By Elaine Yeo

THEY signed up to lose weight - and lost $6,000 in membership fees instead when the all-women fitness centre closed suddenly today.

Five months ago, an entrepreneur who gave her name only as Mrs Ang, her two sisters and daughter paid $1,500 each to join the Serangoon Gardens branch of Slender Shapes.

It has three other outlets here - in Eunos, Upper Bukit Timah Road and East Coast Road.

Mrs Ang visited the Serangoon Gardens outlet for a run on the treadmill last Saturday.

That was when an employee of Slender Shapes told her that all their outlets would be closing down today due to financial problems.

Mrs Ang was appalled.

Just a day earlier, she had been given an application form for a temporary break in membership for her daughter. The form is for members too busy to visit the fitness centre.

She said: 'Why give an application for membership breaks when you're going to close in a week? It's an insult to our intelligence.'

Other members were told of Slender Shapes' closure in a letter on 23 Oct.

But it's not the suddenness of the closure that has riled members - it's the no-refund policy.

Unable to refund fees

The centre said in its letter that it is 'unable to refund any portion either full or in part of your membership fees'.

With six months left on her package and her payment already made in full, Mrs Ang is upset.

She asked: 'Where did our money go?'

In an attempt to address the unhappiness, Slender Shapes managing director Richard Lowe arranged to meet members at the various outlets.

But when Mrs Ang and her two sisters attended the meeting at the Serangoon Gardens outlet yesterday, all they got was an offer to transfer their memberships to Contours Express, another local fitness centre - if they paid the Contours registration fee of $175.

Frustrated members at the Serangoon Gardens outlet then called the police, who arrived and were seen talking to those inside.

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