World Gym

Please go somewhere else. They lied consistently and took no responsibility. Their service (including their manager Stefanie) is laughable in that there was no service or attempt to resolve anything. I have worked in customer service positions for over a decade and am disgusted with their poor treatment and deceptive practices. I have filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau, but if there are not applicable consumer protection settings in place, I hope this review will help warn people about this location.

After I signed the contract, I was invisible to the staff, getting no tour, no assistance, and no cleanliness. That was prior to my problems with the business. When I joined the gym, I was told that the membership was for one year and was advised of the penalties for terminating prior to the end of that year. I remember asking if it was only for a year, and the man who was signing me up said yes. Unfortunately, I was unable to keep going to the gym after the first 2 months but understood about the termination fee and decided to just let the membership lapse after the end of the year.

18 months after signing up, there were still deductions being made from the account. I went into the military location and told the person there that I was not told and did not intend for the contract to auto renew and wanted the membership terminated immediately. The desk representative said that she had taken care of it and there would be no further debits from the account. The account where the debits were being made from was subsequently changed, and the issue seemingly resolved, even though I had paid for an additional 6 months of a gym membership we had only intended to pay for 12 months (and was only used for 2 months).

Now, I've received a collections notice for $362.70. When I received this collections notice, I contacted the location. I was advised over the phone that all of the contracts auto renew and that cancellation must be done in writing. Neither of which was advised either during the initial sign up or when we verbally cancelled at the gym. The representative also stated that it is their practice to just keep billing if the account on file doesn't work to a set amount and then sell the account to a collections agency.

I may have been naive in thinking that when I asked questions prior to signing the contract, they were being answered honestly and that I was signing a one-year contract that would have to be renewed the following year. And again, I came into the gym to cancel the contract and was advised I would no longer be charged. But in a basic search of complaints regarding World Gym, I found numerous references to similar billing issues.

Either this is an accepted business practice to train employees to unethically lie to potential members and then again to members who want to cancel their membership or an instance of employees making mistakes. But it is unethical to hold someone accountable for $360.00 sent to collections after already paying $220.00. There should be some company accountability for misrepresentation and lies. Based on the service I have received, I have come to the conclusion that this is an accepted money-making practice. It is disgusting, and they should be ashamed.

I became very close friends with the staff and they would give free food once in while. The owner found out about it and fired one of the staff members and banned me from the gym calling me a thief but he is still taking the payments even after I confronted him. It's not right and I want it to stop please.

I attended this gym this morning with my mother on recommendation of my sister. She had attended in December on a week trial but decided against it because of the high monthly cost. We were on the second day of our weekly trial and the manager, Jake **, we learned, came into the private women's gym area and aggressively walked up to me and accused me of cheating him and coming twice. I was confused and told him my sister had come months earlier and this was my first time. We are twins and do look similarly but with different hair. He became irate and yelled at us, trying to embarrass myself and my mother in front of a crowd of people, cussing at us and leaning in on me. I'm a 5'1" small woman and he's a 6 feet muscle head. The whole thing was surreal as he escorted us out and threatened to call the police on us. I tried to explain the silly, simple confusion but he just over talked and yelled. I have never dealt with this sort of experience in my life.

I was told and verified by the store manager that the contract was for 2 years only and we could renew later if we chose to. When asked about the length of the contract, he reinstated that it was only 2 years. When asked about canceling, he said we could at anytime. No more information, fees nor paperwork was given.

When asked about paying by month, he has said that we would need to pay regardless of how many times we came in. When I asked specifically about December and that we would not be able to attend because of our Christmas assistance program taking all our time. She said that we are allowed one or two months of non-payment if we cannot attend. We understand that busy schedules sometimes get in the way.

Almost three months into the program, my husband injured himself badly. He could not walk nor do any exercise without pain shooting down his back. He thought he just pulled a muscle. He wound up being in bed for 6 weeks and barely walking. When I called the gym to let them know he would not be coming in due to the synoptic nerve injury they said, No problem, let them know when he will be back. He couldn't go back. But I also noticed that we were still being charged. So I called again. No one answered, so I left a message. In fact, I left three messages in total and none called me back. So, I went online, found the website and emailed customer service. I mentioned the situation and complained about paying the months that we had not attended. No response.

I called the number sometime in April or May. I told the lady about the situation. She said that they could refund the money, only part of it, with a letter from the doctor's office. (Which I tried to get a couple of times but after no return calls, I got too busy and could not continue to follow through). I also told her that I did not think that we could continue the contract and asked if we could cancel. She said there was a cancellation fee. I didn't have the money so I figure I could let it run it's course. I had already sent an email through the contact us link stating, I wanted to cancel my policy and would not be renewing. I didn't know that I had to give them another written form, since I had already email them and asked them to cancel the policy. (Which I copied to the main customer service email and sent to our local World Gym.)

Eventually, I got through the to our local gym and complained about the automatic withdrawals even when we were told that this would not happen. The young man on the other line did finally told me that no, that wasn't the case and he didn't know why Mike would say otherwise but he would let him know I called. Mike never called me back, ever. So after trying to straighten things out for three months, my husband just told me to let it complete the contract time. Contract expired in October, now in March, we are getting bills. We weren't aware that we were still paying until we got a bill for $182! We called and the girl said, the contract was an auto renewal! What?!

I had called, left messages and emailed both the local and the 800 number, only to continue to pay another 2 years! She said that it was in my contract. That I had to give them at least thirty days noticed. I gave them a one year notice! She said, I needed proof. It has been over a year; surely they are not going to have the messages nor my email on their system. What is going on? I bet they deleted and ignored me just to make me pay. I told her this was fraud. Neither did I asked them to continue my contract nor did I give them permission to continue to automatically withdrawing from my account. She said it was in the contract! So, me cancelling one year ahead of time does not count? She said that I had to prove it. Don't they record there things?

