National Fitness Center

When signing with a trainer, I was very upfront in letting him know I only needed a 90-day commitment. He explained I only have to send a certified letter to cancel within 10 days of the next billing cycle and be current on payments. When the time comes to cancel, I sent the certified letter only to be told that the training contract cannot be cancelled and I must continue to pay even though we are moving to Ecuador, no kidding. Only death gets me out of this contract, no joke. I have used the trainer one time. I pay $80 a month. The trainer quit due to the lying by the company because he was trained by a supervisor that way and thought it was the truth.

I joined this fitness center for a one-year contract only. I sat down with the person in charge of renewal and explained that I did not wish to renew. He promised to take care of the contract. At this point, I made it clear that I would not renew and it was understood. At no point did the manager tell me that I had to write to them and I figured since I was there in person speaking with him, he would do as promised and take care of the contract.

My mother signed my father up for a gym membership last fall - she got a family membership so that she could also work out with my dad. My dad died last month and she waited until she got a copy of his death certificate to go cancel the gym membership. The people at the gym were uncooperative because she was the primary person on the contract.

So basically, they're saying that they don't care that her husband died, but if she would like, she can give them the $2,000. She's going to end up paying for a gym membership she doesn't want all at once instead of over the course of the next year and a half. Did they even read the letter she sent before printing out the form letter they sent back? This is a company that obviously cares more about the minutia of a contract than the customers that keep their business going.

I moved from Maryville, TN to Florida. Before I even signed up, I told the manager that I was going to move back to Florida within 2-4 months time. He said, "no problem". Well, they have jacked my credit card for membership fees after I called and cancelled. I had a bad feeling about this company from the start. I believe the company may be owned by a business owner from the former Soviet Union. I may be wrong, let's check the records. Thinking perhaps some "unsavory types", if you know what I mean. I would think that type of mentality should be examined here. For the amount of money they make from people who continue to use their services, a good proper American Business would be smart to let an occasional customer leave without worry and without trying to bleed every last dime.

Personally, I am starting a blog site called National Fitness Review. Please come and state your experiences with this company. Perhaps we can get them to care about their customers whether we're there for a month or 3 years. They still made money from us and should respect that fact. If not, let's get them to change or leave. So let's get together and see if we can get these people "National Fitness" to understand that here in the states, we look at customers as people and not money. Also, let's look into a class action lawsuit. Thanks.

I joined National Fitness in 2009 (I believe) and went a few times but didn't really feel like I was getting anything out of it. For starters, I'm not even sure if any of the employees are actually certified or know what they're doing. There were times when I complained of a headache during workouts and their only response was to work me harder even though I felt like I was about to pass out. They were also supposed to make a personal menu and workout schedule for me which they never did.

I allowed them to keep on charging the monthly fee until the contract ran out, at which time, I made it clear that I did not want the contract renewed. They still continued to charge me making it necessary for me to actually close my bank account and open another just to keep them from debiting my account anymore. They continued to call me regarding payment and honestly, after some time, I kind of just forgot about it.

I haven't heard from these people in about a year and now today, I get a call and then just talked to my mother who told me that they called her cell phone looking for me. I'm totally **. I'm getting ready to send a letter of complaint along with a cease and desist but according to some of the complaints here, they probably won't respond or comply with the cease and desist. By the way, does anyone know what the statute of limitations on debt is in Georgia?

After signing a contract for Ladies Workout and attending two times, I realized the scheduling would not be conducive to my personal schedule. I called Ladies Workout and informed the manager that I would like to cancel my membership. She told me "Before you do that, think about it and come back in January if you still would like to cancel." On January 1, 2012, they were closed. I went on January 2nd and was told I needed a written notice of cancellation. I returned with a written notice on January 3, 2012. I was billed my monthly membership fee of $25.00. I called to inquire about the charges and was given a number to call National Fitness. After a lengthy and unsuccessful phone call to National, they told me they would not credit my account. I then asked for the manager. She told me she would have someone call me from the "dispute" department. I received a call on Saturday, February 11, 2012. I was basically told the same information that they would not refund my fee of $25.00. I will tell all of my friends and colleagues: Do not deal with Ladies Workout under any circumstances. It is a scam!

