ABC Financial Services Reviews

Original Review: Aug. 25, 2016

My husband and I have been members of BLAST Fitness/WOW Gym for two years now. Unfortunately, we haven't been able to attend the gym for past several months. July would have been the last month of the second year of membership term. In July I stopped by the gym and asked how I could cancel our memberships. I was given the forms to fill out, which I did right there at the counter. Apparently it was our responsibility to scan and email the forms to ABC Financial in order to process the cancellation. I did so on exact same day. At the gym I was told it was good timing, because it was with enough time before the next round of membership charges. I was also told my annual maintenance fee would have been drawn on the 18th of the following month, but since it was within 30 days, I was all set.

A day or so later I checked my junk mail and noticed the email I had sent to ABC bounced back. I checked the form, and it turned out the email address listed was spelled incorrectly on the printed form. I went online and checked, and in fact it was a different spelling online. I re-sent the forms. Now I keep receiving emails and automated phone calls saying I owe the annual maintenance fees. I am being told that I need to check the contract, that the new annual fee should be coming out on the 15th of August, and that I didn't submit the forms on time. I explained to ABC that the annual fees for the previous two years were on the 18th of August, and I did submit the form on time in order to not be responsible for the new annual fee. Besides, I paid for two years of service, monthly, as well as two year annual fees.

When I go to the institution I am paying to for their service, I expect to be provided with the accurate information, including at the signing of the contract. If I knew I would have to be going through this hassle, I would have cancelled it long time ago. We barely used the gym and had the membership for the convenience of the location. I didn't rush to cancel because I thought it would have been an easy one stop cancellation. Now I have spent so much time and energy already trying to get this resolved.

I feel violated and mistreated as a customer. I did everything that I was responsible for as a customer. And now I feel like I am being brushed off by ABC Financial without trying to been understood my side. I do not believe I am responsible for another round of annual maintenance fees of the service I am not signing up for another year for. What is annual maintenance fees for, if I am no longer your customer. This is very frustrating and disappointing, and feels like a trap and even scam.

I don't know for sure that this constitutes as theft, but I can't help to feel like they are taking advantage of the situation and I don't make enough money to deal with this. The worst part is that they don't withdraw on any sort of schedule so you cannot predict when it's going to happen so you can't set up a block payment with the bank.

The whole ordeal took 41 min on the phone/hold time. They were able to expedite it but only after my perseverance after reading the terrible reviews online for termination and that my girlfriend and I were both moving and terminating. You really need an outside department to review the address and signatures on a lease? I could care less that you couldn't make out the dog policy for the apartment. Congratulations on setting up the pinnacle business model to maximize customer rage and showcase your incompetence.

Even if you send certified mail, they will state they never received it, even if you have the receipt to prove their receipt of your letter. If you send via email, they will also state they never received it, even if you copy yourself in the email showing you received the very same email sent. ABC Financial is NOT a BBB company so it won't do any good to file a complaint with BBB. File reviews like this one on every website you can to get the news out. The gym itself is good. The problem is the company they use for their billing.

I have a printout of the billing. Instead of trying once to bill me, they tried to bill me 6 different times over a period of 14 DAYS until they got their money. Is that even legal? Can companies put a payment request on your card this many times until they are paid? There is something very wrong with that. If you can't pay, you can't pay and services should be stopped. They shouldn't be allowed to initiate a charge on your card more than a couple of times, or even once. They also tacked on a $9.50 late fee. How nice.

And of course, their cancellation policy is prehistoric. They want you to write them a certified letter of cancellation, which takes time and is complete and utter **. This isn't 1998. People use the internet to cancel and subscribe to everything. But they probably know people will be too lazy to want to write a certified cancellation letter. People's indolence keeps them profitable. Who wants to write a ** certified letter? And they want a friggin' DOCTOR'S NOTE in some cases?? Are you freaking kidding me???

That's like a bank demanding you show them your tax return before you close your account with them. What the hell kind of crap is that? Easy. They are greedy ** who don't want customer's free choice to leave. If they were upstanding and good business people, they would make it easy to cancel a membership, as in, having a link on their website. What a bunch of unethical jerkoffs.

It looks like the best and fastest way to get out of them charging your card is to cancel the card itself. It is inconvenient, but will save you the headache of having them bill you days and weeks later, and will also save you from writing a certified cancellation letter which they probably won't honor anyway, judging from the reviews written thus far. Cancelling your card is the best way to avoid dealing with ABC. They will get NONE of your money then. From the overabundance of negative reviews for this company, it looks like they just don't care about you as long as they get their money. I am going to submit a complaint to some of the agencies another reviewer left for us. Maybe someone in the legal sphere will help get their attention.

Plus the people in charge of signing people up for these memberships do not even have standardized signup procedures or inform anybody about your cancellation policies or even that they are affiliated with you until we try to cancel our membership AFTER we signed up. Pretty shady if not ** up I would say. Signing up for a membership was pretty quick about 10 mins, but canceling will take a lifetime. I've even heard of them still charging dead people! What is it that ABC financial does anyway besides make healthy fit people stress out about you taking their hard earned money and in turn making them unhealthy? Ironic, huh! You guys need to get a real job instead of robbing those who have one! Wait let me guess... Your turn, Stephanie. Or should I answer for her?

WE ALL WANT OUR MONEY BACK NOW! Forget filing a complaint with the BBB which I have, but I have also informed my states Attorney General about your business practices and they will be examining the evidence in this case against ABC financial! I suggest anyone who has been in my shoes and had a horrific experience with ABC financial be on the look out for a class action law suit settlement commercial! Maybe you should've just let people cancel those memberships!

First of all, where did that number come from? The most we owe them for two months is $100. Second of all, I had just put enough money into my checking account for my rent, and now they took this money out when I have a check coming through today which is going to cause my account to overdraft and I'll have to pay non-refundable fees. The charges are unexplained and completely unwarranted. They just take out whatever amounts of money whenever they want and it's scary. This company is BS. BEWARE!!!

