Tue, Feb 16, 2016 page11

• Gym chain shapes up 健身法律學

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  World Gym has been rapidly expanding its chain of fitness centers in recent years. However, according to statistics released by the Consumer Protection Committee, among the cities where World Gym branches are located, including Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Taichung, Tainan, Kaohsiung and Hsinchu City, the number of consumer complaints has grown from 527 in 2011 and 2012 to 646 last year.

  Most complaints have to do with refunds for cancellation of personal training courses, whereas other complaints were lodged because consumers could not take leave of absence or get refunds for health-related reasons, because personal trainers sold too many courses to consumers who cannot complete them before the deadline, because consumers have to pay a fee to change locations, or because customer service hotline staff have a bad attitude toward consumers raising complaints, etc.

  Consumer Protection Committee officer Wang Te-ming says that the committee has asked the gym operator to strictly restrain their trainers from selling inappropriate courses, to work out a maximum number of personal training courses that can be sold, to approve leave of absence in the presence of a diagnosis issued by a physician, to consider allowing gym members to change locations without charging a transfer fee after they have used the original location for a certain period of time and to improve customer service staff’s attitudes when dealing with complaints.

  

  A World Gym contract form is displayed on July 28, 2011 in New Taipei City. 世界健身中心的合約。攝於二零一一年七月二十八日，新北市。

  Photo: Pan Hsing-hui, Liberty Times
  照片：自由時報記者潘杏惠攝

  World Gym says they take every complaint very seriously and that they have held meetings with Consumer Protection Committee officers to address each of the individual complaints. The company also adds that it set up a 24-hour customer service hotline last year to provide consultation and promptly help gym members to resolve any questions, adding that in future it will continue to bring down the volume of complaints.

  (Liberty Times, translated by Ethan Zhan)

  「世界健身中心 World Gym」近年來展店速度快，然而根據消保處統計，所在縣市包括台北市、新北市、桃園市、台中市、台南市、高雄市及新竹市，消費爭議案從二○一一年到二○一二年兩年間總申訴案件達五二七件，去年增到六四六件。

  

  A branch of World Gym in Taipei, pictured on April 17 last year. 世界健身中心的一間台北分店，攝於去年四月十七日。

  Photo: Chiang Hsiang, Liberty Times
  照片：自由時報記者姜翔攝

  消費爭議以教練課程解約退費佔最大宗，其他爭議如「因健康因素要求請假或退費未果」、「教練推銷多筆課程，消費者無法在期限內使用完畢」、「轉點手續費問題」、「客服專線人員處理客訴之態度不佳」等。

  消保官王德明說，已要求業者嚴格規範教練不得不當推銷教練課程，研議教練課程堂數上限；會員提出醫師開具之診斷證明書時，即應核准請假；研議會員於單點使用一段期間後，因故轉點可免收轉點費用；改善客服人員處理客訴態度。

  World Gym 表示，所有糾紛案件都積極處理，針對會員契約已經逐項和消保官開會進行修改；去年增設廿四小時客服熱線，讓會員疑慮可即刻獲得諮詢解決，未來將會持續減少爭議案件數量。

  〔自由時報記者吳亮儀〕
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