We work in the nonprofit setting and share one income, we can't continue to pay for nothing?! This is the 2nd complaint I have filed.

This is about the World Gym on Rt. 22, Brewster, NY.

The cleanliness of the locker rooms is an ongoing issue as is the disrepair of the equipment (2 of the 2 stationary bikes skip or make grinding noises) as well as the locker room. A door to one of the three shower stalls is broken and therefore the shower is rendered useless. The water in the sinks in the ladies locker room drips constantly and the sinks plug up. Only one of the two outlets works. All these problems have repeatedly been reported to management with no response.

But today, at 6am after working out for over an hour, I discovered no hot water. I left a note about the hot water issue today at the desk, but since no one is in until 8am this may not get fixed in a timely manner for all the other poor soles who need to shower before work!

This gym is open 24 hours and if there were a real problem, there is no number to contact management. This hot water problem is the last straw. This place needs a thorough overhaul and inspection. Why are they allowed to keep this place in such poor condition - where is the health department?

I had signed a 5-month contract with Pro Fitness inside of the world gym facility in Niagara Falls, NY. I told the trainer that I only wanted to do 5 months and was not interested in extending, if I changed my mind, I would come in personally to extend. They charged me an additional $60. I called them and they said I could email a request to cancel. I sent about 10 emails, 32 faxes and a certified letter. I went in to the World Gym and gave them an alternate card, as I was cancelling the card that Pro Fitness was stealing off of. I told the girl to take the future payment right then and there and I asked if we were all set as I did not want them to try and bill the card I was cancelling and then get hit with an insufficient funds fee, and she said yes.

Well, I looked at my online statement today and was charged $45, my $10 membership fee and $35 for trying to bill the cancelled card. Well, if I didn't give them the new card, how could they bill? They are scammers. I called and they said a manager would call as soon as they got back from the store. Needless to say, I am still waiting. I am cancelling that credit card and will never allow another company to auto bill, as a result of this. I am on a fixed income and now that I have been raped by them, I have to cancel my credit.

I had a very unpleasant experience at the Fairfax, VA World Gym facility involving the receptionist, Jenny, who was working last 23 December at 7:00 PM. I had requested a printout of my billing for the year the previous day (22 December at 6:00 AM), and I was assured that the document would be available for pickup today (23 December). When I asked Jenny if the document was available, without even looking, she told me that there was nothing there and that I should call for myself since the manager was not available. She was busy on her personal computer, and apparently did not want to be distracted. I was incredulous that she would not even look and tell me to call for myself when I had done so the previous day.

She continued to tell me that I shouldn't have an attitude and that I was acting like a jack **. She repeatedly called me a jack **, at which point, I told her that I was done speaking with her. She continued to be argumentative and make obscene gestures as I walked away. Later, Jenny returned with the envelope in hand and proceeded to throw the envelope at me. She told me that her manager would take her side--I guess she never heard about customers being right.

I am a very nice person, and do not have a temper and kept my cool the entire time, but this behavior was extremely unprofessional. I routinely help keep the gym clean when I come in at my normal time of 5:00 - 6:00 AM during the week. I routinely rack weights when other people leave them, and I pick up litter off the ground. I am a senior manager with a large multinational corporation, and I have never, in my professional career, been treated with such disrespect. I will strongly recommend my friends and co-workers to avoid this facility as a result, in addition to immediately cancelling my membership.

World Gym is a dirty little gym in La Quinta, Ca. It is overcrowded, has poor parking, and broken equipment. My wife joined through her work. We are on a 1-year contract, but originally it was sold to her as not a contract, because it was through work. Needless to say, it is not used, because it is a horrible little gym. Now they have told me that to quit, I need to send them a "certified letter" 30 days prior to the end of my contract date. Total scam. Now, they have charged me $60.00 for enhancements this month.

I emailed members service to cancel the personal trainer because they were charging me $100 a month and they never told me that it was going to be for that amount. They said that it was going to be $40 a month. They sent me a confirmation by email that they will cancel it. Well, when I checked my bank, they were still charging me $100. I got a 2 year contract supposedly because from where I work, we get discounts. Well, I truly regret getting this. They lied to me.

The gym closed several months ago. We have contacted several locations and tried several Internet sites in an attempt to cancel our membership. Our account has been sent to a collection agency, and the amount is growing. Still, we have been unsuccessful in cancelling our account.

I signed up 7 months ago for a standard gym membership. I showed up for my work out one morning. The doors were locked as the gym has closed down. They also stated that another World Gym location would be honoring our memberships. The problem is that this gym is too far away, located in a different city in the suburbs. I was very disappointed and immediately set out to find another gym nearby. I was surprised when they ran my monthly dues a week later off of my credit card. After having my credit card company investigate that payment, the following month they ran it again.

At that point, I realized they are running a scam. I cancelled them completely off the credit card. A week later, I received a bill from a collection agency for my dues. They said my contract is for one year and they have the right to close any location they like. This is crazy! Does anybody have any thoughts on my options, as I don't need the collection agency damaging my pristine credit?

My husband, who has had several strokes, signed up for an executive locker. When the extra $50 came out of my account, I asked at the gym. They told me my husband signed and has a 2-year contract, it can't be canceled unless within 3 days. I found out three days after it was deducted and they would not cancel. $1000 wasted.

I am an Indian and I took the World Gym membership by signing a contract last year in July 2010 (for two years). Now I am moving permanently to India, but my membership is not getting cancelled as I do not have any proof of my move as per the gym authorities. They want me to give any American proof i.e. the New American DL or American lease, but I can't provide any of them as I am moving back to India. This is simply ridiculous as they are not accepting my return tickets as a valid proof for my movement. They are giving me only one option to cancel the contract and that is to buyout i.e. pay the 75% of the contract money that will be around $500. I don't want to do that as I have a valid reason for canceling my contract. Please help me.

