Lifetime Fitness

Review: LIFE TIME FITNESS has a 14 day trial period for their gym membership. If customers are not satisfied, they are eligible for a full refund if the cancellation is done within the first 14 days period.. When I signed up for the membership, I was informed of these terms and signed an agreement with these termination clauses. I cancelled my membership within the 14 day trial period and was given confirmation receipt stating I was eligible for the full refund. Rather than give me the refund, my account was charged for the second month of service.

I went in person to resolve this issue, but the customer service representative denied to comply. I tried to reach out to the higher management but there was no response.Desired Settlement: LIFE TIME FITNESS should honor their agreement and refund the full amount for the two payments deducted from my account.

Review: I signed up with [redacted] on 1/**/14. It was my understanding that I had 14 days to try this new complex out. I was billed on my Amex card that day an amount of $119.00 at 1:55pm. I thought I understood I could cancel within 14 days for a full refund.I went to the club the morning of 2/* and worked out. When I went to work that night I was told that my department including my job was being eliminated and I had 6 months to find something internally.I went the following day on 2/9 to cancel my membership. I met with [redacted] and explained my situation. We both signed a cancellation form. When I got home I noticed the form was not dated. Later that night while checking my American Express charges online, I was billed again from Lifetime on 2/* for another $119.00. [redacted] told me I would get a full refund. I told him if I did find a position I would certainly be back. I do not know why I was billed on 2/* for $119.00.I have spent numerous calls, and emails (in particular to [redacted] who is a very clever and persistent person. She has only returned 1 single email about this. When I call, I'm given a standard response that someone would call back. Tonight I got a call from Lifespa offering me discounts for my membership. I did get a VM from someone (no name or number) stating I would get a refund and that was it.Desired Settlement: I would like a written confirmation via email or in writing that my membership was cancelled. I want both charges of $119.00 reversed. I would also like Lifetime to stop calling me for membership solicitation offers since I am not a member. Is asking someone from Lifetime to do this to much? I find this really unacceptable and knowing I may be out of job even more stress that is not needed. My temporary membership # was [redacted]. On Sunday I brought a letter in writing which I was told was not

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me and the matter has been resolved.

Sincerely,

I did receive a call from someone on a speakerphone whose name I couldn't understand he left a number, unfortunately it was the main line to the complex.

The two credits of $119.00 have been issued on my American Express account. [redacted] 2/**/14

Review: I have been a member at Lifetime Fitness for under a year and since I began my membership there have been 5 abrupt temporary evacuations and closures for various reasons. At each of these situations, the handling of these issues were unprofessional, condescending, unapologetic and poorly managed.

On July [redacted] there was a neighborhood outage after which the gym was for at least 1 hour operating on their backup energy. I checked-in during this time but no notification was given when checking in at the front desk. After about 10 minutes of checking in the power officially went out, and I asked at least 3 staff members what the problem was and none were informed by management as to what the issue was. After about 30 minutes of using the facility without power, the management staff spontaneously came to the fitness area and informed people that they had 5 minutes to wrap up their exercise and evacuate the premises. When asking one of the managers, I was given a condescending and generally unapologetic response.

I then took the issue up with the general manager, Ryan B[redacted], who did not provide a satisfactory response including: "Are you blaming us for the power being out?" as to imply that I was accusing the gym for shutting off the power instead of the poor response and handling of numerous power outages.

Days later following the July * outage I spoke to Ryan's supervisor, Brian S[redacted] over the phone who genuinely seemed to share a concern regarding the pattern of poor handling of power outages at the [redacted]. He assured me that going forward I should not expect to experience this kind of issue. I also emphasized the fact that no email alert was sent to members - it was only until at least 1 hour after the closing that the email was sent. I explicitly requested for this complaint to be documented and that a further experience of this kind of issue would lead to a Revdex.com complaint.

