Gold's Gym Reviews

I went to Gold's Gym and requested to freeze my account. The gym employee scanned my membership card and then handed me a form to fill out. I was instructed to fill out the form with my information. I submitted the form and was under the impression my membership was frozen. I actually did this twice because I went in a second time to extend the time of the freeze. I went in on 10/15/13 and 4/29/14. I found out in June 2014 I had been charged the full $135 every month since I had informed Gold's Gym in writing I wanted my membership frozen and signed a form indicating I would pay a freeze fee to do so.

I was quite upset and I called Gold's Gym to address the issue on 6/6/14. I was met with a phone representative named Peter who was quick to tell me I was at fault. Peter explained my wife was the primary member and I was the secondary member. Since I was the secondary member, I was not allowed to freeze the membership. I spoke to my wife, and neither of us knew there was a primary and secondary member on our family account. Furthermore, the fees for the gym membership are taken from my credit card, not my wife's. Peter advised me the bar code number I put on the freeze form was for my non-dues account.

When I asked why I would agree to pay $15 to freeze a non-dues account, he could not provide an answer. I tried to explain I had no way of knowing what a bar code would mean to the internal workings of Gold's Gym. I explained how neither gym employee had advised me I was not able to freeze my account when I submitted my form to them. I explained how Gold's Gym never advised me they were not going to act on my request to freeze my account and therefore continue to charge me $135. Peter refused to assist me and further refused to let me speak to a supervisor. I called back to speak with another representative. I spoke with Sorida who said she would look into the issue and call me back. I was also provided an email address ** so I could submit my complaint in writing, which I did.

On 6/9/14 I had not been contacted regarding my complaint, so I sent a written complaint to the Gold's Gym legal department. On 6/10/14 I contacted Belinda via phone. Belinda then transferred me to Sorida so I could speak with Sorida again. Sorida advised me she looked into the issue and spoke to her manager. Sorida said the only thing Gold's Gym would do is to allow me to freeze my membership free of charge. This solution did nothing to account for the fact I had been overcharged $960 due to Gold's failure to freeze my family membership as requested, or to contact me and notify me of the issue which prevented them from acting on my written request. I told Sorida the proposed solution was unacceptable and requested to speak to her manager. I was transferred to Karen ** voicemail and I left a message for her.

On 6/11/14 I received a call from Karen **. Karen admitted in the phone conversation that I had no way of knowing my account would not have been frozen and stated she understood this issue was not my fault. However, Karen advised me the only thing Gold's Gym would do is to allow me to freeze my membership for free in the future. I told Karen that was unacceptable and asked if I could speak with her supervisor. Karen told me she had already consulted with her manager, and the management of Gold's Gym concurred with this decision. Later, I contact **, the General Manager of the Evans Road location. I requested he provide me with a copy of the gym membership documents I signed with Spectrum Gym in 2009. ** stated he would need to request a copy and would forward it to me as soon as he obtained it.

The lack of Gold's Gym employees at gym locations to communicate and assist a member who wants to freeze an account, as well as the lack of internal controls within the Gold's Gym Corporation to identify an issue and communicate with their members, has cost me $960. Gold's Gym stated my wife was the primary on the account, however the money which was being charged was being charged to a credit card with my name on it, not my wife's. Gold's Gym has been notified of the issue and has failed to rectify it or refund the overcharged fees to make me whole.

People don't put their equipment back and the staff doesn't enforce the rules. In fact, I have seen the personal trainers on many occasions leave their weights and move on to the next machine. Very unprofessional. The facility seems to be way too small for the amount of people using it on any given day. There has been a sign up front that says the gym is currently expanding. It has been there since I initially joined well over a year ago. Other members claimed the same sign has been up for even longer. They now have just begun working on it. The bathrooms are disgusting and members piss all over the floors and many times aren't cleaned all day. What finally prompted me to drop my membership was when one of the three squat racks broke and wasn't repaired for well over a month.

There was a group guys using the remaining squat racks as bench press because all the bench presses were taken. This was on a Friday during off peak hours. I went to the counter to cancel. I filled out the form and submitted it. The girl at the counter didn't really seem to care. Every gym I cancelled with in the past I had someone speak with me about my concerns and why I was cancelling. Not Gold's. They really don't care, probably because they will continue billing you even after you cancel, which brings me to another issue with this ** hole of a gym. They won't let you cancel even though the contract is now month to month. I called Gold's after there was an unauthorized payment on my card for the month of June. The gym had no record of my cancellation and told me they would have someone contact me. I was contacted by ABC financial, who is a third party company that handles all of the billing for Gold's gym.

They told me they couldn't do anything until they receive verification of my cancellation from Gold's Gym. I called Gold's and they keep telling me that I have to speak with ABC financial and have been of no help. Now they aren't returning any of my phones calls despite leaving several voice mails. Everytime I call the receptionist tells me the billing manager is either out for lunch or is on the other line. I leave a voicemail asking for a call back and I get nothing. These guys are nothing but a bunch of crooks. I am now going to go through my bank to get relief so that these thieves stop stealing money from my account. The only problem is that I know they will send it up to collections screwing up my credit, but what else am I supposed to do? I have now filed complaints with the better business bureau and the state attorney general hoping to get some relief. These crooks will never get another dime from me.

Mr. ** now informs me that I owe for the past 2 months and on top of that I have to pay $20.00 per month for each month I hadn't paid. I explained to Mr. ** that I talked to your representative that I was not in town and that I would like to cancel my membership. Mr. ** said that didn't matter and that I need to pay the outstanding balance on my account. I then told Mr. ** that I was coming down to the gym to pay the outstanding balance which I didn't believe I had to pay so that those automated calls would stop calling me and I will deal with the issue another way. Mr. ** then informs, "Sir, you don't have to come down here. You can cancel your membership by calling this number". I said, "Excuse me, are you telling me that I can cancel now by phone?"

I once again said to him I was coming down to the gym to cancel because "I no longer trust what you're telling me." After leaving work early and traveling over 25 miles to get to the gym Mr. ** tells me that their policies have changed and I can not cancel at the gym. So now not only do I have to pay about $120.00 for being out of town and working and trying to cancel while I was out of town two months earlier but now you can cancel by phone. At no point in time did the representative tell me I could freeze my account or supply me with an address to write in and cancel my membership. The training of Gold Gym personnel is horrible which is a reflection on their management.

The number that Mr. ** supplied me was the only competent thing their customer service did right. ABC Financial who now processes their payments and cancellation representative was a pleasure to speak with and was the one who asked me how come I didn't freeze my account. She was more informative than the people who actually worked for Gold's Gym. The $120.00 means nothing to me but, I will forever speak of my interactions and my experience with this lack luster Gym. To treat customers the way they do for a few measly dollars is not worth ever stepping into their gym ever again in any city. I will continue to tell this story to anyone who ask "what do you think about Gold's Gym?"

Now I am moving to Phoenix. I just cancelled online with Gold's, in the special, cancellation only website. Incidentally, the website does not show up in internet searched. I had to call my gym to get the special site for cancelling membership. You'd think that would be part of the MAIN SITE. Immediately after cancelling online, I called my credit card company and put a stop payment on any and all future charges by Gold's. That ought to stop any problems!

Bottom line: Deal with your credit card company. Not Gold's. Eventually, credit card companies will start to hate Gold's and penalize the company for making it impossible for regular consumers to deal with them. Only then will changes be seen to their terrible billing system.

When I called ABC Financial to cancel the contract, I was told I had to pay the $100 cancellation fee. I was furious, as this was news to me. But, $100 is a heck of a lot cheaper than $804 which is the price of 2 years. We were told we could suspend the contract, but we still had to make the payments. So, I am not sure what part of suspension that was. I guess you just don't go to the gym even though you are paying for it. When we went to cancel the contract, we provided a certified letter to ABC stating to cancel the membership and why. The letter was to be sent at least 30 days prior to date of cancellation. We sent the letter in 6 weeks prior to the date required. ABC Financial sent a letter stating they could not cancel the membership, and that we had to continue paying the bill.

When called, they stated that they couldn't cancel the membership over the phone even though they had received the letter. I had to send another certified letter to them. This second mailing was now only a couple of days until the deadline. I felt they were trying to drag this out so we would continue to pay because we had not met the deadline date. It is definitely a fight to get the contract terminated. I am sure they make it a fight so that you give up as say it is just easier to ride out the contract. I went to Gold's Gym and expressed my dissatisfaction with their company, and how they took advantage of an 18 year old. Of course, all they said was, "Sorry." There is nothing they can do because they do NOT hold the contract. Someplace along the lines "the customer is always right" has been lost.

Bottom line, Gold's Gym misrepresents their "contracts" and their services. The contracts are legal binding agreements with an outside company of no less than 2 years, and if cancelling you MUST buyout the contract and state so in a certified letter. Gold's Gym services are poor. The equipment is not maintained properly and is pretty basic if you want to lift some serious weights. Many times the machines were broken. And if you want serious weights as football players or power lifters want, Gold's Gym does not provide them because they would be liable for any injuries.

Complaining to the Better Business Bureau gets you nowhere. There are countless reviews about the dishonesty of Gold's Gym and their contract holders, yet they are still in business. Now, I will take responsibility for allowing the situation because I did not research the reviews until after our experience. If you don't mind having an absolute rock tight contract, and you plan on working out on a treadmill every day, then maybe Gold's Gym is the right place to be. But, there are better places, with better accommodations, and who state all their policies up front in an honest manner out there. You may pay $600 a year in stead of $400, but I would rather pay more to an honest company than less to a dishonest one.

