I joined Gold's Gym with my fiance on June 13th. We were informed of the "seven-day" clause of the contract, in which the $198 down we paid could be refunded if we canceled our membership within seven days.
On June 20th (seven days later), we decided to cancel for personal reasons. We filled out a cancellation letter, both signed, and it was also signed by the employee on duty. We were told that within 30 DAYS our $198 would be returned to our bank account.
On July 16th, my fiance called to check in on the process. We were told that the letter was faxed on June 20th and to give it one more week.
Six days later, our bank account was charged $108 for both of our membership dues for the next month. When we called the gym, we were told that the letter had still not been faxed to the financial department. Several calls to the financial department itself were made, ending in us being informed that the letter had not been sent.
We began calling Gold's to speak with the management. We were sent between the manager and his assistant, leaving messages for both, which they did not return. I finally spoke with Christy, the assistant manager, on July 21st. She told me that she would talk to George, the manager, the next day and the situation would be taken care of.
July 23rd arrived, and I called the financial department. The letter had still not been sent. They also informed me that in order to get my $198 dollars back, I would have to go through the gym, not them. I called the gym again, and was told by christy that it would be taken care of by July 24th.
On July 25th, I found out that George was in the office. I got off work two hours early, and called to tell him i would be coming to speak with him that night. When I arrived, he had already left. I returned the next day, and was told he was at lunch. I said I would sit and wait.
George arrived and sat down. He told me that until that day he had not heard my name before, and that he had not seen my file and the cancellation letter was lost. If I had a copy, I should fax it to him and things could move more quickly. I faxed it that day.
On July 28th, I called Christy. She said i should resend it. I did.
On July 31st, I sent the gym a letter, informing them of the overdrafts on my account, the phone charges I have accrued with all the calls to the gym and the financial department, the lost wages from leaving work early for no reason, and the fact that I joined another gym early in July under the terms that I could pay them the balance of my registration within 30 days... Since I was promised my money back by at least then. I also said that I was at my wit's end and did not know what other options I had but legal action if it was not resolved.
George called me that day. He began to berate me on the phone for twenty minutes, leaving me to try and defned myself. He said i had never left him a message and should have gone through him the whole time. I said I had left him messages with his staff more than ten times. He said I should have tried harder to get them to give him messages because they had already lost my cancellation letter and should not be trusted.
He said it was not his problem that I lost wages, even though he told me he would be at the gym and wasn't. He said it wasn't his problem that my phone bill was high, and that the financial department number was 1-800 and I could have used a pay phone. He threatened to call his attorney if I pursued legal action. I said they had been dragging me around for a month and a half. He eventually said that the money would be redeposited within 3 to 5 days, but offered no help for the near five hundred other dollars he had cost me.
I hope no one joins Gold's Gym... Especially the one in Duluth, Georgia.
Jeremy
Duluth, Georgia
U.S.A.
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