Would cooling-off period stop Hongkongers from being burned by gym hard sell?

Hong Kong retiree May Leung was a loyal customer of the Physical chain of fitness and beauty centres for nearly 20 years, going at least three times a month for wellness classes, facials and regular massages.

The 60-year-old paid the company HK$400,000 (US$51,416) in advance, though she was not sure what services that covered, or how many months or years it would have taken to run out.

By early October, the Consumer Council had received more than 5,000 complaints related to the closure, involving close to HK$200 million. Customs and police received 752 more complaints relating to the Physical chain as of early September.

Like Leung, some customers had prepaid large sums for services they intended to use over years to come. The largest sum in a single complaint was about HK$2 million.

Leung told the Post she did not expect to get her money back. She regretted falling for what she described as aggressive sales tactics by the chain’s staff who pressured customers to buy prepaid packages.

Even before contracts ran out, she said, the staff would persuade customers to sign on for more services, dangling a 10 per cent discount or giveaways, without giving people time to think through their decisions.