Freedom Fitness

Upon review of Mr [redacted] 's account, it is clear to see that Freedom Fitness made more than one effort to inform him of his late fees and the need to update his billing due to an expired card Mr [redacted] signed up with us in November of with a temporary card It has been a matter of policy for at least four years that when a member uses one of these cards the staff will make sure the member is aware they will need to bring in the new card as soon as they receive it because the temporary cards are only valid so long Sure enough, in mid January the card started being declined and our Call Center started trying to reach Mr [redacted] right away In fact we tried both emailing and calling at least six times between then and March 24th when the GM of the facility stopped the member herself to ask him about his past due payments Over the next two days Mr [redacted] continued to interact with our staff disputing the fact that he owed late fees saying it was not his fault because we did not inform him The staff referred to the notes from our Call Center on his account and that the phone number given was wrong We emailed him as well but have no way of knowing if the email address given by the member was correctFinally, on March 27th, Mr [redacted] paid his past dues for his membership and updated his billing but still refused to pay the late fees and claimed he was going to involve a lawyer Freedom Fitness policy requires all staff to inform each member of any pending balance when they check into the gym Between his frequent check in history during this time, our Call Center trying to call, and the emails sent out weekly, we feel we made every effort to inform and resolve these fees with the member The GM of the facility has worked for Freedom Fitness for many, many years and would not ever tell a member she would take care of the fees without leaving a note of it in the account Especially since she herself had several conversations with the member where she repeatedly reminded him that it was his responsibility, as stated in the membership agreement, to know the standings of his membership Mr [redacted] is now wanting to cancel without paying the late fees Per policy, stated in the agreement, he is technically responsible for all of those late fees as well as November dues since we are now within the required days' notice needed to cancel As a courtesy, I will waive one late fee and cancel the account without being liable for November dues if Mr [redacted] will agree the pay the remaining two late fees This is the best offer I can give him as Freedom Fitness is not at fault I will try to email Mr [redacted] myself to the email address provided in this complaint and present him this offer Hopefully we will be able to settle this is a manner that is satisfactory to both parties Sincerely, [redacted] Customer Care Freedom Fitness [redacted]

Revdex.com: I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted] , and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me Even tough, I'm completely against these business tactics to get more money from loyal customers at the termination of memberships Regards, [redacted]

On December 1st, I replied to this email letting her know we would be happy to assist with her cancel Our members are allowed to cancel within three days without a penalty I also contacted her gym of enrollment and the account was canceled I believe there was miscommunication because we were running a "No Enrollment, No Start up Cost" promotion at the time Our billing company did not change the prices and fees for members who signed up online so Ms [redacted] was charged and should not have been We fixed this glitch as soon as we were made aware, but obviously it was done after she signed up Ms [redacted] can be expecting a call any moment to clarify with her that the account is indeed canceled, was done on the 1st and we will be refunding the fee she paid right away We apologize for the confusion and hope Ms [redacted] will be able to join again at a later date Sincerely, [redacted] ***Customer CareFreedom Fitness***@freedomfitness.com

We are extremely disappointed to hear of what sounds like quite a negative experience with the trainers that operate in our facilities The personal training experience should be positive and affirming and we are sorry Ms [redacted] did not get the benefit out of the training she was looking forThat being said, Freedom Fitness has no say or authority over any billing or contracts associated with Ultra Body Fitness is a third party company that operates within our facilities Freedom Fitness would be happy to facilitate communication between the contract holder and Ultra Body Fitness as we value all aspects of each of our members experiences within our facilities I have passed all necessary information along to the South Texas Vice President of UBF and they should be in contact with Ms [redacted] very soonSincerely, [redacted] ***Customer CareFreedom Fitness***@freedomfitness.com

