Demand for £200 refund as gym shuts

A Stafford woman is demanding a refund for the £200 fee she paid to join a gym which suddenly closed down.

Karen Hill is calling for other former members of the now-defunct Stafford Sports Arenas to consider taking legal action after communication with the former owner of the centre suddenly stopped.

Mrs Hill joined the gym at Stafford Sports Arenas last October but the centre, on Queen's Retail Park, closed down in a shock move in January.

At the time, the owner of the business, Nabil Jaber, blamed the recession and rising bills for the move but promised members of the gym that they would soon be able to use new facilities on Newport Road.

Speaking in January, Mr Jaber said 'Gym and Tonic', together with women-only fitness suite the Ladies' Centre, would reopen at the new site in March and asked for members to be patient. He was given planning permission to convert a premises referred to on an application as 'the Data Centre' by borough council planners at the end of the month.

However, no announcement has been made since and Mrs Hill says she has not been able to contact Mr Jaber for weeks.

The Express & Star also tried to reach Mr Jaber this week but emails have gone unanswered and a telephone number previously supplied for his business diverted straight to a voicemail box, which is completely full.

The 35-year-old Beaconside woman said she expects hundreds of former members of Gym and Tonic are in the same position as her and believes that they may have to take legal action to recoup their membership fees.

She said: "You just don't expect that when you join a gym, it's suddenly going to close down without any warning."

Mrs Hill is urging anyone else in her position to get in touch with Stafford Citizens' Advice Bureau by calling 01785 258673. Mr Jaber's business is still trading, according to the Companies House website.