Gold's Gym Regina

Complaint[redacted]Receptionist talked me into a hydromassage service in April 2014, $5.25 biweekly. First bill in April 25, 2014. Receptionist said no contract involved and that I may opt out anytime. I repeatedly asked the receptionist to make sure no contract, and she said no contract involved. The bill will just be automatically be billed from my bank. Since I have no time to use the service, I decided to sign out of the service in July 2014. Receptionist gladly took all my info and said that it will take about 30 days for my cancellation to take effect. It's been 4 months since my attempted cancellation and still I am being billed $5.25 biweekly. I spoke to another receptionist about it in August, and she said that the hydromassage is in a contractual basis and that it expires when my actual gym membership expires. I have attempted to talk to supervisors, but the receptionists can only direct me to go online and email them from there. I have emailed the gym management about it, but no reply from them. To this date I am being charged unfairly [redacted]Desired SettlementI would like a refund for all the hydromassage fees that has been billed to me from July 18, 2014, to present.Business Response Good dayPlease see attached the correspondence I have received from [redacted] starting from the first date of August 19:"Hello, I would like to know if my membership has been effectively cancelled. I have cancelled it about 2 weeks ago. I have also cancelled my use of the hydro massage. Please let me know if both have been effectively cancelled. Thank you."From what I am aware of, our Admin staff would have contacted Mr. [redacted] to let him know about the cancellation of his membership would be effective in February of 2015 and that the hydromassage would continue until that time as he had just signed for it in March, 2014 and we have a yrar minimum on it.Than another email came in on October 6:"Around May or June 2014, I have signed up for a monthly subscription of your hydro massage for $5.25 biweekly, informed by the receptionist that I can sign out anytime, no contract associated with the hydro massage. I asked the receptionist many times to make sure that I am not signing up in a contract, and she answered "no" repeatedly. I confidently signed up. About 1-1/2 to 2 months ago, I went up to the desk and asked to stop my subscription for the hydro massage, and the lady who took all my information again said that there is no contract with the hydro massage so I can stop my subscription, but will take effect within 30 days. Until now, I am being charged $5.25 biweekly, and when I inquired at the desk why I am still being charged, the lady told me that I am tied in a contract for 1 year for the hydro massage. This is outrageous and unfair. This is an extremely deceptive move from your office, and I demand that I be taken off from subscription for the hydro massage. This is just not acceptable! "Our policy for all Amenity purchases is 1 year minimum as we have great prices and specials on for our members, and our staff our aware of that. Through some discussion we did have 2 staff members that were not following procedure or were not aware of the procedure of the 1 year minimum. Regardless, Mr. [redacted] was given the wrong information when he signed up for the hydromassge.We have now changed our policy where it can be cancelled before the year minimum us reached.Due to the preceding information and our new procedure, I have reviewed Mr. [redacted]'s account and he has made the following payments since August 1 for the hydro massage.11/21/2014 $5.25 EFT H 11/07/2014 $5.25 EFT H 10/24/2014 $5.25 EFT H 10/10/2014 $5.25 EFT H 09/26/2014 $5.25 EFT H 09/12/2014 $5.25 EFT H 08/29/2014 $5.25 EFT H 08/15/2014 $5.25 EFT H 08/01/2014 $5.25 EFT H There will be no more payment taken for the hydro and I will have the payments shown all moved over towards his membership dues. So a total of $47.25 will be credited towards his membership. This will cover almost 2 of his regular membership dues payments.I have taken August 1 as a middle ground date as although he indicates he spoke to someone in July, the first contact I have is August 19, so this is a good compromise. Although the Hydromassage is no longer being paid for, [redacted] can have the use of the hydrobed until his membership is cancelled in February.[redacted]