Original Review: Dec. 1, 2015

I was told by my trainer to start "today" Nov 11 for a month. He said I won't be charged for Dec if I make a payment. So I signed a contract for three sessions a week. My trainer missed two sessions in two weeks one he just no showed! So I said keep the remaining money and let's just move on. Now ABC is demanding a written letter Dec payment which was not on until this afternoon because ABC confirmed this am that no payment was due until Jan 13. Then they switched the payment! Now they say I'm liable for Dec payment plus 500$ to break my contract!!! Yet the trainer/owner of fit for life in Wilmington didn't show up!!! Help someone. I've changed my bank account but I'm furious. I'm calling BBB and anyone else I have to.

When you return that form, be sure to attach all the information you can! Now said that, my problem with ABC Financial is that they are demanding that my Physician send to them on letterhead letter, explaining my physical condition and a recovery status in detail. My physician, at my request, did send (FAX) a letter headed letter to ABC Financial Services, but it only contained minor information. The reason that this letter from my physician contain only minor information is for the following reasons. First of all ABC Financial Services is not a health provider!! By their own admittance (see their web site), they are a leading software and billing provider for the fitness industry!!

Thus ABC Financial Services are circumventing the Federal HIPAA Privacy Rules set forth to protect individual such as myself. One of the main privacy protection rules state and I quote "Individual identifiable health information, which relates to individuals past, present and future" end quote. What this really means that it is illegal for ABC Financial Services to ask or demand of a physician or the club member to explain a condition of his or her health without a HIPPA document signed by the patient or club member, and released that information to ABC Financial Services without the patient's approval!! It's time to stand up folks to these suspected fraudulent schemes of ABC Financial Services.

First off, how the HELL did you guys get my Amex card when Planet Fitness's systems wouldn't even ACCEPT Amex as a charge payment? I never gave you my card info, this is ridiculous. Second off, company is a complete fraud and should have been shut down by now, probably hacking people's personal and secure information just to get their other credit cards to charge bills with? SO illegal, it's not funny??? Class Action Lawsuit incoming against ABC Financial if I had my way.

I informed them that there were $39 overdraft charges on my charge card, ABC stated that there were insufficient funds to draw from, therefore there was that additional large charge. Capital One informed ABC Financial that my charge card always has more than enough credit limit for a monthly $10 fee. FYI, overdraft fees on credit cards don't even exist in the real world!! There are more than 7 of those charges in itself. Capital One said they can cancel the card immediately and send me a new one. ABC Financial replied that if that happens they will then send any monthly billing to collections on me.

After reading the above reviews I then recalled a couple of years ago that the charge card I gave them expired and they were trying to get my new card information. Magically ABC Financial found a new credit card of mine and once again billing me for a membership I did not want. I located the original contract and the charge card number that I initially gave Experience Fitness/ ABC Financial was not the same credit card number or card that they had been billing me for the past two years or more. ABC Financial somehow found a credit card of mine from somewhere else and began billing me again.

My charge card company is launching an investigation dating back to June of 2012 for reimbursement. Writing this poor review is not enough, ABC Financial needs to be put out of business. People need to get together and find out the principle owner(s) and take them to task. I may be out several hundreds of dollars, I am not the only one, ABC Financial is a fraudulent company to say the least!!

So I contact my bank. My bank then tells me that despite the fees being a mistake and going back into my account my overdraft fee will still be there.. So now I'm really pissed off. My bank tells me that the person issuing a refund will now have to send a fax stating that they were issuing a refund and that it was a double charge. Easy right, just a piece of paper so that my bank fixes the issue. No, I get told by the new lady I speak with that they shouldn't have issued a refund period, April was her name who by the way even said it wasn't their fault but mine.. SERIOUSLY. YOUR FLIPPING COMPANY DOUBLE CHARGED ME. Who in the heck, is that my fault??

I work in customer service and have been in this business since I was 16. If I for one saw any of my employees acting this way to someone who calls in, they would be fired. No questions asked. Who acts this way to a customer. I wasn't nasty nor was I mean till she flat out said it was my fault.. WHO DOES THAT? Point being, even if the customer was the one who screwed up, you don't ever treat a customer this way. It sends a super bad message about your company that you could care less about your customers.

At that point I had it with April. I wanted to speak to someone above her, her boss because I know how the whole system works in a call center. I did that whole thing with Geek Squad. Newsflash, the supervisor you're speaking with is just someone who got bumped up from the floor to listen to calls and handle escalations. They have no real power. April was a supervisor. REALLY poor choice in putting her in that position. She even outright said that the first lady who I called the first time shouldn't have issued a refund because all they do is handle billing like payments not refunds.

SERIOUSLY. You guys can take money when you're not supposed to but when you get caught with your hand in the damn cookie jar you won't fix your mistake? COME ON. The woman that April put me on hold with, for 10 minutes by the way, was nice. She would be the only at this point who has been at all helpful. I informed her that my bank required some sort of letter stating that it was their fault that I was double charged so that I could be refunded my overdraft charge(s). Charge is now plural because it seems that now I'm quoted 7-10 business days to issue a refund.

WAIT!! How did I suddenly get from 3-5 business days to 7-10. SERIOUSLY. It doesn't take that long electronically to issue a refund. You guys can take the money no problems, really fast, but having to fix your mistake you want to now take almost 2 weeks. HELL NO, THAT ** ISN'T GOING TO FLY WITH ME. So I call my bank back to inform them that the woman I spoke with is drafting a response to fax to them stating that it was their error that caused this. With the dates that I was double charged for.

My bank then tells me that until I'm refunded, that I will still have the overdraft fee, and will incur more until I don’t have a negative balance. WELL, SCREW ME SOME MORE WHY DON'T YOU. This by far worse than any nightmare that I've had. I call back my gym who was nice to start with, who informs me that it just so convenient that all of their managers for the Houston and surrounding areas are in a big meeting. SERIOUSLY. It's not that I don't believe her because GM's do have meetings but why during this time. Why am I getting seriously screwed here, and I'm not even enjoying it.

