Disputes over the financial details in contracts at gym chains are the top consumer complaint, New Taipei City Consumer Protection Office official Wang Chih-yu (王治宇) said on Wednesday last week, adding that people should research whether establishments are trustworthy, read the fine print in contracts and think twice before signing up for a membership.
City residents often choose a gym near their home, but can get cornered by the aggressive sales pitches of some establishments, especially gym chain outlets, Wang said.
Some gym chains push people to buy courses or to buy time with a personal trainer, he said, adding that this tactic often results in consumer complaints once members hit a “fatigue period” in their membership.
Disputes can also result from an establishment refusing to reimburse a member after their personal trainer quits the gym, he said.
The Executive Yuan’s Consumer Protection Committee has instructed gyms to cut back on overselling their products and to set up suitable periods in which members can use up the hours they have purchased, he said.
Gyms must clearly inform people that they cannot break the contract after the trial period, he added.
If people sign up for two programs that share the same time slot, the second program should only begin after the first one has concluded, he said.
Gyms are also responsible for informing people when their membership is about to expire, especially if the memberships renew automatically, he said.
People should not waste their membership fees, Wang said, adding that they should set aside the time, or even force themselves to go.
Wang urged people to do their homework and research their local gyms before committing themselves.
Students and office workers should carefully calculate the amount of time they have to commit to gym workouts before they sign a contract, Wang added.
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) yesterday said it had deployed patrol vessels to expel a China Coast Guard ship and a Chinese fishing boat near Pratas Island (Dongsha Island, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. The China Coast Guard vessel was 28 nautical miles (52km) northeast of Pratas at 6:15am on Thursday, approaching the island’s restricted waters, which extend 24 nautical miles from its shoreline, the CGA’s Dongsha-Nansha Branch said in a statement. The Tainan, a 2,000-tonne cutter, was deployed by the CGA to shadow the Chinese ship, which left the area at 2:39pm on Friday, the statement said. At 6:31pm on Friday,
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, would pose a steep challenge to Taiwan’s ability to defend itself against a full-scale invasion, a defense expert said yesterday. Institute of National Defense and Security Research analyst Chieh Chung (揭仲) made the comment hours after the PLAN confirmed the carrier recently passed through the Taiwan Strait to conduct “scientific research tests and training missions” in the South China Sea. China has two carriers in operation — the Liaoning and the Shandong — with the Fujian undergoing sea trials. Although the PLAN needs time to train the Fujian’s air wing and
The American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) put Taiwan in danger, Ma Ying-jeou Foundation director Hsiao Hsu-tsen (蕭旭岑) said yesterday, hours after the de facto US embassy said that Beijing had misinterpreted World War II-era documents to isolate Taiwan. The AIT’s comments harmed the Republic of China’s (ROC) national interests and contradicted a part of the “six assurances” stipulating that the US would not change its official position on Taiwan’s sovereignty, Hsiao said. The “six assurances,” which were given by then-US president Ronald Reagan to Taiwan in 1982, say that Washington would not set a date for ending arm sales to Taiwan, consult
A Taiwanese academic yesterday said that Chinese Ambassador to Denmark Wang Xuefeng (王雪峰) disrespected Denmark and Japan when he earlier this year allegedly asked Japan’s embassy to make Taiwan’s representatives leave an event in Copenhagen. The Danish-language Berlingske on Sunday reported the incident in an article with the headline “The emperor’s birthday ended in drama in Copenhagen: More conflict may be on the way between Denmark and China.” It said that on Feb. 26, the Japanese embassy in Denmark held an event for Japanese Emperor Naruhito’s birthday, with about 200 guests in attendance, including representatives from Taiwan. After addressing the Japanese hosts, Wang
RSS