It wasn't until my husband looked at the credit card and saw a charge from Gold's Gym for $160 on May 2nd and asked me what the charge was for. I went down to the facility and spoke with the manager. He didn't seem surprised that I had been charged or that I didn't know that I had signed a contract. When I spoke with Greg, he said he was sorry and that there was nothing that I could do. I am in the process of trying writing Gold's Gym to see about getting this issue resolved, since I was never informed that I was signing a contract or that as stated earlier to be billed automatically on my credit card.

When I signed up the first day, the trainer had me to sign everything on a black screen, like a credit card machine, so I couldn't see what I was signing but was told my contract would be e-mailed to me. I was stopped at the desk two days ago (May 15) and was told I had to pay extra for kid's club for my son. I explained I had put the kid's club on my account when I enrolled. I met with the owner and he pulled up my contract and said I had not paid for it. He was unwilling to work with me because the contract couldn't be altered within the year that I had agreed to - oh, unless I was going to ADD the kid's club at $25 extra a month. After I explained I would be in Texas for the whole summer for reconstructive surgery.

He then gave me a month of free child care, not because he was trying to help ME, but because this reminded him that I was one of many victims that had a forged person trainer contract. The trainer that forged several contracts with his signature was "fired" but he probably went to another Gold"s Gym the next day and simply resumed business as usual. The contract was e-mailed five days after I signed up. It clearly says that any changes to the contract (me noticing I did not have child care or any disputes ) had to be made within three days of signing it. Long story short, I have found all of them to be uncaring, rude, and disrespectful. It has been about the money for them.

When we had our problems I went to the better business bureau as some of you have, only to find out they immediately sent their lawyers to the bbb to have my complaint first labeled as wrong and then removed entirely. Without your own lawyers the bbb will ignore all complaints about gold's gym. They lie about everything and intentionally go to great lengths to trap you into technical ironclad legal contracts. There is only 2 ways to get them out of your life once they trick you into signing any paper product. Close your bank account first so they can't withdraw any money. Then your only option is to pay them off completely and or file bankruptcy. In our case we had to do both. Remember, it's not gold's gym you are talking to, it is a finance company named "paramount acceptance".

Sounded crazy at that point! But anyway I tried that, didn't work! I then called back and the next employee stated that the website was GoldsGymMember.com. So I said ok, went to that & that didn't work either! This is the biggest rip off ever! We are being charged over $50 a month for service we are not using & FYI we moved to a different city that we will not be driving miles to go to the gym! Acct# **. I really wish I can get some help & soon.

Finally, fed up and after waiting 5-6 weeks, I asked my Credit Card company to charge back 4 months of payments for the training sessions that I was owed. About 6 weeks after, and still after never hearing from anyone at Gold's Gym, I received a threatening collections letter from a company called AAC (Affiliated Acceptance Corp). This letter stated that the charged backs I had issued were now in debt collections and if I did not pay the money back to Gold's Gym, AAC would report to credit agencies and tarnish my credit!!! I immediately tried to resolve the dispute with AAC. I was on the phone with them every day for hours. I communicated with them via email where I sent dozens of emails. Each time I spoke with someone, it was something different. Please send us this proof, send us this document to resolve, etc. However, nothing ever was resolved.

This was in December 2013. Finally, after dealing with AAC for 2 months with no resolution, I got the name of Adrianne **, who supposedly was the AAC/Gold's Gym representative. I first called/emailed her (she never picks up her phone) on February 11, 2014. Keep note that it has not been almost 2 months since I received the collection letter. I emailed her and explained to her how I never was provided a replacement trainer and that all I wanted was to be set up with a new trainer. Ms. ** replied to give her information; etc. This type of communication has now continued with myself and Ms. ** for over two months! She has been trying to "resolve" my account since February!!! She has told me to pay the $1120 that I had charged back and I would be allowed to have my remaining sessions. I issued the $1120 believing that I would be given my remaining sessions, even though I wanted nothing to do with Gold's Gym.

I really wanted to pursue litigation and seek damages but I wanted to just move on with my life, so I agreed to issue the $1120 to Gold's Gym on Ms. **'s assurances that I would be allowed to begin training and would be given the sessions owed to me from my contract. Finally, this afternoon, after I emailed her again (She never replies to my phone calls, will never call me, and will only reply to my emails after repeated attempts), I was told that I still owed $1120?! Perplexed, I emailed her and asked what she meant, since I had already issued the $1120 from my credit card. Ms. ** replied that for the months that I had been disputing the charges and communicating with her, my account was "still active" and that I now owed an additional $1120 and that NO TRAINING WOULD BE PROVIDED TO ME UNTIL I PAID AN ADDITIONAL $1120 TO GOLD'S GYM!!!

Needless to say, I am now officially no longer taking the high road. I will be pursuing legal action, notifying the BBB, and news/media outlets. I now know why it took Ms. ** almost 3 months to "resolve" my account. She or Gold's Gym wanted to continue "charging" me for my "active account" even though I was already disputing previous charges. I have not trained or used their gym since October 2013. I have repeatedly asked Ms. ** if I can use the gym and she has never replied and always indicated that I can only when I paid the $1120. This behavior is not only disgusting but illegal. AGAIN, DO NOT SIGN UP WITH GOLD'S GYM!!!

I have had a horrible experience with the customer service of Gold’s Gym. I had two memberships with Gold’s Gym - personal training membership (**) and regular gym membership (**). I didn't want to continue the personal training membership because I got married and didn't have enough money to pay for the training membership. After so much struggle and many email exchanges, I finally conquered the castle, and got myself rescued from the claws of the membership. I received an email from **, and here it’s cut and dry:

On Tue, Dec 17, 2013 at 4:42 PM - “Therefore, I used your Marriage Certificate dated 10/24/2013 to cancel earlier than your 5/20/2014 obligation but since first provided 12/9/13, the 12/9/13 is the date used for the cancellation processing and no refund is due. As a courtesy, your request is being processed without the usual 30-day notice requirement, so by using the 12/9/13, no further drafting should occur.” I wanted to continue the regular membership, so I replied back. “I am ready to continue the regular membership”.

Everything was hunky dory until 3/4/2014 when I received one invoice which had $500 late charges, and all that crap on it. I called their billing department and they said "you would have to pay everything because our system says you have the active membership and we have been notifying you since December 2013 (I didn't receive anything)." I had a resolution that I would not pay a penny to you guys because I have a proof that you cancelled my membership. After that, I exchanged some emails with **, but all went in vain because I was trying to have a logical conversation. I am not going to flood this letter with those emails. So, I am putting relevant emails here:

On Wednesday, April 16, 2014 4:05 PM, I sent them one nasty email with the help of my lawyer, and ** got a feeling that I wouldn't go away without a fight. So, she tried to placate things, and replied: “You are correct; you may buyout your contract for $400, half of the balance due. This is the main reason why I sent you a copy of your contract. That information is stated there. Please let me know how you would like to finally resolve your account, and we definitely appreciate your time and patience in the matter.”

She never gave me that option before. I though, I would pay Gold’s Gym one month rent as courtesy. “I don't want to settle for $400 because the contract was cancelled and I didn't use the gym for a single day. As courtesy, I am willing to pay one month fee that is $160 and be done with Gold’s Gym. Otherwise, I am ready to take the matter to litigation.” But ** was adamant, and I was not ready to give in either. Then the new story unfolded, she sent me an email that I couldn't cancel one membership without the other.

“After what you pasted from my original email, you responded with “I am ready to continue the regular membership”. You are not able to cancel one without the other, unless you make an early buyout payment for the amount of $400 to cancel just your training and continue with your membership. If not, both will continue to bill through the obligations you agreed to when you signed their agreements.” I asked her to show that in the contract that I can’t cancel one without the other, but obviously how could she show, when it’s not there in the contract. So she reverted back to the old story again that you can’t cancel one membership on the basis of relocation.

“The agreement shows your training obligation and the only way to cancel its billing earlier than the 12-month obligation you agreed to. Again, I sincerely apologize for any misunderstanding in the terms of your training agreement. You cannot cancel one for permanent relocation while keeping the other active for use because proof of permanent relocation is to show you are no longer able to use the services being provided. The only option there is for you to cancel your training account and continue your membership is to provide the $400 early buyout payment.”

I am just done with Gold’s Gym now, so I sent her the last email: “I thought we were talking about cancelling the one without the other. You have again changed the topic. Initially, you agreed that you cancelled on the basis of marriage certificate. I don't know how you again went back to relocation thing. My membership was not cancelled on the basis of relocation so please don't mention relocation again. I am done with this back and forth email thing. I will talk to my company's lawyer again today. He suggested me not to pay $400, because I am not at fault.”

This is how frustrating my journey has been with Gold’s Gym. I would have expected what I thought was a reputable company to honor the commitments made by its customer service personnel. Apparently, I was mistaken in relying on the **’s statements, even though ** is the individual that Gold’s Gym has appointed to deal with customers. I can tell you that my own company, and I expect most companies, would not renege on promises made its personnel. Adding to my vows, I was conveyed a different message every time. Suffice it to say I am just done with Gold’s Gym and I would advise everyone to reconsider their decision of joining Gold’s Gym. It’s heck of a deep pit and all the ways to get out are with Gold’s Gym, once you are in, you can't get out without Gold’s Gym help.

