S'pore True Fitness customer spent S$21,000 on lifetime membership for himself & 2 daughters, did not expect gym to close this abruptly - Mothership

Lifetime membership holders still had to pay an annual fee of S$107.

On Sep. 10, True Fitness and True Yoga announced that all outlets would cease operations with immediate effect, citing an inability to continue operating due to debt.

The closure left both employees and customers in a lurch.

Some customers told Shin Min Daily News that they spent about S$10,000 on a "Lifetime Founder VIP" membership which had S$107 annual fees.

The membership, which could also be used at overseas branches, allowed them to enjoy a private lounge and personal locker.

Chen (transliteration) told Shin Min that he purchased the "Lifetime Founder VIP" membership for himself and his two daughters in 2014, spending a total of about S$21,000.

He pointed out that even such VIP membership holders still had to pay an annual fee of S$107.

The membership allowed them to access even overseas outlets in Thailand and Taiwan.

He said that the Suntec City branch previously had a private lounge with massage chairs and coffee machines for VIP members to enjoy.

Another customer, Lin (transliteration) 44, told Shin Min that she joined the fitness centre in 2017 and spent about S$10,000 for the lifetime VIP membership in 2020.

She was apparently told that it was their last year issuing the lifetime VIP memberships.

According to Shin Min, neither of the two expected their "lifetime" cards to become useless with the closure of the gym.

Affected customers subsequently formed a contact group to help each other, reported Shin Min.

One customer, Yang (transliteration), 39, had previously signed a three-year membership package with her husband, which was originally scheduled to expire in November this year.

She then purchased another three-year package, which included a three-month membership, for a total payment of over S$2,600.

The new package was supposed to take effect in January next year.

She said she went to the outlet at Millenia Walk for a class on Sep. 10.

There were about 20 people in the class at the time, and she did not notice anything unusual until Sep. 12 when she learned that the fitness centre had entered liquidation proceedings.

She then searched online for other affected members and created a WhatsApp group with them, which currently has about eight members.

They hope to add more members to help each other.