Virgin Active South Africa
Reviews and Complaints

I have been using the spin class bicycles for a long time now in the afternoons before the actual spin class starts. Up till now it has been good until one afternoon a member came in and just connected his phone to the sound system and proceeded to spin with his music rather loud. I had my earphones in out of respect to others who come into the class and want to spin. They also use their headphones or earphones. I complained twice. The second time, the Manager did come in and said that no members are allowed to use the system. I see that he is still using it and i now cannot go early and do my workout in the spin class, because he is just doing what he wants.

I just feel that this is totally unacceptable. If everyone else can respect each other and use headphones or earphones, then so can he.

I feel that Management and staff are actually scared of him!

Good day,

I was called by a Virgin representative stating I am one month in arrears although April have been paid. I informed the lady the lady that is the debit order is going on the 1st there will be constant issues as I only get paid once off.

Still explaining the lady did not listen but rather said she will put me down as refusal which is not the case and slammed the phone down in my ear.

I am going to take this up with every possible social media device as well as hello Peter as I need this specific lady on your records to apologise and I am making an official complaint against her and therefore Virgin.

My cell number is [protected]

Email [protected]@mweb.co.za

Wayne Hill

I have cancelled my membership last year June in 2021 but Virgin active is still debiting my account every month.

I'm opening a file at my lawyers today.

I have sent numerous emails to you but they never reply. I have been calling Immanuel and Ivy at Virgin Active at Maerua mall in Windhoek every day, but they still continue to debit my account.

I wanted to enroll my daughter there but I'm afraid to be part of this gym. They are too happy to take money from their clients. And they never return my mails or phone calls. I'm so disgusted. So many people are complaining about them. I'm taking this to social media.

My contact number is +[protected].

Regards,

Margaretha Teixeira

I have been harassed since the start of the pandemic about a month payment which had been missed, which I advised timeously and REPEATEDLY that I had lost my job and no longer wanted the membership. I have moved cities and yet you still persist to debit my account since April 2020!? Holds were placed on the account because we were in lockdown and then, I never returned to the gym and canceled my membership because I was unemployed due to the pandemic.

Now I receive an email with no account statement to date, about an amount of R882.20 which is said to now be outstanding. What is it going to take to cancel this?!

I wish for this to be cleared finally, once and for all please. I cannot keep requesting the same thing repeatedly!

I am currently a Cornelia, Virgin Active member. Switched to vitality in January 2022. Was told old membership will can off . Until this day old membership has still been debited, for 3 months. Pathetic service received. Been to club spoken to everyone possible. Really useless and unhelpful staff. Issue still not resolved.

Hi, I need someone to immediately contact me. I cancelled my contract with Virgin Active on the 19/09/2021. I received an email in January 19th 2022 telling me I was in arrears. I resent my cancellation email on the same day and copied the original cancellation request. On both occasions, I received an email acknowledging my request and that it would be attended to and back dated to date of first email request. I now have had my account debited 2 months in a row for R1250. I did not authorise this.

This is theft and I am extremely disappointed that such an establishment can ignore cancellation requests and continue to take money they are not authorised to access.

I have asked Virgin Active to contact me ASAP to resolve, with an immediate refund for R2500.

Account [protected].

I also indicated failure to respond will result in escalating to the authorities.

I have sent multiple requests to Amy (administrator of new contracts) to provide me with the contract details after joining Virgin Active online and to date I have received nothing.

Today I received a WhatsApp from [protected] that enquired whether I was still planning to join the Gym. I responded by stating that I had not received the documentation yet and did not want to embarrass myself by going there with a flimsy piece of paper and then beg for access as the contract might not have been activated yet.

Low and behold, so I decide ok, maybe I should just get this sorted and I go to the Gym today, they cannot find me on the system at all. I informed the person that sent a WhatsApp to me, and they said they will resolve it immediately.

It has been more than 4 hours now since I first informed them that I cannot register for online access as it too states that I don't exist and still no Feedback or anything.

Is this how Virgin Active does business? Ten days later and I am still not registered and still not able to access functionality etc.?

