Bally's Total Fitness

Review: Dear Revdex.com,I have not been a member of Ballys for years and had no contract and gave no authorization to deduct from my credit card for years.I was not aware until December 2012 when I saw a deduction for Ballys/[redacted] which I called both. [redacted] said when we transferred over Ballys did not tell us who was active or inactive member we just deducted the money from your credit card[redacted] at corporate straightened that out, said that was their mistake and refunded my money thru credit card for one fee. I said I have not been a member of Ballys for years and gave no authorization to deduct money from my credit card and didnt have a contract, she said you have to go thru them.So I called Ballys spoke to a manager, I said to send me all my paperwork anything you have that said you had authorization to take my money. he said we dont have no paperwork [redacted] so I went to a local [redacted] and they said they had no paperwork go to Ballys, because they didnt have any.I wouldnt of paid for something I didnt use, I didnt know they were taking my money. I was not a member for years. I want a refund.So I requested that and called for the paperwork that gave them authorization to do that, the man said you should of closed I said I didnt know about it, I would of if I knew they did that, and I did they did not have my permission to deduct it was once on a year on a third page by itself in December near Christmas, and from what I was told from BALLYS they were taking my money since 2007. I didnt have a contract they sent a piece of paper years ago, only to renew for one year at 119 OR something, that expired and I never renewed they took it upon themselves to take my money. I didnt even have a membership card or number.I couldnt afford a gym little did I know they were stealing my money for an unused membership I would like a total refund. A man named [redacted] at Ballys called and yelled at me your not getting your money back.They robbed me running out of room [redacted]Desired Settlement: I WOULD LIKE A FULL REFUND FOR AN UNUSED MEMBERSHIP,NO CONTRACT, NO AUTHORIZATION, THEY WONT GIVE ME ANY PAPERWORK, BECAUSE THEY DONT HAVE ANY. I WAS ROBBED. I had no membership card number or anything, after I had this happen I heard that gyms do this, well if you have a contract you close it. I didnt have a contract they had no authorization or consent from me. I had no knowledge til I found it on the last page of credit card statement in December.BALLYS sent slips to renew in mail I didnt.

Review: When I enrolled with Bally's total fitness in July I paid a processing fee and my first month's membership payment which is a month to month basis not on a contract but I was later charged in August a annual fee of $32.99 but if there is no contract why am I paying a fee for this? Then today I contacted Bally's customer service explaining that I cannot keep paying $21.39 a month because I am having some financial issues and trying to keep a budget. I asked if there is anyway of reducing my membership fee because of these issues and the representative said yes but I have to pay a downgrade fee of $35 to change my monthly membership fee which is ridiculous! They have membership fee's currently online cheaper than what I am paying and also on Groupon! I am just outraged about this and feel that this is not correct I have to spend more to get less? Also to cancel the membership I have to send a letter to their corporate head quarters in Washington D.C. 10 days before next payment due and I was not aware of this when I signed up and I think this is also ridiculous because company's today do every cancellation through the telephone and or online.Desired Settlement: I would like a refund of the money I spent for the annual fee and I would like not be charged the $35 fee to downgrade my plan to $15 a month which I still think is a lot when a lot of gyms in my area offer their membership cheaper. And that cancellations should be made through the phone and or online not by letter's because the company can also act like they never received the explanation of cancelling and continue to charge their customer's credit cards.

Review: At the Stratford, CT [redacted] branch on Sept 12, 2014, just before moving away from Stratford, I froze my account with[redacted]. I froze it rather than cancelling it outright because I thought I might return to Stratford and if I did, my account would then be useful.The manager, [redacted], told me the account would automatically become unfrozen on March 16, 2015 and that my credit card would be charged on that date, unless I cancelled the membership first.The "[redacted] Form" stated the freeze would begin 9/16/14 and end 3/16/15. Ms [redacted] made no mention of any charges or fees to be made during the period the account was frozen. The [redacted] Form mentions an "Annual Maintenance Fee" but since Ms[redacted] did not explain that I would be charged during the period the account was frozen, and since she did say that my account would be frozen and that it would be charged when it became unfrozen, I didn't understand that I was liable for a charge even while the account was frozen. Had I known this I would have cancelled the account.After Sept 12, 2014 I left the Stratford, CT area without using[redacted] again, and moved to an area where I had no convenient access to[redacted]. On 11/16/14 I noticed that my credit card had showed a $30.84 charge from[redacted]. I happened to be in Stratford for the weekend. So on Monday 11/17/14 I went to[redacted] and spoke with Ms.[redacted]. Knowing I would not be returning to Stratford, I cancelled the account, but I asked for a refund of the $30.84, which had been made the day before. It was apparently the Annual Maintenance Fee. However, she refused to refund it, even though I have no way to use the membership. I have not used[redacted] since September 2014 and have no way to use it and was told nothing of this charge. Therefore I was charged $30.84 for something I did not want, could not use and have not used, and did not knowingly purchase. I feel it should be refunded.Desired Settlement: Refund of the $30.84Also they should revise their forms and procedures so that no charges of any kind are levied during a "freeze," or if they're going to levy charges they should not use the words "freeze" or "frozen" and explain clearly what charges will be levied and when.