Frederik K

Unresolved Refund Issue and Membership Non-Renewal Dispute

Hatfield Branch – I honestly do not know where to begin. On Wednesday, 19 May 2026, I went to the Virgin Active Hatfield branch to state that I did not want to renew my membership and to resolve an additional charge that had been debited from my account. Upon arrival, I informed the staff that I did not wish to renew my membership and completed the relevant cancellation forms. I was then informed that my membership would only be cancelled on 17 June 2026, despite my contract renewal date being 31 May 2026. I found this odd but continued with the more pressing issue at hand, my refund application. Initially, the staff member assisting me was hesitant to process a refund because the system reflected a balance of R0. However, Mabina, who originally assisted me when I signed my contract on the 26th of May 2025, confirmed that two charges had in fact been made to my account during the month of June 2025 (one charge on the 1st and the other on my debit order date, the 15th). The reason the balance reflected R0 was because I had made a prepayment on the account on the 27th of May 2025 (which reflected on their system). To give more clarification, my contract was for 12 months/instalments, but I got the first month free, so I should have only made 11 payments, but I made 12. The gentleman assisting me appeared reluctant to help process the refund and stated that head office would need to be contacted. He eventually informed me that I simply needed to return with proof of payment for the additional charge, which I feel is not needed at all since their system does in fact show the prepayment made. The following day, 20 May 2026, I returned to the gym with my proof of payment. A personal trainer assisted me, and I explained the entire situation again. After reviewing my account, she informed me that the system reflected no refund due and suggested there had been no error. I then had to once again explain the situation in full and show all the payments, including the double charge made in June 2025. We spent approximately an hour arguing about whether I qualified for a refund, as she repeatedly insisted that I did not need one. During this interaction, she walked away multiple times to assist other members, which I found extremely rude and unprofessional given that we were in the middle of trying to resolve a serious billing issue. Eventually, Mabina intervened again and confirmed once more that I was indeed entitled to a refund and that she would escalate the matter to her manager for resolution. Another issue arose during this discussion. The personal trainer informed me that another payment would still be processed on 17 June 2026. This came as a surprise because I had already requested on 19 May 2026 that my contract should not continue after the 31 May 2026 renewal date. I then reviewed my contract and noted a clause stating that I needed to notify my branch 20 business days before the renewal date if I did not wish to continue with the membership. Failing to do so, the agreement would continue on a month-to-month basis. In my view, this contradicts section 14 of the Consumer Protection Act, specifically section 14(2)(d), which states that a fixed-term agreement will continue on a month-to-month basis unless the consumer expressly directs the supplier to terminate the agreement on or before the expiry/renewal date, which I did. In addition, Virgin Active also appears not to have comp**** with section 14(2)(c) of the CPA, which requires a supplier to notify a consumer of the impending expiry of a fixed-term agreement no more than 80 business days and no less than 40 business days before the expiry. I received no emails, SMSs, or any other communication informing me that my membership would expire on 31 May 2026. I was also never informed by the original consultant assisting me that an additional charge would still be processed after non-renewal (it is important to state that this is not a cancellation; this is a non-renewal, as my contract ends on the 31st of May 2026). Furthermore, there was no clarification as to whether I would be charged a full monthly fee for only 17 days of gym access (1 June 2026 to 17 June 2026). If that is indeed the case, then charging a full month’s fee for only half a month of access is completely unreasonable. Returning to the refund issue: Mabina informed me on 20 May 2026 that she would escalate the matter to her manager and that I should expect feedback within approximately one day. The 21st passed with no communication. On 22 May 2026, I returned to the Hatfield branch again to request feedback from Mabina regarding the refund issue. I was informed that she was not at the branch, and no indication could be provided as to when she would return. The receptionist took my number and assured me that Mabina would contact me on 23 May 2026. Today is 23 May 2026, and I have still received no feedback whatsoever. I genuinely feel that my issue is not being taken seriously and that Virgin Active staff have been extremely vague and unhelpful throughout this entire process from the non-renewal of my contract to the refund dispute. R495 may not seem like a large amount to some people, but as a student living on a R1 000 monthly allowance, this represents nearly 50% of my monthly income. Having that amount incorrectly debited due to what appears to be a system error, only to be repeatedly told to return to the branch without any meaningful progress being made, has been incredibly frustrating and disappointing.