CASE calls for mandatory safeguards after S$3.82 million in losses linked to fitness closures

Consumers reported nearly S$6.7 million in prepayment losses from January to September, about 147 per cent more than for the whole of 2025.

CASE received 1,610 complaints involving close to S$3.82 million in reported prepayment losses between Sep 10 and Sep 30, 2026, following the closure of fitness businesses such as True Fitness and Yoga Inc. (File photos: CNA, Facebook/Yoga Inc)

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SINGAPORE: The Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE) has called for mandatory safeguards in sectors involving substantial or long-term prepayments, after consumers reported nearly S$3.82 million in losses following the closure of several fitness businesses .

The association said on Monday (Oct 5) that it received 1,610 complaints linked to the closures between Sep 10 and Sep 30.

Of these, 1,518 complaints involving about S$3.78 million in reported losses were related to True Fitness and True Yoga, whose outlets closed on Sep 11.

Another 92 complaints, involving about S$32,800 in reported prepayment losses, were related to Yoga Inc, which closed its remaining outlets last month.

CNA Games Guess Word Crack the word, one row at a time Buzzword Create words using the given letters Mini Sudoku Tiny puzzle, mighty brain teaser Mini Crossword Small grid, big challenge Word Search Spot as many words as you can Show More Show Less CASE said it had assisted affected consumers in lodging claims and proofs of debt with the relevant liquidators. From Jan 1 to Sep 30, consumers reported nearly S$6.7 million in prepayment losses to CASE. “This was approximately 147 per cent higher than the S$2.71 million in prepayment losses reported for the whole of 2025,” it said. “The scale of these reported losses underscores the need for stronger safeguards, particularly as consumers are generally treated as unsecured creditors when a business enters liquidation,” it added. CASE cited measures introduced or proposed in jurisdictions including Hong Kong, Taiwan, the United Kingdom and New York State to protect consumers who make advance payments. Singapore should similarly consider mandatory safeguards in sectors involving substantial or long-term consumer prepayments, CASE said.

CASE said it had assisted affected consumers in lodging claims and proofs of debt with the relevant liquidators.

From Jan 1 to Sep 30, consumers reported nearly S$6.7 million in prepayment losses to CASE.

“This was approximately 147 per cent higher than the S$2.71 million in prepayment losses reported for the whole of 2025,” it said.

“The scale of these reported losses underscores the need for stronger safeguards, particularly as consumers are generally treated as unsecured creditors when a business enters liquidation,” it added.

CASE cited measures introduced or proposed in jurisdictions including Hong Kong, Taiwan, the United Kingdom and New York State to protect consumers who make advance payments.

Singapore should similarly consider mandatory safeguards in sectors involving substantial or long-term consumer prepayments, CASE said.

How other jurisdictions protect consumer prepayments

The city has proposed a seven-day cooling-off period and a 14-day refund period for prepaid beauty and fitness contracts.

Other proposed measures include a two-year cap on contract duration and enhanced enforcement powers for Customs and Excise over payments accepted in circumstances prohibited under the Trade Descriptions Ordinance.

The government is also consulting on whether the protections should apply to contracts worth HK$3,000 or more, HK$8,000 or more, or HK$15,000 or more.

The government requires fitness centres to provide consumer protection mechanisms for prepaid fees, such as trust accounts or performance guarantees. The required protection must cover at least 50 per cent of fees collected. United Kingdom

The nation has introduced targeted protections for certain consumer savings schemes. Since Jan 1, businesses operating qualifying schemes must safeguard consumer payments through arrangements such as insurance or trusts, allowing consumers to recover protected funds if the business becomes insolvent.

The State requires health clubs to provide financial security, such as a bond, letter of credit, or certificate of deposit, to protect consumers who prepay for memberships.

Health club contracts are capped at 36 months, with annual fees limited to US$3,600. Consumers also have three days after signing to cancel their contracts.

CASE proposed three measures: mandatory cooling-off periods for high-value prepaid packages, mandatory CaseTrust accreditation in sectors involving substantial or long-term prepayments and appropriate investigation and enforcement in potential cases of wrongful trading.

Mandatory cooling-off periods would give consumers time to consider commitments involving substantial upfront payments and cancel without penalty, CASE said.

The association also proposed making CaseTrust accreditation compulsory for businesses in sectors involving substantial or long-term consumer prepayments, including the beauty and fitness industries.

Such accreditation would require safeguards including prepayment protection, transparent pricing, clear contractual terms, proper disclosure and reasonable refund arrangements, CASE said.

It also called for potential cases of wrongful trading to be appropriately investigated, with enforcement action taken under section 239(6) of the Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act 2018, where the relevant legal requirements are met.

CASE said this may include circumstances in which the collection of substantial prepayments shortly before liquidation warrants closer examination.

“Effective investigation and enforcement, where supported by the evidence, would strengthen accountability and provide a meaningful deterrent,” it said.

The association said its three proposals were complementary and intended to strengthen Singapore’s overall consumer protection framework.

It stressed that the proposals “do not constitute an allegation of wrongdoing against any particular business or individual”.

CASE President Melvin Yong called for the proposed safeguards to be introduced “promptly” to protect consumers, establish clear and responsible standards for businesses and give consumers greater confidence when purchasing prepaid packages.

“Consumers should not continue to bear substantial losses when prepaid services cannot be fulfilled because a business ceases operations,” said Mr Yong.

“The recent fitness closures and sharp rise in reported prepayment losses highlight the limitations of relying solely on voluntary measures. The time has come to introduce mandatory safeguards in sectors involving substantial or long-term consumer prepayments.”