Gold's gym has yet to refund me for my cancelled trainer sessions and they continue to bill me.In May of this year, I cancelled my membership and trainer sessions with Gold's gym due to a re-occuring back injury. I was told by a gentleman by the name of [redacted], in charge of trainers, that I could be refunded if I got my physician to fill out specific forms indicating that I was unable to do physical activity such as training. I did that and submitted the forms in late May. I have contacted [redacted] in Administrative Office several times regarding my refund and no one has returned my calls or emails. [redacted] responded to one email stating she would forward my request to [redacted], also in the administrative office, as she was in charge of refunds. Since then I sent two other emails but no response. This past week I noticed a charge of $135.07 on my [redacted]...they had started charging me once again for the sessions so I put a stop on my credit card so they can no longer charge me. Today I receive via email a statement again for the amount of $135,97. I phoned and left a message at Gold's gym for [redacted] or [redacted] to contact me but I have only received an email stating they have received my call regarding my request for refund, and including the recent charge...so a total of approximately $700.00. I'm still waiting for someone to contact me. Desired SettlementI want Gold's gym to honour their process. I completed the necessary forms and got my physician to complete her section. [redacted] Please refund my money as the remaining service, specifically the trainer sessions, were not given to me. Business Response [redacted]Upon review of this file, the member had already been contacted last week and the refund in process. We always strive to have these cases looked after in a timely manner but there was an issue with a backlog in the department. There was never a question of the file not being processed. [redacted]Consumer Response (The consumer indicated he/she ACCEPTED the response from the business.)I accept the response from the company but I find their response to be flippant. If they indeed did have a backlog then someone form their office should have contacted me when I sent emails or left phone messages letting me know of this fact. [redacted] I will never go back to Gold's solely based on their billing practices...[redacted] and my interaction with the Administrative office at this particular location. I have yet to see the refund [redacted] referred to when we spoke on Friday, July 25,2015. We'll see how long it takes for it to appear on my [redacted]. [redacted]

According to cancellation procedures, I have a "few" more steps to take before I can fully cancel including another doctors note and pay in fullSent in a letter stating I will need to cancel my account due to injury, and had attached a doctors note with the letter. The cancellation procedure is doctors note, and a letter stating the account number and the date of when the billing is to end. September 30th everything was supposed to end, and I am still dealing with money going out of my account to Golds Gym. I asked for BOTH of my accounts to be refrozen on October 1st, and I asked for a 20$ refund from a total going out of my account. They said because I owe them money, they would not refund me the 20$ due to the staff not freezing the account. I asked why this wasnt frozen on the Oct 1, and the manager could not give me a straight answer as to why it was not frozen. Told I would be emailed a form and a breakdown of the costs to be out of the account early, and have not received anything from the manager.Desired SettlementA solution to paying the remainder of sessions I have used. and a reimbursement of NSF fee from October 9, as well as a 19.95$ charge from October 9. As well as a cancelled accountBusiness Response [redacted]We do have an issue in this matter as the member does owe us a SUBSTANTIAL amount of money for personal training sessions that are used but not yet paid. The member had agreed to pay for the sessions over the year period of time. Only 54 percent of the dollars have been paid on the full package by the member but he/she has used 79 per cent of the full package. If the cancellation is deemed to be today then the sessions will be prorated out. The amount owing is around $1400.00. We will not refund any moony nor freeze the account when their is a balance owing. I am the manager and I have never spoken to the member. My assistant would be handling the cancellation information and requirements thereof and from the looks of it - this has been correct.I would suggest an appointment with me is necessary to work out a payment plan, and I can be flexible, but please be advised that accounts that do become severely past due will be sent on to our collection company, and I don't want to see that happen to you. The dollar value owing will not be dismissed as the services have all been used.[redacted]

