Gold's Gym "Misplaces" Serviceman's Deployment Letter, Keeps Billing For Membership
Gold's Gym in Oxnard, California won't stop billing Molly's brother for membership, even though both he and his mother have repeatedly sent the gym copies of his deployment orders to Afghanistan. Two months later, the gym claims that it has "misplaced" the deployment orders, and is still billing for services Molly's brother can't use.
Molly writes:
My brother signed up for a monthly membership to Gold's Gym a few months before he deployed to Afghanistan. At the time he was told that he would not have a problem terminating his membership when he deployed. Before he left for Afghanistan he brought in a copy of his deployment letter to Gold's Gym and was assured that his membership would be terminated while he was abroad. After his first month in Afghanistan, my brother realized that he was still being charged for his gym membership. He asked my mom to assist him with the matter so she faxed and mailed additional copies of his deployment letter to both the Gold's Gym in Oxnard and to Gold's Gym's financial office. These additional copies of his deployment letter were "misplaced" and 2 months later he is still being charged for a gym membership that he cannot use! What a pitiful way to treat our servicemen and women.
The gym appears to be violating California Civil Code §1812.89(b), which gives anyone the right to cancel if they move more than 25 miles from the gym.
(b) (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), every contract for health studio (Ed. Gyms count as "health studios," along with any place that provides "instruction, training or assistance in physical culture, body building, exercising, reducing, figure development and other similar skills.") services shall contain a clause providing that if the person agreeing to receive health studio services moves further than 25 miles from the health studio and is unable to transfer the contract to a comparable facility, such person shall be relieved from the obligation of making payment for services other than those received prior to the move, and if such person has prepaid any sum for health studio services, so much of such sum as is allocable to services he or she has not taken shall be promptly refunded.
If the gym is billing a credit card, Molly's brother can also file a chargeback and ask the bank to refuse all future charges.
Overview of California's Health Studio Services Contract Law: Legal Guide W-10 [California Department of Consumer Affairs]
(Photo: Arturo de Albornoz)
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Comments:
I could honestly see them misplacing /a/ copy, but not multiples. And for a couple of bucks a month? Yeah, that's seriously not right.
Clearly the only solution is for Gold's Gym to open branches in Iraq and in the Swat region of Afghanistan. Then staff them exclusively with their upper executives. It's the only reasonable way for them to meet their contract requirements.
Does the penal code really say "further" instead of "farther"?
Regardless, really doesn't surprise me that Gold's is doing something sheisty.
Man, why can't NY have that law.
Why do gyms seem so fucking evil? And so much more of the "fitness" industry are just scams too.
I guess it's easiest to prey on people with low self-esteem.
@Mackinstyle: Gyms are in it for profit, and in these economic times I'm sure they are hurting for every dollar, not that it excuses them from shady practices like this. I'm not sure what branch of the service he is in, but years ago when I was in the Navy I went to the legal office and they took care of a similar issue I had with a gym and it was cancelled.
By the way, how far in advance did he know he was being deployed? It says he signed up a couple of months before being deployed. If he had known maybe he shouldn't have signed up? Just curious.
Sounds like a perfect case to take to the papers and television news... bet you'll see a quick response once Golds starts being painted as unpatriotic and unsupportive of our troops!
NYS does have a variation of the law... specifically it says "If you move more than 25 miles from any health club operated by the company"
why do people still sign up for these places. They're all slimeballs. Look into planet fitness. I pay 10 bucks a month no contract great gym.
Just what a service member who is deployed needs right? Being a spouse of a service member, I am often the person doing all this stuff. And it is so annoying, because a number of business do the same thing..
I cancelled from Golds when I moved to an area where another gym was more convenient, and they charged me for 4 months WITH the proof I had moved 25 miles +. Didn't bother to mention that to me when I signed up. When I mentioned this I was given the "well it's in the 6 point fine print on your contract" schpiel.
Now I'm back, but don't think I'm going to sign up for Gold's ever again.
As far as Golds and other gyms using these membership contracts, don't buy the "oh we need the long term contract with cancellation penalties or we couldn't be in business" argument for ONE second. Here in Baltimore, Planet Fitness is $10 a month, cancel ANYTIME, billed to a credit card (not a checking account) Has everything I need at 1/4 the cost of the Golds Gym. Wow wouldn't you know they are kicking Gold's ass and opening new locations in the "recession".
