Consumer Council takes on complaints about 24-hour fitness centres

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The Consumer Council reviewed 11 24-hour fitness centres and found that some of their fee structures were unclear, while certain centres' methods of verifying member identities posed privacy risks.

In Hong Kong, there is a growing emphasis on health, leading to the popularity of 24-hour fitness centres, despite people's unstable schedules. Last year, the Consumer Council received 155 complaints related to these centres, a nearly 90% increase from the previous year, mainly concerning contract changes, sales tactics, and service quality.

At the end of last year, the council compared fee and contract information from 11 24-hour fitness centres. They found monthly fees ranging from HK$498 to HK$1,850, with average annual membership fees between HK$349 and HK$783. In some cases, fees varied by more than double within the same centre.

Additionally, five centres charged extra onboarding fees and access card charges, raising the average monthly cost. The Consumer Council noted that some contract terms were unclear. For example, in two cases, the membership fee appeared to require only one month's notice for cancellation, but actually required a minimum of two months' notice. This important detail was printed in a smaller font, which they deemed problematic as it effectively doubled the cost.

The council also discovered that two fitness centres scanned or photographed members' identification cards during registration, while nine used facial recognition as the primary verification method, raising privacy concerns.