Friday, November 17, 2006
Here's a summary of a recent entry in Angie's List that describes a customer's experience at a Gold's Gym.
This involves the ease (or lack of ease) it is to get the gym to stop taking your money each month. The saddest part of this story is that the lady's initial membership contract had ended. She thought she was done with them...But oh no, just like Jason and Freddie Kreuger these guys are not that easy to get rid of.
This lady neglected to read the fine print of her contract...it said that if the gym does not receive written termination in the form of a letter then your contract really doesn't end it merely moves over to "month-to-month" status. That means it never ends unless you start jumping through some hoops.
READ THE FINE PRINT PEOPLE!!!. So here come the hoops...First, she had to submit written notice of her quitting 30 days in advance of the date they would end her obligation. Guess what happened next, she was still being charged, because the "accounting department" failed to properly file her request. You know how this story ends, endless calls to the gym owner management, then endless calls to the corporate office. She said that she actually spoke to at least 6 different company representatives, and STILL has not received her money back.
And guess what, she started to go online and she found out (surprise surprise) that she was not alone. there were people froma ll over the country that have had the same experience, continual charges to their bank accounts with little assistance in stopping the monthly charge or processing the appropriate refunds. Right now she is working with the Better Business Bureau and the Georgia Attorney General's Office to secure her refund.
Today's tip is to check out the Better Business Bureau or Angie's List for other horror stories, before you join any gym. Remember if you are using Angie's List for the first time be sure you expand your search to companies rated F. The default on the site is B, but you want to see the gyms you should avoid.
Also if a company only has one good report it might have been done by the gym owner. I have heard stories of gym owners forcing all its staff to go online and grade their gym an A or vote for it in a "Best of..." contest.
But most importantly PLEASE READ THE FINE PRINT. Make sure you know how to end your contract before you sign it to begin with! ¶ 6:56 AM
This involves the ease (or lack of ease) it is to get the gym to stop taking your money each month. The saddest part of this story is that the lady's initial membership contract had ended. She thought she was done with them...But oh no, just like Jason and Freddie Kreuger these guys are not that easy to get rid of.
This lady neglected to read the fine print of her contract...it said that if the gym does not receive written termination in the form of a letter then your contract really doesn't end it merely moves over to "month-to-month" status. That means it never ends unless you start jumping through some hoops.
READ THE FINE PRINT PEOPLE!!!. So here come the hoops...First, she had to submit written notice of her quitting 30 days in advance of the date they would end her obligation. Guess what happened next, she was still being charged, because the "accounting department" failed to properly file her request. You know how this story ends, endless calls to the gym owner management, then endless calls to the corporate office. She said that she actually spoke to at least 6 different company representatives, and STILL has not received her money back.
And guess what, she started to go online and she found out (surprise surprise) that she was not alone. there were people froma ll over the country that have had the same experience, continual charges to their bank accounts with little assistance in stopping the monthly charge or processing the appropriate refunds. Right now she is working with the Better Business Bureau and the Georgia Attorney General's Office to secure her refund.
Today's tip is to check out the Better Business Bureau or Angie's List for other horror stories, before you join any gym. Remember if you are using Angie's List for the first time be sure you expand your search to companies rated F. The default on the site is B, but you want to see the gyms you should avoid.
Also if a company only has one good report it might have been done by the gym owner. I have heard stories of gym owners forcing all its staff to go online and grade their gym an A or vote for it in a "Best of..." contest.
But most importantly PLEASE READ THE FINE PRINT. Make sure you know how to end your contract before you sign it to begin with! ¶ 6:56 AM
