The man’s story caught my attention among the numerous social media posts about gyms suddenly closing outlets. In the post, he said he had signed up early this year and asked what he should do. But commenters only suggested switching to budget gyms that charge per month.

In recent months, several gyms operated by fitness chains have closed, leaving customers uncertain about what would happen to the memberships they had fully paid for. Many have demanded refunds, while others have been offered the option of transferring to another outlet, which may be less convenient if it is farther from home.

Gym closures are not uncommon these days, but such facilities often encourage customers to buy long-term memberships lasting one or two years or even longer with an upfront cost of tens of millions of dongs (VND10 million = US$386).

When customers pay for future services, how is that payment managed and how are their rights protected if the gym closes?

Customers also have little way of knowing a gym’s actual financial condition before deciding to subscribe to a long-term membership. A facility may appear to be operating normally and promoting memberships aggressively, but that does not mean it will be able to stay in business in the future.

Customers might get their unused packages refunded or their membership transferred to another outlet if a gym closes, but they might not be able to recover their money if the business goes bankrupt.

The same issue also extends to other businesses that demand prepayment with little safeguards like language centers, private courses and spas.

Why should customers be encouraged to pay a large sum upfront if they bear the risk of losing their money when the facility closes? Should there not be more safeguards regarding prepayments to better protect consumers?

*This opinion was submitted by a reader and translated into English. Readers’ views are personal and do not necessarily match VnExpress’ viewpoints.