My problems with Fitness Connection began when their billing department made an error (what I now know was deliberate) with my recurring monthly charges. Instead of debiting my account on the date as specified in my "contract", the billing department did not attempt to debit my checking account until a week or so after the set due date for my monthly payments. Subsequently, I began receiving several collection calls stating that my payment was past due.
The following month, I cancelled my membership by sending a letter to the gym where I opened my membership. The cancellation was made prior to the next billing cycle, however I was still charged a fee for doing so. Of course, both the Texas office and the local gym location had no record of my letter of cancellation. Also, I was charged for the month that the cancellation was made. When I tried discussing these billing discrepancies to Martha Velazquez, I was treated very rudely and unprofessionally. This girl's attitude is outright nasty and distasteful. She made one excuse after another for why she could not get in touch with me. The situation become so heated, the CEO, Jeff Skeen became involved. This is when things went from bad to worse. This skalawag refused to own up to his company's deceptive billing practices. Who would? If my fitness centers were suffering financially nationwide, I would not admit to a member or former member that I was lying, stealing and cheating. This is what Skeen has to do in order to make up for financially losses with Fitness Connection. I went back and forth with this clown about his company's billing practices, and the impact to my checking account in which those illegal practices caused. My account is now closed due to an unauthorized debit, which eventually caused several of my bills to be paid late or returned. The checking account has been turned over to a collection agency and Jeff Skeen is going to pay for this! I used to have a 728 FICO score, but not anymore and thanks to Fitness Connection. The collection is the only negative credit item on all three of my credit reports.
Based on Internet searches of Fitness Connection, there are hundreds of thousands of former members of this fitness center who have been victimized by their deceptive and unfair business practices. Many of these people do not know their rights or where to turn for restitution. Contact your state's attorney general's office and file a consumer complaint. If that does not work and your checking account or credit card account has been compromised over billing issues, contact the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, or the Federal Trade Commission, as the latter handles deceptive trade matters. If all else fails, take Fitness Connection to court.
Jeff Skeen is a privileged skunk who needs to be taught a lesson. In case you are having trouble finding his mailing address, he works out of the Northern Virginia location. The address is: 8200 Greensboro Drive, Ste 900, McLean, VA 22102. If you are getting the runaround from the Texas office where billing is handled, email Skeen. His email address is: [email protected].
The cancellation policy is ridiculous. They require you to send in a letter to the HQ. Now remember dont forget to track the letter because if you dont it seems to get 'lost'. Believe me, im not the only person who this has happened to.
I joined the month to month membership at $20 a person for me and my wife in July 2014. We stopped going in Nov 2014 and we sent in a letter to cancel the membership. A few months go by and I see they are still taking money out.
So I contact them and the first thing they ask is "Do you have a tracking number?" I said no and that was the end of it. Apparently standard post in the USA is not acceptable anymore.
Customer service dont care, they just keep telling you the same thing like they have a programmed chip with the same sentence. Why should I have to pay to send my cancelation?
I called back because I could accept this and another lady said you can do it online?! So I cancel online at the site the lady had given me WITH the password to do so. I also recieve an email confirmation of it.
A few months go by and realize they are STILL charging me. So when I call back to ask why she said "only some locations accept online cancelation"........... were in 2015 and only SOME locations can cancel online, apparently. That was the most absurd thing I had heard.
So after continuous frustration I sent in my letter, TRACKED and everything in March 2015 and in MAY 2015 we are still being charged.
I even got a call from them in March 2015 to tell me they had recieved the letter.
I stopped going gym in November and its May 2015: Thats 6 months x $40 = $240 they have wrongly taken from me.
I think thats explains all I need to say about this money greedy scam Fitness Connection have going on.
Called Finess connection and they are telling me I must cansel through a web site tryed this, fitnessconnectionusaforms.com and there is alot of them some are chargeing money to assist with the cansellation.
