GymNation Dubai – Forced Memberships, Legal Threats & More (Update 2024)
Founded by Frank Afeaki and Loren Holland, GymNation Dubai has become a prominent brand in recent years. However, the gym chain traps customers in predatory contracts where they can’t cancel their membership and the gym can change the provisions whenever it wants.
Many people have been forced to pay membership fees to this gym chain even though their contracts have already expired. In other cases, the gym didn’t let the customers cancel their membership when they requested.
Furthermore, if someone decides not to pay the gym after canceling their membership, GymNation Dubai sends their details to a debt collection agency.
It’s a major scam.
The following GymNation Dubai review will explain how this scam works and what its victims say:
GymNation Dubai Tried to Extort Money Out of a Former Client: (Reddit Post)
In this post, a Reddit user shared how GymNation Dubai was harassing him. He was once a member of the gym but got sick in March and wasn’t able to visit the gym afterward.
The editor visited the gym and the front desk told him to contact the accounts department. So, he sent emails to the accounts department of GymNation Dubai but received no replies. Later, he tried to call them but they didn’t answer.
So, the Redditor had no choice. He canceled his card and moved on with life. Now, some people from a debt recovery agency called CMS called him. They told him that there was legal action against him for defaulting on his payment and it would affect his credit score.
The Redditor asked the community how to deal with the issue. He pointed out that the gym didn’t let him cancel his membership and now they want to charge him for a membership he never used.
Various users came forward and gave helpful advice to the Reddit user. One user suggested changing numbers and calling CMS’ bluff by asking for a Court’s notice.
Many of them pointed out that GymNation Dubai makes it impossible to end the contract and charge you even after the contract’s duration has ended.
Although it’s a genuine complaint, GymNation Dubai didn’t like it. Instead of addressing the issue and resolving it, they filed multiple fake DMCA notices to remove it from the internet:
Fake DMCA Takedowns:
As you’ll see later in this review, GymNation Dubai is notorious among its clients. Hence, many of GymNation’s reviews are negative and complain about their unethical practices.
Instead of fixing their business methods, they use illegal marketing tactics to hide such complaints. In this section of my review, I have explained how they take down complaints from the internet by using fake DMCA notices.
This is a pretty common tactic among notorious scammers. Jerry Couvaras is another conman who has used this method to hide the stories of his fraudulent activities from the internet.
Case 1:
(Source)
Here, the marketers of Gymnation Dubai copied the Reddit post and posted it on a free website called “dubaireview0.wordpress.com” on a date before the date of the Reddit post.
Then, the marketers filed a DMCA notice claiming that their post was the original so Google should take down the Reddit post from the internet.
This is an illegal marketing technique and involves Perjury, Impersonation, and Fraud.
Case 2:
(Source)
They copied the same Reddit post on another free website called “peterdavies362.wordpress.com” and posted it on a date before that of the Reddit post.
Then, they filed another DMCA complaint to Google hoping it would remove the original Reddit post from the internet.
Certainly, the marketers of GymNation Dubai have no ethics or respect for laws.
It wouldn’t be a surprise if they file a fake DMCA complaint against this article as well.
Now that you’re familiar with how this company operates, here is what its customers think:
GymNation Dubai Reviews 2022:
GymNation Dubai Deducts Money After Cancellation
The above reviewer had canceled her membership around 2 months before the expiry date of her contract.
However, the gym kept deducting money from her card.
She tried to contact them through email. But even after 10+ emails, they didn’t respond.
Furthermore, email is the only communication available with Gymnation Dubai to discuss cancellations.
She shares that many of her friends had the same experience when it comes to canceling a membership or expiry of the contract. Meghna points out that the gym has increased the membership fee without notifying them as well.
“Please Do Not Join Their 12 Months Membership Program”
Here, the reviewer requests other people to avoid joining the 12 monthly membership program of GymNation Dubai. They highlight that the gym is scamming consumers by advertising cheap rates.
Then, the gym enrolls people on a contract where they don’t let them cancel the membership.
Also, the reviewer highlights that the gym has no mercy. They don’t give you any contact numbers or addresses if you want to share your concerns. Instead of handling the situation, they send you a notice through their legal team.
The reviewer says it’s highly inappropriate and should be illegal.
Furthermore, the reviewer highlights that the accounts department is terrible. Even though they had sent the department a clear email that they wanted to withdraw their membership due to cervical spine problems, they didn’t reply.
Instead, the legal team of GymNation Dubai sent a notice to the reviewer after a few months.
Again, the reviewer requests other consumers avoid this scam.
