A 24-hour gym user in Singapore has taken to TikTok to complain about being charged S$60 for not closing the door behind him properly and allowing another person to tailgate him and enter the gym.
In a video posted on Aug. 29 that has currently amassed over 400,000 views, the complainant provided screenshots detailing the situation.
The messages were exchanges between him and "AFBugis", the Anytime Fitness Bugis outlet.
@user4422076196203 @Mothership @MustShareNews @The Blue Cats by Goody Feed @Wake Up Singapore ♬ original sound - alaness
The gym informed the man that "[he] did not close the door behind [him], which resulted in an unidentified person coming in without tapping her key fob".
The gym was able to come to that conclusion based on surveillance footage.
The gym user was then told that he would be charged a S$60 tailgating fee if he was unable to verify that the person behind him was a member of the gym.
Screenshot from alaness/TikTok
The man disputed the fairness of the fee imposed as he did not see the woman coming in behind him.
He also questioned if he was expected to "push her out [and] close the door on her" before requesting the woman to tap in with her key fob.
Screenshot from alaness/TikTok
The gym responded that "it would have been ideal" if he had asked her to exit and tap back in, and referred to its policy stated in their membership terms and conditions.
Screenshot from alaness/TikTok
Went back to view CCTV
The man went down to the gym to view the CCTV footage himself, which showed a woman coming out of a lift and following behind him into the gym.
Gif from alaness/TikTok
However, he was ultimately unable to identify the tailgater and paid the S$60 fee as he was told that he would be banned from all Anytime Fitness outlets if he did not do so within the stipulated time.
The gym had also reiterated that it was his sole responsibility to ensure that the woman tapped in with her key fob.
Shared his frustrations
He conveyed his frustrations in the video, saying that he was "extremely upset" and would be sure to close the door even if someone else was behind him in the future.
He ended off the video by stating that he would no longer join this particular branch after his membership ends.
His sentiments of injustice were shared by many, as seen by the comments on his TikTok video.
Checked the Terms & Conditions
The man has also uploaded a follow-up video on TikTok with screenshots of the gym membership's terms and conditions.
@user4422076196203 Follwong up on the tailgating fine i received from AF Bugis yesterday. I found my terms and conditions that I signed and discovered very disturbing trends. I wish to clarify i am not shaming the company but as a consumer i felt unjustly penalised for one and two the penalty can be changed on a whim wo informing us is definitely ridiculous. I even oleaded for leniency and said i rmb it was 30 but the staff insisted the price had always been 60 @Mothership @MustShareNews @The Blue Cats by Goody Feed @Wake Up Singapore ♬ original sound - alaness
One of the terms stated:
You must not allow anyone else to use your key fob and must alert the Club immediately if it is lost or stolen. If this policy is violated, you may be charged a guest fee and/or have your membership suspended or cancelled subject to a cancellation fee.
One of the other terms in the letter of acceptance for the membership also stated that a member may be charged S$30 if someone else uses their key fob.
The man questioned the inconsistency in the fee written in the letter and the fee imposed on him and alleges that he was not informed of the increase in fee before the incident.
Mothership has reached out to Anytime Fitness for comment.
However, they have since replied that they are unable to respond to requests for comments at the moment.
Top images from alaness/TikTok