I got tired. I already have enough going with my pains. I got a phone call from Gold's Gym almost in a daily basis probably twice a day. I got a hold of the manager. I brought him another Dr's note. I ask him for an advice since I can't use the gym at all. His best advice is to cancel the membership but I have to pay over $170 for late fees and cancel. He told me to go back before April 15th to see if he can help me out. I spoke with him over the phone. He sounded sarcastic. At one time I told him I will visit him the next day hoping for a better answer. He agree with it. Next day, I waited for 30 to 40 minutes in the lobby. He was page twice. The guy at the lobby very friendly asked if I'd like to speak to the lady in a desk. I explain her my situation and the manager supposed to call me back. I don't know where this will end. I was trying to pay the $50 for cancellation but they are making this to became a nightmare.

1.) I called on April 14th to cancel my membership, having two days left in the period I had already paid for on March 16th. I was informed by their representative that because I cancelled within the first six months I had to pay $25 (I had signed up in December). Even though I am on a month-to-month and I can "cancel at any time", they will charge me a fee for doing it within the first six months.

2.) Being that I didn't give them 31-days notice of my cancellation they are going to charge me the $19.95 membership fee for next month as well.

So while I am on a month-to-month, no minimum agreement, I was actually under a six-month contract with them. This is consumer fraud. I was also told if I don't pay, I will be taken to collections and it will hit my credit account. So in essence, they are using consumer credit as leverage to make you pay extra, based on very transparent misleadings about their product. Very unethical business.

In March, the amount was $165 and still don't tell me for what, so at the beginning of April I called them to asked again for more details on my account that now was $185. I also asked for a copy of my contract and I was told that they will charge me $10 to e-mail me one. At the end, I have been trying to talked to a Supervisor but they only transfer me to a machine and don't return my calls. I asked to make payments arrangement to pay $20 a month and then I was told that I will be charge $20 a month for having my account past due. Even though I cancelled the membership in February, they still want to charged me with an extra $20 every month.

I had never experience something like that with any other company in the past. I think Gold's Gym is just a bunch of people that they only care about your money and nothing else. The gym is always dirty, the showers filthy and when people said something, they do nothing. They are the worst gym in Utah and probably around the country. They don't care about their customer and I will never ever be a member of this gym again. At the end, I will end paying almost $200 in membership that I was never able to use due to my accident, but I guess that nothing compare to what they would get if I would stay as a member.

I hope people open their eyes and stay away from Gold's Gym not just for what happened to me but for what they do to customers in general. If you have a month to month contract with them, take the time to check it and you would see that it's almost impossible to get out of that contract because you not only need to pay for the last month that you won't be able to use but also they will charge you for other fees for the most incredible reasons that you can imagine, and if you don't pay that immediately, you will pay extra fees of at least $20 more a month for not doing so.

On Feb. 11, 2014, I went to the gym and filled out the paperwork titled “Request to Cancel Personal Training; 31 Days Advance Notice Required”. I was really happy I took care of this, because the previous 6 months that I was contracted with were such a financial hardship being charged $200 a month. I was not comfortable with the trainer they set me up with and just stopped going. He was nothing like the trainer that had initially trained with me for 2 days and talked me into signing up. I was highly disappointed.

Well, on April 2 what do you know, I was charged that 200 dollar fee. I put in well in advanced a 31 day notice and was still charged. I called the Jonas Fitness number because I was done dealing with the actual gym, and after faxing them my yellow receipt that is proof I gave a 31 day notice. They approved me for the funds they took out to be returned. I was absolutely shocked when they told me the return would take 2-3 weeks! This is ridiculous, and now I have to struggle another month. This could have been avoided if the business would’ve reported my paperwork as promised. I am a human being; not a number and not just an income to your business.

I have learned a huge lesson which has cost me around 1400 dollars now. I have just had bad luck with your company. I just have not had good luck with this company. I got locked-in to a 2 year contract for 25 dollars a month and the next month you came out with a promotion for month to month for only 9.99. This whole ordeal has been horrible, and I am still stuck paying the 25 dollars a month until June. I think I should be let out of that contract due to everything that has happened, but I know that will not be the case. At any rate, be aware before getting suckered into their personal training scheme.

The massage room is so pathetic that if you enter the massage room, you will feel like vomiting and that was the reason I did not avail my balance 10 free massages. The massage person being appointed by Gold's Gym Raipur use to chew tobacco all the time and throw saliva of tobacco in the room itself. The condition of Gold's Gym Raipur is so bad that 40% of cardio machine is not in the working condition and the owner never took the pain to get it rectified. The owner of Gold's Gym Raipur's main and foremost motto is to earn money and money and nothing else. You can send your team to get the survey done and only then you will come to know the reality of Gold's Gym Raipur.

I have come to know that the owner of Gold's Gym Raipur never pay salary in time to their staff and that was the reason the dietician ran away and left the job. The Gold's Gym Raipur is taking extra 3% from the clients who pay the money by credit card and never use to give the receipt for the payment being made in cash. It seems some fishy is going on inside. I have visited Gold's Gym across the world and this is the first Gym where I could see and realize, as if I am in some local and non branded Gym. When I joined we were told that the spinning classes will be the part of yearly membership but just after one month the spinning classes were shut down.

The TV which is being installed in the Cardio machine never works because the owner never recharges the airtel connection. Out of 10 machines the recharge is being done only in 20% machine. Kindly let me know why the action should not be taken against the Raipur franchise and cancel this franchise. The Gold's Gym should take appropriate against the franchise; otherwise, nobody will be willing to join the Gold's Gym of Raipur. I have left the Gold's Gym and will join ABs.

At the beginning of 2014 I decided to cancel my membership as well which there was no problem doing. The staff was super nice. This is where it gets interesting. As I reviewed my credit card I noticed I was still being charged for my fiance's membership. I spoke with the staff at my gym about it and they said his account was never closed. I brought proof (cancellation documents) to the gym in which they gladly cancelled the account right away. They said I should get the money refunded but told me to call the customer care line to handle the refund. I spoke with Nick ** who asked me to email the document stating when the contract was cancelled (September 2013) so I did. He said I would only get 90 days back. I asked for his upper management's phone number so this could be handled further. I received a phone call from Belinda who seemed to be Nick's supervisor. She calmly explained that I would NOT receive any refund. To which she said it was in the contract:

"I understand and agree that it is my obligation to review my bank and credit card statements monthly to verify appropriate amounts have been drafted. In the event that my account has been incorrectly drafted, I agree that I will notify Gold's Gym immediately. I understand that after 90 days, it will be deemed that I have reviewed my bank or credit statement and have waived my right to receive a credit card, bank account, or other account adjustment, including late fees or other charges."

I assume "other charges" implies charges wrongfully placed by their inability to close an account in the first place. So long story short. It is us who get screwed by them despite their errors. Shouldn't they be responsible for this? Belinda could not even tell me why that is in the contract. Although she was the manager she was as useless as a rock. Every company I have ever done business with or worked for have always considered the customer important and worth helping so what moral right do they have taking money that is not their own? If this kind of crap is happening to everyone why are they still in business? Good lawyers I presume.

I called the Gold's Gym customer service to explain I needed to cancel due to pregnancy. The first time I called the woman was very rude and unprofessional. I asked to speak to management and she said there was no need and I said there was a very high need and she said, "Don't cuss at me"... I never cussed at her a single time and I said, "I didn't, if you heard something you didn't like it was probably in the background cuz I was at work and it's always loud in there and everyone always said something," and I apologized for what she had heard and then I tried to continue the conversation to get something figured out and she said, "I SAID DO NOT CUSS AT ME", and then she hung up.

Today I called back and to me it sounded like the same woman but I tried to explain and she said, "Well, I'm not freezing your account," and if this is true to bring in a doctor's note and proof and I said that I didn't have a problem at all cuz Every time I went to the doctor, I had to do a pregnancy test so I was use to it and I kinda laughed cuz I was trying to lighten the mood and she goes, "Well actually you being pregnant is not my problem", and that it wasn't a permanent problem and I still needed to continue to go to the gym... Once again I asked to speak with a manager and she said no cuz I wasn't gonna get her in trouble and then she hung up on me! Worst customer service ever!

As I proceed to move toward my next exercise which I'm now doing Incline Dumbbells, A staff member by name of Carlos comes up to me and says "you still using barbell?" I reply I'm done with it, just before I can imply there is another guy wanting use it, Carlos states to me "Well get over there and re-rack the weights" I reply back "No sir" there is a guy who mentioned to me he wanted use weights after me, the staff member replies back "as of now, no one is using the weights you were using so re-rack them Now." I blow off the staff members rudeness & demanding behavior.

As I proceed continue my workout, Charlene the manager of Golds Gym comes up to me and she says didn't you hear what he (Carlos) told you what to do? I look at her with a look of disbelief. Then she says quote either you re-rack the weights or I can deactivate your membership and call the COPS(SAPD) to escort you out the gym! I reply back you are going call the cops on me for not re-racking the weights after a guy told me he wanted use them after me. She then demands for me give my badge to her, I did not oblige nor did I respond or say anything to her. She then walks off.