Well, my gym has put my issue for the GM on the top of the list. I also had to inform her that ABC Financial, despite them being the billing department, they told me that they don't issue refunds there. WTF on that one again. The woman at the gym was like, “then why are they billing if they don't issue refunds.” That's what I said - SCREAMING IN MY HEAD AT THIS POINT, READY TO PUNCH SOMEONE. So now I have to wait to see if this so called drafted letter even happens today. Which they are supposed to send me a copy to my email. If this doesn't get taken care of by this shady company, who has so many negative reviews it's beyond me how they are still in business. I'm going to be pissed beyond anything..

When I spoke to a customer service rep today, upon hearing that I owed Workout World and ABC Financial 40-plus dollars for nothing... I was told I "shoulda emailed it" even though I was not provided with an email address or given that option when I was canceling. The customer service reps are clearly adept at handling phone calls from irate customers... because they are expecting them and they KNOW that if you don't fork over some money, your credit score will be affected. So they got me again. Don't let them get you. Email them, send the paper certified mail, and keep an electronic scan of that cancellation request. Absolute thiefs with no regard for good business practice or customer service.

The manager avoided calling back or to speak with me, had excuses and required the original rep to confirm the information before he would send the request to ABC financial. A representative ** from ABC stated the change would take place and they would refund me once they spoke to **, general manager at Gold's. ABC rep. ** called me 3 days later informed me ABC was having a hard time getting a hold of ** at Gold's. I call ABC June 6, 2015 and asked for **. He states my refund and my dues reduction had been denied by corporate, (wouldn't say which corporate or who) because I transferred from Simi Valley to Downtown gym locations and that Downtown location dues were higher. I stated didn't transfer and the dues are the same.

I actually was changing to Simi Valley and the original representative from Simi valley who told me about the dues and overpaying said I had to transfer from Downtown to Simi Valley, which is what they were supposed to be doing. I asked to speak to an ABC supervisor. I got ** with ABC. He told me I had to go to the gym and speak with a manager. I told him I spoke to the **, general manager at Simi Valley Gold's gym and that he had submitted the request. Then ** told me that ABC Account Manager verified the fees are higher at one location than another. I told him that information is not factual and I didn't transfer from Simi to Downtown. I transferred from Downtown to Simi. I stated again the manager already submitted the request. All done.

He said there is nothing ABC could do until I speak to a manager. OMG frustrating. REALLY FRUSTRATING!!! All I can say is that the excuses and apologies are meaningless. My club manager after weeks of saying they sent in the change in dues, finally said he needed to speak with the employee who said they could change the monthly dues. Finally he submits the change to ABC and tells me I need to call them. ABC promised to give me a refund and charge me the appropriate monthly dues. I called for status and was given some reason that one club charges more, not true, since they all charge the same, then something about corporate not approving. I asked to speak to a supervisor and then he told me I needed to go to the club to have the dues changed. OMG... Frustrating... Circus... It's the worst in customer service and professionalism. DECEITFUL and very POOR business practices.

Original Review: May 10, 2015

I decided to cancel gym but my credit card cancelled 3 weeks ago and ABC Financial has been calling me... Now there is a late charge $19.99. After I joined them I had read all the complaints on ABC Financial. I cannot use a credit card right now & I have money troubles and this is the last thing I need is ABC Financial charging me because I want to cancel. If I ever join another gym again, I WILL PAY FOR THE YEAR IN ADVANCE IN CASH... I will never use a credit card to pay for a gym membership again, and I will never join any gym that uses ABC Financial. These people should be put out of business. Why are companies like this allowed to exist? And why do gyms use companies like this?

I sent ABC Financial two emails with a doctor's note and they denied my cancellation request and noted that the word they are looking for is permanent - meaning the only way I can cancel my membership is if I am disable. And when I called, they said that there was nothing I can do for me, sorry. I have suffered with back pains for the last five years, and I have to deal with this? Sorry? Well...that just doesn't solve my problems, does it? Thus, even with a doctor's note and a diagnosis, I was not able to cancel my membership with ABC Financial.

Got another email from ABC, so I called again, and this time the club advised me I had to get my membership current before cancelling it. Whoa! I shouldn't have a balance to begin with, and I told them no way will I pay for services I did not receive. So I sent another email to cancel my membership... again. A week later, I noticed my banking account had a debit to ABC Financial for the "balance" on my account, which really surprised me because I neither agreed to pay for the balance NOR DID I GIVE THEM ANY OF MY BANKING INFORMATION!!! I immediately called my bank and they are investigating how the hell ABC Financial made a transaction on my account without my authorization. Supposedly, this could have happened because some financial institutions "share" client information, but I couldn't believe they can just take what they feel you owe without your permission.

Regardless, I received a statement in the mail, now charging me for this month, late fees, and the previous month membership fees... So I sent them a letter telling them exactly how I feel, and that I am forwarding all correspondence to my financial institution to assist with their investigation. Hope the hell they get the message.

Because ABC couldn't get their act together and respond in time, I was charged an extra month of gym membership. Lets review, I paid for their inattentiveness. The other time this happened was at Gold's gym. Please, if you sign up at a gym ask who their billing company is before you make any commitments. ABC is a garbage company and people need to know.

My daughter went on website to cancel. She received it Jan. 17, 2015 and NOW I am charged another 19.99 (Feb. 7, 2015) BECAUSE they have a 30-DAY AGREEMENT. So I have been paying 19.99 each month since Sept. and they are fully aware I have been trying to cancel and THEY DON'T CARE. Well maybe I can't get back my money BUT SOCIAL MEDIA can be more damaging to them and I hope others read this.

Turns out, in the fine print of my contract, it says my annual fee billing cycle (different from my monthly billing cycle) is a date assigned to me and that date is February 15. When I was on the phone with "customer care" I told the woman I spoke with my story. She answered me WITH SILENCE!!! I told her I wanted something done about it, but all she did was blame it on me. I work in the service industry and you NEVER EVER EVER BLAME THE CUSTOMER!!! Granted, it was in the fine print, but the fact that they have the same person on two different billing cycles to confuse them and shake more money out of them is PISS POOR BUSINESS PRACTICE.

