Fitness First "Forgetful" Practices are common!

I have personally been victimized by Fitness First's standard procedure of "losing the document you gave us" -TWICE.

I gave them a cancellation letter November and as of mid-December --my account is still active! Heck I even had the letter done in TRIPLICATE and TOOK a Picture of the CounterPerson who signed for it!

But according to this article in AOL's SMARTMONEY section, this is not uncommon in the US:

10 Things Your Fitness Club Won't Tell You

"5. "We won't let you quit." If you think giving up the Ben & Jerry's is tough, try quitting your gym. Trouble canceling membership is one of the top complaints against fitness clubs logged with the Better Business Bureau and states' attorneys general offices. Before Chris Hinkle and his wife moved to North Carolina, they met with the manager at their Gold's Gym in Austin to cancel their prepaid membership. They were told a refund check would be in the mail. That was March. After months of unreturned calls, Hinkle contacted the BBB, which also got no answer from Gold's and gave it an unsatisfactory rating. "I was an ecstatic booster of Gold's," Hinkle says. "Now I tell people to never go there." A Gold's spokesperson says the club sends a refund in such cases once it receives proof of a move -- documentation Hinkle says the Austin manager didn't ask for in March.

For those paying monthly, calls from collectors or a battered credit score may be the first clue membership was never terminated, says Todd Mark of the Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Greater Atlanta. Follow contract terms to the letter, providing proof of a move or a doctor's note. Create a paper trail, and alert credit agencies about the dispute."

The solution as everybody has been saying is: When you enter a fitness facility--->DON'T EVER PLAN to LEAVE IT---or leave by CUTTING/CANCELLING your credit card that you gave them.

By the way, this is my 2nd complaint! The first one was a FREEZE ORDER on another account that I was paying for. The FIONA of FITNESS FORT admitted that they DID indeed lose the freeze letter that I gave them. After more than 1 month-no action that I'm aware of. I've already complained this to my Credit Card --and I have a formalized DISPUTE LETTER to them. According to them--FITNESS has not replied. They billed me full payment for the month --where I should just be paid 500 for the "freeze order" -for the next 2 months.

I expect my money back. FIONA of FITNESS FORT has NOT been answering my followup texts-even if I was polite!

In summary, Gym is great but practice care in LEAVING it.

Oh read the rest of the article here.