Skill and Will Fitness

Complaint: ***I am rejecting the response of Skill and Will Fitness and its owner and personal trainer, *** ***, for the following reasons:1. The response regarding the options that were available to me when Skill and Fitness presented me with the liability waiver are inaccurate (and disingenuous). The response also shows that Skill and Will Fitness acted in bad faith. Parties in a contract have the obligation of good faith and fair dealing. Skill and Will Fitness states, "If Customer had doubts or reservations at the initial meeting, Customer had the option of...calling *** for a refund." Not true. I saw the liability waiver when *** *** brought it to my home before our first personal training session on July (*** *** first visit was on July 17--email correspondence between us confirms this.) By July 17, *** 3-day refund period had already expired (i.e., on July 13) and *** *** had marked my *** as "redeemed." Skill and Will Fitness states "Customer could have called the business establishment for a copy of the waiver to review beforehand." Skill and Will Fitness' liability waiver is not standard. There is no way anyone would automatically suspect this. For example, it contains non-liability-related provisions regarding customer's obligation to follow the personal trainer's verbal and written instructions, 24-hour cancellation notice, and refund policy. If Skill and Will Fitness believes that the terms are standard or commonplace for a liability waiver (which reads more like a service contract), then Skill and Will Fitness should have posted its liability waiver on its website to show transparency. It is easy to do and would have protected consumers. Skill and Will Fitness states, "Prior to working out together, Customer filled out and signed...the Liability Waiver and Release Agreement..." I wrote my name and signed the liability waiver moments before we exercised. I didn't have a lot of time to consider the terms or have any true options. By that time, *** refund period had lapsed and *** *** had conveniently marked my *** as "redeemed." Skill and Will Fitness is clever to include a duress clause, but--at that point--it was an issue of mootness. As the consumer, I had no choice. Skill and Will Fitness could have easily avoided that by either sending me the liability waiver or booking our first appointment within days of my initial purchase.Skill and Will Fitness states, "If Customer was unhappy with the terms of the Liability Waiver and Release Agreement...Customer could have refrained from purchasing a second package."I had no choice but to sign the liability waiver since it was presented to me after *** refund period. The same waiver automatically applied to the second package--I wasn't presented with a separate liability waiver that would apply to the second package. Moreover, I purchased the second package right after my first personal training session, after *** *** claimed that she was running a special "until the end of the week" (July was a Friday) and that the first package of sessions might not be enough to see tangible results. I thought Skill and Will Fitness was a well-established business that legitimately had a special that ended on a certain date. I was dismayed to later learn that this was a one-woman business and that, therefore, *** *ndre had the sole discretion and flexibility to change anything she wanted, including the date that her "special offer" ended. Skill and Will Fitness states, "When Customer disclosed that Customer felt pain in the knee, Melissa, the trainer of Skill and Will Fitness, told Customer to see a doctor."Although, ultimately, *** *** suggested that I see a doctor, that only occurred after several sessions, once I began limping. Her first "instruction" was for me to purchase an elastic knee brace, which I did after two sessions, and use a muscle rub. During our sessions, when I told her that a muscle under my right knee cap felt pulled and was hurting, she instructed me to take a 30-second break (which she extended to minute) and then continue with squats and running. She stated that she had occupational therapist knowledge. 2. The response contains incorrect facts: I never engaged in swimming while taking personal training sessions with Skill and Will Fitness. Although I indicated that I would consider it, by the time I went to my community's outdoor pool in late August, it had closed for the year. I took sessions of mild, stretching/meditation yoga while taking personal training sessions with Skill and Will Fitness. These did not aggravate the knee injury I obtained from exercising with *** ***. At the yoga retreat, which I purchased before I was injured, I wore the knee brace that *** *** instructed me to buy and wear. Neither the knee brace nor the muscle rubs she instructed me to use alleviated the pain. Consequently, there were numerous poses that I could not do and would instead sit on my mat meditating while the rest of the class engaged in those poses. In addition, I had to forego other activities (e.g., morning hikes) that were included in the retreat package.My employer did not reimburse me "$or the total amount paid to Skill and Will Fitness..." Even if it had, there is no reason why Skill and Will Fitness should benefit from a customer's employee benefitThere is nothing that prohibits Skill and Will Fitness from issuing a refund--just *** ***'s "will" to do it. The response states, "Skill and Will Fitness is unable to offer the customer a refund due to our policies." This is not true. Skill and Will Fitness is a one-woman mobile business (i.e., a woman, a cell phone, and a car). As owner, *** *** can make and change policies and offer exceptions at her sole discretion. Moreover, it is common industry practice for businesses to modify customer agreements, as necessary. Asserting principles of fairness as an excuse is disingenuous given Skill and Will Fitness' unfair consumer practices, in the form of egregious terms and timing for presenting the liability agreement. If she is concerned that other customers would learn of her settlement with me (i.e., a refund), I would be willing to sign a non-disclosure statement to that effect (i.e., agreeing not to divulge the terms of the settlement, nothing more). 4. Continuing to perform the contract is not in the best interest of either party for two reasons. Both of us would move on. Although Skill and Will Fitness would forego $(the cost of of the remaining personal training sessions in the second package), it would save time from responding to my consumer compliant (and others in the future) and worrying that I may be injured in a future personal training session. It could then dedicate its time to its other customers and to growing its business. I would focus on healing from my injury that was the result of the personal training, possibly with the help of an occupational therapist.I would get a true remedy. After my knee injury and after *** *** refused to give me a refund, I contacted her in writing about exercising other parts of my body since, according to family doctor and my orthopedist, my knee injury could take a long time to heal. She came to my home once for a personal training session. When she saw the extent of my knee injury, she chose for us to do only upper body exercises. Since then, however, she has decided that she will not provide any personal training until my knee has fully healed so that I will get "better results." So, to summarize, at this point, I have no remedy--no refund and no personal training either (since *** *ndre has decided to solely determine when and whether to provide them). As a consumer, I paid $for those sessions yet I have nothing in return.5. The offer of "store credit" is illusory. Since Skill and Will Fitness only offers personal training services and it is those services that are in question, offering more personal training services is not a remedy. It would be like a one-man auto shop who provided faulty mechanical services try to settle a dispute with a customer by only offering more faulty mechanical services. Once the trust is gone--trust which resulted in physical injury, in this case--it is gone. Personal training requires the customer to trust that the "instructions" given by the personal trainer are in the customer's best interest, not out of the owner's desire to show quicker results, perhaps in order to get positive testimonials. As *** *** told me, much of her business is repeat business or by word of mouthSincerely,
*** ***

Skill and Will Fitness is the trade name of [redacted]. a sole proprietor. Hereinafter, the business of [redacted] shall be referred to as "Skill and Will Fitness."Skill and Will Fitness received correspondence from the Revdex.com (Revdex.com) on Tuesday, October 27th, 2015 regarding "one...

of our customers expressing concern with a recent business transaction." Hereinafter, the consumer who expressed these concerns shall be referred to as "Customer" to protect said consumer's privacy rights.This memorandum serves as a response to Customer's complaint by providing clear evidence that (1) Customer signed the Liability Waiver and Release Agreement and the Assessment Form: (2) the Liability Waiver and Release Agreement signed and the receipts of purchase clearly state "all refunds shall be given back in the form of store credit": (3)(a) Customer began several fitness routines with other companies at the same time Customer began sessions with Skill and Will Fitness: (3)(b) these fitness programs conducted by other fitness companies could cause inner knee injuries, like the one customer alleges to have.[redacted]