After careful contemplation & thought, I figured it was deemed necessary only to file a complaint, so I call customer service number on back of key tag card 1-866-465-3775 which was shortly after 5pm on February 17th, 2014 which automated system stated I had call during business hours of 8am-5pm. So I call next day on February 18th, 2014 spoke with customer service rep. By first name of Nieman, I told him about incident and what all occurred. He states email over the report to his email address, then he states to me I see that management look into this at that location it occurred...I say to him hold on management is who I'm filing this complaint against and he says "oh no it'll reach person in charge over her (Charlene) to investigate the report.

Sure enough, I send incident email to him. Now keep in mind I'm attending a different Golds Gym location on Tuesday 2/18/2014 and Wednesday 2/19/2014 but it happened on Monday 2/17/2014. He sends me confirmation email that Golds Gym location has received my complaint. Which was on Wednesday 2/19/2014.

Here's where foul play begins; I return to gym on Sunday 2/23/2014 at the Golds Gym on DeZavala & IH-10 the staff member at front desk tells me my membership has been Terminated, on 2/19/2014..! I say "Terminated?! Exactly what for?" She states in the report there was profane language and aggressive behavior on my behalf which is totally absurd. I've been member well over 10 years not One altercation not even a dispute with Any member inside a Golds Gym location.

So I wait until Monday morning 2/24/2014, so I call call customer service. I inform them of what's going on, they tell me there is nothing they can do its nonnegotiable and that kind of behavior is intolerable, exactly what kind of behavior has taken place besides being non-responsive toward a fool? I explain in my best English format I know how to get across to these buffoons. That can't you see this manager has written a bogus statement in a successful attempt to get my membership terminated? The statement is crafty written on her behalf to justify why she has canceled my membership. I was still going to gym up until that Wednesday when the customer service rep confirmed to me that Golds Gym had received my email complaint.

As I'm on phone with customer service rep they are refusing to allow me speak with a supervisor, they keep saying there is nothing you can do, and that internal investigation has taken place already. Oookkkk yeah right because if soo all they had do was check the cameras and they will see that there wasn't any kind of aggressive behavior nor any kind of profane language on my behalf at all. Call this Golds Gym customer service number and ask speak with supervisor, watch how you get treated: 1-866-465-3775

I set up a standing order and paid them monthly until all payments stopped, so I presumed they had all their money. 2 Years later I received a phone call from a collection agency demanding another 100 odd pound. As far as I see this, I don't owe them anything, they insist I do and harassing me on a weekly basis. I emailed them for an explanation but still waiting for a reply. And thanks for damaging my credit record by again involving sharks. There are better Gyms than Golds. Thanks for nothing and being so cold.

I had a similar experience as others did where the sales associate was rude, interrupted, didn't seem to even care that I was the customer, and continued with his ridiculous logic, until I finally became so frustrated I hung up on him. Be wary about giving them carte blanche with your credit card. They will take advantage of every opportunity to continue to bill you and prolong your billing for as long as they can. Never again will I join Gold's Gym. If someone is doing a class action suit, count me in.

I'm not sure what Gold's Gym customer service dept purpose is but it's clear they are not about the customer. When I tried to called back after holding for over 7mins due to high call volume, Rochelle ** answered again. I just hung up. I decided to go back to the website and read about the no contract and saw that because I signed for the cheapest plan there is a 12 month "commitment" as it states on the website. If Rochelle ** knew her job she could have told me that; however, she was very unprofessional and to add injury she sounded illiterate. I will NEVER re-join this gym ever again. When my 'commitment/agreement' is expired this place will never get my money again. It seems as though Gold's Gym doesn't care about nothing but getting their money. It would be nice to hear back from a manager to let me know my complaint did not go unheard.

I was reluctant to risk my health in a pool where a sign was posted in plain view not to enter the water. I wondered why the attendant could suggest swimming. This lack in conformance to maintain a safe swimming environment was enough for me to request a cancellation. I was directed to speak with the membership person who signed me up, but he was not there. When speaking with my membership chairman he seemed to be siding with the attendant. I could not forget that if a posted sign stated don't swim, I would be responsible for any health problems that may result for not following the sign. I reminded him of our agreement when I signed up and he stated that he could cancel the membership and refund the unused money in training fees that totaled over $200.

When I got my credit card statement and saw that not only the unused trainer charges were billed but also a monthly membership charge was billed. I called back in to see what was going on. To my shock I learned that the membership person who signed me up a few days earlier was fired. After some digging I was finally referred to the general manager. This was truly a painful experience. First I was told the pool was only alleged closed as if I was making up the posted signs. Then I was talked down to and over talked and promised a call back to see what could be done about a refund. I was told well that membership person might have said that and this is why he no longer works here, and that she would call me back Thursday after taking over 48 hours to reach a decision. After not getting a call back on that Thursday I waited until the following Tuesday to call her. I also contacted my credit card company and notified them of this situation.

I called the general manager back, and this time she did not allow me to get a word in. She over talked me, stammered a bit saying she was busy Thursday and did not call as promised, but claimed that she had sent me an email on Thursday that I never got. And again stated she did not care what I was promised by their membership chairman, he was fired, and she had a contract to go by. I was really amazed at her willingness to turn a blind eye to Gold Gyms employees that practice unfair methods of competition, and unfair or deceptive acts or practices in signing up new members. It's curious that the general manager felt the dealings of this membership person were substandard enough to fire him, but to maintain all contracts executed under his influence. I would not recommend anyone to be a member of Gold's Gym due to this overall experience. The follow up with the general manager lowered my rating from a 3 to a 1. It's okay that every employee is not perfect, but when members on the executive team support sleazy membership subscription practices, then the business is an avoid on my list.

When I called to complain, I was told there is a 30-day notification requirement so I would be billed for an additional month - the fact that I had notified them repeatedly since last April by phone doesn't count, since I didn't give notice in person (which I couldn't do). I was then told I could call a customer care line to complain, and it was implied that had I called them in April. I could have suspended or cancelled that way (wish I'd known that in April). I had read about this sort of problem with Gold's before I signed up, but since the gym is close to my home and work, I signed up anyway. Thus, I paid $300 to Gold's for no services at all. I called customer care and after being on hold for 25 minutes, I finally reached someone who will have the gym manager contact me if I email them the complaint. I'll give it a try, although I am not looking forward to spending more time on a wild goose chase!

They told me they were sorry this happened to me but I'd still have to pay a $250 cancellation fee... being 18 and not knowing what else to do, I begrudgingly paid the fee. I wish I had been wiser and not as timid and naive because after talking to a few people and gaining some common sense, I should have consulted an attorney as well as insisted on a copy of my contract of which I was never provided after the initial signing. Again, I'm aware this happened years ago but be forewarned... These are not ethical people.

I joined GG in 04/2011. In 09/2011, I went to the Redmond GG and asked to cancel my membership as I had just come out of hospital and had been advised not to exercise unless under the supervision of a hospital physical therapist. My Mom and I went into the Gold's Gym in Redmond and spoke with a representative there and asked to cancel my membership. The girl was reluctant to do this and we had to wait for almost an hour before she turned us over to a member of the management team who advised me to freeze my account instead of canceling it and having to pay the cancellation fee. That way I could either keep my membership and see how things went with the doctor or cancel it later on.

Apparently, from what I was told today, the account was not frozen as this is "not an option with a one-year membership account." If it is not an option, why did the Manager tell my Mom and me that it was and have us freeze the account? I spoke with MELISSA at MEMBER SERVICES for GOLD'S GYM NORTHWEST, BOTHELL-REDMOND-ISSAQUAH, memberservices@goldsgymnorthwest.com and was told that Gold's Gym had sent me "several emails advising me that the freeze was not possible" and had no response from me so they reactivated my account. When I asked for copies of the email(s), I was told that Gold's Gym records do not go back that far. Well my records do go back several years, and I can find nothing from Gold's Gym in my email. I requested that they send me copies of all correspondence they had with me. Nothing has been provided as Gold's Gym cannot locate either the emails or correspondence sent to me.

Melissa also stated that "a representative of Gold's Gym had tried on several occasions to call me on my cell, and even left messages." I asked for the telephone number from which these calls were placed as my cell phone carrier assures me that they can go back and provide me with the call records to verify this. Again, nothing has been provided, as Gold's Gym did not keep track of calls made to members. Melissa then told me that Gold's Gym had begun debiting the account in February of 2012 until last October at the rate of $64.61 per month and that this only stopped when my credit card expired. Clearly, they had not been sending monthly statements until we received a collection letter dated 11/30/2013. According to Melissa, Gold's Gym does not have to send out billing statements and the fact that they billed me for almost 2 years was my "fault for not looking at my credit card statements."

I agree with this, but I am a student with a full time job and have not been using my credit card, so could not have imagined that anyone would be charging my account in this way. In total, Gold's Gym has billed me for at least 22 months' worth of fees when I had not even been to Gold's in years. Melissa stated that "many clients do keep up their membership even though they do not go to the gym." This is not what happened in my case. I tried to cancel, was told by a "member of the management team" that I should freeze my account instead and now I am out over $1300. It is true that I should have been checking my credit card statements but I am a part-time student with a full time job and I just did not think that Gold's Gym or anyone would be billing me like this. I asked Gold's to review my account and to provide me with the documentation I had requested, but they came up with no documentation other than the contract that I signed and pointed out repeatedly that it is my fault and my problem that I did not fully understand the contract.