In addition, I was told at signing that I could bring a guest and given 3 guest passes. But when my guests were visiting from OUT OF TOWN, they had to pay the day fee and were NOT allowed to use the guest passes. They informed me at that time the guests need to be IN TOWN, so they can sell them memberships. Would of been nice to have known that prior to bringing my guests. Also, the club is dirty and the equipment was always broken. Primarily, the bikes. Steer clear from this company.

I asked her if she knew this before she decided to call Crunch to verify this $420.00. She said that she did not call me. She slipped up when she said that she was the one who put me on hold. I asked her three times if she knew about the $420.00 before she decide to call Crunch. She never gave me an answer. She probably never called Crunch. Crunch and ABC Financial misrepresented their contracts.

My bank has given me my money back each time. ABC Financial called me twice and emailed me once about there being a problem with my account. Well, the fact of the matter is I got a new debit card and cancelled my old one, so they'd quit charging me for a membership. I'm wondering if I'm going to have to open a new checking account and close the one I have now, so they can no longer steal from me for personal training sessions that will never happen. I mailed them a nasty letter telling them that I am not delinquent on any debt, that they need to stop harassing me, and that it's not my fault the gym failed to inform them that my membership no longer exists. That was over a month ago, and I haven't heard anything else from them. Here's hoping I never will again.

But an employee from the gym called me and said they tried to run my card, and it was declined. I was very short with her and explained that I followed all the right steps for canceling my membership as described in the contract I signed, and she tried to tell me the procedure was different, that I had to fill out some cancellation form. Bull. I told her the truth: I was NEVER told of a cancellation form, and my contract didn't even mention it. I told her the names of the people who were in charge when I signed up and about how I got a new debit card because the charges didn't stop. She said she'd fill out the form and notify the owners. Well, she'd better. I didn't care how rude I sounded. I'm sick of these people. I also have two uncles who are lawyers, so they'd better back off and quit trying to take money from me. Don't ever get involved with them, whatever you do. This is fraud if I've ever seen it, and if I have to pursue legal action against them, I will.

A merchant service provider cannot have a merchant account and go around putting people's money in their own account. That is simply going to assure that the business loses the money that the debtor owes. I have tried to keep them out of my biz, but they are just weird. I can't wait until the FTC puts them out of business, so I won't have to deal with them. The FTC has many complaints and they won't allow this business model to continue. I'm actually going to look up their license to see who started this silly scam. Call your bank or credit card company, do a Charge back and file an FTC complaint against them for payment processing and debt collection practices.

I called ABC and they stated that since my expiration date was expired, they have an in house system that will "guesstimate" (the agents own words) the expiration date until it is correct. 14 tries later, they got it right and the transaction went through today. So they "fished" for my expiration date 14 times until they got it right. WOW. According to ABC, this is legal. I do not know if it is but I filed a complaint with Illinois States Attorney to find out if it is legal. She also stated that Visa update that information for them just in case it is a wrong expiration date. When I asked if Visa updated it, she said no, she could not tell but in her system and my online web account it shows 07/14 as an expiration date. She didn't know who the correct expiration date for my CC was entered or what happened to get this charged approved. I can tell you, they fished for CC information, just like a hacker.

On June 30th, I called, once, to confirm that my financial obligations that "Sharon" stipulated that I follow were met and to ensure that I will not be billed any further. I spoke with a woman named "Shawna". "Shawna" informed me at that time that they did receive my email on May 9th, but no one after that time went ahead with the process to cancel the membership. She stated after informing me of this, that I had nothing to worry about since I followed procedure and that after the payment I submitted on June 30th, I will no longer be billed. In fact, she stated that as a result of the error of me not getting my cancellation email, after I wrote in my request, she was going to send me a letter informing me of said cancellation that clarified that my membership was cancelled and I was under no further financial obligation.

I received a letter on July 17th, that was dated for July 2nd confirming my cancellation. On the bill, it stated that I was cancelling my service, but that I somehow owed 106.08, as a result of my contractual obligation I needed to fulfill under my contract. Once again, I picked up the phone and called the ABC organization. This time, I spoke with "Lekrisha" and her supervisor "Trina". "Trina" explained to me on the phone that while there was this amount listed on my cancellation letter, my financial obligation had been fulfilled and this was just a courtesy statement to reflect what had been done to cancel my membership/account. I was assured, once more, that all financial obligations on my part were addressed and no more money would be withdrawn from my account for this service.

Fast Forward to today, August 1st, 2014. I go online to check my checking account withdrawals. You can imagine my lack of surprise and my expected frustration when I saw a "Authorized Withdrawal from ABC Financial" in the amount of 53.04. Beyond exhausted and frustrated, I called ABC organization AGAIN. Now, at this point, I have spoken to 5 people for one account over the past 2 months. I spoke to another supervisor, "Vicky". I go through the entire process again with "Vicky" about my history with cancelling this account. "Vicky" confirms with me that I did, indeed, follow through all the proper protocols and has "no idea why their system chose to withdraw my membership dues". She blamed the situation on a computer glitch, which frankly could be plausible, if I hadn't had to call three times prior about this account, and each time faced another hiccup in your process to cancel this account.

I explained to "Vicky" that this process has been nothing but aggravating and egregious. I explained to "Vicky" that I should NOT have to wait 3 to 5 business days to get MY MONEY back for a withdrawal by your organization that I did NOT authorize. She eventually called me back 2 hours later to state they will be refunding my 53.04. Stay tuned to see if I will get my money back, or if I will have to call yet AGAIN.

This is outrageous. Their customer service representatives either are incapable to understand the request of their clients, or are being told to be intentionally obtuse to clients who wish to cancel their service. Something must be done about this corporation and their practices.