Today on July **, less than 3 weeks later after commuting to the gym, two staff members were at the parking lot informing members driving in that the gym was closed. I then underscored the fact that no alert was sent and that I took the time to travel from work only to find this out upon arriving at the parking lot. I arrived shortly before 5pm and was informed that the gym had been closed since around 2:45pm. Furthermore, I was falsely informed, whether intentionally or by mistake that the alerts was in fact sent. It is now 7:55pm and an alert has still not been sent.Desired Settlement: Corrective action and response from a representative

Consumer

Response:

At this time, I have not been contacted by LifeTime Fitness regarding complaint ID [redacted].Sincerely,[redacted]

Review: Company has unethical cancellation policy. Was verbally told that it was 1 month notice to cancel, it turns out it is 1 billing cycle to cancel.Desired Settlement: Refund month

Business

Response:

Dear [redacted],

I received your email dated Tuesday, August **, 2013 containing a complaint filed with your office by [redacted] regarding the cancellation of his membership with Life Time Fitness. We appreciate [redacted]’s feedback and regret the cancellation process did not meet his expectations.

Life Time Fitness has long been committed to the notion of requiring no long-term membership obligations. We believe in earning each member’s business through a continued commitment to deliver an unparalleled experience and value. In keeping with this philosophy, our cancellation policy has been structured to provide members with a monthly membership termination opportunity. We believe this to be a fair and equitable approach to providing members flexibility, while also enabling Life Time Fitness to effectively manage its centers in order to uphold the experience we believe our members deserve.

By way of background, Life Time Fitness’ General Terms Agreement states that a member may terminate the membership for any reason by giving advance written notice. Advance written notice is described as submitting a termination request at a life Time Fitness center or by sending a written termination request stating that the members is terminating their membership by certified mail, return receipt requested. We believe that it is in the best interest of our members to have a receipt of cancellation to prevent any possible miscommunication. Life Time Fitness does not accept cancellations via phone, fax or email.

Additionally, the General Terms Agreement states that all cancellation requires written termination notice by the end of the month in order for the termination to be effective on the last day of the following month (e.g., written notice received by Life Time Fitness between May * and May ** will be effective June **). The detailed cancellation policy can also be found online at [redacted]

Life Time Fitness respects that there are countless situations which pose special circumstances to our members across the country and may require a member to cancel their membership. As such, in the spirit of delivering best-in-class facilities, amenities and programming, we have implemented consistent membership guidelines to provide a uniform member experience. As a customer service gesture Life Time Fitness will accept [redacted]’s complaint to the Revdex.com as his official cancellation. [redacted]’s membership will cancel effective September **, 2013 per the standard cancellation policy.

Above all, we thank [redacted] for his patronage and allowing Life Time Fitness the opportunity to respond to his concerns. To this end, we trust that this matter will be considered closed by your office. If I may be of additional assistance, please feel free to contact me.

Sincerely,

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# [redacted], and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

The business has used misleading sales practices to recruit and sign up new members telling them they need one months notice rather than a full billing cycle which can amount to 2 months notice. The contract is signed via an electronic signature pad with no copy of the contract provided. Only when I complained, did I get a copy of the contract with my electronic signature stamped. There were things in the contract that were never explained to me. Upon cancellation, I was advised that I had to come "in person" or send a "certified" letter and the attendant again asked for me to sign something mysterious on the electronic pad. This time I actually asked to see what I was signing and it turned out the gym wanted me to accept the additional dues that the gym thought they were entitled to. I advise all new members to consult with their attorneys before signing up with this gym. I am asking for my membership to be terminated 8/**/13 based on what the sales people advised me.

In order for the Revdex.com to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.

Sincerely,

Business

Response:

Dear [redacted],

I received your email dated, Thursday August *, 2013, containing a reply by [redacted] regarding Life Time Fitness’ cancellation process as described in the response to the Revdex.com regarding the first response to this matter.

I thank [redacted] for another opportunity to address his concerns and apologize that he did not find our first response satisfactory. On behalf of Life Time Fitness, I again apologize that the cancellation process did not meet [redacted]’s expectations and truly regret any issues he may have experienced when inquiring about cancelling his membership at the Life Time Fitness. While I can empathize with [redacted]’s decision to cancel his membership, Life Time Fitness chooses to uphold the cancellation terms outlines in the General Terms Agreement to be fair and consistent to all members. Again, I apologize that our decision to uphold the standard cancellation terms has resulted in a negative experience for [redacted].

While it is never our intent to fall short of our members expectations, I regret that we are unable to come to an agreement at this time. I thank [redacted] for the opportunity respond to his concern. To this end, we trust that this matter will be considered closed by your office. If I may be of additional assistance, please feel free to contact me.

Sincerely,

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# [redacted], and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

[Your Answer Here]

Unacceptable

In order for the Revdex.com to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.

Sincerely,