I have been billed for 2 months even though I cancelled my contract due to mixed messages, unkept promises made that I will have 2 months free, then only will my first payment be debited at the end of march 2022? I keep getting different messages from different people? This is the kloof gym in durban.

I have all the proof and documents but yet they still keep calling me... Please communicate with each other? And sort it out!

Good day,

What a journey with Virgin Active. To date no correspondence was received from the company and our query started September 2020.

Where to start, firstly, Virgin Active froze all memberships during the lockdown period, however somewhere in between my Vitality status was changed (I was not aware), when the lockdown restrictions were lifted, I was suddenly debited R670 monthly, instead of the usual R167. After one of the many phone calls to Virgin Active it was clear that my Vitality status was affected (3 months down the line with a total of R670 x 3 = R2010 debited). I voiced my discontent and asked that I give a month's notice and exit as a member. Upon exiting, a consultant phoned (very worried that I now wanted to cancel my membership) and offered to resolve the issue and in the interim, only debit my account with half of the R670 (meaning R335 - this they call a retention). Four months down the line the consultant was no where to be heard of (even to this day) and I was left with R335 to pay. I contacted Virgin Active another 5 attempts telephonically (all relevant proof available) and to no avail, I was eventually asked to head to my nearest club, which I did. By now I've had it with Virgin Active. By now they used the excuse that they have been hacked a while back and due to "no systems working" the consultant at the specific branch agreed to again "sort out my query" if only I paid the R455 Vitality joining fee and agree to the original R167 membership fee. Again reluctantly wanting to sort out the membership, I agreed. Needless to say I paid the R455 and the consultant resigned at the club after punching in my ID number incorrectly by one digit. This triggered a "fraudulent member alert" at Virgin Active and I was now on some list at head-office. They also started debited my account again, twice (two memberships) and the total membership now amounted to R837 (R670 + R167). I'm out of pocket and trying to keep the emotions low is tough. If anyone can help I honestly ask that you would.

Good day

I would like to file a complaint please.

In January i converted my membership from a normal club membership to a Vitality membership. Upon completing the new membership form for the Vitality contract in the branch, the incorrect debit order amount went off my bank account of R650 in February despite me completing the form.

I went again to the branch to alert the sales staff and completed another form with Ofentse Mosiapoa who advised i would be refunded. I waited several weeks and realized that the money still has not been refunded. I went back to Ofentse and he apologized as he did not submit the form to his claims administrator. I went back to Ofentse and completed another access form stating my case again. I followed up this morning 24 /3 /22 with Ofentse and he advised he is awaiting for communication with his administrator and that we does not have any feedback as yet.

I now need to escalate the matter as a matter of urgency for my refund to be made . Please can someone assist me as soon as possible. I would like to see what amount Virgin Active will debit me at the end of March.

Please contact me on [protected] , ID [protected]

I always had a membership and expired long time ago and have not at the gym since 2019, sometimes beginning 2021 I joined again and was told they have a special where it will pay lesser since Covid and was mostly in Newcastle and there is no Virgin active there but I agreed on the offer of R110 monthly as it was frozen mice couldn't access the gym.

2021 from November I then get debited twice the one I agreed on R110 and the other one for R1080 I have been querying this and I asked for refund I have been to the club, I have seen the manager and everyone else who all promised to sort this mess off but still today, I have asked to cancel everything with Virgin active since I am not happy with their service, and I was told I will have to pay in some money.

Every month I get debited 2 amounts and let alone I am still in Newcastle not using their services, I was asked to email proof that I am in Newcastle, I have been asked for bank statement showing 2 debits still nothing been done.

Every time when I call to find out about the progress I am always told either admin not in or the guy who helped me to join is not in the office but it's been story after story, I am super annoyed and tired of this

There is a staff member at Glen Marais that was very disrespectable,arrogant,

and not helpfull at all whithout using words like please and sorry.

Her name is Shannon,and I am about to cancel my membership because of her arrogance.

This is to officially lodge a complaint about the manager Oli at Virgin Avtive Broadarces. Unprofessional and picking on innocent clients to prove his worth as a gym manager.