The pool is so overcrowded you just bang into each other. Have to take numbers. One new member was there and she didn't have a number and wasn't told about a number and was asked to leave. I told the instructor this is how you treat a new member. She was allowed to stay. Why, if they get new members to join, why don't they add more classes at least when the snowbirds are here? It just isn't fun if the classes are always so full.

Last April I faxed everything needed to cancel and it was never cancelled. I then decided the contract was almost over so I figured I would let it expire. They continued to take the money out of my account ($140.00/month). I called and was told I had to give 30-day notice to cancel. I did and have yet to hear back from them. I have never used the services and told them back in April that I never went to a single session.

I signed a contract with them to do personal training which guarantees me 4 sessions a week. Everything seemed to start off great and then slowly go downhill. There came a point where I ended up only getting 2 sessions a week and then suddenly my trainer "disappeared" and I got no sessions a week. I confronted the management staff about it and all they could say is "let's see what we can do", but nothing was ever done except one thing; my credit card was being charged for training that I was not even receiving. $550 a month is money I work very hard for and that was all they were interested in even though I wasn't getting the training I was contracted for.

When I confronted the manager about it, she told me, "you signed into a contract for 3 years of training so you will still be charged every month for $550". Now what kind of joke is that! I cancelled the credit card so they couldn't charge it anymore. So instead, they sent me a letter almost every month stating that I owe them roughly $14,500 and if I do not pay it, then it will be placed on my credit.

I can't believe that they are still going to charge me for something they are not giving me that the contract states I should receive. Then I decided to write a letter to their corporate office and never heard anything from them, just more letters about payment.

Now the next issue I recently came across with them is, normally when you sign into a contract for training, you are not required to pay a monthly membership fee. Well here it is, now I am getting letters in the mail for payment of membership fees as well. This place is a joke and the staff is horrible. They are no help and always so very rude to everyone that has a question, complaint, or even just want to buy something. The place is always so dirty, with dust bunnies and trash all over the place.

Pool is slimy and has way too much chlorine that it causes your eyes to burn. The smell is horrible because nothing is ever cleaned as well. I took my children to the child care a few times and then when I tried to take them back they said, "Mommy, no!". I still do not know what happened that they don't want to go back but for a 6 and 7 year old to firmly state they do not want to go back shows there are major issues.

The general manager named Ann shows up when she wants, doesn't do anything while she is there, and is the rudest person I have ever met. Someone should really put her in her place. I do not recommend this gym to anyone ever! This specific location is the National Fitness in Sevierville, TN. Save your money and go to The Rush. It's 100 times better.

My daughter had a contract with them and had no complaints with the club until she became totally disabled. She asked them to cancel her contract and they refused. I know it is a contract but she has a good reason for them to cancel. It appears they are nothing but a money hungry group. This is my opinion and I will never deal with them.

I have never been more frustrated in my life. I have a contract that states it is not auto renewable - yet National Fitness continues to charge me. I went through all of their hoops to protest and they are still sending harassing letters. They provided no proof of contract on their part, despite 4 months of asking them to. My bank agrees with me that they have no justification to continue to charge me. This has been and continues to be the worst experience ever.

National Fitness has the worst customer service ever. Earlier this year, I lost my wallet. A couple days later, they contacted me to say that my canceled credit card did not go through. So I give them the updated information and they tell me they are charging me a late fee. Huh? Bad business.

Then back on 10/5, I sent a submission to cancel my membership. My contract says to give 30 days notice. Okay, so I thought I would be charged through 11/5. Nope they are charging me till 12/2. The customer service is the absolute worst. I will not ever be a member through them again and I will tell everyone I know about them.

One month after paying the full amount for a one-year membership, I was forced to move 650+ miles away from Omni Fitness Center in Pensacola, FL. On 9/16, I mailed a certified letter with documentation to National Fitness to cancel the membership as per their cancellation policy. On 10/16, I called National Fitness to check the status of the cancellation. Some little ** stated that they had not received my documentation. I asked to speak with a supervisor and he stated that he could not transfer me to anyone.

On 10/17, I resent the documentation to National Fitness to cancel the membership. I called on 10/18 and same ** from before stated that "it should take 7-10 days to process the cancellation, but if the cancellation was not accepted, someone would call me". Why should this cancellation not go through? If I don't have my money in 10 days, I plan to go ballistic. I would advise everyone who has been screwed by this company to contact your state's Attorney General. Stay on these ** until they go out of business. They are using unethical, fraudulent business practices.

