CONCERNED members of a Bewdley hotel leisure centre have called out the "questionable" refund system after it was announced the club would be closing down.

The Shuttle reported last week after members received emails alerting them that the Feel Good Health Club, based at the Mercure Hotel, would not be reopening due to the site being sold.

The announcement was met with disappointment from local residents, many of whom use the facility as their main source of exercise, and now further concerns have been raised over the hotel's handling of members' refunds.

In an email sent last week, the health club asked members to send their details and any confirmation received of their purchase so that the hotel could issue refunds, however some have criticised the system and have queried why the hotel doesn't already have a record of members' payments.

Health Club member Paul McGrath said: "I'm one of the people who paid upfront for three years' membership, so I'm now owed 18 months. I sent them an email. I couldn't find the payment details because it was a while ago, I think I paid on a credit card that I don't have anymore.

"It was a nightmare trying to find any proof of payment. I imagine many others will be having the same problem. People lose paperwork, you know what it's like.

"Surely the hotel would have a record of who paid what. Making people prove their payment is crazy."

Fellow leisure centre member Carys John described the refund system as "ludicrous" and said: "I paid a three year membership in full and used just under a year of that, so I’m owed hundreds of pounds.

"The way refunding is being organised by a hotel chain as large as Mercure is highly questionable, and ethically debatable.

"We are simply being asked to complete a form saying how much we are owed, provide evidence if we have any, and provide our bank details by email.

"We have no idea how much time should be taken into account for Covid lockdowns. This doesn’t make any sense!

"The company should have full account and payment details on record and should refund accordingly."

A spokesperson for the Feel Good Health Club said: “In order to ensure we protect our members’ sensitive data, we only collect the minimum information that we need to process their membership and we do not store the payment card information that is required to process a full refund on file.

“For this reason, we are asking all customers who have pre-paid for their membership to get in touch with us directly, with confirmation of payment and up-to-date bank details, so that our team can process a full refund and, where members have joined us through a third party, determine the amount owed to the member.

“We recognise this is a frustrating situation for those affected and we would like to reassure all of our members that our team is working hard to ensure everyone is refunded accordingly and as quickly as possible.

“If members are unable to find their original payment confirmation, we would still urge them to get in touch to discuss their refund with us.”