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Original poster

Gym charging different amounts

30 replies

Jtdoyoveme · 17/12/2023 17:00

Can a gym charge different amounts based on area?

if my daughter and I join a gym in Essex, it’s £204 a month. If we joined in Stevenage (where my did lives) it would be £104 a month for the same membership. Are gyms allowed to do this? I can find both prices out on the same website. It seems so wrong!

OP posts:
KateyCuckoo · 17/12/2023 17:02

Yes of course!

Who do you think would tell them they are not allowed? 🤣

Original poster
Jtdoyoveme · 17/12/2023 17:06

KateyCuckoo · 17/12/2023 17:02

Yes of course!

Who do you think would tell them they are not allowed? 🤣

Well I thought there might be some kind of pricing rule that wouldn’t allow them to charge double!

OP posts:
Alphabet1spaghetti2 · 17/12/2023 17:06

Yes they can. (So do cinemas, pub/restaurant and shop chains. )

escapethemaze · 17/12/2023 17:07

of course Op

baffled that you’ve got to be an adult and have an adult daughter and to ask this

PuttingDownRoots · 17/12/2023 17:07

Different branches can have different fees.
If its for all branches its unfair...

BabyMinnie · 17/12/2023 17:08

Erm, yes? It’s based on so many different factors.

If I go to a Picturehouse Cinema in Stratford then the price is £8 a ticket. If I watch the exact same film in Picturehouse Central in Piccadilly then I’m looking at £15-20 a ticket. Have you never come across something like this before?

KateyCuckoo · 17/12/2023 17:09

Jtdoyoveme · 17/12/2023 17:06

Well I thought there might be some kind of pricing rule that wouldn’t allow them to charge double!

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Well they could argue that they are giving stevenage a discount!

Supply and demand isn't it? I'm baffled that you think it's illegal 🤣

Alphabet1spaghetti2 · 17/12/2023 17:09

You may find that if you want to join for the lower priced gym, but go to the higher priced gym, you will be charged a surcharge to cover the difference.

Original poster
Jtdoyoveme · 17/12/2023 17:10

escapethemaze · 17/12/2023 17:07

of course Op

baffled that you’ve got to be an adult and have an adult daughter and to ask this

I have a 10 year old. Apologies I baffled you…didn’t realise we couldn’t ask questions on here

OP posts:
Original poster
Jtdoyoveme · 17/12/2023 17:11

BabyMinnie · 17/12/2023 17:08

Erm, yes? It’s based on so many different factors.

If I go to a Picturehouse Cinema in Stratford then the price is £8 a ticket. If I watch the exact same film in Picturehouse Central in Piccadilly then I’m looking at £15-20 a ticket. Have you never come across something like this before?

No 😬

OP posts:
Original poster
Jtdoyoveme · 17/12/2023 17:11

KateyCuckoo · 17/12/2023 17:09

Well they could argue that they are giving stevenage a discount!

Supply and demand isn't it? I'm baffled that you think it's illegal 🤣

Show quote history

I don’t think I used the word illegal 🤣🤣

OP posts:
BarbaraofSeville · 17/12/2023 17:12

Prices will vary according to local competitors, what the local market will bear, facilities, one site may have a spa or tennis so charge extra.

There may also be discounts if you work for certain employers, or limit your attendance to off peak hours.

They can charge how they like as long as it's not discriminating against protected characteristics.

stargirl1701 · 17/12/2023 17:12

That is capitalism, OP!

escapethemaze · 17/12/2023 17:13

Jtdoyoveme · 17/12/2023 17:11

I don’t think I used the word illegal 🤣🤣

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whilst you didn’t use the word “illegal”, clearly that’s what you were alluding to

Original poster
Jtdoyoveme · 17/12/2023 17:14

BarbaraofSeville · 17/12/2023 17:12

Prices will vary according to local competitors, what the local market will bear, facilities, one site may have a spa or tennis so charge extra.

There may also be discounts if you work for certain employers, or limit your attendance to off peak hours.

They can charge how they like as long as it's not discriminating against protected characteristics.

Thank you for that 🥰 And for not making me feel stupid for asking a question i didn’t know the answer to.

OP posts:
KateyCuckoo · 17/12/2023 17:14

Jtdoyoveme · 17/12/2023 17:11

No 😬

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What about Shell charging more for their fuel at service stations than in towns?

Or McDonald's being pricier at the airport than drive through?

Or hotels charging more in London that the Midlands?

escapethemaze · 17/12/2023 17:15

Jtdoyoveme · 17/12/2023 17:10

I have a 10 year old. Apologies I baffled you…didn’t realise we couldn’t ask questions on here

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indeed

and you’ve asked a corker here!

Original poster
Jtdoyoveme · 17/12/2023 17:15

KateyCuckoo · 17/12/2023 17:14

What about Shell charging more for their fuel at service stations than in towns?

Or McDonald's being pricier at the airport than drive through?

Or hotels charging more in London that the Midlands?

Show quote history

Not double though

OP posts:
escapethemaze · 17/12/2023 17:16

Jtdoyoveme · 17/12/2023 17:15

Not double though

Show quote history

hotels in london versus midlands? i’ve seen triple or more when comes to premier inn and travel lodge

BabyMinnie · 17/12/2023 17:19

You probably have come across something like this but haven’t realised due to the price difference not being that much of a difference (in comparison to the gym!)

If I go to Starbucks in Victoria tube and train station, I’m looking at close to £7 for my favourite drink. Whereas if I take a 9 minute tube journey down the road back to Vauxhall tube and train station, I’m paying £4.90 for the same drink😅 it’s just how it goes!

I go to FF and the one I go to has a swimming pool which means it’s quite pricey. If I had joined the FF 20 minutes down the road (that doesn’t have a swimming pool or spin studio) then I would be paying £15 less a month

hugohumbug · 17/12/2023 17:26

Might also have different features. DP goes to the local virgin active gym at collingtree. It's much more expensive than the riverside one and if you join at riverside you can only go to collingtree once/twice a month unless you pay the higher.

I go to the local pure gym which is also cheaper than a newer built pure gym a couple of miles away.

SylvieLaufeydottir · 17/12/2023 17:36

I hate to tell you this, OP, but hotel chains also charge different prices for hotels in different locations. Like, it's a Hilton whether it's in Buenos Aires or Tokyo, right?

ActDottie · 17/12/2023 17:41

Lol of course they can and it’s what they do.

PureGym is 19.99 a month but in the city near me it’s 24.99 because their overheads are obviously more in the city centre one.

Same for London central gyms they’re a lot more than ones in towns.

Original poster
Jtdoyoveme · 17/12/2023 17:43

ActDottie · 17/12/2023 17:41

Lol of course they can and it’s what they do.

PureGym is 19.99 a month but in the city near me it’s 24.99 because their overheads are obviously more in the city centre one.

Same for London central gyms they’re a lot more than ones in towns.

£5 is a bit different to £100 hence the question…lol 🙄

OP posts:
TeenDivided · 17/12/2023 17:43

David Lloyd does this. Some locations have better facilities are in more expensive areas etc.
You can usually use a location that isn't your 'home' one but they have exclusions / restrictions to ensure fair use - ie to prevent people joining a cheap one 200 miles away and then using the expensive one on their doorstop.