I recently relocated from Fort Bragg, NC to Orlando, FL. Before departing Ft. Bragg, I telephoned Omni Fitness and asked them what I needed to do to cancel my membership. I spoke to Amanda and she asked what documentation I had showing my new address. I told her that all I currently had, at that time, was the US Postal Service change of address confirmation. She said that was legal document and was sufficient. I mailed it in and about 3 weeks later I received a telephone call from National Fitness telling me they had the documentation but also needed a copy of my driver's license. I mailed it that day and then on 3 Oct, two separate charges hit my debit account in the amount of $39/each.

If the local gym that you attend tells you that certain documentation is sufficient then that is what should be required. This is bad business practices and I have filed a complaint with the BBB on both National Fitness and Omni Fitness for these charges. I will also contact the Legal Office on Fort Bragg so they can begin the process of possibly restricting service members form utilizing Omni Fitness due to bad business practices.

Everything below is what I have written to NFC so far. I need help! Please!

This is intended for everyone who works with or is affiliated with National Fitness Center. And everyone of you should be embarrassed to say that you work for this company.

This company has been harassing my wife for some time now since I have been deployed to Iraq for a third tour. This is absolutely unacceptable and I will press charges if this situation continues. What can a soldier do when he is overseas for long periods of time, defending your country for your freedom, when he finds out that you are verbally harassing his wife! Oh my God, if you only knew the anger when a husband hears something negative done to his wife, she's defenseless and you took advantage of her, you should be ashamed!

This company is continually ignoring, blowing off and disregarding any and all customer complaints. The only way that this company is staying afloat, according to the customer complaints that I have found online, is by blatantly ripping off its customers, regardless of their situation. I'll elaborate.

A customer moved to a completely different state, filed for cancellation like they were supposed to and guess what, two years later, NFV was still charging the former member. Granted that they should have caught on, but the point of it all is that NFC's integrity is that of the devil himself. Another customer applied for a "freeze" on an account, and surprise, surprise! NFC continued to charge the member. And this is what I am trying to avoid, because I was being told that I can "freeze" my account, but you need my credit card information. Do you have any idea how ** stupid that sounds.

If I'm making my payments online, on time, every month, you do not need my credit card information, simply note that the member is deployed and don't produce a bill, and I won't pay, it is that freaking easy. It's like arguing with a person who doesn't think the sky is blue. And I know what you 're thinking, they didn't do it properly or filled out something incomplete. Give me a break NFC, people don't just post rants and reviews of a terrible company just for the hell of it, and you would be an idiot for thinking like that.

Let's go back to the online payment method that I have been doing. So far, I have been paying my monthly bill online for quite some time now. All of a sudden, my payments aren't being processed, and because the website is so ** and unsecured and unsafe, there is no confirmation code produced to show proof that I submitted my payment. What the ** am I supposed to do about that? The only proof I have is that NFC processed my payments on the second of every month, until now, for some reason. Now if this is being done on purpose just to put me in collection, which wouldn't be a surprise, you have another thing coming NFC. And don't waste your breath explaining to me that the payments are secured, because I don't give a crap, it's irrelevant.

I never wanted this, I liked the gym at first, but when I forgot about a bill one time, I went online to search for an online payment method, and I found tons of complaints about NFC and I was shocked. And ever since that discovery, NFC had shown its true colors. The staff at the Clarksville, TN branch, particularly the African American male that is the manager, has the worse attitude, is unprofessional and extremely rude! Not only is the staff a joke, but the gym itself is a joke as well. The equipment, mostly the treadmills, are always out of order, locker facilities are sub par, it's basically everything a gym isn't suppose to be, how can this be?

Look, all I want is our membership to be cancelled, no questions asked, just cancelled. She has already mailed in the cancellation.

As much as I would love to sue this company for everything they have done, for the mental anguish that they have been causing me since I have been deployed, as it really is affecting my mission because I can't sleep well and I'm more irritable, I don't want to sue because, it's not about the money, it's the point of it all. The overall terrible experience my wife and I have been experiencing since being members. But if this continues, the harassment of my wife and delay in cancelling my contract, I will be left with no choice but to take it to the next level.

I have every intention of continuing to write emails and letters and make phone calls to anybody and everybody to hear my story and issue with NFC until this issue is resolved.

