Bally Total Fitness teased Jonathan with an introductory rate, drawing him in. Once that special rate was over, he canceled his membership. Or so he thought. He received a bill for his $29 “annual fee” and learned that he had somehow racked up a $400 balance after he thought the membership was already canceled.

I was a member of Bally Total Fitness for the first few months of 2011, but the last time I went there was in April of that year. I was only a member for a few months, and shortly after my introductory rate ended, I cancelled my membership. Then, I got a bill at the end of May 2012 stating a payment of $29 was due.

I called Bally, and they said my account was in fact not cancelled, and I had a balance of a few pennies short of $400. I told the customer service rep that the account should be cancelled immediately, but I would not pay one penny, since it was their error they couldn’t process my request in the first place. I told [S], the rep, I wanted to speak with his supervisor, and after going round and round for a minute or two, he said he could get fired if he couldn’t resolve my issue.

I told him I wasn’t going to pay no matter what, and after a few minutes, he backed down and said not only had he cancelled the account once and for all but also cancelled my balance and past due amounts. My bill doesn’t display an account balance, only an amount due, so even if I paid it, I’d continue to get bills, since I’d never actually pay down my balance.

Bally Total Fitness is shady, and this is just one more reason why I will never again sign up with a major gym!

This is interesting, because at first it sounded an awful lot like the sneaky fake past due billing that Bally was noted for in the past. We looked at the bill that Jonathan received, and it doesn’t re-up his contract. It appears to be just a mixup involving an account that refuses to die.

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