I joined this gym almost 2 years ago and I will not be resigning! Yes, it appears to be this great gym from the outside, but once you get duked into a membership, you are highly disappointed! First, let's start with the uncleanliness of the bathrooms! The showers are always slimy and disgusting! The drains are full of hair. The walls are splattered with I don't know what, but it looks gross! That's just the women's. My husband says the men's are 10 times worse! In the women's sauna, there are always nails sticking out the wood and you scrape your leg on them and rip your pants. The guard over the sauna oven has been broken for months and yet to be fixed. The staff is rude, unless you are a hot, skinny blond.

I have watched the difference in how they approach customers and they alway show more attention to the attractive blonds that walk through the door than any others! I can't even get change for a dollar when the water machine is broken! When they are giving new people a tour of the facilities, they should ask us to tell them how it really is at the gym. Oh, I even had someone walk in on me in the tanning bed. I told the girl at the front desk and she just laughed. My husband and I are trying to spread the word about this facility, the truth! We will get it out!

I attempted to cancel my membership as my contract clearly states. My cancellation request was made in writing and was received by the gym by the 15th of the month - confirmation by the General Manager (in a recorded voicemail, which I have a copy on my PC). Joe, the GM, called to tell me that my membership cannot be canceled until my outstanding balance was paid in full and in turn, I would be required to pay for an additional month. My contract is clear and states nothing about this. I have an email from Joe stating that my contract does indeed not require this, but it is his policy that my balance be paid in full before he submits my cancellation request.

Sales woman falsified the contract extending our verbal agreement of one year into a two year commitment. When confronted, she produced the contract with the 2 years and when I explained that I was only to live in the state for one year and that in no way would I have signed a two year commitment, she refused to help. Now ASF international (the company in charge of the billing) continues to bill my account without regard to my efforts to cancel the membership. I have abide by the written cancellation process and am still being charged. I am a part time employee and do not make enough money to cover these charges. As a student, my money is very tight and to be charged for a membership to a gym 1800 miles away is ridiculous. They are extortionists and should be put out of business.

World Gym in Tujunga, CA is being managed by Steve. Very rude with customers. I made a big mistake signing up with that gym. After signing up with them, I never attended. I didn't like their service or how they are treating customers. So I decided to cancel it, but they encouraged me to put my account on hold. So they did. But they still charged me from my checking account. I went there again and this time, I cancelled my membership. They charged me again from my checking after cancelling. So they took $60 from me for nothing. It's not fair to take advantage of innocent people. They should stop that.

On January 28, 2010, I called World Gym to inquire about signing up for a 3 month membership and I was told that the fee per month would be $29.95 and there would also be like a $52.00 enrollment fee. My husband who does not speak very good English then went to the World Gym location near our home and told the staff member that his English as not the best but he would like to sign up for a 3 month membership. Just to clarify that the staff member understood him correctly he called me to talk to her over the phone where I reiterated to her that he would like to sign up for a 3 month membership, she said ok I think I understand him ok and she proceeded to fill out the contract and have him sign it.

According to the contract you must send an e-mail to cancel you membership at least 30 days before you plan to cancel, which I did. Then I got an email saying that my cancelation had been denied because I was in a 1 year contract. I called the phone number on the email and talk to the woman who answered the phone who then identified herself as the district manager to ask her why they were denying the cancellation if when my husband signed up he specifically told the girl that he only wanted 3 months. She said that they don't offer 3 month memberships. At that point I was irritated and told her that I would call my bank and tell them to deny any further charges from them and she told me that I would go to collections.

I asked to speak to her supervisor and she said well I am the district manager and I told her that is fine but everyone reports to someone unless you are the owner. At that point she transferred me to a man who I later found out was the "Vice President" of the franchise. He wouldn't let me explain, he only asked for my member number and name and since the account was listed to my husband he said I can't talk to you and hung up on me. Nice customer service skills.

When I called back the woman answered me again and told me that my husband would have to call so I verified that they have Spanish speaking personnel and I made a conference call with my husband. Go figure the apparent owner answered the phone this time. My husband expressed his opinion with a translator from their office on the line and she basically told him that there was nothing that could be done.

The owner proceeded to have her tell my husband that he needed to tell me that the next time I call to not be so irate, which I wasn't I did not get that way until the district manager told me that there was nothing they could do. He also said that since I have made everyone in his office mad that nobody there wanted to talk to me so he had to take the time to talk to me and therefore he wouldn't help me.

I would also like to point out that they have a death clause in their contract that says even if you die they will charges the fees against your estate. I will definitely from now on always read the fine print because you can't trust employees obviously. They are only out to get your money and they take advantage of people. The staff member who according to the owner is fluent in Spanish, type notes in the computer that said she explained the contract to my husband in Spanish but yet he had to call me to clarify that she understood me.

Some fluency, now I have to continue to pay $23.85 per month for the rest of the year and my husband was told that the company he worked for is closing so now I will be out even more money with an unemployed husband. If I had the time and money to get a lawyer I would because I know that if an understanding of a contract is implied and the opposite would cause hardship or the person would have not entered into the contract then the contract

My contract expired five months ago but I have been charged repeatedly every month by automatic withdrawal. I have called, gone to the building four different times and kept getting the run around because the employee in charge of cancelling membership wasn't there. When they found out I worked for a local news station, they changed their story and said that they would cancel my membership and all I had to do was sign a piece of paper. That was last month. But this morning, I checked my bank account and I was billed $49 once again. I would like to be credited for the months I was charged and cannot believe that a so-called reputable company can continue to operate like this.