Oh, and if you're curious, just Google "National Fitness Center complaints" and you'll get 2.38 million hits, horrible.

National Fitness Center of Clarksville, Tennessee, your business and its employees should be embarrassed and ashamed for what you represent. You can only disguise the name of your business for so long, so many times, for example, Fuel Fitness. You are cheap as equipments are not being fixed, specifically treadmill. You are inconsiderate, incompetent, rude, and have failed to meet any kind of standard, you also need to seriously reconsider that you call your gym a business, because in my opinion, you are hands down the worst business I have ever dealt with.

On August 9,2010, I request for the account to be canceled due to the reason I no longer live within 25 miles from home to fitness. Fitness contract says if a client no longer resides within 25 miles client is granted to have contract canceled. However, I was send to collection after I made all my cancellation letter and was sent via certified mail. My credit score has been affected by this.

The certified letter to Mr. ***** was returned; only one email was acknowledged with a promise to call and that never occurred. Multiple other issues arose during my membership at the Cookeville club (months of sewer gas problems in the club, for example). There are numerous BBB complaints filed and complaints filed against this organization with the TN Division of Consumer Affairs (which are public information in case any lawsuit is brought). This organization is not responsive to its members but also not to the BBB or the state. There is no registration listed with the state for the Cookeville club but I guess that is not an issue with the state even though it is required by the state (go figure). Please be sure to check with the BBB and the TN Division of Consumer Affairs before joining this or any other health club.

I was a member of Fuel Fitness when they were bought out by NFC ( National Fitness Club) at their Smyrna, TN location. Back in April 2009, me and several members contacted Consumer affairs along with the BBB ( Better Business Bureau) and News Channel 5 investigation team. We were under a fraud/scam with this company, NFC. NFC did not give no notice to employees nor their gym members. Several showed up to find doors locked, and notice on the door saying closed for good and members have been reassigned to Flex Gym at Smyrna, TN 37167 within the 15 mile policy, per contract agreement. All monthly dues will be paid to Flex gym by NFC financial company, Captain Fitness Management (CFM), for members to be allowed to continue contract and gym privileges with Flex gym. Electronic debts were coming out of our bank accounts for our monthly gym fees, even sometime double amounts for the same month.

But here's were the scam and breech of contract happened. Flex Gym of Smyrna, TN. Owner Doug P.,was also scammed under contract with NFC. For the months of May and June 2009, Flex was not allowed nor licensed at that time for child care at their facility. This was part of our NFC contract. Flex gym was also unable to allow NFC members to enter facility for gym privileges due to non payments several times from NFC for months of May 2009, June 2009, July 2009, October 2009, and November 2009. So we were being charged by NFC for a facility, Flex Gym, that we could not even go to or not allowed to go to per the owner, Doug P. due to NFC not even paying Flex gym the member fees they were taking from us.

Yet another breach of contract. This forced a lot of us, including me to find yet another gym to go to, but this time we would have to sign new contracts and pay for another gym service monthly fee. My bank was notified, Bank of America, who stopped drafts immediately and did a fraud investigation with NFC who in return I won and was refunded my money from Bank of America for the month we were unable to attend Flex gym. All documents from my bank, from consumer affairs, the BBB and a letter from CEO of Flex Gym, Doug P. himself, stating all this was true and was certified and mailed Directly to Mr. C. and Lee S. that mine and several other members did this as well, for our member contract are to be terminated. I have my receipt were Mr. C. signed for this certified information and letter. Case and contract was closed.

Now a whole 1 year and 4 months later, Mr. C. and Mr. S. has decided to turn my account and a few other members to a collection agency, Optima Recovery Center, LLC. I received this notice in the mail on 8/4/2010. I personal spoke to a Mr. Eric with this company who was very aware of what was going on with NFC and faxed all my documentation to have my account be disputed by me and closed immediately. As of today,per Mr. Eric, 8/6/2010 this account was closed and will be returned to NFC.

I will receive a notice of this dispute approval for this account to be closed from Optima within 30 days. I am wanting your help with this matter because NFC will probably try and continue to submit this to more and more debt collector agencies and this is not right. I have perfect credit and I do not want my credit ruined because of this fraud, scam company, NFC (National Fitness Club). Please, please help me and several others who will soon be getting the same notice I did.