According to National Fitness' own website, they are above average in the industry for correcting billing errors such as "expired credit card dates." I have several automatic draft accounts with multiple companies, and if the authorized credit card expires I receive notice, update it, and things move on unhindered. With National Fitness the first notice I received was non-admittance to the gym because of an expired membership. When I contacted National Fitness they updated the date and told me that my CC company had also billed me $15 for the denial (lie #1)... I figured I'd pay National Fitness the balance and work out the $15 with my CC company. National Fitness also told me they are not responsible for normal monthly billing (lie #2) and that failure to proactively update my credit card was the gym's fault.
After again being denied access to the gym I contacted National Fitness once more, this time they stated that I was over 30 days overdue and now "in collections." When asked why they hadn't processed my authorization when we had talked before, they stated that I had never authorized payment (lie #3). I reiterated that I had most definitely called and authorized a payment. I was then told that since I had called on the fifteenth and my payment was due on the fourteenth (lie #4), I was indeed overdue and that an additional late fee was being added to my balance.
I had phone records (from the thirteenth), and my contract (bill due date: the fifteenth) in hand, and had also talked with the gym and my credit card company about lies # 1&2 and immediately corrected Crystal, the "account manager" on these issues, and asked to speak with a supervisor.
Apparently, if you order french fries at McDonald's, you can speak to an on-site manager, but if a person who has access to your banking info, who's sending you to collections with National Fitness, tells you one lie after another, there's no supervisor available.
The end result, my gym credited me with the late charges and I arranged payment through another means to finish out my contract. I will probably stay with the gym and pay to them directly, but I will never do business with National Fitness again, or with anyone who requires me to deal with them.
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