My boyfriend Ryan and I signed up for a personal trainer at our local Golds Gym with a Beyond Fitness representative. T. J, the manager, told us how great it was going to be to get to know our TRAINER and build a rapport with that TRAINER while preparing Ryan to take the physical fitness test for our local police department. He promised us quick and efficient workouts, as does the Beyond Fitness website. We signed up for three sessions a week.
Our first day with our trainer, Ben, we were in the gym for about an hour and a half. Some "effiecient" workout. As a further bonus, our trainer admitted to going out and partying all night. At the time of our session at six am, still reaked off alcohol. This became par for the course with this gentleman. Needless to say, when we were assigned to another trainer about a month and a half in, I was not too upset. Leanne became our new trainer. She is the only light at the end of this very dismal and dark tunnel. She was personable, professional and knew exactly what she was doing. She got us in and out and put up with our varying schedules. At the end of our third month, she too left. We were going to be assigned to yet ANOTHER trainer. Three trainers in three months.
Ryan and I went into the gym the day we were to be assigned to another trainer and spoke with a different manager. We explained our dissatisfaction with having three trainers in three months. "Gee, I'm sorry to hear that. Thats actually why T.J. And I were brought into this gym, to deal with the unusually high turn over" was his response. My jaw dropped. I contacted the corporate office that day and spoke with a man named Daniel. This was in mid-june.
Daniel ensured me he would personally follow up to make sure there was to be no more money taken out of my account, and all I had to do was send in a certified letter and a check for the cancellation fee of over $500.00. Just in case, I went to my bank on July 19th to put a stop payment on any withdrawals from Beyond Fitness. Checking my bank account online on 7/23, sure enough 300.00 had been attempted to take out.
That Monday, I called the office again and immediately asked to speak to a supervisor. I was not rude to the person who answered the call originally and conducted my call in a professional, albeit stern, tone. Since Ryan and I both work in a call center environment for a very large and respected cell phone company, we conduct ourselves professionally on the phone.
The supervisor with whom I spoke refused to give me his name and conducted the whole call on SPEAKERPHONE. He also personally assured me that effective the day of that call, there would be no more money taken out of my bank account. Whether or not he knew the funds had a stop payment on them, I don't know. He insisted that we could still use the sessions we had acquired, since we had payed for a full month we had not used. The supervisor failed to listen to my main grievance, which was not having a steady trainer.
When I got off the phone, I was absolutely LIVID. Wondering if it was a "boys club" situation, questioning that it was my gender that was causing me not to get anywhere, Ryan called. Beyond Fitness REFUSED to speak to him. Not because he wasn't on the account, which he is, but because they didn't want to. Ryan left several messages for Robert, the supervisor, who has yet to return any of them. The representative stated that they would fax a copy of the contract, since we do not remember signing one, but we have yet to receive it.
We have every intention of involving a local consumer watchdog on one of our local television stations, and we am also filing a report with the Better Business Bureau.
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