AusLeisure

Perth man Michael Reed got the fright of his life when he received a debt collection notice on behalf of his local Anytime Fitness.

While an annual membership for the 24-hour gym costs around $500, the letter from debt collection agents Dun & Bradstreet put his total amount owing at $10,296,696.40.

Posting a photograph of the notice - which included options for payment including BPay and PayPal - Reed wrote on Facebook “anyone want to send me spare change or set up a GoFundMe page LOL.”

The letter sent by Dun & Bradstreet advised “to date you have not responded to requests ... to settle the above account in full.

“Failure to respond to this notice may result in a continuation of collection proceedings. To avoid a continuation of collection proceedings we ask that you URGENTLY contact us to settle this account.”

Reed said he hoped it was a mistake but told PerthNow he “had a heart attack” when he opened the letter.

Reed advised that last year he had cancelled his credit card that was being debited monthly, but forgot to tell the gym, explaining “I guess I know the price for perfect abs is out of my reach now.

“I think it might be an error. At least I hope so.”

He added that despite the letter’s claim, this was the first he had heard of the debt.

Reed also wrote on Facebook “I don’t think me and my 106kg body got my money’s worth from that gym.”

In a statement, a spokesperson for Dun & Bradstreet advised “we’re happy to confirm Michael doesn’t owe $10 million to his local gym.

“We’ve apologised to Michael for the confusion caused - and we hope this doesn’t dissuade him from realising his fitness goals! In fact to improve his abs, if it’s not his bank balance, we’ve paid for a year’s gym membership for him.

“We have rigorous processes and procedures in place to ensure the accuracy of our information. Since being made aware of this matter, we’ve conducted an internal investigation and found the cause was an isolated administrative error.

“We’re continually working to improve our systems and procedures to ensure an episode like this does not happen again.” 

Image: Michael Reed's debt collection letter from Dun & Bradstreet 

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