I have the same aggravating situation happening as the rest of you. I have a Bally's lifetime membership that expires in 2024. I am now being told that my account was not transferred and they will not return any money to me.
Consumer Complaints & Reviews
A class action lawsuit is in the process of being filed. I was ** by Bally's also. I have the contact information for the lawyers who are phone interviewing right now. Contact me to tell me your story and I will give you the information. Act now!
Ballys (purchased by LA Fitness) will not transfer my membership to Ballys Sport or LA Fitness. They closed their Total Fitness gym in Bayshore and opened a Sport gym within 2 miles in the same town. I cannot go to Sport gym unless I purchase a new membership. The closest Ballys Fitness is approximately 45 minutes away in Nassau County. And there are only two gyms remaining as an option in Nassau. I feel this is unacceptable and seems illegal. How can they move the gym two miles then charge for its use? And how can they deny me the use of LA Fitness gyms because I have a lifetime membership? I thought that by purchasing the premier membership, I was getting the best level benefit, when in fact it's not worth anything to me now. The business still exists, so the membership should be honored. I want to sue the gym and have this overturned. I see in the internet that there are suits being initiated. Who can I contact to sue Ballys?
I purchased a lifetime membership in 1989 with the formally known Chicago Health Club which became Bally Fitness. Each year I would get a letter in the mail for my annual renew. If I wanted to, I could pay or pass and reactivate when I chose to. I never received any notice of the LA Fitness change over and was wanting to reactivate my account.
After hour of waiting on different 866 numbers and getting different answers, in the end apparently my membership is useless. They claim they sent letters which I never received, but they do have my correct address. One person told me my membership was bought up by LA Fitness after finding my name in the system. And another said I was not even in the system at all. They said my account was not good anymore and I would have to purchase another membership, basically start from the beginning. I ask to speak to a supervisor then they hang up on you.
I purchased a Bally's lifetime membership called premier plus in West Seneca, NY, 1991. This month, LA fitness announced the purchase of Bally clubs in Illinois. LA will not honor those memberships. The cost was huge back then, but 20 years later, it was a great investment based on the cost of joining nice clubs with pools and saunas.
I am now going to have to join one of them. Unless, we can get a class action suit to get ballys to buy-out the contract for a lifetime agreement of about $3,400 which is 20 years for dues of $170 per year. The buy-out will help defray the current cost of these clubs. I loved using the pools, courts, baby sitting and clubs across the country.
I purchased a lifetime membership from Bally's in 1987 and now LA Fitness has took over Bally's and they will no longer honor the lifetime contracts. They offer only a one-time renewal (two years in my case). Once this is up, I must go to a month-to-month contract. I don't believe this is legal but that is what is happening. I thought when a company purchases another company, they not only buy the assets but assume the liabilities too! My lifetime membership will no longer be! Nor will my service be at LA Fitness.
I purchased a lifetime membership from Holiday Spas in 1984 and then Bally's bought them out and honored those contracts. Now, LA Fitness has bought all of the Bally's in my state and they will not honor lifetime contracts, but they are honoring prepaid and/or monthly payment contracts. As of 01/01/12, they will not allow me into their gym.
I became a club member back in the 80's under Sports Connection. During the mergers and acquisitions era of the 90's, I was forced to Bally's and had been paying my lifetime's dues since day 1. I understand that there was an option to get 24 hours fitness since I had the plus account but that option was never given to me. Bally's has moved from South Orange county and did not send any notice to any local member.
When we found out, we called and we were sent to the Tustin branch that is a 45 minute drive taking a toll road. Their services had always been below what I was used to at Sport Connection in Santa Monica, and now I lost everything. What do you have to say about that? I understand that both companies are owned by the same investment group. What would your shareholders say about your customer care?
My wife and I bought a lifetime membership several years ago to join the Bally's in Plano, Texas. We've used it often over the years. I went to the club today and it wasn't there. It just closed - no notice - nothing. The closest Bally's now is in another city miles away. What do we do?
Preformed labor for the Bally's corp. in 1996 was given a lifetime membership that was no good. In addition, they accumulated a bill for $6375 that was never paid. Now for the last 3 years I have received bankruptcy paperwork asking me to prove my claim in order to be on some list of people they owe. What a joke. They know they have the documentation or they would not have me on there list. The debt is so old that I did not feel it necessary to hang on to. The company is a business joke. They thrive on stealing from the consumer. It's hard to determine what the consequences of somebody stealing your income are.
