Future Fitness Center

I am a 68 year old woman with a heart condition and I live with and take care of my 96 year old mother. I joined this gym last February. I enjoyed going to the gym two to three times a week from February to June. At which time, my mother became incontinent and I was unable to leave her to get to the gym as frequently as I wished.
I put a freeze on my visits until September. I went to the gym in August to cancel my subscription. I was told by the salesperson that I could freeze for another three months until January and I did.
My mother did not get any better of course but needed more of my time when January arrived.
During the holidays, I lost my credit card and was issued a new number. When I called the gym facility on the first working day after the New Year, I was told that I owed a fee for the credit card not working. One girl said the fee could be waived. I understood from her that if I didn't give her a new credit card number, my February bill would be sent to the one that clearly didn't work. I spoke with two different individuals that day and got two different stories.
When I called back after not understanding why I had to pay two full months, the second girls explained much better that my contract was up in February and I must give her my new credit card number or the bill would be submitted to the unworking number and I would be charged a second fee.
I feel held hostage to these people. I have no obligation to give them a new credit card number and wish to pay both amounts up front and waive the fee for the lost credit card. Not good enough. I asked for a payment plan to pay the 90 some odd dollars and was told by the second girl that the first girl handled that and would call me back. This was all on the second day of phone tag. She has not!! and the clock is ticking before I am held responsible for another month and another refused credit card fee. Something here is very fishy. I shall get someone to come and watch my mother today and go there in person and write a check for whatever I owe these bandits.
If I had the time and resources, I would get an attorney involved. But as it is, I am due to have surgery within the next month and will not have time to play games with these people.
My name is Elizabeth [redacted] and I live in [redacted] My phone number is [redacted]
I fear they make their money on collections and I do not need any hassle or I would not pay at all since I haven't used the gym since last June and have payed the 5 dollar fee each month since June.

I am a 68 year old woman with a heart condition and I live with and take care of my 96 year old mother. I joined this gym last February. I enjoyed going to the gym two to three times a week from February to June. At which time, my mother became incontinent and I was unable to leave her to get to the gym as frequently as I wished.
I put a freeze on my visits until September. I went to the gym in August to cancel my subscription. I was told by the salesperson that I could freeze for another three months until January and I did.
My mother did not get any better of course but needed more of my time when January arrived.
During the holidays, I lost my credit card and was issued a new number. When I called the gym facility on the first working day after the New Year, I was told that I owed a fee for the credit card not working. One girl said the fee could be waived. I understood from her that if I didn't give her a new credit card number, my February bill would be sent to the one that clearly didn't work. I spoke with two different individuals that day and got two different stories.
When I called back after not understanding why I had to pay two full months, the second girls explained much better that my contract was up in February and I must give her my new credit card number or the bill would be submitted to the unworking number and I would be charged a second fee.
I feel held hostage to these people. I have no obligation to give them a new credit card number and wish to pay both amounts up front and waive the fee for the lost credit card. Not good enough. I asked for a payment plan to pay the 90 some odd dollars and was told by the second girl that the first girl handled that and would call me back. This was all on the second day of phone tag. She has not!! and the clock is ticking before I am held responsible for another month and another refused credit card fee. Something here is very fishy. I shall get someone to come and watch my mother today and go there in person and write a check for whatever I owe these bandits.
If I had the time and resources, I would get an attorney involved. But as it is, I am due to have surgery within the next month and will not have time to play games with these people.
My name is Elizabeth [redacted] and I live in [redacted] My phone number is [redacted]
I fear they make their money on collections and I do not need any hassle or I would not pay at all since I haven't used the gym since last June and have payed the 5 dollar fee each month since June.

Review: I moved over 70 miles away from Future Fitness, yet I am still paying for a membership I cannot use as they make it very difficult to cancel. I tried to cancel when my yearly contract was up, and was informed that I could not as my membership automatically switched to a month-to-month, even though I had been previously told when the year was up, I would be able to cancel.

I then moved for a job, and the gym recommended I freeze my account until I could return with a copy of my lease; but it turns out you cannot cancel while your membership is frozen, so I ended up having to pay for another month's membership when the freeze ended. In addition, my rate jumped from $48 a month to $75 a month without my knowledge or consent when the freeze ended.

