Pushy gym staff are part of the fabric of Hong Kong life, but it seems some of them might need to tone it down.
Hong Kong’s Customs and Excise Department (C&ED) announced on Friday that they have launched an investigation into suspected aggressive commercial practice after it received two complaints from the public against staff at an unnamed fitness centre in Mong Kok.
Over the past three weeks, six men and five women, aged between 20 and 57, have been arrested as part of an on-going investigation.
The employees are suspected of exerting undue influence in selling fitness club memberships to customers.
In one of the alleged cases, a male customer was reportedly convinced to take a “free” fitness test (criminal enough), and was subsequently charged HKD1,800 for the honour when he refused to buy a gym membership.
In another case, staff members apparently convinced a customer to sign a membership contract by pretending that the form was for a free trial service. The poor sod ended up forking out HKD19,000 and HKD6,500 to procure a three-year and one-year fitness membership, respectively. Always read the small print, Coconauts.
If you’re concerned that pushy gym staff are trying to rip you off, you can report suspected cases by calling the 24-hour hotline on (+852) 2545-6182.