I'm able disable veteran and I signed this contract without knowing all my right. Meanwhile, I've been paying from a lifetime contract I never use at all. I was paying about $78 a month for about two years for my lifetime. Then my income taxes are now being withheld and this should already be paid in full and I should still allow to going. My two years for income taxes $1200 for one year and next year $1191. But here are being held why I do not know I call told me call State of Michigan. I called them and they told me to call Bally Total Fitness. Somebody needs to tell me something where my money is and where is my membership?
I went to a bally's an i signed up in 2006, under the impression that it was a month to month membership, that i could cancel an anytime, so when i left i told the guy behind the desk who at the time i knew as "HOS" that i wanted to cancel, he asked me why i explained that i was moving to a suburb of rockford, i thought everything was good until i tried to buy a house an it was on my credit report under a company called asset acceptance llc i have called them sixteen times at 1-800-614-4730 the number that is listed on my credit report on at times i let the phone ring for ten mins... no answer. How can i resolve this sitution?
In June 2007 I entered into a 3yr contract with Bally's. After two month I cancelled the membership per the terms of their contract (I moved away, sent copy of driver's license with new address with notice of cancellation via certified mail). Well, two years later I am getting phone calls from a debt collection agency called ASSET. They claim that it is a good debt and they will continue to try and collect.
I went to start back up working out and was told that they were bought by Premier Fitness. I no longer had privileges. My member number is 0003849146000. since 03/05/86. I paid 1500.00 to join and annual dues every year of 25.00. Now to find out I am screwed. I find this utterly unfair and want to know if I have any way to transfer this to the same location.
My husband has a life-time membership and the rate was fixed but it has since been increased several times to double the amount. Is this legal? Are there any specific laws regarding life-time memberships? Now we are in an area where there are no Bally's around and every month, an automatic withdrawal is made. We would like to freeze the contract until such time that we can use a Bally's gym. So far, we have paid 7 months and have no usage. Given the enormous amount of complaints on this website--what is the proper and legal procedure for canceling a contract, should we have to?
Paying for something we cannot use because it does not exist in this area. It cost us $600 a year. There is a Gold Gym here.
I purchased a lifetime gold membership many years ago when Bally's was Jack LaLane. I had paid renewal offers until 1995 when I stopped receiving the renewal notice. Bally's changed my name in their computers without my request and have not been able to locate my membership even after I provided them with a history of my addressess, social security number, date of birth and other info. After I provided a member # they told me that after 13 years there is no membership an I need to renew a contract.
There is clearly a breach of contract on the part of Bally's along with deceptive marketing practices. I am out the initial membership fees now and any potential to return to the gym.
I originally signed a contract for a lifetime membership for Bally Total Fitness for $1200 on Feb 15, 1992 in Littleton, Colorado. It entitled me to renew my membership for $60 a year. During those years when I was in a city where there was no Bally Total Fitness (Las Vegas 2000-2004) or too far to travel to (Tukwila, Wash) or I was out of the country (Mexico), I did not pay $60. Then when I returned to an area that did have a Bally Total Fitness, I would present myself and they would charge me $60 per year for four years subject to increases after that.
This time I arrived at Bally Total Fitness in Pembroke Pines and spoke to the young lady at the desk telling her I would only be here for two months. I asked her to call the main office and verify that my membership could be put on hold if I paid my membership dues. I was staying at a country club that has its own fitness center, but not as nice as this Bally Total Fitness. She called and then told me it would be $115. She assured me that the person at the main office had said I could suspend my membership for whatever amount of time.
Days before I was to leave for Mexico, I called the main office. The person who was an agent for Bally looked up my membership number and said I could not suspend my membership. Asking to speak to a supervisor, I was told one was not available, but she would have one call me within 24 hours. No one called within that time, so again I called and was given the same response. I again called the main office on September 12 and obtained the fax number (out of service) the address.
I have decided that since my credit card company indicated this was a complaint between Bally Total Fitness and me, I have decided to start an E-mail writing campaign, send letters to newspapers where there are Bally locations, and file as many complaints as possible until Bally honors their verbal agreement and suspends my membership until my return to the United States.
Whatever are the consequences to the consumer when a business outright lies to them to obtain their money!
Lifetime Contracts mean nothing? I recieved an increase with a contract that indicates the fee for life!
If I have to honor my lifetime commitments to pay...why don't they?
