My daughter while only 17 went down to the Bally Total Fitness center in Rancho Cucamoga, CA with some friends who wanted to sign up. The sales employee's of Bally's talked her into signing up and when she told them she was only 17 they said "no problem". They took her contract and changed her date of birth by one year to make her 18.
Here is a letter I sent to:
Bally Total Fitness February 27
Customer Service Department
12440 E. Imperial Hwy., Suite 300
Norwalk, CA 90650
To whom it may concern,
This is to inform you that my daughter Francesca will be cancelling her membership with Bally Total Fitness. She wasn't very happy with they way she was treated or handled during the recruiting possess. The last time she was in your Rancho Cucamonga location December she was not treated well. She has not gone back since.
After receiving past due notices and reviewing the retail installment contract I noticed that my daughter was a minor when she signed this contract. She was told by the recruiter that they would just change the date of her birth. One of her friends also had this happen to him at the same time and their parent has contacted you about it.
I am requesting that all late and past due payments be dropped alone with this contract that cannot be legally held against her because she was a minor at the time. I will not continue my complaint any further weather it be to your corporate offices or the district attorney regarding fraud by the employees of the Rancho Cucamonga location.
The account number is #&
Thank you for your quick response in this matter.
Bill
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Ontario, CA
XXXXXXXXXXX
Here was there response:
Dear Mr. &:
Re: Account no.
Thank you for contacting Bally Total Fitness.
Your daughters membership agreement may be cancelled if she signed the contractual obligation while she was a minor. Please send a copy of your daughters birth certificate to verify this information and please include the membership account number with all correspondence to complete your request.
Bally Total Fitness
Attention: Cancellation Department
P.O. Box 1080
Norwalk, CA 90651
Fax: (562) 484-2445
Sincerely,
L. Paz
Member Services Associate
Bally Total Fitness
Because they claimed they never received proof when I scanned her birth certificate and drivers license and emailed it to them I also faxed it and US mailed it. The calls stopped for four (4) months and then they started again.
My daughter received a phone call from the Bally Total Fitness collections department the evening of May 24th. She returned the call by my suggesting just to see what Bally Total Fitness wanted still after we thought her contract had been canceled. A rude man who would only give his first name (Juan), not only threaten my daughter with a collection agency and her credit report but challenged her to take any kind of legal action she wanted.
It seems that Bally Total Fitness has many legal battles going on from what I read online. They are not losing any of them either? Maybe they should be running our goverment and then we wouldn't be in debt! I guess it's true when you have enough money your above the law?
There must be something or someone who can stop a company like this? I've tried the organizations below but no one seems to be able to stop them.
Cc:
The Department of Consumer Affairs
Correspondence Unit
1625 North Market Blvd., Suite N 112
Sacramento, CA 95834
(800) 952-5210
San Bernardino County District Attorney's Office
316 N Mt View Ave
San Bernardino, CA 92415-0004
Phone: 909-387-8309
Federal Trade Commission
600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.,
Washington, D.C. 20580
Attorney General's Office California Department of Justice
Attn: Public Inquiry Unit
P.O. Box 944255
Sacramento, CA 94244-2550
Better Business Burial of the Southland
315 N. La Cadena
Colton, CA 92324-2927
Phone: (909) 825-7280
Fax: (909) 825-6246
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