, Consumer Affairs Victoria fielded 1100 inquiries and complaints regarding fitness centres, says spokeswoman Patrice Smith.

The major issues included direct debits continuing beyond what consumers believed to be the term of the contract and failure to provide refunds or cancel contracts where agreed services were not delivered.

Another big issue was contract terms which enabled health and fitness centres to unilaterally vary the services they offered, the equipment they provided, the hours they opened and the prices they charged, says Smith.

The state industry associations, Fitness NSW and Fitness Victoria, have codes of conduct setting minimum standards on service, safety and fair trading. Yet such codes are binding only on members - and membership of the relevant industry association is not compulsory. In NSW, only 35 per cent of fitness centres belong to Fitness NSW.

However the Fitness Services (Pre-Paid Fees) Act 2000 is designed to limit losses suffered by all NSW gym members should their fitness centres close without warning, says spokeswoman, Phyllis Sakinofsky. "Over the past few years, sudden fitness centre closures have left many people out of pocket [having] paid their fees in advance, only to find that they had lost their money," she says.

In Victoria, while there is no industry-specific regulation of fitness centres, the state has provisions under Part 2B of the Victorian Fair Trading Act 1999 which make unfair contract terms void.

"Late last year, Consumer Affairs Victoria's Unfair Contract Terms taskforce commenced a project on health and fitness centres to ensure that [their] membership contracts comply with these provisions," says Smith.

"Consumer Affairs Victoria is currently in negotiation with a number of health and fitness centres to ensure that unfair terms in their membership contracts are removed or modified."

Despite this patchwork of consumer protection, the onus remains on gym-goers to ensure they are signing up for the right deal.

"Consumers are encouraged to thoroughly read the entire membership contract of a health and fitness centre before signing it, and if they don't understand parts of the contract, they should ask centre staff to explain it," recommends Smith.

Lisa Tait, of the Australian Consumers' Association suggests contacting your state department of fair trading if you believe a gym has terms and conditions that are unfair. Or if you have already signed up, challenge the terms and conditions in a Small Claims Court.

"Just because something is the gym's policy doesn't mean you have signed away all your consumer rights. Provisions in the Trade Practices Act have precedence over a gym's contract in some cases," she says.

A related issue which has reached the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) radar is the refusal by some gyms to disclose any information over the phone.

The ACCC has received several complaints from consumers who tried to obtain information about costs and membership over the phone and were told to "come down and have a look", spokeswoman Lin Enright says. She say this practice was not illegal, but it was frustrating for time-poor consumers who wanted to let their fingers do the walking and found themselves subjected to high pressure sales tactics once they visited the gym for information.

Tait says it is worth test-driving the gym by paying for casual visits before making a commitment.

"Contracts tend to be cheaper than casual visits, but you have to be sure you can commit for six or 12 months, otherwise it is false economy," she says.

And if you've decided it's not for you? "Always cancel in writing," advises Smith. "And after cancellation, consumers who are on a direct debit agreement should check their bank statements to ensure the payments are no longer being debited."

Whatever works for you, it is important to exercise to ward off heart disease and plenty of other nasty diseases (see box). Apart from anything else it will reduce stress - an immediate benefit.Two months after Jane* joined a gym, she discovered she was pregnant and asked staff to cancel her membership. But 2 1/2 years later, she found the company was still taking direct debits from her bank account. When she called to complain, she was told she hadn't cancelled her membership, only suspended it for eight weeks.

Jane insisted she had cancelled the membership and claimed staff had filled in the wrong form. But she had signed it without checking first. She requested a full refund for the 2 1/2 years.

Consumer Affairs Victoria entered negotiations between Jane and the gym to help them resolve the dispute.

The gym claimed Jane never completed a cancellation form, but as a goodwill gesture it would refund $800, which was half the amount paid over the period. Jane said she was satisfied with the outcome.

Source: Consumer Affairs Victoria. * Not her real name

FUN FACT

Health experts recommend you take at least 10,000 steps a day to keep fit.

© 2006 Sydney Morning Herald

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