Hong Kong gyms under fire for forcing customers to borrow from moneylenders to pay membership fees
- One customer forked out almost HK$2 million in four months while others were accompanied to ATMs and banks to withdraw cash
- Four centres across the city accused of malpractice – SML Studio, Fitness Express Company and A Plus Fitness, in Mong Kok, and Legend Fight and Fitness in Causeway Bay
Hong Kong’s consumer watchdog on Monday reprimanded four fitness centres for using aggressive sales tactics, even forcing some to borrow from moneylenders to pay the fees.
The worst example was one customer forking out almost HK$2 million in four months, while others were accompanied to ATMs or banks to withdraw cash.
The Customs and Excise Department said that as of Sunday, 14 people had been arrested on suspicion of engaging in aggressive commercial practices. They included two directors and 12 members of sales staff at gyms in Mong Kok and Yau Ma Tei.
The four centres in question were SML Studio, Fitness Express Company and A Plus Fitness, all in Mong Kok, and Legend Fight and Fitness in Causeway Bay.
“[Sales staff] would listen in to the conversation [with the moneylenders], aiming to find out the limit a customer could borrow and the total amount of their assets, to create a personal package,” Consumer Council CEO Gilly Wong Fung-han said.
Antonio Kwong Cho-shing, chairman of the council’s trade practices and consumer complaints review committee, said the four centres were just the tip of the iceberg.