To think this gym policy makes no sense

[redskylight]

My gym has a policy that if you book a class/activity in advance and don't turn up you get charged a £4 no-show fee.

This makes sense for people on contracts - clearly they don't want people booking up loads of classes and then not coming, and depriving other people of the spaces.

However, I don't have a gym membership, I pay on a PAYG basis. I recently paid online to attend a class and then attended the class. It appears that my attendance wasn't registered because I've been told I have to pay the £4 no-show fee. However, I'm not sure of the validity of this even if I hadn't attended? I paid for a specific service (attending the class) and even if I hadn't turned up the gym still got my money for this. They surely then can't charge me more money for not using the service I'd paid for? If anything, this is great for the gym -if lots of people pay for classes on a PAYG basis and don't turn up, they are raking in money for nothing.

(I should also say, in case it matters, that the class was only about 1/4 full, so in no way did this affect anyone else).

this is an admin oversight, so all you need to do is tell them they have made a mistake and you won't be paying. Do you have any proof you were there (Google locations?)

And if you get this resolved and you go again you know to make sure that your presence is recorded.

The policy itself is fine. Your issue is that your presence wasn't recorded.

Is the policy fine? I can't think of any other example, where I would pay for something, and then had to pay even more for not using it.

For example, if I booked a party at a soft play centre, paid for it and then didn't turn up, it would be very odd if they'd then expected me to pay even more money for it?

I hate it when people skim read and then don't understand the main point.

No, OP, it's a shitty policy that they charge a no-show few on top of already getting paid for the service. That's just bizarre. Is this a new policy?

My gym has same policy. Even those on contract have paid for the class as part of membership so all are getting the same penalty.

If you were there just have a chat with the reception staff. Ours a very good at removing fines if you were there or had a good reason.

Even if your class wasn't full they have to keep to same policy as if it was full.

YANBU.....you're absolutely right it makes sense for those with prepaid memberships who could book every class every hour of the day and not show up.....but when you PAYG you are very specifically paying for that one class, to have to pay again for non attendance is ridiculous.

But yes, let the gym know they have made a mistake and you were at the class.

I think you should raise it. I agree that if you have paid for the service upfront then you shouldn’t be fined afterwards if you can’t make it.

For members it would make sense... stop people booking multiple classes then deciding what to do.

PAYG it does seem unfair... wonder if the members complained so they apply the policy equally to keep them happy.

Not accurately recording attendance when they have the policy is shit.

So what you are saying OP is that you pay at the time you book so you should be covered and then if you don't show up they charge you a second time. Am I reading this right. Is so that is insane - they can't charge you twice for the same class whether you attend or not.

I can understand paying a penalty for booking and being now show. That's reasonable for contracted people. But for payg it makes no sense. But I suppose the logic is the same- if people cancel their contract because there's never any availability for classes and they're only half full it's a good business decision to impose a penalty on no shows. Assuming it's fraught forward to cancel the place.

I could understand no refunds for those on PAYG but charging you more money to no show than to actually attend is batshit. In this instance a chat with reception should hopefully clear it up, because you did attend, but I agree completely that the policy is ridiculous.

Ours has this policy because there's often a waiting list, so no-shows stop other people attending (who might then go on to attend regularly). I suppose they could apply this only to over subscribed classes (rather than my running slot which is only ever 1/10 booked) but that would probably be more admin than they feel it's worth.

I work at a leisure centre. As PP has said, talk to the reception staff. You will get your refund.

As for the policy, it's very annoying for other customers who want to go to a class and find they can't because it's fully booked only then to find out that there were lots of no shows. Your gym is trying to make the customers understand the importance of cancelling.

The reason is likely that if the class is half empty with no-shows the atmosphere can suffer (if it’s eg a high energy session) which then means less people want to come next time.

Also, having an incentive to come means you’re more likely to come regularly, form a habit/routine and then the gym has you as a committed customer.

They shouldn’t have charged you extra if you were there though.
Could you ask if the session leader remembers you being there?

My gym has a similar policy for the PAYG people. you’re charged if you cancel after 9am on the day of the class., but If you just don’t turn up you don’t get charged 🤷🏼‍♀️

Maybe if you didn't get charged the no show fee, that would be favouritism towards the PAYG customers and would disincentivise people from paying for membership. They want people to be members not PAYG customers.

You're right it's harsh, but you could look at it that both you and a member have paid upfront for the class, just with different models. Most gyms' business model is essentially round monthly memberships, the PAYG is just an add-on to squeeze a few more £ out and encourage people in. It doesn't have to work the same as soft play.

I don’t think there’s anything wrong with the policy. The policy is in place as a rule, it doesn’t matter if that particular class was not full on that day. What if it WAS full? Someone would miss out who could have been there.

What if 5 people do what you did at another class that is full?

The gym loses credibility if people can’t get into the class and people cancel their membership eventually if classes are fully booked.

The people who have membership have also paid for the class, just in a differnt way. If they are charged if they don't come, I can also understand why they would charge you TBH.

They surely then can't charge me more money for not using the service I'd paid for?

Of course they can. Why do you think you’re any different from those with a membership? They’re also paying, you know.

They don’t want people booking classes and not turning up to them. They don’t want members booking classes and not turning up to them. They don’t want non-members booking classes and not turning up. It means that people miss out on attending and, if classes are always full then they’ll go to other gyms. It means that classes are less enjoyable for the people who do attend. It makes it hard for the gym to establish which classes are actually popular and to decide which classes to increase or decrease in frequency or capacity. That’s all the case whether you’re a member or not.

You’re not an exception to the rule and there’s no reason why you should be an exception to the rule. Obviously, you haven’t broken the rule this time so you shouldn’t have to pay but the rule itself should apply to you as much as anyone else.

Also if the charge does apply to PAYG customers (and like I say, I agree it's harsh), this should have been made really clear to you when you paid your money. If they did not, it's not a fair charge.

My gym does a three strikes policy. Don't she for three classes in a set period and you can't book any for a certain period. I think that's better.

I’m not sure I agree with that.

The reason those with memberships are treated differently or should be treated differently are that most memberships have the ability to prebook unlimited classes. Most gyms I’ve attended have allowed you to book a week ahead.

So you’re going to have many people block booking classes at least a week ahead without having to pay for each class. I completely agree that a ‘fine’ should be implemented in the case of a no show to make sure you don’t get persistent offenders preventing PAYG people like OP being able to access the class.

Thanks all - to clarify, I've already raised and it's being "looked into".

I understand the need for a blanket policy, but this is particularly odd in that I go to the same class every week, and it's never full (or even half full - actually I keep waiting for them to decide to cancel it due to lack of numbers!).

The policy has been there for a while, but I assumed it only applied to people with memberships. And clearly I've never fallen foul of it before!

In my case, depending on what the gym comes back with, I'm thinking I'm going to start just paying on the door as I know there is no issue with getting a space, and I don't want the hassle of this potentially happening again.

I don't suppose the gym charge people with membership any more if they haven't been to the gym at all over a month which would seem to be the analagous case for those with gym memberships?

It's an admin oversight that you can clear up quickly. The policy seems a bit harsh, but the company obviously have their reasons. As others said its probably to stop members wasting places by block booking and not turning up. As long as it was stated in the contract when you joined or renewed, then its fair.

PAYG customers have just as much ability to block book. They just have to pay per class to do so.

yes, exactly that.