First off they tell you that you have to use an email to send in a request to freeze your account. Why the hell should I have to use an email when I'm speaking with a human being on the phone stating that I want to freeze my account? Then it is now July and they decide to take out 50.23! Out of my checking account!! They said I apparently had a 19.25 fee that I had to pay including the 29.99 monthly due from JUNE. Your company is a JOKE. JOKE. JOKE. However much money you make in your corporation you decide to be frugal over 30??

I guess this company uses its snake like traits to try to make you pay money from a previous month. Backstabbing company. I will tell you this do not insult my intelligence. Telling me that they are waiving the annual fee of 30 or whatever from August until December. So you're going to waive what fee? There was no fee that I was supposed to pay for their equipment service until December. So do not sit there and tell me that you are doing me a courtesy of waiving something that should've never been a factor in the first place. I am not joking when I say I am complaining to anyone who is thinking about joining Retro or any other affiliated companies, franchise, etc. I do not think that it is right to just take out whatever amount you feel is necessary. All I know is I am closing the checking account I have open. This money guzzling company can no longer take any more funds from me.

My issue is that the funds are available and yet they say that they're not. I have documentation that they were EVERY time! They will eventually reverse the late fee but of course that takes a minimum of 4 days to show back up in my account. When I bring this matter to their attention they always say that it's an issue with my bank and to take the matter up with them. My bank in turn says that it has nothing to do with them & directs the issue back at ABC Financial. No one wants to hold themselves accountable!

Today was the last day that I will allow this to happen. I canceled my membership. Takia (ex. **) & Precious (ex. **) both assured me that I did not have to write a letter to cancel, I could do it over the phone. I'm skeptical because everyone else says that they had to write a letter. I was also assured that they would only charge me for one more month (which I don't want) and that I won't accrue a cancellation fee. I said I want that in writing and to send me an e-mail. The e-mail I received says that my account has been "placed into a pending cancellation status per the terms of my membership agreement". Whatever that means, just cancel it for Pete's sake!

They say they value you as a member but refuse to do anything that will actually help & benefit you, only them. They actually offered to take $10 off of my monthly membership... IF I paid them another $50, REALLY? I'm already unhappy. Don't make an offer like that and then charge me additional money for it! They know my frustration and everything that I've been through so why not just cancel my membership TODAY, not a month from now - why not TODAY!?! I don't want another month. I don't want them to have access to my bank account because they're too incompetent to debit it in a timely manner in the first place. Now I have to wait another month and hope they don't botch it up again? Their advice to me was to call a day before my membership is due to make sure that it get debited on my due date. Isn't that THEIR JOB?!? I hope they go out of business or something drastically changes because this is not an ethical way to run a business.

As of today, they are still charging me. I have just received another email telling me I need to send a letter or EMAIL to cancel. They also told me they could not find an account for me and I asked where the money they take out each month is being credited. I finally found an account number from an original membership and email address I no longer have. I have been emailing daily for 7 days and they can't seem to accomplish this simple task. Each email is from a different accountant and the frustration is beyond concerning. How does an individual fight back? I am hiring an attorney and writing on every blog, twitter, facebook, linkedin, etc. I can about the terrible treatment they give to these fitness center customers.

Anyway, of course 2 years later we did not have any document of cancelling, honestly I don't even know if we were given one. We sat at a small round table completing the transaction with a staff member that day and we had no reason to believe it wasn't being done. Anyway because we didn't have the document and were already getting frustrated and stressed, we decided not to pursue the past 2 years of dues back, but insisted they cancel my account.

They said you cannot do this over the phone, you have to put it in writing and email it. He emailed the email address they provided with the reason we cancelled, my customer number and that it should have been cancelled years ago. We felt relieved to finally get this resolved despite them having taken our money for about 2 years. We just wanted it done with.

Over a month ago, we received another bill showing they were STILL CHARGING ME. I went to WOW to once and for all straighten it out. They said they couldn't help me. That I had to go home and call ABC Financial. I called them and was quite frustrated. ABC said they could not cancel it over the phone, and I had to submit it in writing. At this point it was the 3rd time I had cancelled. I did that. They now want $54 more from me.

At this point I feel this is just robbery and am refusing to pay. I disputed the $54 via email and they refuse to remove the fees. To top it off, which amazes me, is they are now saying, even though they sent acknowledgement of the 3rd cancellation, that they will continue to charge me monthly membership fees until I pay them the $54.99!! I have filed a claim with the BBB but as of yet ABC has not responded and I don't expect any kind of resolution with them. How can they continue to charge me after all that has happened. I have record of all our phone calls, starting maybe 3 or 4 months back! Yet they still continue to charge. Never in all my years, and I have lived many, have I been through anything like this.

Called the gym about 9 months after for the same thing and was told they never should have done that. I should have been refunded the full amount immediately because it was paid on the same day and "we waive the late fee!" These people are swindlers! My most recent run-in with these clowns? I knew my contract expired February 26th and I've known since September that I wanted to drop them. January comes around and I inquire about the cancellation process. First I was told I had to submit a letter, in writing, stating why I was cancelling. No problem! I said "When is the last day I can cancel?" She tells me that day by 9pm. I rushed home and sent an email! I cancelled on January 29th, 2014.

Today, I go into my email account and received a letter from them saying that they'll cancel my membership BUT I still had to pay for January and February, I have access to the gym until March 27th, and I still have to pay $42.53 for the annual fee. I called and asked why I had to pay the annual fee if I was cancelling my membership, I'm not going to be using the gym! Lady says "Well, you cancelled on January 29th, it takes 30 days and February only has 28 days. If this was a leap year, you would've been fine but..."

I have nothing nice to say about my dealings with this company! They are the reason I'm leaving The Edge along with countless other members. I understand that they all have their shady dealings but NEVER have I encountered such BS! So ok, you got me for 43 bucks, small price to pay to get you creeps out of my life!

