Controversies
There have been historical cases where direct debit accounts were still debited after the member had cancelled their membership.[15]
In a July 2004 study comparing Fitness First with other Australian gyms, Fitness First respondents were less likely to have been shown how to use equipment by a qualified staff member, offered a fitness assessment or advised on an appropriate exercise routine.[16]
In August 2008, Fitness First took a club member to the Australian New South Wales (NSW) Supreme Court to recover a $200 cancellation fee. The court ruled in favour of Fitness First, although she could not afford to pay and was no longer able to use the gym on medical grounds.[17] The patient explained her medical condition before signing up and was instructed to sign the contract. Fitness First sought action to ensure that gym contracts with clients were still legally valid even if the court were to find that the client did not understand what he or she had signed.[18] Fitness First's victory on appeal overturned a prior decision against the company by the NSW Consumer, Trader and Tenancy Tribunal, which had found that a contract required a "meeting of the minds, in that they each fully know and understand the terms and conditions of the agreement".[18] The Supreme Court found that the Tribunal had erred in a matter of law.
In March 2009, a Sydney Fitness First trainer allegedly attacked a member after a dispute about closing times, pushing him down a flight of stairs. The member spent the night in hospital with a broken nose and seven stitches to the forehead from a deep gash.[19]
In May 2009, the Australian consumer magazine "Choice" found Fitness First to have the most aggressive psychological techniques in getting customers to sign complicated contracts and not explaining what the cancellation policy is, in a test involving "shadow shoppers" visiting two gyms run by Fitness First, Contours, Fernwood Fitness, Curves and Virgin Active.[20]
In 2018, Mick Hawi was shot dead by criminals at a Fitness First gym in Sydney. The criminals ambushed him just as he was getting into his black Mercedes and fled in a getaway car before dumping it and setting it on fire. They were arrested but found not guilty. [21]
In 2023 members of the United Workers Union launched a campaign against underpayment, wage cuts, and poor work conditions at over 150 Fitness First and Goodlife Health Clubs. Within a few months instructors successfully pressured management to concede to their demands.[22]