Complaint: [redacted] I am rejecting this response because: I went in person and requested to have my membership cancelled and I agreed to pay buyout fee and my membership still to this day has not been cancelledI can provide my cell ph records to prove I called on 12/17/to ask what was needed from me to cancel Had I been told I needed days notice I could have cancelled that day and not been billed for another month of services that were not going to be provided to me because if my membership is cancelled in December why should I pay for services in January when I will no longer have access to the services I would not have called to ask what was required to cancelled if I had memorized each tiny letter on the online contract I was misinformed by a freedom fitness representative and furthermore, the contract was broken by freedom fitness representative [redacted] when he wanted me to pay the and the January's fees at that moment in order to cancel my membershipI gave him my debit card and agreed to the fee, he refused it saying I had to pay over which is not stated in the contractThey should look at the video if they have one they will see I put my debit card on the counter but he did not take it because he wanted me to pay January in advance too which like I said I can provide my cell ph records to prove I called on 12/to ask what I needed to do to cancel and I was misinformed by freedom fitness representative and another freedom fitness representative broke the agreement by refusing to cancel my membership for freedom fitness has broken the agreement and I should be released from all and any liability after 12/23/when they broke the agreement Regards, [redacted]

Complaint: [redacted] I am rejecting this response because: I am asking Freedom Fitness to honor what was told to me by the Freedom Fitness GM back in March She told me she would take care of the late feesI do not understand why Freedom Fitness did not inform me that I had an outstanding debt at that timeI believed that the late fees had already been removed by the GM based on our conversation we had in March Why did Freedom Fitness wait until October when I was there trying to close my account to tell me about the late fees? This type of business practice is underhanded and unprofessional I have not received any emails or phone calls from Freedom Fitness from January – September informing me of any late feesI feel the GM from Freedom Fitness misled me into believing the late fee issue had already been resolvedI understand $is not a large amount of money but this disagreement is about principles and good customer service I requested that my account be closed and gave my day notes at that time back in October 14, at 4:PM when I talked to the GMHowever I was told by the GM I could not close my account because of the late fees I do plan to pay for Octobers membership fees of $I would like to get this issue resolved as soon as possible and for Freedom Fitness to cancel my membership Regards, [redacted]

The only reason the membership is still open is because the $Buyout Fee has still not been paid. When the staff informed the member that she would have to pay for January, this gives her access to the facility through February 4th, another month. We would not charge a member for a month and then not allow them access to the facility. Notes on Ms***'s account describe in detail how the conversation went between her and ***, including the full explanation of our cancel procedure and the fact that the member became upset and called the staff names. At this point, *** who is the Membership Director (therefore very knowledgeable of our policies and how to communicate them to our members) could tell the member was not going to be happy with what needed to be done. He did not run her payment only because it was not the total needed to pay to cancel. That total was only $53.09, not $70.00. If the member did not pay the full amount, the account would have remained open regardless. Ms*** informed *** she would be contacting corporate and he knew she would be given the same information and could make her payment when she ready to cancel, after verifying the information that he had given her. Ms*** needs to pay the Buyout Fee to finalize the cancellation of the account. Sincerely,*** ***Customer CareFreedom Fitness***@freedomfitness.com

The details of the situation have not changed. We offered Mr*** a settlement (us waiving one late fee if he would pay the other two) but the offer was rejected. The claim that the member did not receive any calls or emails regarding his account from January to September is not accurate as his account notes detail each time we called and added him to our email list. As previously stated, the phone number and email that Mr*** himself provided were invalid. Now Mr*** technically owes the past due month of November and another late fee has been added for that month as well. Though the member is fully liable for these additional charges, I will honor the original offer of him paying two late fees and I will cancel the membership without him paying the third original late fee, nor the new November charges. As Freedom Fitness was not at fault, no refund will be issued. It is the members' responsibility to know the standings of his account, as stated in the membership agreement, and it will be his responsibility to let our staff know if he would take advantage of this offer
Sincerely,
*** ***
Customer Care
Freedom Fitness
***

Ms***, in addition to filing a complaint with the Revdex.com, did email us as well to inform us of her unfortunate incident at the Trenton location. The issue was immediately passed along to both Upper and local Management and the cameras were reviewed. This lack of professionalism by
the staff member in question was addressed at once and the employee has been disciplined accordingly. This is NOT how Freedom Fitness expects their staff to treat our current or prospective members regardless of the situation! Sincerely,***
***Customer CareFreedom Fitness***@freedomfitness.com