My wife got a membership at World Gym. A few days later, she added our kids to the membership, none of them over the age of 18. She called to cancel the membership and they directed her to fill out the cancellation form. So she did on 2-24-2009. A month later, she called because they were still taking the money out of our account. They told her they would for the two months as per the contract which was okay. But still to this day, they are taking money out of my account. When I contacted them, they told me we never cancelled the memberships for our kids which are still under the age of 18. At no time in the last 4 months did they ever mention that the kids had to be cancelled. That is very upsetting due to them claiming they are a very outstanding company (lies). That is all I ever get when my wife and I talk to them. This is dated July 1, 2009.

World Gym shut down in Monrovia, CA in December 2008. Apparently, I found out from the city that they were notified in June 2008 by the land owner that the space is going to be used for expansion of parking lot for train station. The owner increased the dues and I notified them in October 2008 of cancellation; however, they still kept on charging me dues. It's a shame that the owner is Armenian and is low character person. My business partner is also Armenian but has very high value compared to this low life. It's only a matter of time before the tables are turned on him. Some of the old members are thinking of a class action lawsuit against him and World Gym.

I was running a gym for 5 years which subsequently got taken over by so called brand from USA, the World Gym, by brand was sold by my partner by use of wrong methods of manupulation of accounts and threat. There is a group which is spreading the WORLD gYM CHAIN in INDIA by using large scale promotions through Billboards and newspaper advertisiement. The World gym is using my idol Pictures of Mr. Arnold Schwazeneggers photos to promote their brand here, moreover false promises are being made to member base of 4000 people about use of the world gym card worldwide in 330 branches.

To my knowledge the World Gym brand has been sold to Planet Fitness in the month of August 2008 by Mr. Mike U. With all these developments 3 branches of World Gym are functioning in India and promise to open more is in the pipeline. The staff handling these gym do not even hold a workshop valid certification to work forget any other certification. Large scale false promotion is being used by the World Gym chain In pUne India by the owners who have threatened me in the past with consequences if i ever mentioned this. I need your help on this issue kindly please look into this matter as it is effecting the fitness industry in India in big way.

I joined World in 9/2008 and dues began being deducted from my bank acct automatically.I had to switch banks in January of 2009 and gave the gym's staff a letter from the bank, showing them all the acct info needed for the gym to start withdrawing dues. Unfortunately, the World Gym staff didn't enter the info correctly into their database/s and the dues for February weren't deducted. When I learned of this, I wrote a check and gave it to the staff. They said they would wave those late fees that were added on, because it was their fault that my dues didn't automatically get withdrawn.

When I began asking for corporates address on April 2nd, the owner got mad and told me he was terminating my membership, due to the fact that they weren't meeting my needs. Meanwhile, my dues were taken out in the amount of 20.00 on April first, so I asked to be refunded. I also asked to be refunded for 29.99 which I paid in November, to lock in the 20.00 per month rate. The next day, I received a letter from them saying I owed 60.00 in dues as well as bank fees. I had to freeze my bank acct and open a new one, so they couldn't take those fraudulent fees.

To make a long story short, the owners of World Gym prevent their staff from giving info about corporate, phone numbers etc, by threatening their staff with promises of termination. Therefore,it is difficult for anyone to get a corporate address etc. Not only are the owner's ripping people off, they degrade women and I wonder if this only happens to women, cause they are too yellow-bellied to go after any man? I have been told by the owner that I have no rights and even got into an argument with him, cause he/or his staff gave out my email address, without my consent. I have an email from him stating that he did so by blackberry and he had every right to do so. Looking for a lawyer in Worcester.

My confidence has been shot down, I feel intruded upon, made to feel like I have no rights and have been unable to sleep, wondering what he is gonna do next. He has no respect for women and his muscle has gone to his head. I can't afford another gym, as they want way too much money, considering I only use maybe 3 pieces of equiptment. I was inconvenienced by having to call the bank constantly and having to open a new checking acct. When I received his letter, stating I owed 60.00, I started having an anxiety attack, wondering if he was going to try and deduct it from my checking acct. I don't owe it and they shouldn't be allowed to lie and do this to the public.

I opened a 1 year membership at World Gym. When November came I applied for the 3 month freeze while I was away for work. When I got back I found that the fee had continued to come out of my account. I questioned World Gym management and was told they would wave the fee for the next 3 months to compensate. When they started taking the fee again after the freeze they started taking half of what they membership fee was, then suddenly they started taking full fee agian.

Come November the next year I applied once again for the freeze, this was fine this time but after the freeze I went back only to find my lock had been removed from my locker and the contents removed. No one at World Gym seems to know what they did with my belongings! When I found my belongings gone, I cancelled my membership February 20, 2009 only to find they continued to take fee from my bank account for March and April, and during this time nobody is returning my calls as to the where abouts of my money or locker contents.

As a result I am short more than two hundred dollars from fees after canceling membership and more than one hundred twenty dollars worth of locker contents, not to mention the many long distance phone calls because they wont return calls when they say they will.

This is a facimile of the letter I sent to what I'm hoping is corporate headquarters of World Gym. I had to try and find an address on my own, as the staff at both area locations claim they didn't know how to get in touch with corporate, nor did they know where corporate was.

I would like to file a complaint and hope you can do something to right a wrong that is being done to me.

I have been a member of World Gym since September 11, 2008 and for the first 4 months, I had been at the gym every single day, including on weekends.

This is my story: A few months ago, I had a run-in with someone I knew, who was also a gym member. This person (a male) put me in fear, because I attempted to tell his wife that he was cheating on her.

All this unfolded, while we were both at our consecutive places of residence and should not have been brought to the gym. Nonetheless, because I was fearful of this man bothering me at the gym, I emailed the manager there, allerting him of the possible threat, in case this man came after me.

Unfortunately, the man did approach me after my workout one night. He came up to me,pointing his finger in my face, threatening me and told me I better not call his house again. I told this man that I was going to call the police and that I had made the gym manager aware of the situation and to leave me alone.

Nonetheless, he proceeded to the managers desk, where a shouting match ensued. The man, Jerry , called over his mistress and things began getting really heated, so I decided to leave.

