New team to reopen Cannock fees row health club
A health club in Cannock that closed suddenly, owing members hundreds of pounds in annual fees, is reopening under new ownership.
Energie Fitness For Women in Cannock closed without warning last year.
Some women had paid £380 fees days previously. Now, the club has been taken over by a new franchisee who is hoping to win back former members.
The club, in Hollies Court, off Hollies Park Road, opened in September 2011, targeting older women who felt intimidated by gyms.
The business attracted dozens of members who regularly attended classes and used the exercise equipment.
After the former franchisee disappeared, many tried to pursue the company for a refund, but only some of them were successful.
New owners Carl Ziemann and Louise Smith said they have no connection with the former management.
"People have asked us about compensation, but the business isn't set up like that," they said.
"We understand that there was an issue over the lease.
"But we are a completely independent company who have taken the chance to start up the club again and turn it around.
"I believe people who paid by credit card may have been able to recoup their money, but those paying by cash or debit card didn't have any protection.
"Some had paid a year's fees upfront just a couple of days before the place closed.
"We feel really sorry for those people that lost money.
"It's not the way we plan to run the business," they added.
Mr Ziemann, aged 34, said they would offer a special deal to former members who lost out if they joined the new club.
He and his partner had been in touch with a nucleus of 35 to 40 women who became friends at the club and who continued to meet up for coffee after it closed.
"They have stayed together, and they are all coming back after we went to meet them as a group," he said.
"It has given us a fantastic kick-start to the business.
"It was really important that we recognised the upset that they had experienced, and we wanted to reward their loyalty and trust.
"They had a chance to question us, and we were able to reassure them. Although this is our first business, both Louise and I have been in the leisure industry for a long time."
The club officially launches on May 9 but is open for prospective members to view between 9am and 4pm, Monday to Friday beforehand.