Complaint: ***
I am rejecting this response because: I did agree to pay the fee and he also wanted me to pay in advance the January fee I did not call him names I did however said he was stupid if he thought that the agreement said I have to pay plus next month in advance to cancel because that is not what the contract states I will be glad to take this to the media or civil court if neededYou broke the agreement when your employee refused to charge me the cancelation fee which is the only item I was supposed to pay in advance and per her employee and their previous response it takes less than hrs to cancel the membership so how do they give people access to the gym when their membership is cancelled
Regards,
*** *** ***

Upon reviewing Mr***'s account, he came in to cancel on 10/17/2014. This is also the day that his membership was set to draft the annual fee. This fee is explained fully in our membership agreements and allows us to guarantee that the members rates do not
increase for at least the next five years. The date of the fee is based on what time of year the member joins and each of our members is set up with one of these fees. Our membership agreement also clearly states that we require days' notice prior to any upcoming draft to cancel a membership or make changes to the account. If Mr*** had come in on or before October 2, he would not have been charged this fee, per the day rule. None of our memberships are based on attendance as the workout regimens of our members vary so greatly
No refund will be issued for the annual fee as all the prevalent information is included in the members agreement that he signed for. Since Mr*** signed up online, he was required to click the box labeled "Terms and Conditions" and the membership could not have been created unless he clicked that box indicating he read and understood all terms of the agreement
The fact that Mr*** feels he was treated rudely ,along with his concerns regarding the General Manager and the treatment of our members, is something we will look into at once. We will have our Senior Membership Director contact Mr*** tomorrow to listen to his side of the story
Sincerely,
*** ***
Customer Care
Freedom Fitness
***@freedomfitness.com

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
Regards,
[redacted]

On December 1st, I replied to this email letting her know we would be happy to assist with her cancel.  Our members are allowed to cancel within three days without a penalty.  I also contacted her gym of enrollment and the account was canceled.  I believe there was...

miscommunication because we were running a "No Enrollment, No Start up Cost" promotion at the time.  Our billing company did not change the prices and fees for members who signed up online so Ms. [redacted] was charged and should not have been.  We fixed this glitch as soon as we were made aware, but obviously it was done after she signed up.  Ms. [redacted] can be expecting a call any moment to clarify with her that the account is indeed canceled, was done on the 1st and we will be refunding the fee she paid right away.  We apologize for the confusion and hope Ms. [redacted] will be able to join again at a later date.  Sincerely,[redacted]Customer CareFreedom Fitness[redacted]@freedomfitness.com

This matter has undergone an internal review and we have determined that the staff acted well within our policies.  [redacted] did not inform us that her son was developmentally delayed until the day of the incident.  We did call her away from her workout three different times that...

day because her son was being disruptive and causing problems with the other children in the childcare.    When [redacted] was discussing this with our staff, she became rude, loud and cussed at employees. She was upset that the manager was not there at the time but management spoke to her the next day as well as our S[redacted]  [redacted] tried to deescalate the situation but [redacted] was not satisfied with his response.  We canceled the membership immediately.  No refund will be given because Freedom Fitness was not at fault and [redacted] had a past due balance for the month of July.   Sincerely, [redacted]
[redacted]
[redacted]

I apologize to Ms. [redacted] for the delay in our response.  However, we are no longer affiliated with the Freedom Fitness in Lubbock Texas.  For this reason, I do not have access to Ms. [redacted]’s' account.  I have already passed along the entire complaint to my contact at the...