Complaint[redacted]Gold's Gym let me sign a 2 year contract a year ago. During that time, I told them the letters on the contract is too small, I cannot read. Then the gym representative (a guy) read the contract for me. I was told I have to pay 20$ every two weeks until the end of the contract. However, Gold's Gym sent me an email around the end of Aug that I will be charged extra about 62 dollars for the equipment maintenance which they never told me before. I phoned Gold's Gym right away. And one girl told me she will let somebody call me back soon. But I never received any phone call since from them. Today, I found that [redacted] bill was charged to my credit card. [redacted]I am filing this complaint to ask for refund about 62$from Gold's Gym Regina South. And I request Gold's Gym promise they never charge any extra money to my credit card without my permission.[redacted]Desired SettlementI ask for refund that is 62$ from Gold's Gym Regina South. [redacted]Business Response [redacted]The member signed up in September of 2013. The contract clearly states on the front, in LARGE letter and numbers that he will be billed $61.95 on September 27, 2014. The back of the contract does have further information regarding the CED and indicates it will bill on an annual basis from the same payment information as on file.[redacted]The CED is part of every contract that all the members pay. No refund will be provided.[redacted]Consumer Response (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)When signing the contract, I requested the sales person to explain me all the money I have to pay. That guy only told me 20$ every two weeks. In addition, I told the sales person, the letters are too small, I cannot read, also my English skill is not very good and cannot read very fast. He is waiting to sign the contract and somebody else is waiting for him. That is why I let the sales person explain to me what money I have to pay. But that guy never told me I have to pay this money. If I was informed I have to pay this extra money, I wont sign this two years contract since other gym offer better price.[redacted] I strongly request Gold's gym to refund me.[redacted]Final Business Response No refund will be provided.[redacted]The charge is clearly indicated on the contract in 2 places. It is not in small print that the consumer would have no problem in reading it. If the consumer does not speak English very well then he should have someone with him or have someone review his information with him in regards to understanding everything that he is signing. The staff member goes through a lot of information on options when someone signs for a membership. The consumer may have misunderstood something that was said if he doesn't understand English very well, I don't know. I do know that the information is very clear on the contract, and the consumer signed the contract.

Requested cancellation of membership prior to cutoff deadline and company has been charging credit card since April 2014.My wife signed me up for the Gold's Executive Membership for the unfinished location in downtown Regina in December 2013. The contract signed stated membership had to be cancelled before April 1st 2014. I called on March 27th to cancel membership, left message on answering machine with my membership details. I also emailed Gold's Gym from my work email address ([redacted]) asking for cancellation of my membership. When I received my April credit card statement I noticed that I had been charged for the month of April. I called golds gym again and the person I spoke to put in an email request to golds stating that I cancelled but it was still coming off my credit card. I did not receive any correspondence since that and I'm still getting charged for the membership. We have emailed back since the internal email and still have had no response.Desired SettlementI would like my credit card refunded for the money that has been taken off since April 2014.Business Response [redacted]We have no problem in refunding the money that has been billed. We have had a communication problem either with our cancellation department reaching [redacted], or [redacted] reaching the owner of the Downtown club.We had emailed [redacted] on April 3 for him to contact [redacted] directly if he was wanting to cancel the membership at the downtown facility. The facility was not yet open and everything had to be handled by the owner.When our cancellation department followed up in August the email came back with a permanent error, so we are not sure what the issue is. It was still the same email [redacted]We will go ahead and process the cancellation and refund the money billed back to the credit card on file.I apologize that this process did not go very smoothly. We do have strict cancellation procedures to follow to ensure that situations like this do not happen. The original request did not come through the cancellation portal, so it was not processed as it normally would be.

I was entered into a contract that I did not sign into and not made aware ofI availed for the hydromassage at golds gym this april of 2014, and agreed to pay 5.25$ bi weekly. At that point I asked if I needed to cancel anytime, if I can just cancel it. The receptionist said yes. I was with a friend at that time so there's two of us that heard it. So after that the receptionist typed in our membership numbers and told us now we can use the hydromassage. I went back july 2014 and asked to cancel my subscription and I was surprised to hear that it cannot be canceled because it meeds to stay in my account for 1 year. I complained and they said I cannot talk to the manager because they all want concerns to be forwarded by email. I emailed and waited for a month for an answer and I just got the same answer that it has to stay in my account for a year. I dont understand why, it doesnt make sense because first I didnt sign any contracts. Second, I wasnt made aware of the contract. Third I asked if there is a contract they said no.Desired SettlementI want a refund from july 2014 to november 2014. I was charged 5.25$ biweekly. Business Response Just a further clarification to the submission just made regarding the members' cancelled account.I wanted to clarify that the although the member still has a balance owing of $19.95 after the credit for the hydromassage, she is cancelled and the $19.95 owing has been waived. I will ensure our cancellation department has contacted her to let her know.[redacted]