Gold's Gym's response: "As it states on the form, your membership will automatically resume at the end of your freeze and per the agreement that you signed, you must provide written notice of cancellation." Gold's Gym made it very difficult to cancel membership in person and pushed hard for the freeze: I believe that this tactic should not be permitted.

When I called Gold's Gym corporate office, the representative told me that since I upgraded my membership I am obligated to 1-year membership with them. When they forwarded the Membership Dues Addendum to me, I told them that I have never seen this form before and nor of my signature on it. Now that they need me to prove that the signature on this form is not mine. This is ridiculous. I am so upset and I am going to write this comment on all Review sites to make sure people know about this and hopefully it will not happen to anyone again.

Bottom line: Gold's Gym does not treat their customers well. As soon as you want to cancel, they make it almost impossible to do so. Do not, ever, subscribe to Gold's Gym. Go to a local gym and pay by the visit.

Well, I signed up and was assured that as a student when I need to cancel, I can come back and bring my schedule of classes and my ID and they would cancel my account no problem with no fees. End of summer shows up and I can't talk to the man who signed me up because now he is a full time personal trainer (Read: the switch). I ask to cancel my membership (thus the beginning of my IMMENSE HEADACHE) and first they told me I can only cancel with a manager, and he only comes in after 10. I come in after 10 and they have me waiting 30 minutes.

The manager is a huge bulking guy and after the now infamous question "What is the reason for cancellation?" He proceeded to tell me the clause wasn't for students, it was for a moving out of area clause, and that I didn't qualify (HOW DID THIS GUY KNOW HOW FAR AWAY MY SCHOOL WAS AND I DON'T EVEN KNOW AND I GO THERE EVERY YEAR). Then he said even if I did qualify, I would have to pay the $100 cancellation fee, there was never a waiver of the cancellation fees.

Flabbergasted, I asked what can I do? I am not going to pay full price for a membership when I have a LARGER NICER gym than that one! He told me I can freeze the account, but it would be 7 dollars a month (TO NOT EVEN USE THE PLACE JUST TO HAVE THE PLASTIC PIECE ON ME THAT SAYS GOLD'S GYM!!) or continue paying the full monthly price. Upset but desperate I said I would choose the latter option, to which he told me he can only freeze the account for 3 months. I went ahead for the maximum amount of time. The three months, and sure enough every month on the dot out went 7 dollars for no good reason whatsoever.

Upset, I called the trainer that signed me up and explained how they wouldn't let me cancel and I was suckered for more money. He offered his sincerest apologies and said if I talked to the manager that was all that could be done, but he regretted he wasn't better informed of those circumstances because they only had him signing people up for TWO WEEKS (i.e., perfect bait and switch plot!). During my freeze period, I actually ended up being sick, with edema in the face and a mysterious lump under my throat with pain. I took time off work, and the DOCTOR didn't even diagnose me! So I had no idea what was going on with me or causing my physical and emotional deterioration! She just prescribed me meds that had side effects with more meds!

Being off work, I now realized I really didn't have the money for that monthly subscription to go through again, so I called the gym and asked if they could reverse that payment (STILL PROCESSING IN MY BANK ACCOUNT) and refreeze my account with the 7-dollar fee at least to keep my bills at a minimum. The first girl I talked to was very nice, and even confused as to why I couldn't cancel my account after I told her my troubles, but she said no manager was in the office to handle my request and to call again. I call back and this manager asked once again "What is the reason for cancelling?" and I said "I don't have the money right now, and I would like to refreeze my account and reverse the payment that went through."

She then rudely told me that "The payment already went through and since you already told me you don't have the money there is nothing we can do about it." Shocked, I snapped back "I DON'T HAVE THE MONEY BECAUSE I GOT SICK WITH MYSTERIOUS SYMPTOMS AND CAN'T AFFORD THE FULL PAYMENT RIGHT NOW" She snobbishly replied back "We can only do that with a doctor's note." And I asked "SO HOW LONG DO I HAVE TO GET THAT DONE? BECAUSE YOUR POLICIES ARE HORRENDOUS AND STRICT?" And she "Oh I don't know, I would do it right away," and then HUNG UP ON ME. I call the my doctor and says she can give no clearance for anything because it is out of her time frame (read: Sure I never diagnosed you so you could rightfully address the problem but since it has been more than a month and you have had no symptoms, regardless of what you did to make sure they did not reoccur i.e., like take time off of work, I can do nothing about it until you get sick again and you pay me just for me to continue not telling you what's wrong with you and prescribe meds with more side effects and you keep coming back and paying me more money).

Knowing there was no hope, I went in person today to refreeze my account since nothing could be done about my last payment and asked to see a manager. The girls at the front desk were not cheerful and disheartenedly asked what for, and I said about my membership. After a little while, a girl with a frown called me back and asked what I needed and I politely asked WITH A SMILE "can I please see a manager?" and she was like "what for?" and annoyed I gritted my teeth and said "refreezing my account" and she was like, "you can do that here" and began typing away.

Depressed and now further annoyed she asked "reason for freezing?" (honestly WHY, do they need to know every detail about my life? WHY DOES IT MATTER I WANT TO FREEZE IT, YOU'RE STILL TAKING MY MONEY ANYWAY!) and I say because I never use it, I have another gym I can get in for free as a college student. She just looks at me sans smile with a touch of annoyance and went on "how long would you like to freeze it for?" and I said, "Why? Isn't the maximum three months?" and she just nodded and went and froze it, and had me sign and then I asked, "Now my next question is about canceling. I signed up in May of this year. I know I will come in in April next year and let them know to cancel my account because then my contract for 12 Months will be over, correct?" And she said, "Yes but freezing it extends it."

I stop, "Wait, what do you mean?" She says, "If you refreeze it in April with will auto renew and extend your membership" and I'm thinking what is this girl talking about so drearily, I just asked if I could cancel it in April not re-extend it by freezing it! And I ask for clarification and she says "When you freeze your account, it's not active for your memberships which means it pushes your contract months to longer." BIG WHAT IN THE WORLD, I tell her I was NEVER INFORMED OF THIS WHEN I FROZE MY ACCOUNT and so I asked, "Alright how much would it cost to get out of this contract?"

She said a cancellation fee of a hundred dollars but it doesn't matter since she just refroze my account! AKA once again they lied to the customer without disclosing their full terms of what it means which this whole freezing things isn't even in the contract with basically allows them to make up rules and once again signed me away into giving them stealing more money away from without giving me a full understanding as a legal bound customer what my rights and knowledge should be. Angry and disillusioned, I asked, "So this means my account has been pushed back six months??" And she goes, "Did you already freeze it before?"

I nodded and she replied "Yes, that means you still have six months left on your contract and will have a cancellation fee of 50 dollars." Dismayed and frustrated, I replied "Okay, thank you," as best as I could and left... and immediately called the trainer who signed me up. I literally cried into the phone and told him how frustrating this whole experience has been and how shady this whole operation was and how multiple times now they haven't clearly disclosed or avoided telling the customer vital information and just letting themselves sign things away WITH NO CLEAR NOTICE BEFORE SIGNING. They just say sign here and tell you things in and after the fact.

I told him how rude everyone has been, how a manager HUNG UP ON ME, and he said he would go in right away and even get corporate numbers for me to call to get this resolved and how they just had a meeting saying if they didn't have the information to give customers correctly, they should elevate it to higher orders (read: they got tons of complaints and they need to stop telling false information!!). He was nice as always, and said I had a right to feel that way. I thanked him but know that he really probably can't and won't be able to do anything.

Avoid this gym at all costs. It has been such a headache and a huge lesson learned that this is a shady and underhanded business. My complaint is not single as seen here. Please read these and judge wisely before you sign!!

Approximately nine days after this meeting, I received an email from Lance containing a copy of an entirely new 1-year contract that charged me a $59.00 processing fee. I contacted him immediately, asking why I had been involuntarily entered into a new contract and why I had been charged such a fee, and Lance said he didn't know why that had happened and he would refund me right away. I contacted him weekly for about three weeks thereafter, but he would constantly say that I could expect it in a few days. After nearly two months, I emailed him asking for a written response, but never received a reply from him. I still have not received my refund and am still in a contract that I never agreed to enter into. I do not even go to Gold's Gym anymore because I do not know where my account stands.

When Lance had me sign a new contract under pretenses that I was making myself the main account holder, he essentially voided the original contract. Moreover, Gold's Gym allows customers to have five days to change their minds, but Lance took that consumer right away from me when he intentionally waited nine days to email me a new contract that I had never agreed to enter. I have since contacted the BBB who has forwarded my complaint to them, but they have not yet responded. The BBB has forwarded my complaint to them for the second time as of today, and they have up until December 5, 2013 to reply. How much do you want to bet that I won't hear anything from them? If anyone can give me any advice, I would truly appreciate it if you can add a response to my submission. Thank you so much.

In good faith, we paid the three months past due on the account. The young girl and gentleman were very compassionate and said I did not need to pay the late fees because it was clearly not my fault. They assured me that their manager would call me back to resolve the issue today and that she would gladly contact the collections agency to let them know that I had paid the past due amount in person at the facility. I never heard from the manager so I decided to reach out to her. When she answered the phone, she was immediately curt and clearly in no mood to discuss my problems. I was put on the defensive. She was extremely unprofessional from a customer service standpoint. She did not listen to my issue and continued repeating that I would have to take it up with the collections agency because it was out of her hands. She did not once apologize for the error on Gold's Gym's part and tried to hang up on me at one point.