GymNation Dubai Doesn’t Let You Cancel Your Membership:
Like most of the GymNation Dubai reviews I have shared here, this one also pertains to their unethical business practices.
Mehio highlights that the gym renewed the contract without their consent. When Mehio tried to reach out to their accountant to complain and request the termination of the contract, they ignored her.
After a while, they gave her number to a debt collection service as she refused to pay for her unused membership.
Now, the debt collection agency has been harassing her with frequent phone calls and threatening her with legal proceedings. Because of all this, Mehio has filed a complaint against the gym with the DED.
She highlights that it’s the most dishonest and shady business she has ever dealt with.
“The Worst Gym You Can Deal With”
Mina highlights that GymNation Dubai is the worst gym you can deal with when it comes to payments.
She points out that the gym will do anything to keep charging you. Mina had asked for an upgrade to access all branches. She asked them explicitly that her request was for her same-year contract and the gym confirmed it.
But they started a new full-year membership instead. Furthermore, they didn’t inform her about this new membership as well.
According to Mina, another prominent issue here is that the gym is always crowded because the owners only care about making more money. She recommends going someplace else, even if it costs a bit more.
GymNation Dubai Has Rude Staff and Doesn’t Let You Cancel
GymNation Dubai had called the above reviewer to pay their monthly fee when they weren’t even going there. The reviewer highlights that they had car trouble and had other financial commitments.
So, the reviewer shared their financial gripe with the gym but they didn’t care. Then, the reviewer asked the staff if they could give them an email for management. However, the staff member said that there aren’t any.
Eventually, the reviewer stopped recharging their card to tackle this problem.
Additional GymNation Dubai Reviews You Should Read:
Verdict
After going through the various GymNation Dubai reviews and complaints, it’s obvious that the gym doesn’t have any regard for its customers.
It traps people into shady agreements and forces them to pay even after their contracts have expired.
Certainly, GymNation Dubai is running a major scam. Hence, you should avoid it at all costs.
I am pretty much in the same situation now. the mistake from my side is seeing the horrible reviews I did not even tried to request them to cancel my membership. Thankfully my Card got cancelled. Now I am getting the messages, calls, threats from some agency. making my life hell. Can you help me what shall I do ? please.
They offer you deals to register with no available method to cancel your membership. No means to contact them but through emails which they will never bother to reply to. They charge you without your consent, and you have no way to cancel even if you are not using their services anymore. Very shady and misleading terms that you will have no clue about because no one will explain them to you before registering. No mention of “T&C Applies” in their registration form and clearly no one will ever just go to the T&Cs on any website and read it unless it is clearly stated in the form. Not to mention that T&Cs and forms could be altered in any way they want from their website’s backend at any time. No contract is available to prove that you registered with a 12 months membership as they claim. Plus, I believe anyone should have the right to cancel a service when it is not needed or used anymore and that could come with a cancellation fee but they shouldn’t oblige a person to continuously pay for something that they do not want anymore!
Iwas training in the gym with 2 friends then they faught with my friends because they Helping each other inthe training and they said they have to get personal trainer from Gymnation anyway and they stopped to train with them so I went to Gymnation Elqouz and I requested the cancellation and I mentioned the rude situation happened to them and that iwill not train alone and will train with in another gym they sent mail to motor city and no one back to me and after one month still deducting the money I called them again lady the reception she said they will call u but one call me I Whatapp her that I asked for cancellation but still no one calling back and still every month taking the Money and then a guy called me from legal department I said I canceled from 3 month he said no you r not paying the membership and started to chasing me on my mobile and WhatsApp and mails and already I canceled also I sent him the conversation with the lady In the reception again he sent me legal notice before he raise to court. Unbelievable
The largest fitness club group in the United Arab Emirates, GymNation, has been sold to UK-based JD Sports Gyms, a division of FTSE 100 behemoth JD Sports.
With seven locations in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Ras Al Khaimah, GymNation, which was founded in 2018, has risen quickly from an entrepreneurial start-up into the UAE’s top gym operator with over 40,000 members.
The sale by Select Investments, a division of Select Group with its headquarters in Dubai, highlights an investment strategy that is “focused on identifying high-potential businesses, creating value by positioning the portfolio company for the next stage of growth, and maximising returns for stakeholders.”
Alun Peacock, Managing Director of JD Gyms, expressed his excitement over the acquisition of the quickly expanding fitness company by saying, “we’re really delighted to have bought GymNation and collaborated with the management team.
The three founders – Loren, Frank, and Ant – will continue to run the day-to-day operations and hold a sizable minority interest as a result of the acquisition.
