1. When I purchased a Princeton Athletic Club membership on 11/10, sales staff promised that the new Telegram Building location would open on or around 12/01. No mention was made that December 1st was projected for only one-half of the gym. It was not until much later that I would learn the truth: the cardio floor would not be finished until long after December, and until that time, a very limited array of older aerobic equipment was all that would be provided. This was despite the fact that I made it very clear I was most interested in aerobic equipment and wanted to begin using the aerobic equipment as soon as possible. I paid $86 on that day (have bank statements to prove it). This was for the $61 monthly fee $25 card fee (for a card I never received).
2. On that same day - 11/10 - sales staff told me the membership card would arrive via mail. This worried me, since I was told to use the membership contract until the card arrived. The membership contract contained my SSN and bank information, and I did not want to carry that around in my wallet or bag. When I called to inquire how long the card might take, I was warned that I may not receive a card at all simply because I was waiting for the new location to open. This worried me, and as a result, I reconsidered whether I should have joined. (Later in the same phone call, I was told that I would indeed receive a card, but I had to come pick it up. Needless to say, I was losing confidence.)
3. On November 13, I came in and took a second tour of the new location - still under construction and quite empty. I was concerned, and I wanted reassurances about the machines that would be available. I came in and spoke with Tim. He assured me there would be Step Mills (NOT Stairmasters, but Step Mills; we had a very detailed conversation about the differences between these machines.) He also assured me there would be more types of ellpticals, new bikes, etc. Again, NO mention was made that the Cardio floor would be opening later than the rest of the gym, even though I made it quite clear that I had weights at home and ONLY wanted to use cardio machines.in addition to this, I made it very clear that I needed access to these particular machines asap. He assured me the gym would be opening in just a few short weeks, around December 1st. He did not say that only HALF the gym would be opening; he simply said the gym would be opening. Any reasonable person would assume he meant the ENTIRE gym.
4. Sometime after the November 13 visit, I called and spoke with a receptionist, who told me the gym was opening on December 1st. I called because I had received an advertisement in the mail for a November 30th Grand Opening Party. I was excited and wanted to confirm that the gym was ready to open. Again, this representative made no mention that the cardio floor was on another timeline.in fact, this person went out of his way to say that both floors should open "around the same time." There might be some days where machines would be moved up to the cardio floor, but it would be open.
5. Early in December, I paid a visit to see if the gym was open and ready. I was shown the (very few) cardio machines that were available - crammed into a corner on the weight training floor. I asked where all the other machines were, and I was told that more were would be moved upstairs in the next couple of weeks. This is also when I was told that the aerobics floor would not be opening until at least several weeks - and maybe months - later. I was extremely disappointed and did not want to come back. I felt I had been duped and was unsure what to do. I decided to come back when more machines had been brought upstairs and give the place another chance.
6. I waited and went in December 16th, only to find that no more cardio machines had been brought upstairs. It was the same paltry array I had seen before. The ellipticals were not what I was promised. The
bikes were rickety, with seats that would not stay in place (and yes, I know how to use the bikes - I have used them for years). There were no step mills as promised by Tim.
I immediately demanded my contract to be cancelled. The General Manager, Chris, did cancel my membership, but only after insulting me. He then promised to have this cancellation processed immediately. He said the Operations Manager, Peggie, needed to enter the cancellation into the computer and call me at home to confirm.
I waited all day for this call, and every time I called to find out what was happening, I was told that the Operations Manager was "in a meeting." The General Manger, Chris, finally processed the cancellation personally and called me back. At this time, he said I should receive a refund of the $86 I already paid. He also promised that I would never again see any charges from Princeton Athletic Club, and that if I did, I would be credited immediately.
It does not end there, however. Later the same day, I began receiving telephone calls about shipments to Princeton Athletic Club. My telephone number had been given out without my permission. Perhaps this was an accident, but it certainly shows that Princeton Athletic Club cannot protect private information. I faxed & emailed a letter to management and came in with my husband, demanding that they return their copy of my contract, as I could not trust them to protect my information. General Manager Chris said it was no problem. He told us to come back in an hour when the office opened, and he would produce the contract.
When we returned, Chris again promised to retrieve the contract and left to go to the old location (where records are still stored.) He never came back. We waited almost an hour, until the Operations Manager (Peggie) finally came in and said there was no way they could return the contract.
After becoming upset and calming down again, I asked her to at least black out my personal information, and she agreed to do this. However, she would not let me watch. She returned with a photocopy, showing that she had blacked out my personal information.
Of course, I have no way of knowing whether she simply photocopied the contract, blacked out the photocopy and then copied it again. For all I know, my information is still stored at the club. I just had to trust her at that point. Peggie then told me I needed to call her if I wanted to "work out" a refund. It is unbelievable to me that I would have to do yet more work - and jump through more hoops - to obtain a refund. She should have processed it right there, especially since I had waited over an hour for the contract, and especially after all the stress I had undergone. I was so stressed out I got sick.
In an act of goodwill (and before I realized my contract had been altered - see below), I sent an email thanking the Operations Manager (Peggie) for blacking out my private information, but I never heard back. This only confirms to me that she does not plan to issue the refund.
Also, upon comparing the photocopy with my carbon copy of the original contract, I notice that - at some point after I joined - someone forged (traced?) my signature onto the bank draft authorization form. Unbelievable. And they handed me the evidence! On my carbon copy of the original, this line is blank, meaning that I never signed it (otherwise it would show on the carbon copy). On the photocopy - which is an image of the copy the gym keeps on file, and is the top sheet of the original carbon sheets - a signature clearly appears on that line, and in handwriting that is obviously not my own.
My guess is that I forgot to sign that one line, and someone filled it in for me. This does not represent good business practices, in my opinion. Of course I had intended to sign that line on the day I joined (when I was foolish enough to believe this gym was honest). But if they needed the signature, they could have called me or written a letter. They have my phone number and address, after all. Why sign it for me? (I have imagined every possible scenario in my mind, trying to recall whether I signed that line in some awkward position that would make the handwriting strange, but that would be impossible.
Had I signed at all, it would have gone through the carbon and copied onto my carbon sheet. And the handwriting is obviously not mine. It appears very near my real signature, and looks nothing like it).in addition to the signature, someone also added a "Total Agreement Price" and "Remaining Balance Due." On my carbon copy, these lines are blank; on the photocopy of the top sheet, these lines are filled in. Suspicious, to say the least.
I have submitted a complaint to the Oregon/Washington BBB and will also be filing with the Attorney General. Heck, if they are willing to alter the contract, I doubt they are truly leaving me alone. I wish I had never walked into that gym.
Oh yeah - I forgot to mention that the General Manager admitted he fired several employees because of lies and other issues. The club refuses to take responsibility, choosing to blame "previous owners and management" instead of rolling up its sleeves and cleaning the mess.
I am sure it will be a nice club when it FINALLY opens for real, but that hardly matters to me now. I can only hope they shape up and learn to take responsibility, so that others will not experience what I have.
You know, I chose this gym because it was a small local business, and because I could join without a huge enrollment fee. What a nightmare. I think I will stick to my workout videos and the small fitness room in my apartment building.
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