Company not withholding their contract. Misleading information was provided to me at the time the contract was signed.I signed a contract at Gold's Gym. At the time of the signing, upon discussing my health concerns, I was told I would receive a one-time assistance from a personal trainer to evaluate if I could use the gym services (this service was never provided). Gold's also informed I could cancel my contract with no fee upon presenting a doctor's note and they would waive the fee for moving out even though this was in the contract. Since it's customary for companies to internally add notes into a customer's account, I thought this information would be provided in form of notes into my account.I have been experiencing severe back pain, being treated with prescribed painkillers and physiotherapy. I cannot go to gym. I decided to cancel my account since I would no longer be able to use the gym services, but since I have moved to a different city, I decided to hurry up and provide my new address information with the cancellation letter and informed the salesperson ([redacted]) that I'd provide a doctor's note. In the cancellation letter, I stated that "there would be no penalties" for cancelling as discussed with [redacted] upon signing the contract.I provided a doctor's note and Gold's Gym now states that I cannot cancel my account because they do not cancel accounts based on medical reasons even though this is not stated in their contract.[redacted]Desired SettlementWaive the cancellation fee as verbally promised upon signing the contract.Business Response I have reviewed his information and there is nothing further owing. His account was cancelled on December 30, 2015. [redacted]

Complaint[redacted]I had joined golds gym with some friends a week later we ended up not going I never actually used their equipment I called the company and said I would like to cancel they said okay sure we can do that let me get my manager and he had said okay I will cancel it gave them my reason of not wanting the contract to find out almost two years later when I try to rent a house that I can't do to them putting it in collections I have had no payments come out for this ever nor have they called me or collections call me telling me I owe them money and can't get a mortgage or a loan ever until I pay them it's been two years since I signed up and canceled and now they have had advertised on billboards that no contracts needed. Desired SettlementI just want this off my record [redacted] Business Response [redacted]Member signed up in August of 2013. His payments started to bounce NSF in September of 2013. He called in to the North club front desk the end of September and requested to cancel. He had spoken to our billing company on September 19 and they refered him back to the club to get cancellation information.On October 3 member spoke with my assistant and said he wanted to cancel because his buddies aren't going to the gym anymore. She explained he could not cancel for that reason. She gave him cancellation procedures and advised that his payments were going NSF and he should think about switching payments to his credit card.No further payment was ever made at that time. Only 3 membership payments were made and those were at the beginning of the term. Our billing company reached out in November but could not get an answer or voicemail, just a recording that said the customer was out of the service area. Overdue statements were sent to the member in October, November and December but payment was never made. The member was then sent to our collection company in March of 2014.I personally spoke with member in January 2015 and indicated the following:583422 01/07/2015 14:42:15 [redacted] Spoke with XXXXXXX today. He has been in collections since March 2014, so I told him I would settle for about $650 to clear up his collections and reinstate back here with us for the balance of the contract. That would be working in about 6 months of freeze time.He will be out of town working for the next week or 2 so he will call back in to book appt with me to go through his options again. I have no problem in settling this with him if he wants to. We are still within the terms of the contract time, and I have given him the benefit of incorporating some freeze time so he doesn't actually owe for some of the past time. The dollar value of $650 is no longer applicable as that would have been from February of this year.The member was WELL AWARE that his account was in arrears, so I don't understand why he would be surprised that he would be in collections. He was told point blank that he could not cancel back in October of 2013.[redacted]Consumer Response (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)I don't accept anything from them the reason why it's nsf is cuz they made my credit card over limit I have not received one letter or one phone call at all from a collections agent and I was told before I even talked to her from one of their employes saying oh yea no problem we can cancel it let me direct you to my manager and she did and he then said they can't cancel it even tho 1 their employes tell customers they can cancel it no problem and 2 one of my buddies had canceled his. Final Business Response I am not sure why the member thinks we made his credit card overlimit as we never had his credit card to charge. The billing information on the account was EFT from the [redacted] Bank. The rejection was insufficient funds. We made him aware of his past dues, told him cancellation was not an option, and he did not make any payment so therefore the account went to collections. If the member is wanting to make payment to have this settled then please either make an appointment with me or deal with the collection company directly. My original offer is still available with revisions as time goes on.[redacted]