I was given a tour of the Fitness Connection and the Assistant Manager (Jamol) was trying his best to get me to join this gym. On the tour, I fell on the very slippery gym floor and broke my hip and had to have surgery which costed me $60,000.00!! He had talked me into joining, as at the time I didn't know my hip was even broken. I was in severe pain, went to the doctor and had to have emergency surgery that afternoon for my broken hip. Then I called Fitness Connection and was informed there would be no fees while I was on medical leave, until my surgeon released me. Was informed I had three days to cancel, and I was in the hospital at that time.
The Fitness Connection's Third Party payor (ABC Company) kept calling me and harassing me daily via telephone and mail. I informed their Corporate Office I did not want to be a member any more, and this was in October 2014, (after I had my surgery). Jamol at Fitness Connection ignored all my phone calls, and the manager (Stephon) and him just passed my messages back and forth. While I was on medical leave they continued to charge my debit card for membership fees and when I informed them of the unauthorized charges to my debit card they wouldn't do anything about it, so I had to put a stop on my debit card.
I physically had to go to Fitness Connection and deal with this as no one would return my phone calls. STAY AWAY FROM FITNESS CONNECTION PEOPLE!!!! I had pictures of my x-rayed broken hip with the surgical screws inserted and I brought then to the Fitness Connection and they STILL continued to bill me, and harass me by numerous phone calls and mail!!! They still owe me money for unauthorized charges made to my debit/Visa card plus their initial start up fee, and I never once used their gym!!!! Now I have permanent damage to my hip, which set me back $60,000.00 and they refuse to help with this huge medical bill, and it was their gym floor I broke my hip on!!!! Folks if you are looking for a gym to work out, BEWARE OF FITNESS CONNECTION!!!! Go to (((competitor's name redacted))) or the (((competitor's name redacted))) or any place else!!!
My son was given a membership to this gym as a 16yr old. It was a Christmas present from his older sister. My son never had time to use the membership so he asked his sister to cancel the membership. She tried but they continued taking money out of her checking account. She sent letters to cooperate and made many phones calls but could not get them to stop taking money. She had to close her checking account.
Now its 3 yrs later and fitness connection hired a collection agency to go after my son. They have no social security number, only his name. They are telling him they are going to sue him and report hom to the credit bureau and ruin his credit if he doesn't pay. Mind you they don't have his SS number. He was so scared it would happen that he paid what they were asking. What kind of company claims to enter into a binding business contract with a minor without parental consent. Stay away from this company. They will go to the end of the earth to see to they get paid, even after you cancel their services.
I became a member of Fitness Connection on Highway 6 about 3 years ago. I have never step foot into the gym and soon realized that I never would due to my demanding work schedule and then having a complicated pregnancy. Almost 1 1/2year ago, I called to cancel my membership and they told I would have to pay an extra fee to cancel. Because my husband and I are on the account, I had to pay an additional charge to cancel for him as well as an additional charge to cancel for myself. The next month, I noticed a monthly fee from Fitness Connection just as the lady said I would. The next few months, there was no fee taken from our bank account so I thought the membership was cancelled. A few months later, a fee was charged again to our account and continously charged after that. Fitness Connection is a ripoff! They will continue to bill your account and STEAL your money.
The only thing Fitness Connection is interested in is the legality of their contract with no interest whatsoever in an individuals personal circumstances. I am a disabled veteran with service connected disabilities which do not allow me to work and I am on a fixed income, and approaching 60 years of age. I joined Fitness Connection over 2 years ago with the hopes it would help me with atrophy, balance and a few other problems I experience due to my disability. I used them for a few weeks and the problems I was experiencing at the time worsened. One of the meds I was taking at the time fogged my memory (normal side effect) and long story short, I forgot all about having a membership with them, and moved completely from the area last September to an area of the state where they don't have any facilities anyway.
I saw that I had a charge on my credit card from fitness connection this month and immediately started trying to cancel the membership. I was taught in my military career to take responsibility for my actions and I realize the lapse in memory is my fault, not monitoring my CC bills closer, etc... and take full responsibility.
The system for cancelling membership is archaic to say the least. Websites, usernames, passwords, forms, required documentation...The password and username is not yours but one they provide you. I called their Customer Service and that's where the rudeness began.