So we called and it was a much, much more difficult process to cancel than it needed to be. They stated that they needed a letter in writing canceling our account, and also the check of what we still owed. Okay. No problem. We sent it in and low and behold, we are STILL getting calls. Funny thing is it's this 866 number, and they never, ever leave a message. Not very legit, huh? So my husband called today and asked why they were still calling us. We paid what we owed, and we submitted a letter of cancellation. Not good enough, they said. They needed a copy of my PCS orders for proof that I was over 25 miles away from the gym.

Well, when we previously called them, we gave them our up-to-date address and CLEARLY, it is over 25 miles away from where our gym was. Oh, and I am still receiving payment charges and NEVER did they once notify me that the letter of cancellation was invalid, and that they need my military orders but instead continued to charge me. How are they not sued on a daily basis?! What they are doing is completely illegal. My husband and I are taking this to legal services. I refuse to let another penny go to this financial services.

I have called and emailed these people multiple times. I have gotten nice people and then not so nice people. The nice people assured me that my $25 I sent in went to the cancel process while I had to wait for them to physically receive my proof of address change in the mail. Then today, I emailed asking if they had received my credit card statement that I had to print off (which the nice girl told me I could do) and sent in 2 weeks ago. Of course they have not received it and told me (via email) I had to send in another $25 check and I will have to pay for November since there is a 30 day notice!

This is the worst service I have ever had to deal with. It seems as if their employees are not on the same page and I am getting the runaround so they can continue to bill me for their service that I am not and have not been using. Oh and to add something else, my address is already changed in their system! Yeah, because of them I will never join another gym that is contract for anything beyond month to month.

They sent it to collections and I got a call. They said I owed 4 times my monthly payment, but will discount $40 on the spot. Why are you discounting something that I 'owe'. Oh yeah, because you made it up and most of it is all profit. So I call the gym. They say come down and pay half. I called ABC back and they say they don't own the account. There is nothing they can do. I call the collection agency again. They say the gym is wrong and that if I don't pay them that it will still go on my credit report.

It is all a big scam designed to get your money. In a monetary system, such as what is in use today, there is no life value approach. It is about making money any way possible. Business and economics do not care about people, loyalty or service. I advise to workout at home with your own equipment. One day you will own it.

But they rejected my demand for cancellation because they want a copy of my lease agreement on my name where I live, or a certificate of employment that shows that I'm employed here in LA. But the problem is , I'm only staying with relatives here in LA for free because of the fact that I can't afford to rent an apartment or even just a small room of my own, and since I'm only a new employee on a part time basis and a direct hire as such, at least twice a week, my new employer is not inclined to give those certifications yet. So they continue withdrawing money from my account to the tune of $44 a month.

I decided to call them and to better explain my situation to them clearly between April and May this year , and the person that I spoke to, told me that they want a print-out of my bank transaction with an updated address that shows my current address here in LA because my bank address was still in central coast. Since my contract will soon expire in July and it may take at least 2 months to process between my bank sending me a new bank statement with an updated address, and the fact that they continue to charge me the monthly fees and an additional fees of $50 for the cancellation, I decided to just continue paying them my monthly dues even without the benefit of using their gym until my contract just expires on July.

But to my surprise, they're still withdrawing money from my account this July and when I called them why, they explained that they extended my contract for 2 months because of that freeze for the months of January and February early this year. That means they keep on taking money from my account up to August. But it clearly was not in the contract that I signed with them, and what's more disgusting is they're going to charge me with additional $22 for the month of September because of that so-called "Club enhancements" fees! My GOD, this company is like a leech thriving with people's money even in these hard and difficult times. They're completely inconsiderate and plain greedy! I will cooperate with all the people that this company aggrieved, and plan to file a class action suit.

A month later, I got a bill stating that I owed money, so I called again. I was on hold for 10 minutes. Someone answered. I told him I faxed in and confirmed that the cancellation letter was received. He told me that fax is not the best way to send them the cancellation form. It doesn't show that I called in and no fax was received (basically calling me a liar), and that I had to pay for the extra month even though I haven't been to that gym. After arguing with him for 15 minutes, I asked for him to transfer me to a supervisor.

I got Regina. I had to tell her everything all over again since the last rep didn't even tell her what the call was about. She seemed helpful and told me to email the cancellation form directly to her showing the date, and she would credit me back the month. I did and she emailed me back, saying she got it and it would take a couple of days. I thought that was it, but we are talking about ABC Financial here.

So a month later, I get another letter saying that I owe 2 months now. I called and got Sherry. I told her what happened. Again, she tells me it doesn't show anything in the system that Regina cancelled or that she received the email, so I had to pay for 2 months. I told her that I have the emails from the supervisor replying me back, showing that she did receive my cancellation form. Sherry told me that she won't be able to help me. If I want this resolved, I would have to forward all my emails back to Regina so she can actually cancel my membership. So at this time, I'm waiting on Regina to reply back to me. Hopefully, this time, she will do her job. I'll let you all know if this still continues.

As I hadn't cancelled the card due to this charge and I still occasionally used the gym, I allowed the charge to continue. Fast forward to October 2012 and Hurricane Sandy. I live in a town which was hit very hard by the storm and Retro Fitness was not spared the wrath of Mother Nature. The facility was completely flooded and shut down indefinitely. My November Visa bill arrived with a charge for Retro Fitness and I paid the bill without issue. December bills arrived and the gym was still shut down, so I called ABC Financial ... and here the fun begins.

My call was answered after 10 minutes and I informed the representative that I would not be paying this bill due to the fact that the facility is closed. She put me on hold for 5 minutes to "talk to the supervisor" and then came back and said that I had to pay the bill. I told her to cancel my membership and she asked why. I told her that I had been unable to use the facility due to the hurricane and she asked me to hold while she "talks to the supervisor". I held another 7 minutes and she came back and told me that I could not cancel my contract based on a hurricane (not even sure what this means). I told her that I was not cancelling because of the hurricane; I am cancelling because I don't use the gym to make it worth the money.

