Over 30 members have so far filed cases individually, in the hope of reinstating their membership in the gym.

One of the members, who wanted to be known as Tee, said the membership cost them between RM4,000 and RM11,000 per person under a package bought a decade ago.

“Under this membership, we are supposed to pay a yearly sum of about RM100 a year to continue the lifetime membership,” he told FMT.

He said the due date differed as it depended on the date an individual bought the membership.

“There are usually no emails or written reminders. The front counter staff would inform us verbally after looking at our access card when we scan it before entering the gym,” he said.

Everything went smoothly till June this year when the gym operator decided to develop an app that required members to register their sessions before entering the premises due to the ongoing Covid-19 crisis.

He added the premises were also not open during the movement control order, which began in March.

“A lot of people were then denied entry, stating their payment was due.

“A lot of members rely on staff communication such as invoices to pay their dues but no such effort had been carried out since 2019,” he said.

Since 2019, he further alleged that some of the members had attempted to make payments but could not do so due to failure in the gym’s computer system.

“Members assumed they were not in trouble since they were allowed to use the facility,” Tee claimed.

Tee said he made many attempts to pay through the gym’s internal computer system in July 2019 but was continuously denied the opportunity to make payment.

He added some of the members had been with the gym since the early years of its operations and their membership should not be terminated as they had every intention of paying had they been aware of the due date.

“Members should be allowed to pay their overdue payment and keep their membership,” he added.

FMT is contacting the gym for comments.