Since that day, Joey (the manager) has wanted to terminate my membership, claiming I brought the fight to the club, when Jerry was the one that came after me ! I'm tired of dealing with this manager and as far as I'm concerned, he is harassing me.

I have given him my bank account information twice in the past two months, yet for the past two months, there is some lame excuse as to why my dues were not automatically withdrawn.

The staff then try to make me pay late fees and now he claims I defaulted on my payments. I have given, him personally, a letter from the bank showing my acct and routing numbers and a few weeks ago, I had to give him another canceled check.

He claimed the info in the computer matched the info on my check, yet now he claims I'm in default? I'm tired of his ignorance in this matter and tired of him trying to get me terminated for his philandering friend.

There is no excuse why my account information would be incorrect, but for someone deliberately altering my info. I would appreciate your help and your attention to this matter, as I have no intention of willingly terminating my membership. I have done nothing wrong and I'm tired of feeling like I am being forced out.

Not once did this manager suggest we use his office, or suggest the fight be brought outside and the shouting match was heard by other members signing-in etc. What kind of manager is that?

I signed a contract to become a NEW member at the World Gym, Lowell location in Arkansas to be opened for the public on 09/05/08. I showed up to work out on 09/05/08 & the location was under construction. There was NO access by car or by foot physically into the building or its parking lot due to the construction. I was NOT notified about the changes of the grand opening nor given other options to exercise.

I sent a written NOTICE to cancel my membership by mail on Sept. 22,2008 (17 days after contract date). ABC Financial proceeded to deduct $72.05 on Dec.5,2008 from my credit card. I contacted the credit card company to temporarily STOP these monthly transactions since the company refuses to acknowledge the CANCELLATION of my membership done within 30 days of the date of the contract.

I have never had any problems being a member of other gyms...I'm used to working out to maintain my health-I wasted time since Sept.2008 waiting for World Gym to finish construction & open the Lowell facility. I had to find another place, change my plans, re-arrange my work schedule & added travel time to attend another exercise facility. ABC is giving me only two options (which do NOT apply to my case) for them to cancel the membership: either by 'relocation' or 'medical' condition. They plan to continue charging my credit card $72.05 monthly for 2 yrs. until the full amount is paid $1,729.21.

I have NOT being able to sleep well, nor can I carry a regular routine due to being worried, stress-out and wasting time sending letters/e-mails of explanation to them. The World Gym at the Lowell location (where I signed up at) did NOT open its doors until Dec.2008. I contacted the company in writing within 30 days of the written-contract's date to CANCEL my membership (that gave them well over 60 days notice in advance). Since its Grand Opening, I have NOT entered the building, I have NOT used the facility & have NOT attempted in any way or form to work out at the Lowell location or any of its locations, therefore a membership CARD, a membership key or any type of membership ID has NOT being issued under my name! They have NO right to deduct $72.05 from my credit card without my authorization.

I went to World Gym in Fayetteville, AR to inquire about joining, and was told by Trevor that I could join on a month to month basis without obligation. Instead, I got contracted for 24 months, billable on a month to month basis. A month to month membership was exactly what I needed, since this membership was only temporary until I went back to college. Once enrolled in college, both me an my spouse would have access to the student gym facilities, which was explained to the gym representative. And he assured me that was fine.

Now that college is about to resume, I called World Gym to cancel the membership, and was told that the contract was binding for 24 months and could not be cancelled. I was instructed to call the World Gym billing office, but got the same response there. Neither the World Gym general manager, nor the billing company, could provide the contact information for World Gym corporate headquarters. That information is also not posted on their web site.

The terms of the contract were misrepresented to me by their representative and therefore the contract should be null and void. The company should release me from the contract and any financial obligation contained therein, which would cause a financial burden for me. After this happened, I research on complaints file for World Gym and find out that what happened to me, has happened worst to other people all over the country. It is sad to see that the money of honest people have to support business like World Gym. I am thankful to be able to post my complaint, for it is all I can do.

I am a full time student, I do not work, and for the next two years it will be a financial burden to pay World Gym a fee they manage to secure unethically. I am obligated to pay a total of $1,311.00. I also have perfect credit and if I do not pay, they will ruin my score. I imagine they count on that to make sure they secure their money.

I bought a membership at WG Beaumont, texas! I moved away after about 6 months into the contract. I knew the contract stated that i have to pay 12 months before i could cancel. so i waited til then, but i am still having a difficult time trying to cancel.

they want a letter with all this stupid info like a lease agreement of my new residence with my name on it (which is in my fiances name) or they want a utility bill with ur name on it, or a copy of my new drver's license with my new address on it! i never had my license renewed or address changed because i only moved 85 miles away! I dont have a utility bill because i move around with my fiances job, and where we move its usually included in our rent which means we dont get utility bills!

Needless to say, IM VERY ANGRY! I cant wait til i get to the bottom of this! and i hope others are saved from this happening to them!

I received a phone call from World Gym and they said I had won a Free 2 yr membership for me and a friend and I only had to pay for insurance which was $8/mo. So I go and check out the gym which is 30 miles from my house. Jason was the employee who helped me. He didn't verbally go through the contract with me. Just took a pen and wrote where I needed to fill in my info.

So I read everything on the back in small print and signed. He asked if I wanted to pay in full (I assumed he meant full for the first month for my fiance and I) and I said ok. He went to go swipe my credit card and my fiance said that's $420! So I stopped Jason in the midst of him swiping my card and told him that I didnt catch that and I only want to pay for the first month. So he scribbled out the $420 that he wrote and put $36 but after doing that he also wrote down my credit card number and EFT payment of $363 on the 15th.