After looking over the Consumer Affairs website, I see that this is the second complaint in the past two months that Michelle **, manager of Gold's Gym Norcross, has received regarding her attitude with customers. I have been a loyal customer and have always paid my account on time. I have brought 7 additional individuals to Gold's Gym who are all still current members. I was told that I would receive some sort of benefit from recruiting individuals to Gold's Gym and still to this day have not received even as much as a thank you. Up until this point, I was not certain whether or not I would keep my membership with Gold's Gym; however, after my conversation with Michelle **, manager, I have sent my certified letter (per their requirement) to cancel my membership and will never support nor refer Gold's Gym in the future.

I am amazed that owners would allow such a hostile individual to represent their company. To file a complaint with Corporate, which I intend to do later today, the information is provided below:

Irving, TX 75062

Note, I cancel my membership 2-3 days before the start of next month. So I figured that I'm done with this place, and life moves on. Guess what, I am still getting charge. I just found out that you have to let them know 30 days in advance of cancellation. What is the reason for this? Are they using monkeys to do paper work? Only monkeys take that long to process a membership cancellation. Well it's kind of obvious that they are SCAMMING their own members. Good luck with any one else in my family and friends signing up with your piece of ** gym.

I am so disappointed at their service. They rip you off after you cancel with them and even after that they kept stealing my money and now because of them my banking credit is a nightmare for the next 7 years and I have to pay 1,300 which is complete crap. NEVER sign up with Gold's. Please take my word. It has caused such a headache and still is even after cancelled over a year ago and paying out they will still take your money and ruin your credit. Never sign with Gold's. They're terrible and the worst company I've dealt with.

I go up there and was told very rudely that I was not entitled to any refund because I was still a member until November. November? I cancelled in August! 30 days puts me in September, so, why November? Because they say I paid for the first and last month when I signed up. Don't recall but that was almost 2 years ago. OK fair enough, my complaint and since it’s just little ol' one person from backwoods no name town it went unheard. But if I paid my last month, isn't that why we have to give a 30 day notice? Shouldn't that be what the last month covers? And why do I need to pay an annual fee for 2014, if I'm not a member?

I have yet to have a single question answered. I have filed a complaint with BBB and that did not help whatsoever. Gold’s responded with the same story. 30 days’ notice was met but still an active member until November which is why I was charged the annual fee. BBB asked if I was satisfied. I stated no, and pleaded my case again, in which they found no merit and no breach of contract for Gold's Gym. I am currently in the process of gathering my bank statements and my contract that I was already out of by the way and turning it in back to BBB so they have proof of breach of contract. I don't understand why they can't answer a couple of simple questions, that may satisfy me and make me ok with them drafting my account. Right now I feel robbed.

Additionally, you need to call, to sign, to hear the unrelated questions and to explain to them again and again. The gym should spend more time on improving the qualification of their service, such as hiring more qualified group instructors, or trying to enlarge the classroom. Instead, they spent lots of time on setting up problems for you to leave so they can keep charging your money. I doubt how long the company with philosophy like this will exist.

Gold's Gym customer service is a scam. I have called several times and used every option, waited for hours and no one ever answers. Never sign a contract with Gold's Gym! It's a lawsuit waiting to happen. I will report Mr. ** to the state's attorney for unethical Business practices. Also to the Florida Dept of Elder Affairs for senior abuse.

So later on when I tried to cancel they threw the contract at me saying that it was non-binding and would not even discuss although they had collected plenty of money from two that did not use the gym for a good reason and one we discussed in advance. I read enough so I am contacting an attorney and go from there.

In the meantime, I saw my trainer another two times until he informed me that he was being deployed and was going to have to transfer me to the services of another trainer. I was still optimistic and looking forward to continuing my training. However, this is when things began to fall apart. I had no one call me for at least a week. Then the next week, I had two trainers call me each competing for my business. I scheduled with one only to have the second one call me and tell me that he canceled that session and wanted to put me on his schedule instead. By this time, it was almost time for our second set of payments to come out of my checking account. My husband and I talked and decided that the training sessions were a little much and that we should try to cancel them and have them return the post dated checks to us.

This was in July 2013 and it is now September 27, 2013. I finally had to go to my bank and put stop payments on both of the checks for our second payments because Gold's refused to give me the checks back. Then after speaking with the manager, he told me that he had destroyed the last 300 dollar check for my husband's last raining sessions. By the way, any communication that has taken place has occurred in person. Every single time I call the gym, the manager or assistant manager is always 'on break' or 'on the phone' or 'at lunch'. I am only told this after they ask who is calling and why I am calling. I always leave a very polite message with my name and number asking for a return call. I never get one. So, I have to go into the gym and only then do I speak with anyone.

Then I am told that an email or phone call has to be made to a district manager or to corporate.... but I never hear back. Today, I logged onto my checking account only to see a 300 dollar charge from Gold's Gym. I immediately called my bank and found out that the charge was not the check that was supposedly destroyed but was a payment run on my check card and therefore could not be returned. I did not authorize any charge to my card other than our monthly dues. I did not sign that any other balance could be run through my card and certainly did not sign any authorization to run it today. I am furious! I have called the location several times today and have been given the runaround.

I can't find any number for a district or area manager. I have called the 800 number for customer care and waited on hold for 30 minutes until I got through and then was told that they couldn't talk to me because it was my husband's account. These are all stall tactics that they use to wear people down, to allow time to pass until it's too late to address the problem in any timely manner. I am thinking about calling an attorney and possibly taking them to small claims court. I am at a loss. What other business can continue to charge you for services that you did not and will not ever receive? PATHETIC!

Fast forward to now, and we decided to give Gold's Gym another chance as it is the closest one to our house. We signed up for a deal that they had ($35.00/mo with VIP privileges for 1 year contract), and they had told us that we didn't need to bring any forms of payment when we spoke with them before coming in. My boyfriend signed up and put the account in his name, but when they asked for a CC to charge us a $20 processing fee, he did not have one on him so I put my CC on file.

A couple of months in, my boyfriend became very busy with paramedic school and since he was the main account holder, I couldn't go to the gym since they would not let me in without him there, so we decided to make me the account holder so that I could go whenever I wanted. I called Gold's and asked if this was possible since my CC is the one on file anyway, and the general manager told me on the phone that of course I could, it would be very simple, just come in and sign some things and give him the method of payment.

I assumed that I would be signing for the sole reason of switching the account into my name. He had me sign several different things, which I was confused about, telling me that it was for things like me getting a discount and only paying $30.00 instead of $35.00 and paying monthly instead of biweekly.

Instead of sending me the revised contract that very same day, I did not receive it until 9 days later via email, coincidentally after a random charge had been posted to my account. I believe the reason for it having been sent 9 days late was to bypass the 5-day grace period that customers have to cancel. He knew that if I had seen the contract before the 5 days were up, I would have absolutely cancelled right away. Looking over the contract, the GM had not just changed the name on the account as I had asked. He had signed me into an entirely new one-year contract of $30.00/mo without notifying me. No more VIP privileges, and he charged me a $59.00 processing fee on top of it plus a $30.00 charge for the month even though I had just been charged $17.50 for the biweekly a couple of days before.

I quickly emailed him, and right away he apologized and said that it was his mistake and that the processing fee should not have been there and that he didn't know why that had happened. Funny because he is the one who signed off on the processing fee on the contract that he sent to me 9 days after the fact. He promised me my refund, stating that I would get it within a matter of days, but I saw nothing, so I contacted him again, and he promised it within the week, and I still have not seen anything.

The amount is very petty and it is truly not about the money. It is about the fact that they try to trick you and cheat you out of your money, which I don't take lightly. I am very good and thorough when it comes to consumer rights, and I know that he was very much in the wrong and is aware of his actions because he did not tell me that I was signing a new contract, and he made sure to send me the contract 9 days late.

As some people have mentioned, I am also interested in potentially filing a class action lawsuit against them. Their business practices are unethical, and they do not follow through with the things that they promise to their customers. I have pages of emails with this GM in which he readily admits his wrongdoing and promises me full refunds. I recently contacted corporate, so hopefully they have a resolution, although I highly doubt that will happen.

I asked to speak to the manager and asked how you could charge my debit card without it being seen on Gold’s Gym side first? He was miraculously able to view that charge. BUT it wasn't charged at my home branch. It was charged at Gold’s Gym Santa Ana!! I have never stepped foot at that gym but yet not only do they have access to my bank account, but they also are able to charge without my authorization. The manager suggested I contact that branch. I was upset because that he would even think it is my responsibility to take care of this matter. This is HIS company and I am his customer. I demanded he take care of this matter, but after a week of no response, I called back.

**, the "manager" said that he had emailed Gold’s Gym Santa Ana's manager. As if this wasn't important enough to pick up the phone and talk to someone directly. He said he would email her again and CC me on the email. As soon as that second email went out, the "manager" ** responded saying that she apologized but she never saw the original email. REALLY?! After days of complaining on response time, I get a call from **, the "branch manager" apologizing for the mistake. Apparently, one of his employees by the name of ** "accidentally" charged my account. She chose the wrong account and obviously didn't verify any info before charging my account.