The managers are unavailable on weekends, when I am able to return to Mount Laurel, so I have been unable to cancel in person. Customer service was very unhelpful, and essentially told me it was my own fault for not cancelling in person the day my freeze ended, despite the fact I live nowhere near Mount Laurel anymore. Overall I have had a very negative experience and I feel they are giving me the run around, taking advantage of their customers, and making money off of how difficult they are to deal with.Desired Settlement: I want my membership cancelled, as soon as they receive a copy of my lease via certified mail, as well as a full refund for the $75 charge for the month of September and any cancellation fees they try to charge me.

Business

Response:

Thank you for the opportunity to respond to the complaint brought forth by the above referenced individual. Ms. [redacted] purchased a membership on August 2, 2012 this membership has a onetime initiation fee of $99.00 plus tax ($105 .93) and monthly dues of $45 plus tax ($48.15). The membership may be cancelled after the initial 12 month term is completed by providing 30 days notice per the membership agreement and Rider that Ms. [redacted] acknowledged with her signature.We maintain records of all communication, both written and verbal, from our members, in our database. To date, Ms. [redacted] has made no attempt to contact Customer Support, cancel her membership or provided us with a copy of her lease as she stated in her complaint letter.Ms. [redacted] September dues consisted of her contractual monthly dues in the amount of $48.15 (including tax) along with her annual accounting fee per her membership agreement in the amount of $26.75 (including tax) 'for a total of $74.90. The annual accounting fee is contractual and assessed once annually on September 1st of each year that she is a member.Ms. [redacted] came into the Mt. Laurel facility on July 9 and again on July 30, 2013, at which time she voluntarily froze her membership signing her full name in acceptance of the freeze policy. (Please see attached freeze form.)Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 56:8-42, the only method of cancellation is by sending a written notice by certified or registered mail to Future Fitness Centers. This must be received (90) days in advance of any requested cancellation date. Additionally, Future Fitness Centers also offers the courtesy of allowing our members to come into the club during normal club business hours, Monday through Friday, 10:00am through 6:00pm, (the only time that a qualified representative is available) to complete a cancellation form. Provided the account is in FUTUREFITNESSgood standing, the membership may be cancelled via the two methods listed above. Ms. [redacted] never executed any of those options. 'Ms. [redacted] mentioned she has moved. Pursuant to NJSA 56:8-42(g), if a member permanently relocates within 25 miles of an affiliated health club they are required to transfer the membership to the affiliated health club to complete the term and/0r cancellation period. If the affiliated club is not within 25 miles and the member provides proof of permanent relocation, the membership will be cancelled immediately upon receiving such proof.Thank you again for the opportunity to respond 'to this complaint. Please do not hesitate to contact me should you need any further information regarding this matter.Sincerely, [redacted]

Consumer

Response:

Review: [redacted]

I am rejecting this response because:

In response to your claim that I have never attempted to cancel my contract, I would like it to be known that I have verbally stated to several employees and managers at Future Fitness in Mount Laurel that I would like to cancel during November 2012, August 2013, September 2013, and October 2013, and I have contacted customer service via phone in early September regarding my desire to cancel my membership. In all of these interactions, not a SINGLE employee had stated to me that I need to do so via mail and in fact had told me I could send my lease via fax or email, even though in my contract it states I may NOT do anything of the sort. Despite this information being in my contract (which I only recently found in my moving boxes) I feel it is the responsibility of Future Fitness employees to make this fact known to a customer that wishes to cancel.

Once notified of the necessity to send a cancellation via mail, I sent a letter, and received a certified reply on September 23rd that stated I needed to send the specific Future Fitness cancellation form. Yet they did not include said form, ignoring the fact that I live two hours away from the closest Future Fitness location and have no way of getting the necessary form. It also stated I live within 25 miles of an affiliate, and gave me directions that would take me through Staten Island and two $13 toll charges in order to arrive at the [redacted] in Edison, NJ. I do not know anyone who would willingly pay $26 in tolls and drive over a half hour to work out, yet Future Fitness would expect me to do so. But I digress.

In response to my freeze in August, I froze my account on the recommendation of a Future Fitness manager, who told me I could cancel during the freeze if I brought in my lease. I did in fact bring in my lease, only to THEN be told I had to wait until the freeze ended, so I ended up being charged for the month of September.

I do not accept the response from Future Fitness because it neglected to address the responsibility of Future Fitness employees who either are ignorant of company cancellation policies or knowingly deceive customers. I believe FFC should be held responsible for the actions of their employees, especially when it applies to such an extent to other peoples' lives and money.