Because cases of consumer disputes continue to remain high against Hong Kong Commercial Fitness World Enterprise Co., Ltd. (hereafter referred to as World Gym), the Department of Consumer Protection (DCP) under the Executive Yuan has called upon the Sports Administration under the Ministry of Education, related government authorities and World Gym to discuss how to reduce such disputes. In addition, the DCP has demanded that improvement proposals be put forward by World Gym in order to avoid consumer disputes.
Physical fitness has become an increasing fad among the nation’s populace in recent years, and while World Gym has acted quickly to meet the needs of this fitness craze by opening a number of centers and increasing membership, consumer disputes also continued to rise. Statistics from the DCP indicate that there were 610 cases in 2014, while an increase in consumer complaints was as high as 646 cases in 2015. During the same year, refunds for the cancellation of training courses constituted the largest number of complaints. Various other types of consumer disputes included failing to receive permission to take a leave of absence or a refund due to health factors; the inappropriate marketing of new training courses, resulting in consumers not being able to complete courses within the set time frame; problems with processing fees when moving from one World Gym fitness center to another center; poor attitudes on the part of World Gym staff members when handling consumer complaints via the consumer service telephone hotline; and other such disputes.
In regard to the increase in consumer complaints against World Gym, on January 13, 2016, the DCP called upon related authorities and World Gym to find a resolution to reduce complaint cases, requiring the business operator to promptly respond to consumer disputes. There should be strict regulations in place regarding coaches advocating that members purchase too many courses, and at the same time there is a limit on the number of courses for purchase. As well, permission to take a leave of absence should be promptly given whenever a member provides a doctor-issued certificate of diagnosis. In addition, the business operator should study on waiving transfer fees when a member goes to another World Gym fitness center after that member has worked out at one particular venue for a prescribed period of time. Finally, improvements should be made in the attitude and manner in which staff members handle consumer complaints via the consumer services hotline so as to better guarantee consumer rights and benefits.
In conclusion, the DCP recommends that, before deciding upon which fitness center to attend, in addition to listening to the explanations and descriptions of the fitness center personnel, consumers should carefully read the contract before signing it in order to avoid any future disputes. Furthermore, any verbal commitments made by salespeople that are not initially stipulated in the contract should be clearly written into the final contract. Moreover, the factors of time and physical endurance should be given consideration when consumers are buying a training program, but by no means should emotional pressure be put on consumers by fitness personnel to buy extra training courses when it is indicated that it is the only way to avoid missing a deadline or not complete a course. At the same time, attention should be paid to onsite safety. In the event of a consumer dispute, the 1950 consumer service hotline can be called to file a complaint with the Consumer Service Center of each local government. Or consumers can visit the Consumer Protection Committee under the Executive Yuan website (cpc.ey.gov.tw) to conduct an online appeal to protect one’s rights and interests.