I was a member of an LA Fitness in NJ for about a year. I have no complaints about the club itself. The facilites were always reasonably clean, the machines in working order and there were enough of them. I didn't take any classes or use a trainer. A gym is a gym. Some are a little nicer than others but you get what you pay for.
My complaint is about their cancellation policy. I understand that they want to make it as hard as possible so that they keep collecting your money. At their low membership fees that is a big part of how they make money. So, I am willing to jump through a few hoops to cancel in order to save a few bucks on fees. However the lengths they go to are almost comical.
First you have to download the form to cancel. Ok, not too bad. However their system doesn't support Mac! I had to go find another computer to print it out. Fill it out, as instructed and send it in. As the web site suggested I sent it registered/signature required. Knowing how they work I would have done this anyway. Well, two months later I get a call from them saying my credit card had expired and they needed it up dated because I owed them two months membership. I told them that I had cancelled. The woman on the phone tried everything she could think of to explain why it hadn't been processed;
- It may have gotten lost in the mail. I told her I had a reciept.incredibly she reiterated that it might have gotten lost in the mail. I explained I had a reciept. She stammered that she meant it might have gotten lost in their internal mail. I explaind that that was not my problem. They had signed for it. As far as I was concerned they had it.
- Maybe I sent it the wrong way. You have to fill out the form fold it over and tape it shut. She explained that I must have put it in an envelop. If you do that apparently the monkeys that handle their mail are not able to sort it. I assured her, that knowing how they work, I had followed instructions to the letter.
She said I needed to show them the receipt. Unfortunately it was in my office so I had to wait until the next day. I call back and get some guy. He pulls up the account and notes that the account was cancelled as of yesterday. I still want credit. He says I'll have to bring in the reciept. I tell him there is not an LA Fitness near where I am. I don't have time to do that. Why can't I give him the tracking number and he can look on the USPS web site? Oh, we don't have internet access here. Oh thats right, the internet hasn't reached Irvine CA yet! According to him they can only access the LA Fitness web site. Then whats the point of the computer on everyone's desk? Ok, I'll email it. Oh we don't have email. Very retro they are. Lets try some 20th century technology: I'll fax it. He says I can't fax anything outside of the 714 area code. It takes a second to process this. I say, very slowly, I am faxing it to you. He says I know, but our fax is only local and will only accept faxes from 714! I asked if he understood how the phone system worked. Silence. Finally he transfered me to someone else. They finally took care of it. Of course I'll be checking my bills.
So, as far as gyms go it isn't bad but be prepared to fight them if you want to cancel.
One last thing: negotiate if you do sign up. I got them down from the $150 or so "initiation" fee to $110. My buddy went in a week later and simply said I'm not paying it and got them down to $60.00 and a reduced monthly. I think mine was $25 as was his.
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