Polish watchdog probes Benefit Systems over misleading membership offers (updated)

Benefit Systems SA

21/01/2026 15:25

Adds company's comment in paragraph 5

GDANSK, Poland, Jan 21 (Reuters) - Poland's competition and consumer protection office (UOKiK) is probing whether fitness club operator Benefit Systems BFT.WA misled customers when promoting and renewing its gym memberships, the watchdog said on Wednesday.

UOKiK alleges the company failed to clearly inform clients that promotional offers were fixed-term 12-month contracts and automatically extended them without proper consent, using potentially illegal clauses.

Benefit Systems manages a national network of fitness clubs under brands including Zdrofit, Fabryka Formy and My Fitness Place.

"If an entrepreneur focuses only on attractive elements of the offer ... and hides significant limitations ... it violates not only consumer trust but also the law," UOKiK President Tomasz Chrostny said in a statement.

If the allegations are confirmed, it could be fined up to 10% of its annual turnover for each of the contested practices.

Later in the day Benefit Systems said that it did not agree with the allegations and was considering making a further statement on the matter.

The watchdog said marketing for some offers highlighted low initial prices but hid the full length and total cost of the commitment, which were not clearly visible during the online purchase process.

UOKiK also questioned the practice of sending emails informing clients their fixed-term passes were expiring, only to then automatically renew the contracts and continue charging fees.

The office has also launched probes into two other fitness chains, CityFit and WellFitness, to examine how they inform clients about contract terms, it said.

 (Reporting by Marta Maciag and Alicja Surdy, editing by Milla Nissi-Prussak and Matt Scuffham)

 ((Marta.Maciag@thomsonreuters.com;))