So he gives me the carbon copy with all of this on it and I'm totally unaware of what he did. I looked at my bank account yesterday and I'm in the negative. I tried contacting the manager which was impossible and so we had to go up there our selves to discuss the matter. He unprofessionaly sits us down at a table in front of a crowded gym to discuss this money that was taken out with out my consent. He said that becuase my signature was at the bottem there's nothing he could do.

Both copies of the contract are the same. I said I'm not trying to get a full refund back....just a partial credit. I didn't authorize this and now I'm almost $400 short for Christmas and my bank account has a negative balance. Is there any way that you can give me a partial credit of $300 and take the $63 as a payment and I will come in and pay more next month when I can afford it?

He told me flat out that it was out of his hands and there was nothing he could do once it's taken from my account. (which I think is total B.S.) I called my bank and they're investigating it now. My bank told me that after I had signed it and he scribbled something out is when the contract was altered and it's void. He should have written up a new contract if they were professional. But obviously they are far from this. They are a bunch of scam artists. This whole thing is a scam from what I'm reading.

Free 2 yr membership for you and a friend just pay $8/mo for insurance It's crap and now that they already took the money out of my bank account and if my bank investigates it and finds it in my favor to refund me my money, I'm worried that the gym will try and get me for breach of contract and they will send collectors after me. I don't these scammers to ruin my credit. I'm 23 and just starting to build my credit. That's the last thing I need. Ughhhhhhh I'm so angry. It's really sad that these people have no sympothy especially just before Christmas and take advantage of people like this. It's really sad!

In July 2006, I signed an agreement for a one-year membership to World Gym in the city of Glendale, California. Immediately after I began visiting the gym I realized that the place was poorly maintained. Equipment, i.e., dumb and bar bells, handles and pulleys, are left strewn about the floor by inconsiderate patrons. The management team, however, does nothing to either remind patrons that equipment must be returned to its proper place nor do they make any effort to return the equipment, at least not during regular business hours. Because I was once employed by another gym, I would often go about and pick up equipment and return it to its proper place.

My 1 year membership was slated to expire on 7/26/08, at which time I would automatically be converted to a month-to-month membership. In June 2008, I called the gym and asked a representative how I could cancel my membership. He suggested I wait a few days before it was slated to expire. On July 23, 2008, I called and requested cancellation of my membership. I was told I would have to speak to Mariah. I was thereafter transferred to her voice mail where I left a message asking that she call me back.

On 7/24/08, I again called the gym. A representative placed me on hold after I advised him that I needed to speak to Mariah but did not wish to be transferred to her voice mail. Several second later, Mariah answered the phone. When I told her I wanted to cancel my membership she asked why. I explained in detail my reasons. She then said that I must submit a letter stating that I wish to cancel my membership. She said the letter must be mailed as World Gym does not accept letters personally delivered to the gym (despite the fact that her office is in the gym and she is the person who processes cancellation requests). She also asked that I include a check in the amount of $35.00 which consitutes a processing fee and that I also return my membership card which was issued to me shortly after I joined the gym.

Following her instructions, I prepared the documents she requested and delivered them to the post office later that day. On 7/29/08, while reviewing my checking account activity, I noted that World Gym had again debited $29 from my account in spite of the fact that I mailed a letter requesting cancellation of my membership and paid the $35 needed to finalize my request. I called Mariah who was aloof and curt and verified she received my request but was unable to process it in a timely manner. I pointed out that I had not only paid the $35 required to cancel my membership but had now been charged an additional $29 for a total of $54. She replied, There is nothing I can do. I reminded her that she was in possession of my membership card. She coldly stated that I could continue using the gym. All I had to do was show my driver license to person at the front desk.

I asked Mariah when she had intended on informing me that my membership had been extended another month. She replied that I would receive a letter in a few days. By the way, I never received the letter. I placed a stop payment on the check because of the $29 debit. By my calculation all I owed was $6.00. Two months later I received a bill from ASF, World Gym's contracted billing service demanding that I pay $78. The amount constituted a late fee, a processing fee and membership fees for 2 months. I realized that Mariah had reinstated my membership without permission just like she debited my checking account without my authorization.

Mariah's actions seem to be intended to damage my credit. She, without permission, allowed my account to be debited $29 after I requested cancellation of my membership. She also was in possession of my card and also lied when she said I would receive a letter advising me that my membership had been extended. The charges her company is now trying to procure from me, exceed more than $100. An email sent to me by ASF, World Gym's billing company, apologized for what I had been subjected to but also said that there was nothing they can do to resolve this matter. Mariah has caused me duress, has damaged my credit, and has taken money from my account she was not authorized to do.

I bought a World Gym membership for my husband's birthday in Oct. 2007. I signed a one year contract, put ninety something dollars down, and was to be charged $41.73 per month for 11 more months. They didn't take the payment out in Nov. In Dec. I received a call from a collector stating that I was in arrears since June '07! I went in to the gym and they apologized and appeared to have straightened it out with the finance dept.

They immediately took the Nov. and Dec. payments out of my bank account and were to continue taking monthly payments on the fifteenth of each month. Some months they took it as early as the thirteenth, messing up my balance to cover checks, etc. In June, they took an additional $20 for maintenance fees and notified me a week after doing so. I was looking forward to the end of the contract so I could be done with these ripoff artists.

In Sept. (the last scheduled payment) I called the gym to make sure this would be the last payment they could get and was told I had nothing to worry about, my contract was for one year only and there wasn't anything I needed to do to cancel membership. On Oct.15, they took another payment. I called the gym again and told them the situation. The woman on the phone alternated between saying that I had to notify them in writing, that it had nothing to do with her and that I needed to talk to Pat who wasn't in at the time. Iasked her if Pat would be in at three o'clock that day. She said yes so I went there after work.

Of course, he wasn't there but the woman who sold me the membership was. She said the computer showed that my membership was purchased in June! Finally, she pulled a copy of my contract showing it was bought in Oct.'07 and assured me that she was faxing head office a copy and getting me a refund for the payment they shouldn't have taken, I would have it in my account the next day and she would call me at home as soon as she had taken care of that. No call, no refund, and of course she's gone for the weekend. I suspect I'll never get it and will have to pay to cancel payments at the bank.

