I was contacted by their marketing department of a Chinese New Year package which I was rather interested in, provided they meet certain conditions I was asking for. After a few rounds of discussion via phone with Ms Shan of Novena Square branch, we agreed at 11.30 that night that they will meet the terms I was asking for and invited me to visit them to sign the papers that very night.

What I found when I reached California Fitness was Mr Colin Fernandez introducing himself as gym manager who then started giving a sales pitch of another offer which I had already declined. When I told him about the agreement made over the phone, he replied that there was no way that package could be given.

What shocked me is the unapologetic manner in which the staff of California Fitness conducted themselves - they got a customer out of the home at 11.30pm purportedly to sign papers whose terms have been agreed on, only to find that this was not the case.

This is certainly not what I expected from a reputable entity such as California Fitness.

Tan Beng Chong