I tried to explain my situation to the representative but she kept interrupting and talking over me until I finally had to tell her she was being rude. Then she listened. I explained how my situation had allowed me to have a lapse in memory, how they had made over $250 pure profit off of me due to me not cancelling, and asked that they keep all of the 2 years of payments I made for a service I never used, but to please refund the yearly fee they had billed me 2 weeks earlier since I would never be using even a day of it, and they had made such a big profit off of me thus far.
I was told that I signed the agreement and it was legally binding and there was nothing that could be done for the annual fee. I told her I understood the contract but also know that almost every corporation has a human element to them and she said there was nothing she could do. I then asked to speak to her supervisor and she said she was the supervisor and nothing could be done, and that I had signed a legally binding contract. I then asked to speak to her manager and she told me she was the manager and nothing could be done. I then reminded her that she was the supervisor but if she was now the manager, then she worked for a boss, probably a Vice President or Director, and I would like to speak to that person. She asked me to hold for her manager. A few minutes later, a lady named Dianne answered the phone, I explained my situation and she asked for my membership number and to please hold. A few minutes later, a lady name Karla or Carla, answered and asked if she could help... I told her I was holding for Dianne and she told me Dianne wasn't available, I had to talk to her...
It was obvious now they were bouncing me around the office, so I explained my situation for the 3rd time, never got to speak to anyone with policy exceptions authority, and was treated very rudely...
YES, by the law, they are within their rights... but by the standard of human decency, compassion and morals, they have absolutely NONE. It was for these kind of people that I gave up years of my life, making a career to protect, and ultimately losing my health for them. I will honor my commitments but will also tell everyone I know what a slimeball company this is... all over refunding $20-30 after making over $250 pure profit off of a disabled person.
Oh, and yes, they will be charging me $10 for the month of August knowing I live nowhere remotely near one of their facilities... And their customer service department needs to learn to speak clear English without a heavy Hispanic accent so customers don't have to ask them to repeat everything they say 2-3 times before deciphering the English word they are attempting to say.
Fitness Connection Reviews
My problems with Fitness Connection began when their billing department made an error (what I now know was deliberate) with my recurring monthly charges. Instead of debiting my account on the date as specified in my "contract", the billing department did not attempt to debit my checking account until a week or so after the set due date for my monthly payments. Subsequently, I began receiving several collection calls stating that my payment was past due.
The following month, I cancelled my membership by sending a letter to the gym where I opened my membership. The cancellation was made prior to the next billing cycle, however I was still charged a fee for doing so. Of course, both the Texas office and the local gym location had no record of my letter of cancellation. Also, I was charged for the month that the cancellation was made. When I tried discussing these billing discrepancies to Martha Velazquez, I was treated very rudely and unprofessionally. This girl's attitude is outright nasty and distasteful. She made one excuse after another for why she could not get in touch with me. The situation become so heated, the CEO, Jeff Skeen became involved. This is when things went from bad to worse. This skalawag refused to own up to his company's deceptive billing practices. Who would? If my fitness centers were suffering financially nationwide, I would not admit to a member or former member that I was lying, stealing and cheating. This is what Skeen has to do in order to make up for financially losses with Fitness Connection. I went back and forth with this clown about his company's billing practices, and the impact to my checking account in which those illegal practices caused. My account is now closed due to an unauthorized debit, which eventually caused several of my bills to be paid late or returned. The checking account has been turned over to a collection agency and Jeff Skeen is going to pay for this! I used to have a 728 FICO score, but not anymore and thanks to Fitness Connection. The collection is the only negative credit item on all three of my credit reports.
Based on Internet searches of Fitness Connection, there are hundreds of thousands of former members of this fitness center who have been victimized by their deceptive and unfair business practices. Many of these people do not know their rights or where to turn for restitution. Contact your state's attorney general's office and file a consumer complaint. If that does not work and your checking account or credit card account has been compromised over billing issues, contact the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, or the Federal Trade Commission, as the latter handles deceptive trade matters. If all else fails, take Fitness Connection to court.
