There is no such thing as a free trial. Well, sometimes there is, but be wary of any “free” trial that requires you to hand over your credit card or banking information. Craig’s wife signed up to try the local Gold’s Gym, then decided not to do business with them and end the trial before she ever broke a sweat.

Craig writes:

Wanted to share an experience with Gold’s Gym here in [redacted]. My wife signed up for the free trial offer they had, Gold’s wrote on the paper she could try for 30 days free. Of course after reading over the document I inform her of the multiple fee’s and such in addition to the monthly membership fee. She decides to cancel the trial without ever going to work out there. Cancellation goes smooth (or so we thought) until Aug. 1 we get charged $29.99 as well as $39.99 on Aug. 15. With much hoops to jump through she finally got a hold of the “right person” at the local Gold’s and explained the situation, we were to be credited back the full amount. Aug. 27 we are credited back the $39.99, but not the $29.99 fee. Here we are 9/12 having to call and get turned away because [S] is out “sick” or not in.

It’s one thing when you sign a contract and use a service and then get charged for something you may have not read, but this is down right deceiving. Isn’t a free trial supposed to be free? On top of that we never used the gym and 2 days after going in to check it out it was canceled. Companies are so eager to take your money but when a mistake is made they just don’t want to fix it. Personally I think they do this to everyone just to see if people will overlook the charges or forget.

I emailed Gold’s corporate (even though the form says to contact the local gym) and sent a message to their official twitter. Does Consumerist have any other tips?

We don’t have any other contacts at Gold’s, but be sure to check with your state attorney general’s office to see bout gym membership laws and possible penalties for inappropriate charges.

Craig sent us this update:

As of today, we were told that it should take 5 business days to be credited back the $29.99 still owed. I think my wife spoke to someone there and may have talked about small claims court.

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