I have worked very hard to build and protect my credit and this could ruin it. I got laid off last month and was counting on every cent in that account for bills. I'm scrambling to cover checks and there's definitely nothing left over for thieves. My husband's birthday is here again and we might at least have been able to go out to dinner if not for the missing $42. As it is the account is overdrawn and we'll be having meatloaf. I feel like crying but I don't want to ruin his birthday further so I'm typing away on the computer and trying to be positive. We work so hard for our money and this just makes me sick!

> i just forgot to updtate my credit card information as i got a new credit card. Also i wanted to cancel my serivce and in order to cancel i need to send a certified letter to the gym, in which when they recieve it would take another 30 days to cancel my serivce in which i still have to pay for another month of service which i dont need.

Initially had a contract for gym in which I fulfilled. Contract stated that I had 30 days to cancel via certified mail before the contract ended or it was automatically renewed. I sent the letter certified mail with return receipt which was received 50 days before the contract was up - meant I was cleared out of the contract. However, World Gym continued to bill my credit card for months in which I disputed with MBNA (now Bank of America C.C.). They removed all of the charges after they found my contract termination to be effective. That was in 2005...

A few months ago, I received a call from my parents ssstating that I received mail from IC Systems collection agency(my old address which I hadn't lived in 2 years). I picked the letter up and called IC systems the next day. Explained to them that I had sent the proper documentation and I was cleared from my contract and I would be sending them those documents. I called Bank of America and they sent me their information regarding my dispute and I sent via certified mail to IC Systems.

I still received letters and calls from IC Systems stating that their policy is that I must respond to them within 30 days of the first letter to dispute the validity of the collection or else it was valid. The only problem is that the first letter I was aware of was sent a month after their alleged first letter. This is not fair for them to alllegedly send mail to an old address and expect me to receive it. Especially since I saw that they pulled my credit (which has my updated address) one month before allegedly sending the letter to my old address.

They have now reported an amount of $600 to the credit bureaus and I've filed disputes with each one. Equifax has no record of the collection, Experian removed it temporarily, and TransUnion refuses to remove it up till this point. IC Systems' operators have hung up on me each time I return their call to let them know I'm not paying it because I don't owe it. I even asked them to tell me why they were trying to collect and what it is for but they tell me that they don't have to prove anything to me. They say that it will be placed on my credit every Saturday and eventually, the credit bureaus will not remove it.

This is unfair to me as I did everything properly from the beginning. I cancelled on time by return receipt, kept copies of everything including the original contract, sent IC Systems the documentation in less than 30 days from my hearing about it, and even called IC Systems back each time they leave me a message. Yet, my good credit will be tarnished and it's nothing I can do about it. At one point, I considered paying the money just so I wouldn't have any active collection on my credit but my parents and friends instructed me not to do so as that would be admitting guilt and they could bill me up until this day. What can be done? Any advice from anyone? How can a company who knows your current address send a collection letter to an old address which means you can't respond in time and it be legal? The consumer has no rights. This is unfar trade practices.

My credit has been tarnished and oone of the credit bureaus refuses to remove it. I have worked hard to keep good credit. I now have an open collections account and this affects me negatively now and will in the future.

Lock cut in women's locker room b/w 2-3 pm in middle of day when barely any women were at the gym. Business plan flash drive, phone, wallet, purse, contacts, personal belongings stolen. Was told this hasnt happened in four years in women's locker room. Talked to two members and found out it had happened the week earlier!! There was a report filed for both at gym. (so blatant cover up)

Gym did not apologize, did not post signs to alert other members, ignored my calls and was abusive towards me!! Blake S the manager and Troy, dance instructor, both used intimidating tones. Three persons checked in at the office to make sure I was allright while being yelled at by manangement. Blake consequently slammed the door on one person!! Blake's boss Dan ignored my call when I called to alert him and asked why he hadnt posted signs since two women were victim in two weeks. As did the owner Zsolt. Zsolt responded to an email saying he empathized with me b/c of the theft but ignored complaints about abusive staff!! No apology, no gesture of apology, no signs to protect other members!!

Have been without a proper working phone due to insurance company mishaps. All locks on house changed, without ID, unable to access accts or money for over a week due to expired ID, lied to by management, abusive treamtent from two staff members, ignored by others (bosses) about inappropriate yelling! Business plan lost! Unbelievable frustration since I am unable to receive a proper working phone. Money stolen, affidavits signed about charges on credit cards, numbers gone, personal check made out to me lost and most likely cashed at check cashing place. Several hundred dollars of goods taken., Without a gym membership since I was treated so poorly. Theft cannot be prevented but consequent cover up by staff of this happening the week before plus abusive yelling is absolutely unbelievable!

Just thought that i would put it out there that I caught HPV/genital warts from the tanning bed at the Largo, MD World's Gym location. Please be advised NOT to use their tanning beds & always always always keep underpants on as this has completely ruined a part of my sex life.

doctor bills, perscription cream, & my partner thought I was cheating on him cause he does not have warts. Needless to say i'm single now. and still dealing with ridding myself of GW's

Well when i first started going to worldgym everything was fine. until now. they told me when i first started that i had to pay sales tax so that i could have a simple 50 dollars a month for worlds gym but they are charging me 59 and i dont even use the gym! id rather pay nothing and run around the neighborhood a couple of times! dont get a world gym membership.. save yourself!