Jeff Skeen is a privileged skunk who needs to be taught a lesson. In case you are having trouble finding his mailing address, he works out of the Northern Virginia location. The address is: 8200 Greensboro Drive, Ste 900, McLean, VA 22102. If you are getting the runaround from the Texas office where billing is handled, email Skeen. His email address is: [email protected].
The cancellation policy is ridiculous. They require you to send in a letter to the HQ. Now remember dont forget to track the letter because if you dont it seems to get 'lost'. Believe me, im not the only person who this has happened to.
I joined the month to month membership at $20 a person for me and my wife in July 2014. We stopped going in Nov 2014 and we sent in a letter to cancel the membership. A few months go by and I see they are still taking money out.
So I contact them and the first thing they ask is "Do you have a tracking number?" I said no and that was the end of it. Apparently standard post in the USA is not acceptable anymore.
Customer service dont care, they just keep telling you the same thing like they have a programmed chip with the same sentence. Why should I have to pay to send my cancelation?
I called back because I could accept this and another lady said you can do it online?! So I cancel online at the site the lady had given me WITH the password to do so. I also recieve an email confirmation of it.
A few months go by and realize they are STILL charging me. So when I call back to ask why she said "only some locations accept online cancelation"........... were in 2015 and only SOME locations can cancel online, apparently. That was the most absurd thing I had heard.
So after continuous frustration I sent in my letter, TRACKED and everything in March 2015 and in MAY 2015 we are still being charged.
I even got a call from them in March 2015 to tell me they had recieved the letter.
I stopped going gym in November and its May 2015: Thats 6 months x $40 = $240 they have wrongly taken from me.
I think thats explains all I need to say about this money greedy scam Fitness Connection have going on.
Called Finess connection and they are telling me I must cansel through a web site tryed this, fitnessconnectionusaforms.com and there is alot of them some are chargeing money to assist with the cansellation.
I was given a tour of the Fitness Connection and the Assistant Manager (Jamol) was trying his best to get me to join this gym. On the tour, I fell on the very slippery gym floor and broke my hip and had to have surgery which costed me $60,000.00!! He had talked me into joining, as at the time I didn't know my hip was even broken. I was in severe pain, went to the doctor and had to have emergency surgery that afternoon for my broken hip. Then I called Fitness Connection and was informed there would be no fees while I was on medical leave, until my surgeon released me. Was informed I had three days to cancel, and I was in the hospital at that time.
The Fitness Connection's Third Party payor (ABC Company) kept calling me and harassing me daily via telephone and mail. I informed their Corporate Office I did not want to be a member any more, and this was in October 2014, (after I had my surgery). Jamol at Fitness Connection ignored all my phone calls, and the manager (Stephon) and him just passed my messages back and forth. While I was on medical leave they continued to charge my debit card for membership fees and when I informed them of the unauthorized charges to my debit card they wouldn't do anything about it, so I had to put a stop on my debit card.
I physically had to go to Fitness Connection and deal with this as no one would return my phone calls. STAY AWAY FROM FITNESS CONNECTION PEOPLE!!!! I had pictures of my x-rayed broken hip with the surgical screws inserted and I brought then to the Fitness Connection and they STILL continued to bill me, and harass me by numerous phone calls and mail!!! They still owe me money for unauthorized charges made to my debit/Visa card plus their initial start up fee, and I never once used their gym!!!! Now I have permanent damage to my hip, which set me back $60,000.00 and they refuse to help with this huge medical bill, and it was their gym floor I broke my hip on!!!! Folks if you are looking for a gym to work out, BEWARE OF FITNESS CONNECTION!!!! Go to (((competitor's name redacted))) or the (((competitor's name redacted))) or any place else!!!
My son was given a membership to this gym as a 16yr old. It was a Christmas present from his older sister. My son never had time to use the membership so he asked his sister to cancel the membership. She tried but they continued taking money out of her checking account. She sent letters to cooperate and made many phones calls but could not get them to stop taking money. She had to close her checking account.
