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Fitness First Platinum Balgowlah – Unethical charging practices, refusal to process cancellation, and poor facility management I have been a Fitness First Platinum Balgowlah member since 2017. In late 2025, the club removed key cardio equipment including all elliptical machines and failed to provide suitable replacements for over three weeks, significantly reducing the value of the membership I was paying for. As a result, I requested to cancel my membership. Despite making four separate cancellation attempts (three times in person at the club and then via email), Fitness First continued to charge me. They later relied on a technical loophole, claiming that because I had temporarily frozen my membership in the app, this somehow invalidated my cancellation request. This does not appear to be good-faith customer service; instead, it feels like a deliberate retention tactic. This is not an isolated case. My girlfriend experienced the same refusal to cancel and ongoing charges, and my sailing partner also had similar issues with Fitness First. This strongly suggests a broader pattern of behaviour rather than administrative error. The Balgowlah Platinum club itself is poorly managed and frequently unsupervised. Members sit on equipment scrolling their phones while others wait, and there is often no manager available to address issues. For a facility marketed as “Platinum,” the standard of maintenance, management, and customer care is unacceptable. In my opinion, Fitness First’s conduct is unethical, misleading and unfair to consumers. I believe this warrants investigation by NSW Fair Trading / the Ombudsman, as their practices appear inconsistent with fair and reasonable business behaviour. I strongly advise others to exercise extreme caution before joining Fitness First.
Usual complaint, everything in the sell job was not up to final outcome. Specifically asked for a 3 month membership only - then get bank statement to see money still coming out - oh the best I can do is backdate your request to stop by 7 days from now. NO - my request was to stop after 3 months! - not 5 months. "Oh you can still use the gym" "Ah, no, that's why I only wanted 3 months!!" Will never go back.
Very poor and concerning experience. After my 12-month contract ended, Fitness First Balaclava insisted I still owed a “remaining balance” of over $150 and would not allow cancellation unless it was paid. The explanation kept changing (freezes, rolling extensions, payment completion dates), none of which were clearly disclosed or made sense. I was also charged fees I never agreed to. When I questioned them, I was told they were “standard” and non-refundable, with no proof I had consented. Instead of resolving the issue, I received repeated payment demands. The cancellation process feels intentionally obstructive and exhausting. If you ever want to leave, be prepared for confusion, pressure, and disputed charges. I would strongly caution anyone considering joining.
The dw gym was closed and I was transferred to a smaller nearby gym. There is a 4weeks cancellationcooling off period which meant I had to pay 4weeks even though the original service was no longer provided.. that part was disappointing.
