The company (a local gym) recently did promotional advertising for $1 memberships. Interested, I stopped in and signed up, only to be told that the $1 was to guarantee a $19 price each month.. Also, you are required to pay the first and last month so the first bill I received was for $39 ($19 for two months and the $1 to guarantee pricing). As if that wasn't already FAR from what I had expected to be paying the gym was also unsatisfactory in their equipment and atmosphere. The staff were very eager to help until I decided (within the 3 day full refund cancellation period!) that I no longer wanted to be a member. I received blank looks and a response of "I can't cancel your membership a manager has to do that and she doesn't come in until later". They also told me that I did NOT have to sign anything to cancel and that I could go home and they would let her know to take me out of the system. A ridiculous lie, as I called later to confirm the cancellation and refund only to hear "No, we can't process refunds without a signature, I don't know who told you that you wouldn't have to." After being lied to I drove back up there, signed this paperwork (all still within the 3 day full refund period) and left. Over a month later, I still hadn't received a refund to my credit card that I'd used to pay the $39 startup fee so I call the gym. I get a front desk person that can't help me put me on hold until he finds out that the manager isn't available because she is "very busy" but she will call later or the next day. Today is two days later, no phone call, no refund, just a bill for this month at another $19. What?! I had JUST called these people about my refund not processing and now am being charged again! I am beyond furious. They now owe me $39 + $19! They are probably not going to process the refund very fast either. Ridiculously bad service.
I apparently owe Fitness 19 $93. They made no attempt to contact me about the debt being owed and subsequently placed my account in collections, which has negatively affected my credit score and caused me a recent job opportunity. I contacted Fitness 19 about the debt, but they indicated that they "could not find my contract" but that I still owed the debt. They refused to take it out of collections, which is beyond California's Statue of Limitations. Fitness 19 of Arroyo Grande is poorly managed and is reflected in their customer service.
This report has also been filed with the Better Business Bureau. Here is the report:
Filed against :
Fitness 19
189 S Randall Rd
Algonquin IL 60102-9773
Complaint Description:
We transferred membership to Lake Zurich, IL (after originally opening in account in Algonquin, IL. Due to moving). Lake Zurich Fitness 19 closed its doors never to reopen again. Subsequently, the membership was cancelled. Now, we are getting calls from Wakefield & Associates attempting to collect on "something." No amount was ever detailed, just that they have the "account" to perform collections. The people are rude, harassing, threatening. This is seriously poor business practice--the company displaces customers by closing stores, but then after all the inconvenience has the audacity to send some "unknown bill" to collections. Desperate and ignorant owners--and unethical practices in an attempt to bully people out of money.
Your Desired Resolution:
There is no money owed to this company. The agreement, if anything, was month to month for starters. But, as stated--the gym where our membership was placed closed down completely. Stop ruining your reputation, get our "account" out of collections, tell your collections "dogs" to never call us again. And, this time - MAKE SURE THE ACCOUNT IS CANCELLED AS REQUESTED.
WORST PLACE EVER!!!! Do not get a membership here. I joined under their "commitment free" program. It took them several weeks to even find me in their computer system. They tell you when you enroll that all you need to do to cancel your membership is to stop. They say this just to get you to sign up. Then, 1 month after I signed up they took a $50 annual membership fee. The man who signed me up said the annual fee would not hit me until the next year because I was a new member. Then, it hit. So I stopped going. after about 3 months they charged my account 3 times leaving me with no money to buy food to feed my children. When I tried to call and cancel the man talked to me like I was a child and kept saying that I do not understand anything.
Fitness 19 sales rep said they would not charge my card they needed my bank account #... or i was never a member..then three charges hit, 2 in the same day..$ 49.00 $ 19.00 $ 9.95 Now they say to cancel i must pay all.. I heard they were bad about canceling but this is a joke...Try Cal fit people down the street...they do as they say.
Fitness 19 Reviews
The company (a local gym) recently did promotional advertising for $1 memberships. Interested, I stopped in and signed up, only to be told that the $1 was to guarantee a $19 price each month.. Also, you are required to pay the first and last month so the first bill I received was for $39 ($19 for two months and the $1 to guarantee pricing). As if that wasn't already FAR from what I had expected to be paying the gym was also unsatisfactory in their equipment and atmosphere. The staff were very eager to help until I decided (within the 3 day full refund cancellation period!) that I no longer wanted to be a member. I received blank looks and a response of "I can't cancel your membership a manager has to do that and she doesn't come in until later". They also told me that I did NOT have to sign anything to cancel and that I could go home and they would let her know to take me out of the system. A ridiculous lie, as I called later to confirm the cancellation and refund only to hear "No, we can't process refunds without a signature, I don't know who told you that you wouldn't have to." After being lied to I drove back up there, signed this paperwork (all still within the 3 day full refund period) and left. Over a month later, I still hadn't received a refund to my credit card that I'd used to pay the $39 startup fee so I call the gym. I get a front desk person that can't help me put me on hold until he finds out that the manager isn't available because she is "very busy" but she will call later or the next day. Today is two days later, no phone call, no refund, just a bill for this month at another $19. What?! I had JUST called these people about my refund not processing and now am being charged again! I am beyond furious. They now owe me $39 + $19! They are probably not going to process the refund very fast either. Ridiculously bad service.
I apparently owe Fitness 19 $93. They made no attempt to contact me about the debt being owed and subsequently placed my account in collections, which has negatively affected my credit score and caused me a recent job opportunity. I contacted Fitness 19 about the debt, but they indicated that they "could not find my contract" but that I still owed the debt. They refused to take it out of collections, which is beyond California's Statue of Limitations. Fitness 19 of Arroyo Grande is poorly managed and is reflected in their customer service.
This report has also been filed with the Better Business Bureau. Here is the report:
Filed against :
Fitness 19
189 S Randall Rd
Algonquin IL 60102-9773
Complaint Description:
We transferred membership to Lake Zurich, IL (after originally opening in account in Algonquin, IL. Due to moving). Lake Zurich Fitness 19 closed its doors never to reopen again. Subsequently, the membership was cancelled. Now, we are getting calls from Wakefield & Associates attempting to collect on "something." No amount was ever detailed, just that they have the "account" to perform collections. The people are rude, harassing, threatening. This is seriously poor business practice--the company displaces customers by closing stores, but then after all the inconvenience has the audacity to send some "unknown bill" to collections. Desperate and ignorant owners--and unethical practices in an attempt to bully people out of money.
Your Desired Resolution:
There is no money owed to this company. The agreement, if anything, was month to month for starters. But, as stated--the gym where our membership was placed closed down completely. Stop ruining your reputation, get our "account" out of collections, tell your collections "dogs" to never call us again. And, this time - MAKE SURE THE ACCOUNT IS CANCELLED AS REQUESTED.
WORST PLACE EVER!!!! Do not get a membership here. I joined under their "commitment free" program. It took them several weeks to even find me in their computer system. They tell you when you enroll that all you need to do to cancel your membership is to stop. They say this just to get you to sign up. Then, 1 month after I signed up they took a $50 annual membership fee. The man who signed me up said the annual fee would not hit me until the next year because I was a new member. Then, it hit. So I stopped going. after about 3 months they charged my account 3 times leaving me with no money to buy food to feed my children. When I tried to call and cancel the man talked to me like I was a child and kept saying that I do not understand anything.
Fitness 19 sales rep said they would not charge my card they needed my bank account #... or i was never a member..then three charges hit, 2 in the same day..$ 49.00 $ 19.00 $ 9.95 Now they say to cancel i must pay all.. I heard they were bad about canceling but this is a joke...Try Cal fit people down the street...they do as they say.