Now its 3 yrs later and fitness connection hired a collection agency to go after my son. They have no social security number, only his name. They are telling him they are going to sue him and report hom to the credit bureau and ruin his credit if he doesn't pay. Mind you they don't have his SS number. He was so scared it would happen that he paid what they were asking. What kind of company claims to enter into a binding business contract with a minor without parental consent. Stay away from this company. They will go to the end of the earth to see to they get paid, even after you cancel their services.
I became a member of Fitness Connection on Highway 6 about 3 years ago. I have never step foot into the gym and soon realized that I never would due to my demanding work schedule and then having a complicated pregnancy. Almost 1 1/2year ago, I called to cancel my membership and they told I would have to pay an extra fee to cancel. Because my husband and I are on the account, I had to pay an additional charge to cancel for him as well as an additional charge to cancel for myself. The next month, I noticed a monthly fee from Fitness Connection just as the lady said I would. The next few months, there was no fee taken from our bank account so I thought the membership was cancelled. A few months later, a fee was charged again to our account and continously charged after that. Fitness Connection is a ripoff! They will continue to bill your account and STEAL your money.
The only thing Fitness Connection is interested in is the legality of their contract with no interest whatsoever in an individuals personal circumstances. I am a disabled veteran with service connected disabilities which do not allow me to work and I am on a fixed income, and approaching 60 years of age. I joined Fitness Connection over 2 years ago with the hopes it would help me with atrophy, balance and a few other problems I experience due to my disability. I used them for a few weeks and the problems I was experiencing at the time worsened. One of the meds I was taking at the time fogged my memory (normal side effect) and long story short, I forgot all about having a membership with them, and moved completely from the area last September to an area of the state where they don't have any facilities anyway.
I saw that I had a charge on my credit card from fitness connection this month and immediately started trying to cancel the membership. I was taught in my military career to take responsibility for my actions and I realize the lapse in memory is my fault, not monitoring my CC bills closer, etc... and take full responsibility.
The system for cancelling membership is archaic to say the least. Websites, usernames, passwords, forms, required documentation...The password and username is not yours but one they provide you. I called their Customer Service and that's where the rudeness began.
I tried to explain my situation to the representative but she kept interrupting and talking over me until I finally had to tell her she was being rude. Then she listened. I explained how my situation had allowed me to have a lapse in memory, how they had made over $250 pure profit off of me due to me not cancelling, and asked that they keep all of the 2 years of payments I made for a service I never used, but to please refund the yearly fee they had billed me 2 weeks earlier since I would never be using even a day of it, and they had made such a big profit off of me thus far.
I was told that I signed the agreement and it was legally binding and there was nothing that could be done for the annual fee. I told her I understood the contract but also know that almost every corporation has a human element to them and she said there was nothing she could do. I then asked to speak to her supervisor and she said she was the supervisor and nothing could be done, and that I had signed a legally binding contract. I then asked to speak to her manager and she told me she was the manager and nothing could be done. I then reminded her that she was the supervisor but if she was now the manager, then she worked for a boss, probably a Vice President or Director, and I would like to speak to that person. She asked me to hold for her manager. A few minutes later, a lady named Dianne answered the phone, I explained my situation and she asked for my membership number and to please hold. A few minutes later, a lady name Karla or Carla, answered and asked if she could help... I told her I was holding for Dianne and she told me Dianne wasn't available, I had to talk to her...
It was obvious now they were bouncing me around the office, so I explained my situation for the 3rd time, never got to speak to anyone with policy exceptions authority, and was treated very rudely...
YES, by the law, they are within their rights... but by the standard of human decency, compassion and morals, they have absolutely NONE. It was for these kind of people that I gave up years of my life, making a career to protect, and ultimately losing my health for them. I will honor my commitments but will also tell everyone I know what a slimeball company this is... all over refunding $20-30 after making over $250 pure profit off of a disabled person.
Oh, and yes, they will be charging me $10 for the month of August knowing I live nowhere remotely near one of their facilities... And their customer service department needs to learn to speak clear English without a heavy Hispanic accent so customers don't have to ask them to repeat everything they say 2-3 times before deciphering the English word they are attempting to say.