Club16, a BC-based fitness club, was involved in a small claims case against a member who claimed thousands of dollars in damages for membership and training fees.
In a public decision, Rahim Hadani said that Club16 breached his agreements with the fitness centre.
He asked for damages of $4,901.85, which he claimed were a refund for membership fees, training sessions he didn’t use, and reimbursement for random expenses.
Club16 told the BC Civil Resolution Tribunal that it denied breaching agreements between both sides. It added that it gave Hadani a partial refund out of goodwill and doesn’t owe anything further.
An employee represented Club16, while Hadani represented himself.
Hadani became a member of Club16 on July 5, 2021. Later that year, he upgraded his membership to “Elite Plus.” The following year, he signed a personal training agreement that offered 12 sessions between May 10, 2022, and August 2, 2022.
He paid $1,039.50 for those sessions but cancelled all of his memberships in October 2022.
His allegations include that the trainer he was working with changed their schedule and Hadani couldn’t attend the sessions anymore. He requested a refund, but Club16 told him he was outside of his cancellation window; however, out of goodwill, the fitness club gave him some money back. He received a refund of $727.65 minus some administration fees. He told the tribunal he wanted the full amount.
The tribunal pointed out that one problem for Hadani was that he sought to cancel the contract in October 2022, while the sessions had expired in August, which meant the agreement was fulfilled.
Hadani also claimed the trainer missed a session, but he lacked the evidence to prove this claim. The trainer also denied the claim. He asked for $3,200 for the time he spent trying to get a refund from Club16, based on a $400 hourly rate. The tribunal dismissed this claim.
He also asked for a $900 refund for membership fees, which is 50% of what he paid, suggesting that Club16’s equipment and facilities “were substandard, frequently broken, and not properly calibrated.”
Club16 denied these allegations, and Hadani lacked documentary evidence to support them.
The tribunal dismissed all of Hadani’s claims against Club16, including his request for a $40 reimbursement for a doctor’s note he got to assist him in cancelling his membership.
No damages were awarded.