Making this longer story short. I have yet to receive my reimbursement. They had even agreed to reimburse me for over draft fees. I thought that after talking to **, I would finally get results. I was terribly wrong. Now, I email, email, and email ** and **, and neither bother to reply. As if this is my problem, my mistake. I’m seeking for others who would like to join in a class act. I see that I’m not the only one with unauthorized charges. I’m tired of waiting for something to happen.

Oh and the kicker is that ** says he had submitted all documentations needed to reimburse me. He's just waiting on some Mike guy to say YES in order for it to go through. Going on 3 weeks since ** states he submitted papers. And still Mike can’t say "Yes"!! This is so frustrating and ridiculous that I have lost interest in attending their gym. I don't want any type of business affiliation with this crook company.

When my son finally decided to go to college and I decided I am not making it to any of the classes and called the manager, she was rude, obnoxious and unapologetic that I was misinformed at sign up. When I got fed up with her behavior, I asked if there was someone else I could speak to. She stated no, she was the end of the line. When I asked if she owned all Gold's Gyms she stated no. When I asked for corporate office to complain, she stated to look it up. After hours of searching and calling wrong numbers, I finally got through and filed a complaint. Gold Gym International 125 E John Carpenter Fwy suite 1300 Irving TX 75062 or call 2142965829. Please complain because that is the only way something will get done.

So I asked to see a copy of the contract. I called them to inform them that they had stored my Debit card on someone else's contract without my permission which I guessed would be called fraud! The money was returned to my account and now they are going after my daughter stating that she owes them the $39.00 + tax. Some gift I gave my daughter. Now I feel like I have to pay the money or it will end up affecting her credit. I am so upset with the treatment I have received. I've talked to others who have had the same thing happen. I wish I knew how to address this so it doesn't happen to others. It's so unfair.

I made a complaint and that did nothing. I said I wanted to cancel the day care, they said I couldn't for 3 months which is just unbelievable. Anyway I paid then comes time to cancel I go in talk to their manager Sam. She tells me she's taking care of it then comes the next 3 months and still being charged. They have the worst customer service they just blow you of. I can't believe how I was treated today when I went in to cancel. They fixed nothing so I just cancelled my whole membership losing out on my 6 hours of personal training and still gonna be charged next month for something I haven't even been using.

My last walk-in was June 19, 2013. I was informed that I have now been charged another NSF for June 15, 2013 bill all while trying to get the May 15, 2013 NSF resolved! The gym is a scam and tries to overcharge customers with incorrect billing charges! I have tried to get out of contract with Gold's Gym on February 12, 2013. I had called in January of 2013 and asked an employee what my deadline was. I had to refrain from getting into a one-year contract. The employee told me February 15, 2013. I went in to Gold Gym on February 12, 2013 to drop the 3-month contract I had that I only used once!

To my knowledge the employee told me I was 2 days late and I had till February 9, 2013 to drop the contract! I know I should have reread the contract date myself, but I tried to drop the contract over the phone in January and was told I had to come in person. I was so furious at myself and the employee because I feel as if she intentionally told me the wrong date. I was charged NSF fees for the month of February and March due to my previous debit card being stolen. I explained that to Kelly and she told me that their third party billing collection does not take off NSF fees even if my identity was stolen. So I paid both NSF charges for Feb. and March and updated with a new card on file for the gym to draft monthly.

They drafted my April membership fee with no problem and even showed up on my Bank statement of the draft. Up until May 2013 when I received a letter on June 1, 2013 in the mail for a monthly charge of $29.66 plus NSF charge 15 dollars totaling $44.66 for the month of May. I immediately went to the gym the next day with my bank printout showing my balance that the money was in my account and wanted to know why was I charged an NSF. The employee told me that Kelly was out of town and was the only one that could take off the NSF charge and inquired w/ me to check back next week. So I went back up to the gym and spoke with the same employee. She made a copy of my bank statement and emailed it to Kelly and told me to give her a couple of days to reply back.

I waited and didn't receive a call or email. The date was June 10, 2013. While there, I also asked the employee if the issue would be resolved before the next bill cycle of June 15, 2013 because I didn't want the same thing to happen and get another NSF charge when money was in my account while waiting on a response from Kelly to handle the May NSF charge. And on June 19, 2013 my last visit to the gym to see if my May NSF charge of 15 dollars was disbursed from my account, I spoke with the manager Debbie who was no help at all! Even with all my Bank statement proof and speaking with my bank on the phone, she told me the very thing I was trying to avoid from happening that I was charged a NSF charge for June 15, 2013.

I'm telling you this Gold's Gym has given me the runaround since being a member! NO ONE returns your calls promptly and they purposely prolong handling billing issues so they collect more revenue from customers while you patiently wait on them to respond! Don't go to Gold's Gym Gastonia, NC Mooresville, NC or Lake Norman. They are all operated and owned by Kevin Craft. These Gold's Gyms will continue to get over on customers!!

Update: Sad to say NOTHING has been RESOLVED! I thought the case would be over with until I received 4 recent harassing emails. I already made multiple trips in May of 2013 to resolve issue justly and still after 2 months, the gym is still asking for proof that I already showed in May 2013. In May 2013 when company didn't resolve issue, then I decided to voice the issue with BBB. I told the company my original bank card that was on file when I first became a member was stolen and they told me that I still will be charged on the stolen card unless I put another card on file. So I put another card on file. The company failed to mention that the first NSF charge was due to the card switch which was under my control.

My last dealing with the company was in May when they charged me a 3rd NSF fee. I had money in my account to cover my May payment and their front desk rep even spoke with my bank on the phone. My bank is my witness!!! I already showed the representative my printed bank statement showing money was in my account. It still did no justice. So after May 2013, I decided to no longer make monthly payments to an establishment that saw PROOF on a PRINTED BANK STATEMENT and still refused to take off the NSF charge!

I wish Kevin will stop sending harassing emails! I will not waste anymore trips to their "business". From the harassing emails nothing seems to get resolved! I do not USE this gym facility and encourage customers to go to a Gym like Planet Fitness where you are treated fair! I don't see this business being around any longer. Their contracts are hard to get out of and you are unable to cancel your contract over the phone. I feel bad for customers whose cars break down who can't make an in person trip to cancel! I want other customers to know so the same situation won't happen again! I will continue to state that the company is a SCAM because they are and need to stop with the harassment! I'm sure this happened to the other consumer that made a complaint against this same company! It's very unfortunate for their business! The business makes themselves look bad and I will write many reviews about this company!

I never used a tanning booth and am naturally olive skinned, so the young (like 19 year old) took one look at me and assumed I've tanned before, gave me no instructions and there were none in the tanning room... now there are. So rather than be sued, they gave me 5 months free which was fine with me because I'm not a "Let's file a lawsuit" kinda person, even with a close friend as a lawyer who wanted to file it for me (I still can up to two years from Feb 22, 2013) but now they wanna charge me late fees for free months and will have to report by 120 days to the credit bureau. Not good since I spent the last 7 years to restore my credit score. So this post and the other negative reviews will be emailed to the corporate office. Even though it is a franchise they are expected to follow their standards in providing good customer service. So let's see what happens after this. Either way I am getting #1 my account cleared and #2 cancelling my membership period. I will post the results here.

I asked why I wasn’t informed in the beginning. They said they posted a sign on the gym door. Okay, so I'm supposed to drop by a vacant building to see their little sign. They know good and well that is stupid. They found me to get their money but couldn't inform me I was being billed? Unless you are a fan of being robbed stay away from Gold’s Gym. They are greedy and knew full well they were running up a bill on me without my knowledge. This contract buying after a year of it being dead should be illegal. That contract should be void if I'm asked to hand over my key.

So the next day, I went ahead and gave him $55. He promised that my fiancé will get his refund in 10 days, while again I start going every day. So at the beginning of June, I went to cancel my membership and ask why my fiancé has not gotten his refund and the girl told me my membership has been canceled since February!! Really, then why haven't we gotten any of our money back? I also told her I paid two months full in cash two months prior and of course, it didn't show it in the computer! Wow, Travis that day told me he will call me back the next day and let me know when I will get both refunds. Well, he didn't call. I had to call him back two days after to ask and he said I will get it within ten days.

Guess what, people, that was 4 weeks ago and still no money!!! I finally called him Friday and he was busy; Monday and he was busy, but he will call me back. Today is Tuesday. I talked to him and he told me that it is our bank account with the problem!! Really, he couldn't tell me this 4 months ago so I can handle it!! Wow, really, really bad customer service. Oh and he openly trashed his employees in front of me. What a great manager!!! And still by the time I post this, the refund has not been posted in our account nor has he called me back!!!

Now with just kind words of a "store manager", nothing can be done, the contract states.... so... basically... you are screwed even when their employees lied and were incompetent. Gold Gym is out to take your money. That is why they make sure that the contract says that only if you relocate, medical condition or military reason you can cancel. They are about to get people's money so if you can join another gym or buy equipment, it will be better at the end. Do not go to Gold's Gym. They do not have any interest in you.

Do not give these people your account number! Do not join this club! I will continue to inform as many people about this as possible until they pay my daughter back and stop billing her. I am not stating anything that isn't true.

