A MUM-OF-TWO has slammed Glasgow Club’s booking policies during Covid-19 as “inexcusable” after being refused a £5 refund for swimming. 

Jenna McMillan, who lives in Dennistoun, is calling on the fitness firm to rethink its cancellation procedures for families during the pandemic.

The 35-year-old had booked to go swimming at Whitehill Pool with her daughter for the first time in over a year but had to cancel the day’s activity as her son was traced as a close contact. 

Glasgow Times:

She said: “I tried to cancel the family swim and was told that I couldn’t rebook, be refunded or transfer the booking to anyone else to use for the day.

“I explained that we are in a pandemic and that it was impacting my mental health and that the whole situation was taking its toll on me. 

“It wasn’t just about the money, it was the fact the whole booking went to complete waste. My daughter was so excited to go.”

After losing her dad to coronavirus in April last year, Jenna faced a mental battle. She finds comfort in doing activities and spending quality time with her children.

Glasgow Times:

“It was a hard time”, she said.

“It got to the point where I voluntarily admitted myself into hospital where I was there for two weeks. My children had to go into emergency respite as my dad would normally care for them if I was away. 

“I found my feet after that. During my recovery, my daughter really wanted me to take her swimming and I kept reassuring her that we could go soon.

“I actually reactivated my membership for the Glasgow Club because I knew how desperate my daughter was to get in the water. Now, I don’t ever want to use a Glasgow Club venue again.”

Jenna has since attempted to complain to Glasgow Club about their cancellation procedures but claimed that she could not find any options on the service website. 

Glasgow Times:

She said: “There should be a simple refund or rebooking procedure in place for people who either catch Covid or people who need to self-isolate as opposed to facing that kind of stress.  

“I am going to cancel my membership and my daughter’s swimming lessons – I really don’t want to step foot in one of their venues again.

“We are all impacted by this pandemic - their procedures towards Covid and unforeseen circumstances are inexcusable. We are living in different times at the moment.”

Glasgow Life - who are behind all Glasgow Club venues - have since apologised to Jenna and her family.

Glasgow Times:

A spokeswoman said: “We have directly apologised to this customer and explained the situation regarding refunds and transfers. 

“When customers are making Pay As You Go bookings for any activity (including family swimming), our booking policy clearly states that refunds can’t be offered, and transfers are not possible.

“Processing refunds is a difficult and time-consuming process which can only be completed by a small team of staff based at our head office and, like all other organisations across the country, we are currently facing many additional pressures on this team which means we’re unable to routinely offer refunds or transfers.”