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消费者报告称，1 月至 9 月期间的提前还款损失接近 670 万新元，比 2025 年全年损失高出约 147%。

在 True Fitness 和 Yoga Inc. 等健身企业倒闭后，新加坡消费者协会 (CASE) 在 2026 年 9 月 10 日至 9 月 30 日期间收到 1610 起投诉，涉及近 382 万新元的预付款损失。（资料图片：CNA、Facebook/Yoga Inc）

这段音频由人工智能工具生成。

新加坡：新加坡消费者协会 (CASE) 呼吁在涉及大额或长期预付款的行业中实施强制性保障措施，此前有消费者反映，由于多家健身企业倒闭，他们损失了近 382 万新元。

该协会周一（10 月 5 日）表示，在 9 月 10 日至 9 月 30 日期间，他们收到了 1610 起与停业有关的投诉。

其中，有 1518 起投诉涉及约 378 万新元的损失，这些投诉与 True Fitness 和 True Yoga 有关，这两家健身房已于 9 月 11 日关闭。

另有 92 起投诉与 Yoga Inc 有关，涉及约 32,800 新元的预付款损失，该公司已于上个月关闭了剩余的门店。

CNA游戏猜词游戏：逐行破解单词；流行词游戏：用给定的字母组成单词；迷你数独：小巧的谜题，强大的脑力挑战；迷你填字游戏：小方格，大挑战；单词搜索：尽可能多地找到单词。显示更多 显示更少 消费者权益保护协会（CASE）表示，已协助受影响的消费者向相关清算人提交索赔和债务证明。从1月1日至9月30日，消费者向CASE报告了近670万新元的预付款损失。“这比2025年全年报告的271万新元预付款损失高出约147%。”CASE表示。“这些报告损失的规模凸显了加强保障措施的必要性，尤其是在企业进入清算程序时，消费者通常被视为无担保债权人。”CASE补充道。CASE列举了包括香港、台湾、英国和纽约州在内的司法管辖区已推出或拟议的措施，以保护预付款消费者的权益。 CASE表示，新加坡也应考虑在涉及大量或长期消费者预付款的行业中采取强制性保障措施。

CASE表示，已协助受影响的消费者向相关清算人提交索赔和债务证明。

从 1 月 1 日至 9 月 30 日，消费者向 CASE 报告了近 670 万新元的预付款损失。

报告称：“这比 2025 年全年报告的 271 万新元提前还款损失高出约 147%。”

报告还指出：“这些已报告损失的规模凸显了加强保障措施的必要性，尤其是在企业进入清算程序时，消费者通常被视为无担保债权人。”

CASE 引用了包括香港、台湾、英国和纽约州在内的司法管辖区已推出或提议的措施，以保护预付款消费者。

CASE表示，新加坡也应考虑在涉及大量或长期消费者预付款的行业中采取强制性保障措施。

其他司法管辖区如何保护消费者预付款

该市提议对预付美容和健身合同实行七天冷静期和十四天退款期。

其他拟议措施包括将合同期限限制在两年以内，以及加强海关和消费税部门对违反《商品说明条例》规定而接受的付款的执法权力。

政府也在咨询是否应将这些保护措施适用于价值 3,000 港元或以上、8,000 港元或 15,000 港元或以上的合同。

英国政府要求健身中心为预付费用提供消费者保护机制，例如信托账户或绩效保证。所需的保护措施必须覆盖至少50%的已收费用。

该国已针对特定消费者储蓄计划推出专项保护措施。自1月1日起，运营符合条件的储蓄计划的企业必须通过保险或信托等安排保障消费者的资金安全，以便在企业破产时，消费者能够追回受保护的资金。

州政府要求健身俱乐部提供财务担保，例如债券、信用证或存款凭证，以保护预付会员费的消费者。

健身俱乐部合同期限最长为36个月，年费上限为3600美元。消费者在签约后有三天时间取消合同。

CASE 提出了三项措施：对高价值预付套餐实行强制冷静期；对涉及大额或长期预付款的行业实行 CaseTrust 认证；以及对潜在的不当交易案件进行适当的调查和执法。

CASE表示，强制性冷静期将使消费者有时间考虑涉及大量预付款的承诺，并可在不支付罚款的情况下取消。

该协会还提议，对于涉及大量或长期消费者预付款的行业（包括美容和健身行业），强制要求企业获得 CaseTrust 认证。

CASE表示，此类认证需要采取保障措施，包括预付款保护、透明定价、明确的合同条款、适当的信息披露和合理的退款安排。

它还呼吁对潜在的不当交易案件进行适当调查，并在符合相关法律要求的情况下，根据 2018 年《破产、重组和解散法》第 239(6) 条采取执法行动。

CASE表示，这可能包括在清算前不久收取大笔预付款的情况需要更仔细的审查。

声明称：“在证据支持的情况下，有效的调查和执法将加强问责制，并起到有效的威慑作用。”

该协会表示，其提出的三项建议是相辅相成的，旨在加强新加坡的整体消费者保护框架。

它强调，这些提议“并不构成对任何特定企业或个人的不当行为指控”。

CASE主席Melvin Yong呼吁“尽快”推出拟议的保障措施，以保护消费者，为企业建立明确负责的标准，并让消费者在购买预付费套餐时更有信心。

“当企业停止运营导致预付费服务无法履行时，消费者不应该继续承受重大损失，”杨先生说。

“近期健身房倒闭潮和预付款损失报告的急剧上升凸显了仅仅依靠自愿措施的局限性。现在是时候在涉及大额或长期消费者预付款的行业引入强制性保障措施了。”

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