I purchased weekly personal training session for my father who is older. He only wanted to work out on Saturdays in the morning. They understood this and things were fine for 4 or 5 months until Thanksgiving weekend when they didn't have a trainer for that Saturday morning. They called the night before and tried to change it to 2:30 pm Sat. And my Dad said he would be too tired by then. They said fine, he could make the session up another time. Note: they owed us one session from this day.
Then in December I told them I would be out of town the weekend before Christmas (he only works out if I'm there), and we would not be working out Saturday - Christmas Day (they're closed anyways) or New Year's Day (the next Saturday). By this time my Dad had been coming in almost every Sat for 5 months and they all knew us. Kim at the front desk knew his situation. Miyagi - the manager -knows us very well. His cell phone number is programmed into mine.
Kim, Miyagi and our early Dec. Trainer (I don't remember which one - maybe Omar) knew we weren't coming in for 3 weeks, but they billed my credit card for all those weeks even though they said they wouldn't. Every time a new charge would appear, I complained to Miyagi and he verbablly promised it would stop next billing cycle. We were all on very friendly terms and I hated to ask for anything in writing (it would have seemed overly-paranoid and untrusting - silly me).
So LA Fitness continued to bill be me for his training all through Dec and into Jan. Then they finally stopped it. I filled out a form on their website to get it stopped. Calling the number they print on my credit card bill is a huge waste of time - they never picked up and there's no way to leave a voicemail (which seems dishonest to me - why print a number that you don't answer). Also they don't respond to emails to the address they print on their emails as their return address - which also reeks of dishonesty. Only the form on their website got a response and there's no way to really know what email address that goes to. I suspect the email address they give out is never even read.
The employees in the gym seemed equally frustrated with their corporate office. I don't really blame them in this. They should have an easy way to stop the credit billing if they have to, but they don't. They also told me THEY have trouble getting in touch with corporate.
The company has nice gyms and equipment, but seems much more interested in expanding than in tending to the customers they already have. This is at odds with the employees who are sincerely trying to be nice to the customers.
Another note: we went through many personal trainers in the last 7 months and have seen many different faces at the front desk. I had all kinds of people claim they were the "this manager" and the "that manager". Unreal. On the plus side it's too crowded like some other gyms. There's the personal training manager, the general manager, the supervisor, etc. Etc.
We managed to get 3 of the 4 missed sessions made up. We went in today and had to start all over again from the beginning with our personal trainer Laney and the new manager Dan what was going on. There were no notes in the computer about this apparently (hardto believe). Laney was looking at me like I was lying. I've paid them over $2000 in the last 7 months and don't deserve to be looked at like a liar when I come in.
Aside from that, I still blame their management for this mess. I will never buy personal training again where they automatically bill you whether they are there or not. I never filed this with Visa, although I think I might for the last Jan. 10 charge because I don't want the 60 day limit to pass me by on that.
Be sure to look at all the other reports where the same kind of thing occurred. Also note: I'm a busy computer professional and charge alot by the hour. I've spents HOURS and HOURS at LA Fitness, sending emails, called Corporate, etc. Etc. At $200 / hour x 5 hours I've spent = $1000 I should be able to bill them. Next time I sign a contract I'm bringing one of my own counter-contract (my pre-nup so to speak) for them to sign.
Nancy
Long Beach, California
U.S.A.
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