--- title: "Anytime Fitness member charged $65 ‘tailgating’ fee after stranger follows him into gym: ‘Am I expected to be your security guard?’" url: "/trending-now/anytime-fitness-member-charged-65-tailgating-fee-after-stranger-follows-him-gym-am-i-expected-be" published: "2026-10-14T09:15:23.000Z" updated: "2026-10-14T09:15:23.000Z" section: "Trending Now" authors: ["Ethel Tseng"] tags: ["Tampines","gym","tailgate","charge","stranger","security","TNP News","Anytime Fitness"] --- # Anytime Fitness member charged $65 ‘tailgating’ fee after stranger follows him into gym: ‘Am I expected to be your security guard?’ *An Anytime Fitness member said he was fined $65 after a stranger entered the gym behind him and was accused of allowing the man to “tailgate”.* An Anytime Fitness member said he was hit with a $65 fine after a stranger entered the gym behind him. He claimed he was also accused of allowing the man to “tailgate”. Mr Liu, a 32-year-old self-employed Anytime Fitness member, told Stomp that he had entered the gym’s Tampines Grande outlet at about 7pm on Oct 8 for his usual workout. However, he received a text message from the fitness chain, which operates over 100 outlets islandwide, on Oct 13, saying that a man had entered the gym behind him without tapping his key fob separately. He was also sent a screenshot of CCTV footage showing a man in a maroon T-shirt entering the gym, about two arm’s lengths behind him. Although Liu clarified that he did not know the person and usually worked out alone, he was informed that he would have to pay a $65 “tailgating charge”, which was apparently stated on a sign at the outlet’s entrance. ![anytime fitness member hit with tailgating fee after stranger follows him into gym](https://cassette.sphdigital.com.sg/image/stomp/5cce8fef0afcd8ce055ed597e99c3189d0a57981b9b0088e3877afd5c88b31e3) *A message acknowledged that Liu did not know the person who entered after him, but said that he still had to pay a tailgating charge.* “Please note that allowing someone to enter without tapping in separately is considered tailgating, regardless of whether you know the person,” the message read. But Liu found the charge “completely unreasonable and unacceptable” and refused to pay it. He replied that the stranger’s entry into the outlet was a security issue that the gym should address, rather than a cost being passed on to an “innocent member”. “How am I supposed to know whether a stranger behind me has tapped in? Am I expected to act as your security guard?” he asked. ## Anytime Fitness member asked to pay $65 fee within 48 hours In response, the gym clarified that members are required to ensure that the gym door is closed securely behind them to prevent unauthorised access. Liu was then asked to pay the fee within 48 hours. The reply left him stunned, and he reiterated that he had not knowingly allowed the stranger to enter or deliberately failed to secure the door. “I have no obligation to monitor, verify or manage the access of complete strangers entering your premises,” he added, repeating that he would not pay the charge. In a separate incident in August 2023, Anytime Fitness Bugis apologised to a member who was wrongly charged a $60 “tailgating fee”. ## Gym member shocked, feels disrespected Speaking to Stomp, Liu said the incident left him feeling shocked and disrespected, as he has been a member for four years and pays about $100 a month for his membership. “As a loyal customer to them, this kind of feels like a betrayal, right?” he said. He clarified that he understood the policy from a commercial standpoint, as the business could suffer losses if people use the gym without paying. The rule could also encourage members to take the initiative to prevent similar incidents. However, he did not necessarily agree with the policy, and felt it was “not right”. “As a business, you cannot expect your customer to pay for your faulty process,” Liu explained, suggesting that the gym could consider using artificial intelligence to improve its processes. “In the AI era, everything falls back to the people, right? How much you care about your people as a team, how much you care about your people as a client, as a customer.” When asked whether he would continue the membership, he said he did not want to, but would likely end up doing so as it was the most convenient option. Stomp has reached out to Anytime Fitness for more information.