Hooray for capitalism!
I've gone to this golds gym, I am originally a member of the one in Simi Valley. They are just very sneaky and shady. I went to the Oxnard one with a travel pass from my home gym and my home gym said and it says on the literature when you become a member you can go to any golds gym, well i show up in the oxnard one with my pass and they say no sorry, cant do it, we aren't the same Golds Gym. I told them what they (Simi Valley Golds Gym) had said and they said nope, sorry, those travel passes aren't valid here, to use our gym you have be a member or purchase a day pass, our day passes are 17 dollars, I agreed and i had to buy a towel to shower. They are downright sneaky and shady people.
I had a smiliar issue with Bally Total Fitness when i was Forward Deployed to the persian gulf in 2007. I ended up faxing a dated letter to a buddy of mine who went to the gym in uniform with 2 other buddies and demanded to speak to the manager regarding my case. 1 hr later, i recieve and email with the "cancellation" form and check from corporate for 4 months of being "billed". they also got a free 6 month pass in order to not talk bad about that club.
this was in Oxnard, CA.
-dave
I gave Bally Total Fitness my deployment orders for Afghanistan. They said to my face, "no problem, just come back and see us when you get back if you want to start up again..." They continued to charge me $25/month because the orders didn't have my name on them. They were written out for the entire brigade. I had my unit fax in a written statement, but Bally refused without actual orders...so in september, I am done with my 2 year membership that I don't use.
@Mackinstyle: A lot of it's because gym franchises are owned by people who are looking to make a ton of money -- the kind of people who looked at a fast-food franchise and thought "nah, not easy enough to screw people over with." A very few gyms are run by folks who care about fitness and people's well-being, but most gym owners could care less about that sort of thing.
Can he talk to somebody stateside in the military, like his former base commander? I know there are laws regarding military members and things like cell phone contracts, but I don't know if those extend to gym memberships.
@Mr_Mantastic: +1 on Small Claims court. Sue Bally corporate not the individual gym. Odds would be that Bally would just settle pretty quick since even sending staff lawyers would cost more than just paying the claim.
I sued a guy, and not long after he got served with papers he paid me MOST of what I sued for. He still owes me a few hundred bucks, but I told him if he thinks he doesn't owe that money then it's up to the court to decide.
i hate golds gym, when i first signed up they said i could cancel at any time with a 120 dollar fee, 6 months later of not using it (they creep me out) i try to cancel and they say i cant cancel at all and i opted for auto renewal, which i did not, and even when i get out of the 1 year contract im still month to month and i have to mail them a letter to corporate to cancel which they can and from what ive heard reject, fml
That's what I was about to recommend. I'd hope there was some sort of legal aid to assist servicemen in matters like these.
If there isn't, there needs to be. Nothing like a few visits from government lawyers to stop this crap in its tracks.
I wonder if all states have this sort of legislation. My wife signed up for a one time membership to some website involving the Sims. That was 6 years ago and every month like clockworth I get a $4.99 charge on my checking account. Yet their site is even running anymore.
This is the high level of customer service I've come to expect in the city of Oxnard.
You mean our troops in Afghanistan do not have a local Gold's Gym? Maybe Bally has one?
Many horror stories re the auto payment plan from ones checking account or charge card. I have never allowed it and never will. Once requested it can take many follow ups to get it done and by then they have charged for many additional months. Just not worth the risk.
I've discovered the joy of running outside and doing pushups. The best part is the cost.
I've had a hell of a time canceling a Gold's membership. Best practice: Be very leery of gyms that make you pay everything up front for two years then give you easy financing to let you make payments on it. They get a locked in fee, plus interest, so they are really unwilling to allow you to stop payments for any reason.
When my wife and I were looking at complete unemployment for both of us, we went to cancel the account, and were informed that job loss did not qualify as a reason to cease payments. Which was directly opposite to what my wife was told (verbally) when she signed up. She would not have signed the paperwork if the salesman had not said that it could be canceled in the case of job loss, because we were already worried about the possibility. Lesson learned: read the fine print. We transferred the account to another couple, and wish them happiness with it.
They may have a nice facility, but their loan shark attitude towards their members is ridiculous.
@CumaeanSibyl: Yeah they want to overcharge you for the privilege of going to a really big room and doing a lot of stuff you can do at home anyway.
