Jin was invited to participate in a "loyalty program" for long-term customers. He was offered an internal membership for 8,888 CNY, with the gym promising to resell it for him at 16,666 CNY.
To build trust, the gym guaranteed a full refund within two months if they couldn't resell the membership. If successful, they would take a 10% commission. After some hesitation, Jin agreed.
A few days later, he was told there was another membership available. Thinking he could make a substantial profit, Jin invested tens of thousands more CNY. When his investment reached 130,000 CNY, the staff introduced him to the manager, who painted an even more attractive picture of potential earnings.
Over the next two months, Jin continued to invest, eventually reaching a total of 870,000 CNY in exchange for 26 contracts, including memberships and personal training sessions. These memberships, he calculated, would last him 300 years.
"I calculated that selling these memberships would net me over 1.6 million CNY," he said.
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The man who bought 300 years' worth of gym memberships. Photo: World Journal |
The man who bought 300 years' worth of gym memberships. Photo: World Journal
However, by the July 15 deadline, no money had been deposited into his account. When he inquired, the staff told him the "accountant was reviewing it." After 10 more days of silence, Jin became suspicious. Reviewing the contracts, he discovered they lacked both the refund amount and deadline, and included a clause stating that "membership benefits are non-transferable."
Upon returning to the gym, Jin couldn't find the salesperson or contact the manager. Legal inquiries revealed that the contracts were signed by Yu, the gym's legal representative, who was also unreachable.
A Hangzhou lawyer explained that under Chinese law, prepaid card values shouldn't exceed 5,000 CNY, making Jin's contracts riddled with violations. Even if he pursued legal action, the process would be lengthy, and the chance of recovering his money slim if the business had withdrawn or hidden its assets.
The story of the 300-year gym membership has sparked heated discussion on social media, with some arguing that Jin's greed played a part in his predicament.
Bao Nhien (World Journal)