The original 'GCX B' type membership Contract dated Nov. 28, 1983 indicates: (1) the membership will ...begin on the date of our Grand Opening and end NEVER months after that date. (2) If you have a renewable membership... (a) The price of your first renewal (your initial annual dues) is $ [null character indicating this does not apply to my contract]. (b) For each successive renewal term, your annual dues will increase by $ [null character indicating this does not apply to my contract] or by the increase in the Cost of Living Index over the previous 12 months, whichever is greater.
I received a bill dated March 19, 2008 indicating that due to rising costs Bally Total Fitness is now requiring me to pay an Annual Card Fee. The bill indicates it is to be paid by April 24, 2008. This is the first bill I have ever received from Bally's. Under the conditions of the original membership, this membership was transferred to me in 1987, I paid Bally's a fee to transfer it to me, and I paid the original member for her membership account, an amount that she and I negotiated.
Apparently Bally's has decided to do exactly what it guaranteed it would never do for the life of the original member and for the life of the transferee. It has imposed an Annual Card Fee on memberships which, for life, were guaranteed to have no annual fee. Members paid a premium for these memberships to ensure they would not be subject to the billing, payment, and financing issues so many other Bally's members face. If Bally's can charge $10 this year, what is to stop them from charging $100 or $500 next year or the year after? And what is to stop them from terminating perfectly good membership accounts where the member has no obligation to pay or renew, since the original term was for life? Hopefully there are other Bally's members in the same situation who will protest a fee of $10.00 a year when they were guaranteed their membership would not be subject to an annual fee.
I signed up for Ballys when I was 18 with a friend and we were told that it would be $800 for a lifetime membership, I asked what if I was unable to pay, what should I do and they said that I could just contact them. Now, 10 yrs later I'm being charged like $3000. Now they are harrasing me again, I explained to them that I was hemoraging and I had to have surgery done so that I couldn't workout and they want more info from the doctor, but they already sent it to collections and the collection company told me that I can throw anything that Ballys tells me out the window, that I have to pay the collection company and I still won't even have a membership.
They have been ruining my credit over and over again for the past 10 yrs.
In 1993 my wife and I got into a lifetime membership which costs us over $3000. No problem, considering after 9 to 10 years it would be a bargain. Well every year our dues went up to the point that we were paying very close to what a new member, right off the street, would be paying monthly. I've called the corporate office several times and they did nothing for me.
The $3200 we paid for the lifetime deal was not a deal at all. I'd say it was a scam.
I have/had a lifetime membership with Bally's since 1989, with an annual renewal fee of $5.00. Upon attempting to renew my membership on 10/9/06, I was told my membership was cancelled by their Membership Services department. The initial reason they stated was that my contract was not renewed on time in June 2005/2006. When I inquired further, since their website accepted my payment on 10/7/06 for $15.00 (3 years), I was placed on hold. Their final response was that someone, from Ballys, spoke to me in the early nineties asking for proof of payment of approx. $658.00 and that I never provided proof.
When I asked for proof of this request, they had no written proof. No one spoke to me in the early nineties. Why was I allowed to consistently renew my contract each year for $5 and to use their locations in Maryland and Illinois?
I joined Bally in 1996 for a "lifetime membership." Originally, the account was set up to automatically deduct the monthly dues from my checking account. I decided to pay off the balance with a credit card and paid in full in 1997.
I was contacted by a telemarketer to "renew" my membership in late 1997. I was under the impression that my membership was a lifetime membership so I was upset to find out that in order to continue my membership, I would have to pay $20.00+ a month. The salesperson at the club told me if I referred 2 other people within 30 days of joining, I would be entitled to a "lifetime membership".
I refused to renew the membership when I was contacted by the telemarketer. I VERY CLEARLY REFUSED TO RENEW. I chalked it up to experience (I now will never sign a health club contract.)
Here's the unbelievable part. Three years later, May 2000, Bally began direct deductions from my checking account. I have had no contact with this company since 1997. My membership was paid in full three years ago. I clearly refused to renew, when I was contacted three years ago!
They managed to deduct $22.66 (per month) from my checking account in May, June, July, August. I finally noticed the deduction in August. Ever tried calling Bally? It's long distance. I was on hold for 20 minutes and disconnected.
When I finally talked to someone, in customer service, she explained that it is my responsibility to ensure that Bally does not deduct renewal dues from my account. That their system is set up in acertain way that this could happen, but that I should contact Bally to ensure that renewal fees are not deducted. WHAT?! Isn't it illegal to withdraw money from a person's checking account without authorization? Since when is it the consumer's responsibility? I have contacted a lawyer and want to penalize Bally (and send a message to all health clubs) that these kind of inethical and illegal business practices will not be tolerated.
