I first signed up at LA Fitness at the request of my fiance, and the recommendation of my father at the end of March. We took the full tour with a very nice man who gave us the full rundown of the gym and the services they offer. He gave us two contracts, telling us that they offered no cash month to month payment, and the only possible way to join the gym was to give a bank card that they could automatically deduct from every 15th.
He charged us like $75 per application (which I though was outrageous) and told us we had to pay the first and last months fee up front as well. I reluctantly gave my card info, and asked questions about the cancellation policy, I was informed that I could easily cancel whenever I wanted, and the remaining month would be paid for, and furthermore, we would receive an additional 15 days free, just as an incentive to come back. He assured us, though, that we would be completely satisfied with our experience, and would not need to leave.
We came back to the gym once, two weeks later, and didnt use it anymore. So, by the time the billing for May came around, I convinced my wife the gym was a waste of money, and it was time to lick our financial wounds and move on.
I called my local LA Fitness the last week of May, and was answered by a woman I can only assume was at the information desk. I told her that my fiance and I were not using the gym, and needed to cancel our memberships. She was very nice, and after receiving my information, informed me that she would cancel would cancel our accounts, and that we could continue to use the gym for an additional month and 15 days since we had already payed for it. I smiled and told her that we wouldnt need it but thanks anyway.
Two weeks later I went on a trip to a nearby business conference, and lost my wallet with my gym membership info inside. Living in the age we do, I simply called and cancelled my credit cards, got new drivers license, the whole situation took a mere couple hours. Among the cancelled cards was my bank card. I received all the new cards within a week.
The last week of June I received and interesting message on my answering machine from a woman claiming to be from my local LA Fitness saying she needed to update my payment info. I thought that was funny since I had cancelled my membership over a month prior. I just figured they had made some mistake, and it would be simple to clear up. I was very busy that week preparing for my wedding the following Saturday, and never called back the gym.
I returned from my honeymoon a couple weeks later, and received another call from LA Fitness, this time the corporate office. The woman I talked to this time told me she needed to update my payment info on my account. I confidently told her I had canelled my account over a month and a half ago. She asked how I cancelled, and I told her it was over the phone to my local gym.
She seemed confused, and said the only way to cancel my membership was by mail or over the internet. I was baffled because my previous conversation told me nothing about needing to come in or go online to cancel my account. I asked to please cancel my account, since she was from corporate, I hoped she would have easier access to our account and may be able to cancel them for me.
She repeated to tell me that the only way to cancel was to go online or to get a cancellation request from my local gym and mail it in. I asked her if she would please resolve the payment due within the company so that when the cancellation request goes through I wouldnt have to deal anymore with LA Fitness. She told me that she would put in the refund request on my account and it would be taken care of.
Since I didnt have internet access, I went to my parents house later that week to cancel my account online. Of course, the one night I tried, the LA Fitness website was down. A week and two more phone calls from the company later, I attempted again to cancel online. This time, to my amusement, the website was up, but since I no longer had my membership info, I had no way of logging in to my account to cancel.
Two more phone calls, and another week later, I found some spare time to trek down to the gym and asked for the cancellation forms. The lady at the front desk gave me two faded, obviously copied pieces of paper with LA Fitness logo on and told me Id have to use my own envelope and stamp to send them in.
Frustrated, but eager to resolve the issue, I filled out and mailed the requests, hoping to put LA Fitness far behind me. Like clockwork, however, I continued to receive phone calls from either the corporate or local LA Fitness every three days. Every person that called heard the same story from me, and every person told me the same thing, wow, that sounds like its really been difficult. Ill put in the request to have the charges reversed and this will all be taken care of.
Of course it never has.
Today I talked to a man who claimed to be the highest up person I could deal with, and he explained that the reason I kept getting calls was that all the refund requests were being denied.
He explained to me that the agreement I signed has (in his words), very peculiar wording, that is intended to get an extra months billing out of every member when they cancel.
Heres how it works: When you sign up for LA Fitness, you pay for two months, the first and last month. The first month begins immediately, but when you cancel, you still have to pay for any billings that happen within thirty days of the date of your request. After that, your last month kicks in, and you then get another fifteen days free, just for cancelling.
So, he said he would date my cancellation back to when I had originally called at the end of May, but that I still had to pay for the June 15th billing, and my account could still be used until Sept 1st. I told him that I didnt want to use the account, that I just wanted the whole issue resolved. He rudely repeated to me that I owed his company money and he refused to reverse the charge.
At that point I told him that if he wouldnt resolve the issue, than I wanted a full refund of my entire membership, and that I was extremely upset with the service I had received. I told him I had spent hours upon hours more dealing with cancelling my membership than I had actually in the gym. That I had been promised numerous times it would be resolved, my account cancelled, and no more harassing calls about bogus due payment for a service I had used once.
This company cares only about profits, and my story is proof. All they would have had to due is close an account I never used and quit calling me and I would have been satisfied, but now that wont be enough. I have spent too many hours dealing with them to let that be all.
LA Fitness is a rip off
Ben
Glendale, Arizona
U.S.A.
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