Outrage at leisure centre’s refund stance forces rethink

By Joe Coughlan, Local Democracy Reporter

A Bromley leisure centre has reversed a controversial new refund policy after more than 400 residents signed a petition against the change in less than a day.

The Spa at Beckenham has discarded plans to amend its refund policy on compensating members for cancelled swimming lessons – a proposal which parents claimed was ‘outrageous’.

The centre wanted to issue credits for future services rather than refunds.

Victoria Woodcock, 37, has three children who regularly attend swimming lessons at The Spa, but claimed there has been a growing issue of cancelled lessons due to teachers being on holiday.

She claimed that at one point, lessons for one of her kids were being cancelled ‘nearly every week’, with compensation being provided through future direct debit payments being adjusted accordingly.

The mum said: “One of my examples is that I actually drove to the swimming pool, got my three-year-old dressed, stood at the side of the pool waiting with the other mums and dads, and someone came over and said, ‘Your lesson has been cancelled.’ It is a growing issue and it has been going on for a long time.”

She added: “There’s a really big problem of people’s direct debits not being adjusted and you can just see the scale of cancellations. Someone said they had nearly £200 worth of lessons cancelled.”

However, an email from Mytime Active from earlier this week appears to show the group claiming the value of cancelled swimming lessons at The Spa at Beckenham would no longer be deducted from direct debit payments.

The group claimed that from October 1, the refunded money would be added to the child’s cashless account to use for purchases at Mytime Active centres such as food, activities or swimming sessions.

Ms Woodcock said: “I was honestly outraged. I texted some friends that are in the same lessons as mine that get cancelled all the time and they said that this is not on and cannot happen.”

She added: “It didn’t say there would be any option of a refund. They just said they were getting rid of that system, so it’s pretty clear that’s what their intentions were.”

The mum said she thought the proposal was ‘ridiculous’ and started a petition on September 17, calling on Mytime Active to refund the value of cancelled lessons instead of reallocating the funds. She said the response to the campaign has been ‘heartening’, with the petition receiving over 400 signatures in less than 24 hours.

A follow-up email from Mytime Active was sent to members of The Spa said the group wanted to apologise for the recent communication on changes to its refund policy and that refunds would still be available via direct debit adjustments.

Ms Woodcock said: “They said quite clearly that they would be getting rid of that system so they have backtracked. They’re trying to save face by saying it’s a miscommunication.”

A Mytime Active spokesman said: “We are extremely sorry to hear Ms Woodcock has had a poor experience with us. We are in contact with her to resolve this matter, and are working to improve.

“We recently became aware of concerns regarding communication to our members about the swim school refund process. In an effort to improve efficiency and provide quicker refunds for our customers, we introduced cashless refunds.”

They added: “Whereas refunds for cancelled lessons processed via direct debit occur once a month, cashless credit refunds are applied to members’ Mytime Active accounts within seven days. These credits can be used across a range of our services, including crash swimming courses, holiday camps, and soft play activities.”

They said they were pleased to confirm that members would continue to receive refunds through direct debit as the default option, with the choice to opt into cashless credit if preferred.

Pictured top: The Spa at Beckenham (Picture: Joe Coughlan)