She put me on hold again to "speak to the supervisor" and another 5 minutes later she came back on and told me that I had to go to the facility to cancel. I reminded her that the facility was closed because of the hurricane and she told me that this was the only way I could cancel my membership. She agreed to credit my account for the December charge and I figured I would go to the facility when they reopened after the cleanup to cancel.

Today, I got a call from an 888 number which I missed. I saw the number and called it back and it said ABC Financial and something about paying my bill, so I pressed "0" for a representative because I honestly didn't make the connection between Retro and ABC at the time. After holding on for 12 minutes, I spoke with Sharon who told me that the reason they called me is that my credit card number was not valid and I am past due with my account with Retro Fitness. I advised her that my account was supposed to be credited for the month due to the hurricane and the fact that the gym was closed because of damage caused by the storm.

She asked me, "What hurricane?" I had to explain that the gym was under 2 feet of water due to hurricane Sandy which destroyed a huge part of this state. She put me on hold to talk to her supervisor (big surprise there) and when she came back after a long delay, she told me that they would credit my account and that she didn't know why the credit didn't come through last month. I said that I wanted to cancel my membership and she said I'd have to go to the facility. She actually was nice enough to contact the facility while I was on hold (again) and the Manager told her to advise me to come in and sign some papers. She was rather helpful and I thought that was that and I planned to stop by the gym today to cancel.

Not quite an hour later, I missed yet another call but when I saw the number on my phone, I recognized it as the same number from an hour before, so I called back to see what the problem was. I held on for 8 minutes and when the representative came on, I asked what they were trying to reach me for. She looked at the account and said that my credit card number was not valid. I told her the phone call I had not even an hour before and she put me on hold again. She came back on and said that she spoke with her supervisor and that I could disregard that phone call. I had just about had enough at this point and I said that it was time I spoke to this "supervisor" who seemed to be the only person who could make a decision.

I was put on hold for 9 additional minutes and finally a supervisor came on and I told her that if I received one more phone call from ABC Financial, I would file harassment charges against them. She informed me that it was a computerized dialing system that didn't update the fact that I spoke with them earlier in the day. She apologized profusely and said that she didn't even understand why they were automatically calling me in the first place because there was absolutely no indication that my account was past due. I asked if they were actually Retro Fitness and she said that they were a third party service the center uses. I told her that they were ruining the entire Retro Fitness reputation and losing customers for this gym, which, as I stated above, is a very nice facility.

As a side note, I was strongly advised by a friend to not join Retro Fitness because of their questionable billing practices. I had been with this friend one Friday night and her phone was ringing constantly (at least 7 times in 2 hours) with automated dialing from ABC Financial. I chalked it up to her being delinquent with her payments, and as I have never been late with any payment in my life, I didn't expect this to be a problem for me. I guess the joke was on me.

Bottom line, Retro Fitness is a wonderful facility and well worth the money. Unfortunately, it is nowhere near worth the stress and aggravation caused by their billing company, ABC Financial. There are so many gyms that there is no reason to have to deal with this company in order to exercise.

Two weeks later, I am charged again. In addition, I am charged a $49.99 annual fee on the new gym, even though I joined 3 weeks prior. I called and spoke with Margaret who talked me in circles. I asked to speak to a manager. I wanted the 1 month rent back from cancelled gym. After being on hold for 5 minutes, I get Rhonda, who said exactly the same thing and that she can't give me 1 month, even though they received my cancellation. I then said I wanted to cancel the other gym as well because I don't deal with crooks. She said, of course, I have to submit it in writing and I have to pay the annual fee despite being a member for under a month. I am submitting a fraud claim against them and reporting them to the Better Business Bureau. They are criminals and should be prosecuted.

With regards to account #**, please note that this membership will not be renewed. Back in September 2011, I paid in advance for one full-year membership costing $430. I have not been to your club since January 2012. Recently, a refund for the 9 months the account was not used was declined by your company. Therefore, under no circumstances are you allowed to keep this account open. This membership will not be renewed. This account was not authorized for automatic renewal.

Your customer care rep named "Tracy"- who reports to "Brenda" (supervisor) - told me there were only two conditions under which you would accept a cancellation. Those reasons were: 1)The member moves more than 25 miles away from a nearby club location (do note that I've always lived 25 miles away from your nearest location); 2) You have a medical condition making it impossible to workout. Attempts to call your Jersey City location (**) to resolve the "automatic renewal issue" have gone unanswered. And since I live 50 miles away from this location, I will not be stopping in anytime soon.

By virtue of this letter, I am writing to state very clearly, "I do not wish to be a member of your club." Failure to remove my membership and continue "charging" this account will only lead to your practices being exposed via press or court proceeding. There is no court that would allow a business to force customers to stay on "indefinitely" or with such restrictions as to never be able to cancel. You simply can't hold a member "hostage" and force someone to do business with you. Our business together is over. We stopped doing business together back in January 2012.

Having prepaid the required membership fees for one year ($430) covering the time period September 2011-2012, I never agreed to have my membership automatically renewed. Hence, this was the reason for buying a one-year membership in the first place. After the one year has expired, I would choose whether or not to renew. You claim I "initialed" the "renew" box, but I certainly did not. I agreed to be a club member, but I did not agree to automatic renewal.

In addition, by virtue of this letter, you are hereby denied from maintaining any personnel information regarding me, which includes but is not limited to: my driver's license, my credit card, and billing address. This membership is officially canceled and I state this clearly without any of the "requirements for cancellation" mentioned above. I look forward to your response either through me or through the Better Business Bureau. And I don't mind stating that a "class action lawsuit" will be inevitable.

I joined the gym to use the pool area because the classes are sometimes a bit to bothersome for my back. My intentions were good with exercising and that was the only pool in the area. I signed up, giving my Mastercard to these fellows and contacted them to resign because of the constant dryness (after each use, in the pool) along with burning. They told me I needed a note from the MD. I did that. They told me the letter wasn't good enough. I needed a note stating that I would go blind from the bromine usage. Come on, we all know we take a bigger risk just getting into a car everyday.

