Gym sign-up blocked after OYL plan runs out of puff

ABOUT three years ago, I became a member of Liberty’s OYL (Own Your Life) Rewards programme, which is similar to Discovery’s Vitality programme.

This entitled me to join Virgin Active for a fee – how it worked was that you needed to go to gym several times a month and in return you would get R50 back for each visit, capped at a maximum of what the monthly gym fee was. I also enlisted my daughter on the programme; she was 18 at the time and a pupil, so I was the “payer” of her contract and she was a member/adult dependant.

This OYL programme “collapsed” around June 2015 and I was informed by Liberty that I would no longer enjoy the rewards it offered.

As a result, I instructed Virgin Active that I would be cancelling my contract and that of my daughter, as a result of what had happened to OYL. I told them I would not be paying any future premiums.

Virgin demanded that I continued to pay until September 2015, when the one-year period was over – and I declined.

My daughter recently decided that she wanted to re-join Virgin Active, but her membership was declined, as a result of what had happened in 2015.

They hold her liable for outstanding premiums and only if that outstanding amount is settled first will they grant her membership.

My gripe is that I was the responsible “party” for payment of the gym membership, yet they hold her liable as well, because her ID number was “implicated” in the initial contract – I find this an illegal action, as well as going against the “treat the customer fairly” campaign, which service providers are supposed to honour.

Furthermore, her signature does not appear on the contract – it has my signature, from when I filled in the form with the original Virgin Active consultant, who sold me the membership. A Andrea

Georgie: I contacted Virgin Active about the matter and it was resolved.

Andrea wrote back last week, stating: “A lady (by the name of Jackie) was in contact with me from Virgin Active and this issue has been resolved.

“My daughter is now able to enlist as a member. I would like to thank you for your involvement in this and for ‘causing’ an amicable solution to come about.

“I am very grateful to you and thank you for all the help you offer us consumers in being able to receive fair treatment.”