2 /5 Markus: I was in a serious car accident a year ago and have been undergoing rehabilitation through Kieser for the past 10 months. This included one to two physiotherapy sessions a week and a gym membership—services that are significantly more expensive than at other facilities. Thankfully, all of it was covered by TAC.
Over this time, I attended three Kieser branches: Geelong, Northcote, and most recently, Ringwood. I had no issues with Geelong or Northcote, but I’ve now had two separate issues at the Ringwood branch related to expired memberships and a lack of communication around them.
The first incident happened about three months ago when they forgot to renew my gym membership with TAC. When I arrived for training, I was told I couldn’t continue my rehab because the new membership hadn’t yet been approved. I asked if an exception could be made since TAC pays backdated anyway, but was told it was a strict policy. I was offered the option to pay out of pocket in the meantime—which I couldn’t afford. I suggested they allow me to sign the membership agreement while waiving the cost until approval, as a gesture of goodwill, but this was initially declined. After going back and forth, they eventually agreed.
Today, I came in for my final physiotherapy session, followed by a scheduled progress session with a sports scientist. However, I discovered that the progress session had been cancelled without any notification. The sports scientist said the session was still on, but the receptionist then informed me it had been cancelled because the membership had expired last week—after checking I do believe it was just yesterday.
It’s disheartening that despite receiving significant funds from TAC on my behalf, there’s no flexibility or support shown in situations like this. Especially on what was supposed to be my final day, it felt like I was just cut off—no communication, no warning, and no consideration for what these sessions mean to my physical and mental recovery.
I want to stress that the physiotherapists and trainers at Kieser have all been excellent. But the way things are handled administratively at the Ringwood branch has left me feeling like I’m not seen as a person recovering from trauma, but rather as a source of income. If the promise of “supporting health and recovery” only applies when the money flows uninterrupted, that’s incredibly disappointing.
These sessions have been vital for my wellbeing. All I ask is to be treated with basic dignity and respect—not as someone to be left in the cold the moment funding hits a hiccup
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