I will not be used and abused, that is horse-crap. Is there anyone out there that has empathy for their human friends? Guess you can't mix business with pleasure. Doesn't that make us hard?

Management was eventually able to credit my account back, but it took a while. My contract was coming up for expiration in April 2010. The fine print stated that I needed to notify Gym management in writing that I wanted my contract to "really" expire? That meant, if I didn't give them a 30-day written notice that I really wanted my contract to expire, then ABC would continue to debit my account, even after my contract dates have expired. So, I did what the contract wanted. In fact, I went above and beyond because I knew from the other members complaints, I was going to have trouble.

Two months after my contract expired, I received a phone call from Mr. **, bill collector for ABC Financial. What Mr. ** told me was that he was hired by ABC to be the debt enforcer and collect from me. He stated that the balance was $180 but he would be so kind as to offer me 10 percent discount if I paid for it right now. I explained to him that the contract was up in April of 2010 and that I followed contractual procedures to end the contract as it expired. Mr. ** said, "Well, since you didn't send in writing that you wanted to cancel (even though the contract expired), we've been charging your account for service, late fees, admin fees, month to month fees." Okay, even if my contract went month to month after that, then my balance should be $37.50 a month, times two months (expired contract time) for a total of $75. Not even close to the $180 he was trying to get me for.

Mr. ** said to me, "You didn't send in the correct documents and follow the proper procedure for cancelling you contract, so you owe us membership fees, admin fees, tater fees etc and that is $180." I explained to him that according to my contract, I was only required to notify the Gym in writing that I did not wish to renew my contract and I did that plus sent in the certified letter and fax to ABC Financial. ** said he has no record of it (of course not!), He continued to insist that I pay the $180. They were trying to scam me out of. Mr. ** would not even try and listen to the fact that I had already sent the required paperwork into ABC. He stated that he would place a negative mark on my credit since I was not willing to pay the balance.

This is deceptive and intimidating business practice, and is indicative of extortion by demanding money that is not due and if it's not paid, giving a threat to scar a credit rating.

Based on the above, Pleasant Valley Fitness, Inc. is no longer available at the location for which I contracted. This contract was voided by Pleasant Valley Fitness, Inc. Therefore, I am no longer liable to pay the remaining contract. I have spent hours on the phone with them. I have sent several emails. I requested a copy of my contract via fax and was assured that one would be faxed but three weeks later I have not received it. They are able to refer to it when I call but will not fax it as promised.

I obtained a copy of the contract from the fitness club. I made a copy and highlighted the applicable sections pointing out that since the club I had contracted with had moved from the address I contracted for (Pleasant Valley Rd.), the facility I signed the contract for was no longer available at the location I signed the contract for, thus voiding the contract. Their response every time is that they have no information that the club has moved and I am still under contract. I closed the credit card account they were drawing from because they had taken two payments after the date the club had moved.

ABC Financial sent me a bill via email and threatened me with collection if I did not pay. I am concerned that this will affect my credit rating if it goes to collection. I feel that they owe me $60 for the two months dues they took after the club had moved. I see complaints about ABC Financial all over the internet and on the BBB website. I have filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission Office of Consumer Protection.

When I relocated at the end of the year, I called up to find out what I would need to cancel my membership. I mailed in a copy of my bank statement and a copy of my change of address verification from the post office. I did not hear back from them and was sent another bill. I then emailed their company on April 27 and 29 as well as May 22. I asked for a supervisor to contact me to resolve the matter. Each time I was told that I was 21.65 miles away and that they would not cancel my contract. I was not contacted further.

I looked up the exact mileage myself and found it to be between 21.65 and 24.6 depending on the site. Either way it shows to be around 35 minutes minimum. I have also tried calling the company. They have told me that even if I was 24.99 miles away they would not cancel my contract and that there was no way to pay a fee and cancel it early.

Since this has started, I have held onto my bills knowing that I would not be able to recoup the expenses and assuming this would be settled quickly. I currently owe $34.95 each month until 12/09 without any chance of a buyout to a gym I can no longer attend. Since I stopped payment on my credit card until this was resolved, they are currently threatening to send me to collections.

A month later after sending the letter, ABC sent me a letter informing me that my membership was not cancelled because the proof was not sent by certified mail. In the meantime, I had not used the gym for over 3 months. I sent them a letter telling them that I sent them all the necessary documentation that they needed in order to cancel and that I do not owe them any further payements so that they please stop sending me letters. I disputed it with my credit card company, and I am now being threatened to have my case given to a collection agency and my credit is in danger. I have not used this gym now in well over 6 months. I have good credit and always pay, but this is ridiculous! I want them to stop bothering me.

We just received our credit card statements and there it is, they have continued debiting as if we were still there. They have taken $200 for two months x 2 memberships, and unless we declare our credit card lost, which we will now do, they would keep right on debiting it, no doubt about it. There is apparently no protection whatever for those who GIVE their card number out. The result is the same as if it had been stolen and the attitude of the credit company and its employees is that of a gang of theives.

In July of 03 I moved back to my parents house (well over 25 miles away) and contacted ABC Financial Services of my cancellation. Never in my life have I been treated so badly by a Supervisor in the customer service field. I spoke with Louisa Parker who informed me that I could not cancel my membership because I did not have the proper proof of my new residence. I proceeded to tell her that I am moving back with my parents and therefore the only things in my name that were addressed to my house would be CC bills, car insurance and my liscence. She proceeded to tell me these would not be proof enough that I moved. Louisa then told me that even my liscence that was issued from the State of Massachusetts with my correct address on it was no good because it was not a "recently issued" liscence? Hello?? What should I have done, renew my liscence to cancel a gym membership?

Louisa was not only rude, but when I asked to speak with her manager she put me on hold for 20 minutes (I have a timer on my office phone) I finally got discouraged and hung up. Is this legal for them to deny me my right when its not stated clearly in my contract that I need proof that I have moved? Is a liscence with my address that matches not enough because its not "newly issued" I am appauled by this company!