My Gym Closed After I Renewed - What Now?

[HejazSunKat]

Grrr...2 weeks ago I went to my gym to attend an aerobics class only to discover a sign on the door stating they were closed until further notice 'due to maintenance concerns'. Well, it's been raining buckets here this spring and they had leaks in the ceiling of the aerobics room so I didn't find this too surprising. Figured it would be a couple weeks and back to business. I just got a letter in the mail tonight that they are closing their doors FOR GOOD! They are referring us to other gyms in our area which have agreed to accept us without a joining fee and only charge us $19.99 a month. Well, that would be all very nice except I just renewed in May for a year!! $325! No mention in the letter of refunding people's pre-paid membership dues. This was a small, all women's gym that was sort of a neighborhood place and had been around for 15 years (though I only joined in 2005). I really enjoyed it and am sorry to see it go. I don't think the owner is trying to get away with anything but still, I'm understandably upset that she didn't address refunding people's unused memberships in her letter. What I want is a pro-rated refund. Anybody have this happen to them (or something similar?) and how did you go about getting your money back? How successful were you? I paid via credit card and will call my card issuer tomorrow to see if there's any recourse there. I have also thought about contacting the state Attorney General's office dept of consumer affairs. Anybody have any creative ideas?
TIA

[Laura]

Well honestly, I guess I would start with contacting the owner first if you can. (I guess I am assuming that you might have that information on the letter). It could be that your situation is relatively unique and that is why it was not addressed. I would call the credit card company regardless though. I thnk Consumer Affairs is a good idea, but I would try to resolve the issue first, but not wait too long of a time for the result. Bummer that your favorite gym went out of business though.

[HejazSunKat]

There was no return address on the envelope and no contact information whatsoever on the letter itself, it was just a plain sheet of paper so that seems to say 'don't contact me'. My neighbor (who was also a member) was friends with the owner so I'll start by calling her and seeing if she has any contact info for her.

[funnybone]

Most credit card companies allow about 60 days for charge back rights, so I would contact them right away. Over the years, I've had two disputes where my CC came to the rescue and they immediately credited the money to my account.

[AndreaU]

Most credit card companies allow about 60 days for charge back rights, so I would contact them right away. Over the years, I've had two disputes where my CC came to the rescue and they immediately credited the money to my account.

I agree- take it right to the cc company. Mine has always backed me up.

This is actually a very common thing in the fitness/gym industry; get people to renew/join UP FRONT and then bolt with the money. I can't tell you how many gyms in my area alone have come and gone like this. We belonged to one- same deal... closed for maintenance, which seemed to take forever and then nothing there! (This is why we ended up buying a home gym and joined karate!)

Anyway, it should all be able to be solved through your cc company. As far as taking things farther- if you don't, who knows if anyone else will? It's worth a shot, especially if you know the owner's name.

[aggie94]

Another thought: you can generally look up any business through your state's corporations department or secretary of state's office website. That information will usually include information about the officers of the business and an agent for purposes of serving legal documents. You might try to see if you can find any contact information for the owner/president and/or their statutory agent, and send a demand letter to anyone listed for your prorated dues refund.

[oceanjasper]

This happened at a local gym and it turned out that only the people who paid their fees in advance on a credit card were able to get a refund by the credit card company for the services not rendered by the merchant. However, those who paid cash or set up pre-authorized debits from their bank account for gym fees and personal trainers were out of luck and had to initiate claims against the company. I think it all started with a partnership dispute which resulted in the company assets being frozen, but I am not sure what ever happened to the claims in the end. I do know that the company did cancel its future pre-authorized debits and credit card charges, so there was no worry there.

I hope you can get it sorted out, either directly with the company or through your credit card company. What a pain though!

[Aubergine]

we're having a similar issues here with a car dealership.

if this happened to you, you're not alone.

call the newspapers!!!!
call the local Prosecutor's office
call the state Attorney General's office
depending on jurisdiction, call the state/local police

we are going through a similar thing here, and unless you make your voice heard, i guess you will kiss away the dollars.

your dollars, your choice. what's happening here is getting bigger by the minute--more persons swindled than anyone could have guessed--which is why i would urge you to make at least an initial call.

[ellielk]

You might also try the Better Business Bureau, or Angie's List (if there's one in your area and you're a member), local TV stations often have an 'on your side' reporter.

[momqat]

Local news stations have covered this issue off and on many times over the past few years. And they always refer to MGL (MA General Laws) as things have been updated. Call the AG's office for info and your rights, or scan some of the past reports online on any of the "big 3" local stations (Channel 7 (http://web2.whdh.com/), Channel 5 (http://www.thebostonchannel.com/index.html), and BZ (4) (http://cbs4boston.com/)) as they usually keep those archives on their websites.

And good luck! Hope you get this resolved quickly and as painlessly as possible...

[lindrusso]

I'm sorry this happened to you, but I'm glad you posted about it.

It's not something that occured to me to be careful about. In our last town, we belonged to the YMCA, so I don't think we would have encountered the same kinds of problems with closing and disappearing. However, in our new town, I may at some point join a local gym. If I do - I'll make sure to put it on a credit card!

Hope this gets resolved for you.

[HejazSunKat]

Just wanted to thank all who responded for your usual sage advice. I've called my credit card issuer and am waiting for a dispute form to arrive in the mail. I'm also trying to obtain contact information for the club owner to see if I can resolve it quickly with her. Before taking more drastic measures I'd rather give her the benefit of the doubt that she's not trying to pull a fast one. If I get no satisfaction through those avenues then I will indeed be mad enough to escalate it to other channels. If it gets that far it would really be more about seeing that this isn't allowed to happen to other unsuspecting people than it would be about the money. Lesson learned either way though: Next time I join a facility I'll be paying by the month.

Thanks again.