Just take the cost of a one year gym membership and invest in some fitness equipment instead.
@Mackinstyle:
They don't just seem evil. They are evil. I joined a gym in Allentown, PA. It was a local gym. When I relocated to Arizona, they wouldn't let me out of the contract despite the fact that the only location they have is in Allentown, PA. I've worked out at home ever since.
Gold's is part of Bally now, isn't it? Then why would anyone ever set foot in their door, unless it was the ONLY gym in a 25-mile radius? Bally has been known for years for its underhanded dealings, and if Gold's is now part of the evil emptor, well caveat emptor. I recommend the Sports Club chain (NYSC, et al), which runs good facilities and doesn't rip off members...
This is exactly why I don't belong to a gym! That and I'm physically opposed to exercise.
Call me a glutton for punishment, but I have joined several gyms in my life and each time I canceled my membership the gym has gone to extremes to drag out the process and keep billing me... none of them are the most ethical places of business.
Is this guy guard, living far away from his drill post or something? Because every military base I've been to has decent gym facilities, which service members can use for free.
sounds about right to me. golds wouldn't accept me walking into the gym and asking them to cancel my membership. they demanded that i send them a certified letter requesting that my membership be canceled.
I guess it's easiest to prey on people with low self-esteem
@Mackinstyle: Wanting to go to a gym doesn't mean you have low self-esteem. It probably just means you don't have room for home gym equipment or you want to take a class that they're offering.
Gold Gyms has a track record of this type of dubious behavior. Only Bally's has a worst track record. Gyms are one of the few business who's success depends on it's user not utilizing the business. If you have the room you are always better off just getting your own equipment at home. The equipment pays for itself in a year or so and you are likely to workout more often.
My wife and I had a similar problem with Golds Gym. We were moving across the country and were going to be living 200 miles away from any Golds Gym. We had driver's licenses and an address, but they insisted that we send them a rental agreement to prove that we were going to be living there. We faxed it over 3 different times on 3 different faxing machines in perfect working order. They claimed that they only received it once, but it was "misplaced". We drove over to our area's corporate office and personally talked with the woman we spoke to on the phone and faxed the papers to. She pretended to look for the fax and ask a few people. She was unsuccessful, so we hand delivered the paperwork and watched her file it appropriately. We then closed our Checkings Account that they had our information to, so they could not take our money after it was cancelled. It's understandable to have misplaced 1 fax, but 3 and then you can't find it.
If he had known maybe he shouldn't have signed up?
@TheObserver: But you have to assume that the business is lying about letting you cancel. If the OP wasn't aware of gyms' bad reputation (and he probably wasn't) paying for a few months of membership made more sense than buying a load of a equipment he wouldn't be able to use again for however long he's over there.
My wife signed up for a 2 year Riviera Fitness (which is scammy as scammy can be) membership without talking to me about it. We ended up moving to a place that didn't have a RF which gave us grounds to cancel the contract.
They tried to change the terms of the contract after the fact to require a notarized letter of employment as proof of moving.
I sent them a nasty letter and a copy of our new lease via certified return reciept (expensive but worth it for the records) mail that stated I objected vehemently to their attempts to change the contract after the fact and that should they charge my CC from this point forward they could expect a lawsuit.
Oddly enough I haven't heard anything out of them since. It just confirms my suspicions that their standing policy is just to make it so hard to cancel most people won't do it.
The OP needs to contact his local base Legal Office. As a part of the Serviceman's Relief Act, this is illegal for the company to do.
Once you can show by a copy of official orders that you will be moving or deployed, they are not allowed to continue the contract. Also, you can't be subpeoned, and some other things, and also you credit cards have to only charge you 6% interest max on the amount you owed prior to your enlistment.
It's a great law, and one of the least understood (and used) benefits out there.
@TheObserver: He probably didn't know very far in advance - but I'm guessing he knew that at some point he would be going somewhere else. If they weren't interested in a customer who wouldn't be around long-term, they should have been honest and said so. He did the right thing by letting them know it was a possibility... even though under CA law it seems he didn't even have to do that.
I agree that the membership should be terminated and that something shady occured, but I find the "what a way to treat our servicemen and women" at the end of the letter a little trite. "What a way to treat our soldiers" is starting to become as over-used as "if you do this, the terrorists win!"
I call bullshit on the "misplacing". Sounds more like shady (and in the case of California) illegal business practices.