“GymNation is a very successful company with a great offering that goes well with JD Gyms’ UK operations. We are eager to collaborate with the management team to launch the UAE’s next phase of expansion and to take advantage of additional interesting potential in the larger (Arabic Gulf) region.
GymNation founder and CEO Loren Holland remarked, “Having a supporting partner like JD Gyms will be a tremendous advantage. We look forward to continuing to promote the health and wellness of the people in keeping with the UAE’s goal of becoming the “most active city in the world.”
“We believe the purchase of GymNation, a UAE-based start-up, by one of the top international gym operators, who is also a member of a FTSE 100 PLC company, is a success story for entrepreneurs and investors.”
Since a while ago, JD Sports Gyms has been interested in the Asian and Arabian Gulf markets. In 2016, it was revealed that JD Sports Gyms was considering buying Fitness First’s Asian assets before they were sold to the organisation that would later become Evolution Wellness.
Be aware of Gymnation and Blitz partner class scam! they basically will rip you off and will refuse to cancel your membership! i have never used the equipments inside the gym due to its lack of hygiene and the crowded smelly clients… i used to go for the classes only and when i asked even to suspend or freeze they refused and they kept deducting from my card! Now they started to send me harassing emails and what’s app, threatening me to charge me penalties and that i am committed with 1 year contract which is untrue! I have already escalated to Dubai consumer protection to take action against them… Worst gym ever, they don’t even have phone number or management to communicate with!!
This sounds like you got lazy and just wanted to quit the gym contract before it had finished! Read the terms and conditions before you sign up for something cheap next time!
The main reason I signed up was the crossfit classes they offer and it’s the best decision I made for my health and fitness. Gym nation’s program is very effective and it keeps me on my top shape since joining 1 year ago. Highly recommended!!!
I’ve been a member for more than 2 years and I always look forward working out at Gymnation. Aside from the energizing atmosphere, other members are also awesome and inspiring. Added bonus is the helpful nature of the staffs. Highly recommended!
Don’t go to this place. You will regret it! They have the worst billing system in place. All the Gymnation locations have this issue. I have been paying them for 2 months now even though my membership ended in April. Gymnation is a scam.
I don’t recommend Gymnation Al Quoz. The staff there is very rude. They act all nice until you face some problem and express your concerns. Definitely not worth the price.
I have been to Gymnation Mirdif. The people who go there are decent and the staff is respectful. But all of it doesn’t justify their scummy business tactics. They overcharged me for my membership and when I complained, they told me to contact the accounting department. I did but it didn’t do anything. So even though they have a good clientele, I don’t think it would be good for anyone to join these gyms. If this happens in Mirdif, I’m certain it also happens in their other locations like Al Quoz.
They will never receive my recommendation. Gymnation is the worst gym out there. You can’t just force people to keep paying!!!
Geez, this place sounds like a terrible mess. I have signed up there for a month, will they extend my membership without my permission? Shouldn’t that be illegal?
My brother joined this gym last year for 2-3 months. He didn’t want to join the annual membership but they signed him up for it anyway.
Imagine what he must have thought when he found out. When he stopped paying them, those debt collectors started calling him. They threatened him many times.
He came to me and I looked up GymNation Dubai. These lame scammers think they are too smart, stealing money from potential customers.
I told him to block their numbers. Guess I was right cuz they didn’t do anything after that.
All those threats were empty.
Don’t go to GymNation Dubai tho. They are a scam.
I feel you guys. This place is horrendous.
Unethical
Scummy
Shady.
They kept charging my card even though my 12-months had completed. When I complained, they laughed. They are the worst. THE WORST.
I feel sorry for you. Pay only until you are going there. Then, block your card and move on.
They are frauds…they will happily take your money but not let you cancel your membership when you want. I didn’t take their annual membership but they signed me up for it anyway.
When I complained about it, the front desk told me to contact their billing department. Guess what? They never replied.
GymNation Dubai is a scam. Period.
Sounds like another person who didn’t read the GymNation terms and conditions when they signed up to a 12-month membership agreement? GymNation is a fantastic gym facility, i have been a member for over 3 years now and have no issues whatsoever all of my friends (20+ people) who joined with me are all saying the same too.
My advice.. read the terms and conditions and if you are too lazy to go to the gym, dont think about joining in the first place.
Staff slave
Get off your high horse. You sound like a GymNation shill. You didn’t even read the complaints did you? They don’t have a cancellation policy at all! That’s not how you do a proper business. They are not a business but a vicious scam.