Lubbock location and Ms. [redacted] can expect to be contacted soon! Sincerely, [redacted] Customer Care Freedom Fitness [redacted]

Upon review of Mr. [redacted]'s account, it is clear to see that Freedom Fitness made more than one effort to inform him of his late fees and the need to update his billing due to an expired card.  Mr. [redacted] signed up with us in November of 2013 with a temporary card.  It has been a...

matter of policy for at least four years that when a member uses one of these cards the staff will make sure the member is aware they will need to bring in the new card as soon as they receive it because the temporary cards are only valid so long.  Sure enough, in mid January 2014 the card started being declined and our Call Center started trying to reach Mr. [redacted] right away.  In fact we tried both emailing and calling at least six times between then and March 24th when the GM of the facility stopped the member herself to ask him about his past due payments.  Over the next two days Mr. [redacted] continued to interact with our staff disputing the fact that he owed late fees saying it was not his fault because we did not inform him.  The staff referred to the notes from our Call Center on his account and that the phone number given was wrong.  We emailed him as well but have no way of knowing if the email address given by the member was correct. Finally, on March 27th, Mr. [redacted] paid his past dues for his membership and updated his billing but still refused to pay the late fees and claimed he was going to involve a lawyer. 
 
Freedom Fitness policy requires all staff to inform each member of any pending balance when they check into the gym.  Between his frequent check in history during this time, our Call Center trying to call, and the emails sent out weekly, we feel we made every effort to inform and resolve these fees with the member.  The GM of the facility has worked for Freedom Fitness for many, many years and would not ever tell a member she would take care of the fees without leaving a note of it in the account.  Especially since she herself had several conversations with the member where she repeatedly reminded him that it was his responsibility, as stated in the membership agreement, to know the standings of his membership.
 
Mr. [redacted] is now wanting to cancel without paying the late fees.  Per policy, stated in the agreement, he is technically responsible for all of those late fees as well as November dues since we are now within the required 15 days' notice needed to cancel.  As a courtesy, I will waive one late fee and cancel the account without being liable for November dues if Mr. [redacted] will agree the pay the remaining two late fees.  This is the best offer I can give him as Freedom Fitness is not at fault.  I will try to email Mr. [redacted] myself to the email address provided in this complaint and present him this offer.  Hopefully we will be able to settle this is a manner that is satisfactory to both parties.
 
Sincerely,
[redacted]
Customer Care
Freedom Fitness
[redacted]

I have reviewed Ms. [redacted] account.  The fee she is speaking of is our once a year Annual Fee.  This fee in the amount of $31.39 allows us to guarantee that membership rates will not increase for at least the next five years and is explained fully in our membership agreements. In...

fact, in the Payment Authorization box of the agreement, the fee date and amount are explained and we require the member to initial right next to that explanation, thus giving us their authorization to draft the fee.  While we regret that this caused a financial issue for Ms. [redacted], I will not be able to obtain approval for a refund of the Annual Fee because Freedom Fitness is not at fault. If Ms. [redacted] would like a copy of her membership agreement, we can do that for her. As of now, the membership remains open and active and will stay that way until all proper cancellation policies are followed.  These polices have been explained to Ms. [redacted] over the phone and are also explained in her agreement.   Sincerely, [redacted] Customer Care Freedom Fitness [redacted]

We are extremely disappointed to hear of what sounds like quite a negative experience with the trainers that operate in our facilities.  The personal training experience should be positive and affirming and we are sorry Ms. [redacted] did not get the benefit out of the training she was...

looking for. That being said, Freedom Fitness has no say or authority over any billing or contracts associated with Ultra Body Fitness is a third party company that operates within our facilities.  Freedom Fitness would be happy to facilitate communication between the contract holder and Ultra Body Fitness as we value all aspects of each of our members experiences within our facilities.  I have passed all necessary information along to the South Texas Vice President of UBF and they should be in contact with Ms. [redacted] very soon. Sincerely,[redacted]  [redacted]Customer CareFreedom Fitness[redacted]@freedomfitness.com

Again, regarding the manager cutting [redacted] off mid sentence, the tone in which all of our members should be spoken to in, and how to handle billing disputes has been addressed with the manager.  It was immediately after we received the initial complaint. As for the bank statement, if [redacted] would like to submit a current bank statement to me, I would be happy to take a look at the charges and see if I can figure out what that is all about it.  I cannot make a determination without that.  She can email it to me directly at [redacted] .  If the statements show we unjustly charged her, we will absolutely take care of it.  It is just not showing on our end.   Sincerely, [redacted]
[redacted]
[redacted]
[redacted]

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because: I was not given form stated above by their branch.
Regards,
[redacted]