I signed up for 2 yrs with the gym, it was $8 a month. You had to pay the money in advanced, so I made a payment plan for like 4 months. It was something like $50 a month. I paid the gym off early. Something like 2 months went by, after I paid them off, and I checked my checking account online. I was overdrafted. So I looked at it and they took out another payment that they were not supposed to. I had $80 in overdraft fees because of this.

hey refunded my $50 payment they took out, but I fought with them for the past 2 months about my overdraft fees. Steve would never return my phone calls. When I called them he was always busy or never there. I talked to him today and he said there was nothing he could do about the $80. He could only offer me membership services. I live kind of far from the gym and told him it would be of no use to me. He will not refund my $80 because of a mistake they made.

I am out $80, I have a job that does not pay well, and because the money came out of my pocket, I had to suffer for a month of having no money. I had to pay the bank the $80 and I only make like $100 a week if that.

My wife signed what she thought was a one year contract with World Gym in March of 2007. She only used the membership twice. We were having the dues auto debited until our bankcard was compromised and we decided to pay World Gym by check each month. All our payments were sent in on time each and every month (have copies of each check). We recieved numerous calls from World Gym about payments which werent even late. Also, we continued to get late notices from World Gym stating that the payment was late. We often paid 2 weeks before it was due. We have sent two certified letters to World Gym and enclosed copies of each check and they continue to send us late notices.

Also, my wife informed them by phone that when her year was up that she would not be renewing. They told us today that she had initialed the auto renew block of the contract. There billing agency has turned the account over to a collection agency. These people need to investigated and shut down for duping people into signing contracts with misleading fine print and false advertisement. We are not sure what, who or where to go for remedy to prevent this from being a blot on our excellent credit rating.

We are trying to keep these people from tarnishing our credit with their defamatory actions and misleading contract. Further, action is needed to prevent other consumers from being duped by World Gym.

My son who is a minor was signed up for a gym membership with World Gymn in Manassas, VA, by his grandmother back in May, 2007, without my knowledge. The credit card she used expired, so they started sending the invoices to him. He does not work because he is a minor and still in grade school. He has not used the membership or attended the gym since July 2007. When I called ASF International to request the membership be canceled because he is a minor, they keep saying that they need his birth certificate. Obviously, because of identity theft, I am reluctant to send it, so I asked them to send me their policy that this is the only way to have his membership canceled. I am his Mom. I just want to ensure that they are a legitimate organization. They have refused to send me anything because the membership is in my son's name. This is ludicrous.

Several months of membership fees/dues have built up, and it is causing financial hardship on me as his mother. I am a single parent.

I joined about 5 years ago and signed up for the check free monthly charge to be taken out of my account. Every year the amount goes up, as if I was just signing up again - my fee monthly should remain the same if my membership has not lapsed at all. This is bad business.

When I moved to Beaumont from Montana, I paid World Gym for a year in advance. When my job fizzled, I moved back. I went to the gym and told them I'd like to cancel as I am moving. The contract was taken from me and the manager circled the phrase "paid in full contracts are non-refundable for any reason." This was located under the renewable contract section, which was not the type of membership I got. When I pointed out that the back of the contract gave termination upon moving, she apologized and gave me a bogus number-- their debt collectors-- phone number stating that was headquarters, and they would give me the refund.

When I followed the refund procedure on the contract and got no response, I filed with the BBB. The World Gym manager called and left a screaming message saying I could cancel but could not get a refund. Her late reply to the BBB claims that the refund applies to month-to- month contracts only, which is not what is stated.

Now I am out $350.00 or go to court, in Beaumont, TX, from Bozeman, MT where I reside, or Lufkin, TX, where I have been working.

I went to World Gym. They told me I could start a membership and CANCEL AT ANYTIME...that is the ONLY reason I agreed to it because with kids, nothing is steady and I needed that option. We moved, the kids changed schools, and I tried to cancel. I was told to write to cancel. I did. They denied it because they claim I do not have a good enough reason. I called them on the phone to ask what was up: I was told I could cancel at anytime, and to write to cancel. Now I am being charged $962.95 for a place I only went to twice! If they would not have told me I could cancel at anytime, I would not have signed up in the first place. I feel I was wronged and shouldn't have to pay it...yet the collection agency is still after me!

My contract ended in June 2006 and then my account was charged AGAIN in July. When I contacted World Gym, they told me that I selected to have my contract auto renew. When I asked to have my contract faxed to me, they said they would not be able to help me! Now, we're in August and my account is STILL getting charged.

For one, my account is suffering, two, I'm extremely stressed because of the hassle I have to go through to try and get something so simple as to have a contract faxed. I thought that was my right!! I feel as if I have no control over this situation. In the meantime, my hard-earned money is being taken, cell minutes being wasted and I'm at the verge of insanity.

My wife signed up for a gym membership and told it was a one-year membership agreement. She did this while staying with me for a month. She is Canadian and we are in the middle of immigration proceedings. I have moved from the Minden, Nevada, area to Washington state. My wife continues to reside in Westbank, British Columbia, Canada. She called and informed them she wished to cancel the membership and agreed by phone to paying a one time fee to end the one-year service agreement, much like cellular phone service. A letter arrived indicating they would continue billing her through January 2007 for membership as there is no way to end service early. Can they continue to charge for a service they cannot provide? The nearest gym to her is a seven hour drive, two hours from my residence.

World Gym is demanding we pay $195 for access to a gym she cannot use.

Beware of Worlds Gym devious contracts. I have been a member to numerous gyms and never had this devious clause in any other gyms contracts. After your contract expires in my case it was three years. I paid up front $1000 for 3 years. At the end of my contract I asked if there there any muliple year contracts available. No one ever got back to me so I went to LA FITNESS they had multiple year contracts. SO now a year has passed the gym contacted a collection ageny to collect $750.00 bacuse I never cancelled my contracted.

But I also never received a new membership card or any billing statements in the mail just a phone call from collections!!! One year Later!!! This tyoe of comntract has one purpose to legally steal money once someone leaves their gym plus they want 30-60 days notice or you can't cancel!! Why!! Because they want your money anyway they can get it!