Please contact me for full details of years of discrimination as Melrose Arch member participating at Broadacres Virgin Active.

Regards

Lynn

[protected]

[protected]@gmail.com

I am really disappointed with the state of the equipment and the gym in general in amanzimtoti, more than half of the machines and equipment is not in working order and the half that is working is falling apart. Surely some upgrades should be made but I have not seen any in the last 6 years being a member yet we pay full membership. I find it shocking compared to other virgin actives around us and really think something needs to be done.

Kids under 7 are allowed in the kiddies area and there is no place for kids older than 7, what are the single parents meant to do if they work full time and have to take them with?

I signed two contracts towards the end November 2021 with the Bedfordview branch & was told Virgin was running a special that the first 3 months would be free, needless to say, I've been debited every month except January, which I'm sure is the same for everybody, my emails sent the branch have fallen on deaf ears as I am sure so will this one. Furthermore, during lockdown I was promised reduced monthly fees, yet debited in full when I was no longer attending the gym.

Regards

Montey Leonette

totally and utterly disgusted with Virgin Active Little Falls! Firstly cancelled my contract which ended in December 2021 since 2019 as it was a 24 month contract.

When I called on Sunday 27/02, the lady named Mpho was suppose to call me but didnt. When I called today, she called me back with no solution and yet they billed me 3 extra months! with no re-imbursement,

Who goes to the gym during covid? When my contract finished at the end of 2021 why did'nt anyone call me?

THE EXCUSE IS THAT IT IS AN AUTO RENEWAL! Can the manager not even have decency to let the customer know that they will still be billed?

In 2018 I wanted to take a contract with Virgin Active in East London. I filled and signed all the necessary paper work and this was going to be my third contract with VA. Then I was told that I was owing money from a 2014 contract. My surprise was that I disputed that contract in 2014 and they still allowed me to have two other contracts after that. And no one ever contacted and said I was owing.

I enrolled my son at the La Lucia Club for swimming lessons and later on they advised that pool was under construction after enrollment.

I requested a refund and cancelled the lessons as i could not drive to other clubs for the lessons.

Andrew Whitson advised he would arrange the refund for me on 17/01/2022. I have been conducting follow up's to date no one has an answer, always same feedback they are awaiting feedback from the head office.

Conducted a telephonic follow up spoke with Rene Reneiker at the call centre who said she will call the club and ask them what was happening with refund.

This is totally unacceptable that it takes more than 1 month to process a refund.

I have been treated with the most utter disrespect and should this issue be not attended to within the next 48hours.

I would have exhausted all avenues and will be laying a formal complaint with all the relevant industry regulating bodies which handles customer complaints.

Virgin Active in Paarl - my son and his friends cell phones was stolen out of their locked lockers at the gym. (it even had and additional safety lock on the door my son purchased) When I arrived and talked to desk the staff, it became apparent that this is not an isolated incident. The staff discourage the boys to walk around and ask other clients if they saw someone in the lockers.

They boys are members for less than a week and on a Sunday someone comes in, break open the lockers and steal their cell phones, while the day manager tells me we cannot look on the corridor cameras because of the POPI act? Criminal situation occurred and the POPI act does not come in play?

So disappointed in the lack of security, door of locker was easily opened, but more so in the staff "covering at the utmost effort" to ensure that they can do nothing?... and trying to keep this incident low level.

I have been waiting for my refund, since 1 February, today is the 10th called the CC at 08:00 left a message for AMIEN KLAARKSON to call me back i called back at 11: 47 spoke to Tyrone, he said Amien is in interview when asked for her superiors details refused to provide information, I am not just fishing for information i am a client waiting for feedback and i get the POPI Act thrown at me, this is not a personal call its business, information should be available to clients, is there no transparency and ethical behaviour. What kind of service are you then offering, these things should be told to each client before joining then maybe we will be aware and make informed decisions. So is this how VA does business incorrectly debiting bank accounts and then managers avoiding. So sad service. My contract just started and already there are issues. It does not take this long to rectify an error especially with the Technology at our finger tips, it feels like its being delayed purposely.