Bally's has defrauded my family not once, but twice. Three years ago, I signed up at a Bally's here in Houston. I signed a 3-year contract after SPECIFICALLY asking if I could cancel it and being SPECIFICALLY told several times in the course of the meeting that I could. According to the trainer, all I had to do was call and cancel and pay 1 month of extra fees.
I moved to Boston shortly after that, and the closest Bally's to me was too far away to be practical, but not outside their minimum range for cancellation by only a mile. I called to cancel, and was told it was not possible.
Now, I specifically asked about canceling several times when I signed up, and each time I was told that there would be no problem. They harassed me and my father (who's credit card it was on) for months before we finally got them to cancel my membership after having our attorney threaten them with a lawsuit.
Just today, we found out it had happened again, to my husband. But this instance is much worse. He was in Orlando 6 months ago for 1 month doing a job there, and signed up for a 1 month membership at Bally's there. He SPECIFICALLY asked for only a 1 month membership, as he would be leaving and unsure where he was going next, and was SPECIFICALLY told that it would only be for 1 month. He did not know about my Bally's experience at the time.
Today we got a notice from them. He had paid with his checking account that he rarely uses for his "1 month" membership, and was shocked the other day when he received an overdraft notice from the bank. He knew he had about $400 in there.
We cleared up the overdraft, and just chalked it up to poor balancing of his checkbook, but today we received a notice from Bally's that his payment was overdue and delinquent. They had been charging his account WITHOUT HIS KNOWLEDGE for the past 6 months. When he called, he was told he had signed a 3-year contract and would either have to pay the monthy fees or give them a lump sum of $2500 to get out of it.
Now, he signed up for 1 MONTH, and they lied to him and signed him up for 3 years. Now they are threatening to bring action against him for not paying for a contract he did not make. He told me that he looked over the contract at the time he signed it, and it said 1 month. There was NOTHING in it about a 3-year contract. Unfortunately, he does not have a copy of it anymore.
Bally's business practices are APPALLING and they are LYING to their customers. I could understand if just my experience was a glitch, but not 2 people in the same family and not after reading all the complaints about them online.
We are being hounded and threatened by Bally's to pay a contract that we did not take out. We will not be paying it, and my husband has closed his bank account. We will have to see what comes of this, and if our attorney has to become involved AGAIN.
Kate
Houston, Texas
U.S.A.
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