Total Fitness closed but still want money

[Ohjustboreoff]

I'm a member of Total Fitness gym and I've just had a begging email saying please don't leave us or freeze membership. I'm paying a lot per month for family membership I can't use. I now can't get through to them on any platform.
A have some friends who belong to different gyms who have received emails saying their membership is suspended till the gym reopens.
What to do? Cancel DD? Keep trying to freeze? Or just keep paying?
Anyone else in the same boat?

No one?

I think it is a tough one. I had decided not to freeze my gym membership as for me the most important thing is that it is still there at the end of this. I would be gutted if they went under.

But it is a lot of money not to spend

If you are working and still receiving your full wages and are likely to do so throughout this, then you can consider paying as it's sunk cost. Otherwise, it's very sad but they will have to manage without. I guess they'll be able to claim cash from Boris at some stage.

If you will still be paid and can afford it, please keep paying. So many businesses will go under so if you want your gym to still be running this is the probably their only option.

The Gym have put all memberships on hold. A good call by them, because I would have cancelled otherwise, and now they have kept my direct debit and contact open to restart when this is over.

If they have offered no reduction or other benefits, I would cancel.

Our gym is suspending all fees AND sending out free online exercise programmes. If you can't pay then don't. You don't particularly owe them anything and you need to look after your own finances first.

Can you afford it?

Total Fitness doesn’t have a healthy balance sheet per their accounts. They employ 636 people and have negative assets; they lost £2m last year.

So no, no one owes them anything. But don’t expect them still to be there when this is over if people don’t pay.

They should be able to claim 80% of wages from the govt. no business rates to pay. Minimal heating/water costs, just connection charges. I guess they might have rent to pay? In which case if everyone cancels the direct debit they may go bust? It’s hard. My gym has frozen all payments.

@VivaLeBeaver that's what I thought. I'm still getting paid (at a reduced rate) and when BoJo announced they could claim some of the wages back it did really piss me off to think TotalFitness will be getting our subs and claiming from the government! Might be one of the only companies to be making a profit in these times. Minimal utility overheads, money from government and our subs?
Anyone know where I would stand just cancelling my DD as I can't get through to anyone to freeze ?

To be honest there are a lot of smaller local businesses I would put ahead of the gym to support. My gym has suspended membership free of charge, but as they are usually gouging so & so’s , I would not have been racing to support them otherwise, much as I love going there.

Yes @Dreamersandwishers Total Fitness are normally gouging so and so's too. They are the only gym in ages I've joined where they have insisted on a joining fee per person! So when joined as a family they wanted £60, £15 pp.

I do love going to the gym and have recently lost 2 stone. It's a really kick not to go to the classes anymore. I never used the actual gym area. Just feeling sorry for myself.

Write to them; tell them your circumstances have changed and you need to freeze or cancel. Then stop the ddebit.
There’s probably a clause in your contract that says they are not obliged to stay open, but in all honesty where would enforcing that get them?
Just be aware they may charge you a fee to rejoin if you choose to do that.

• sorry meant to say clause says they can still charge when not open

for those of you who have had some communication from their provider. I pay £20/each month, would cost £15 rejoin, 4 months I expect it to be closed. But feel immoral for shafting them and there is rumour that my membership deal no long exists. So would be £40/month if I rejoined (swim membership only).

My local authority sports centre has asked people not to cancel if possible. For the time being I can afford £32 a month so I intend to keep paying.
They're a proper community hub too. Lots of activities for kids and gym classes for cardio patients. It would be a disaster if they went.

If you can afford pay it. Rent still has to be paid. Tenants don't pay, landlords go bust, gym.never reopens.