So far, I called and visited the local Gold's Gym. The operations manager, ALFRED **, gave me the runarounds and some ** phone numbers!!! This bogus account is still in collection. I called member service, went online to cancel like Alfred ** told me, called and emailed corporate offices, and I am still waiting to resolve that issue. GOLD'S GYM - YOU AND YOUR BUSINESS SUCK BIG TIME. All your numbers are connected to no one, and I guess it's time to get an attorney. So Alfred **, who's running the show on fiesta trails in San Antonio, we will meet again with a lawyer.

Our son is not in a position to go to the gym to straighten it out, and when my husband called the number on the collection notice, the rep on the phone said he must pay the back fees to straighten it out, and could not give my husband any information concerning his account. At this point, we feel they should reimburse him for the six months of dues they took AFTER he gave them his 30-day notice!! I have heard this is not the first time Gold's Gym has done this, and I think it is unethical!

I have had numerous other problems with this gym in Richland, WA because they have too many members, so they only pretend to care when you scream loud enough, but they do not do the right thing... I am waiting to see about getting my membership cancelled, because I have had enough. I just hope that does not turn into a problem, too. Be careful when you buy class tickets, because the classes may not be offered anymore. Be safe and only attend the free classes.

I strongly advise others to look up their local small claims court and take them through the process. Fight fire with fire. I have a legitimate claim. The salesperson falsified her contract, put the incorrect contact info, never emailed me a copy of my contract as they did with mine, and said across the table that her membership was month to month. Of course, the crooked scum is no longer working there, but management has done little to help me void the contract. Otherwise, I would have been a happy member for the facilities are great. Their sales and billing practices are fraudulent and criminal!

My friend said to the manager that he will not sign up yet and will base his decision on my experience if I chose to sign up. Greg then offered me to tan if I chose at that moment and that is where I made the bad decision to sign up. To make the long story short, once I was ready to use the facility, the next day I was told that if I wanted to tan, it would be an extra $10 a month on top of $35 which they had already deducted from my account! I requested to speak to Greg (the manager who signed me up) but again he was not available. The next day, I called but was told he would call me back. Again, I did not hear from him. The next day, I called again. This time, I called a total of 8 times in 4 hrs! The front desk was telling me he is with a member and that I have to go in order to speak to the manager. I was very upset and told them if they don't put me through to him, I will have to just cancel.

When finally Greg came on the line, he was polite but extremely unfair and did not remember what he promised. The fact that my friend recorded our sign up conversation is testament enough that the manager Gregg clearly has no idea what tactics he uses in every single customer to get them to sign up! It's seven days ago that this happened. I am going in to cancel my membership because it is all about honor and doing the right thing. Although the gym is clean when no one is there, but it's a whole other story when the crowd shows up. Parking is very difficult during the mall times. I felt a huge insult when the manager did nothing to honor his word knowing a witness was present! I would urge anyone to either record their sign up conversations or to read very carefully, what they make you sign.

I was so rushed to sign because he kept luring me to get the paperwork done so if I want to tan right after, he can secure a spot right after my sign in! After telling him about my dissatisfaction and plans to escalate this matter to higher officials, he said he would gladly discontinue my membership if I go in to see him! Wow for customer service. So they only care to sign you up and they don't care about honoring their word at the time of signup! I guess that leaves me no choice but to cancel! It's not about the extra $10, instead, it’s about honor and they should not be rewarded for lying to customers. Karma!

But in reality, I just noticed a mail yesterday from a fitness company that I almost discarded as junk since I do not recall the name of the place (no mention of Gold's Gym on the letterhead) and that it states that I owe the facility $169 for a membership fee for a facility that I have not used for six months plus a late fee of some sort. Initially, I am very disturbed that the company is not making a single effort to try and contact a customer that has not been coming to the facility and his bill being declined but instead opted on trying to charge him a recurring late fee.

So anyway, I met the personal trainer and we jumped right into a workout, and figure this, I have never been to a gym before so I trusted this guy knew what he was doing so I went along with his commands and by the end of the workout, I literally was feeling like I was going to black out. I just wanted to leave but they sit there and sucker you into signing up for the personal trainer. You have to sign the contract before they print it out to read but anyway, the next day, I was in tremendous pain so I figured I was just sore. But on Sunday, I literally could not get up; it was so painful. I was rushed to the ER where I was admitted for a week almost going into kidney failure, all a direct result of the workout I received from that trainer at Gold's Gym. That was the only time I ever set foot in that gym and now I'm being charged 5 grand for something that I never used and that put me in the hospital!

Finally, after talking to the fourth person, they agreed to handle my cancellation (apparently trying to delay a cancellation is a policy and tactic they use very frequently). At that time, I was informed there was paperwork I needed to fill out to do the cancellation which I did and was told at that time it would take three days to return the money to my card. After almost two weeks and nothing, I called and was given the number to someone at their Corporate office. After quite a few call attempts and a couple emails, I finally did hear back after a week of trying to make contact. It was then explained to me that a refund wouldn't go back to my card but rather they would have mailed out a check. I thought this was strange since most other businesses who handle card transactions have no trouble doing a reversal of charges and it sometimes happens immediately or maybe a day or two but that's apparently not how Gold's Gym does it.

I was told to wait and maybe there was a delay in the mail. After another week, which was now approaching the 3-week mark, I called again and explained just cancel the check that I never received and I would be happy to pick up the check in person from their local Corporate office to simplify the whole thing. It was explained to me by Bonnie who is in charge of such matters that they couldn't do that and I either had to wait or if they cancelled the check and mailed a new one, I would be liable for the $35 cancelled check fee. After another long wait, I called the gym location where this all started and asked for the information they have on me. When they read back the information, I realized the address they had for me was wrong by one number and on my license when the Gold Gym employee who entered my information back in January put a 6 instead of a 5. I called Bonnie back and explained how the address was wrong and it was their employee who made the mistake and that was the cause of the check delay. She informed me it was my fault for not catching the typo error and signing the papers and that since the check went to the wrong address that if they cancel the check and issue a new one, I would pay the fee again. My other option was to wait for the check to expire after 90 days to avoid the fee.

I was assured the new check would be reissued and sent out by May 1st I should have it. Well, here I am. It's a week into May now and a long way off from the 3 days as I was told back in January and May 4th was my birthday. So in the time of starting this process, Valentine's Day, Easter, St. Patrick's Day and a few other holidays have passed. At this rate, I could expect the refund to be in time for New Year's 2014 which would make it exactly one year and perhaps that's what Bonnie and the accounting people at Gold's gym are counting on. I don't like businesses that are all too happy to take money in but when it comes to cancellations or returning it, they like to delay, make excuses, change information given or stated, shift or create blame and just make what should be a simple quick process very prolonged and delayed.

Sometime in December when I went into the Gold’s Gym, I heard that for the New Year they were having a promotion, something about free 8 sessions for personal training. So I looked into it because I thought, “Hey, free 8 sessions cool.” I knew **, the personal training manager, from being in the gym all the time so I asked him about it. ** had me go sit down with him so he could explain the 8 free sessions. ** quoted, “Okay Aaron, we are offering 8 free sessions for a New Year’s promotion and if you like, we can get this session setup today and we you can use the 8 sessions before you move back. I then replied to **, “So I won’t be charged anything right for these sessions?” ** replied, “Correct, you will not be charged anything for the sessions.”

** continued to push the issue that I have nothing to lose with getting these sessions. So after some time of discussing the personal training sessions directly, I felt as if I had nothing to lose by taking advantage of the free sessions. ** then said, “We just need you to sign here indicating you are willing to take advantage of these free sessions.” I was a little wary in doing so but ** continued to up talk the free session and induce me into signing a contract for the free sessions. So I signed the contract for the 8 free sessions’ personal training with the understanding from ** (personal training manager) that I was not going to be charged for anything or do anything after these sessions were completed.

I did the 8 free sessions over the next few weeks. This brings to the month of January 2013 knowing I was leaving within a month, I talked to ** and told him I need to cancel my membership and he gave me the paper to fill out for canceling; and I had to call the 1-800 number to cancel my gym membership. So I called this number with them telling me that I need to fax a piece of paper that has my name, date, and what I want to do with my account. I had to fax it 2 different times to get it to cancel; at this point I was also charged for cancelling it. For whatever reason, Gold’ Gym said they never got the cancellation the first time and that if I was moving out of state, I would need to provide proof of my new address. So I got the proof of my new address even though the contract never indicated such proof. I provided anyways and was charged in the amount of $134.99, January 17th 2013 for the cancellation.

So I thought everything was fine and they had my cancellation and everything. Unfortunately, that wasn't true. On January 23, 2013, Gold’s Gym charged my account in the amount of $240.00. I had no idea what this charge was for as I had already cancelled my account and the gym’s manager knew I was moving. I was pretty upset knowing I just got this charge so I informed my brother about the issue. As for my brother, he works on legal cases mainly class action suits for large corporations. He indicated to me that “You only have a few weeks before you leave so let’s go to the Gold’s Gym and find out what is going on before you are not here any longer.” We both went down to Gold’s Gym and went to go talk to **. ** indicted “I’m not sure why your account was charged for the free sessions and we had cancelled everything. Let me get a hold of our cooperate office and get it fixed for you.”

My brother then reminded ** that I was leaving next week, and I needed the money to be able to pay for my travel for the move. ** implied that there was nothing he could do at this time to recover the money Gold’s Gym withdrew within a short time frame. My brother and I weren't going to leave so easy, and we had ** bring another form for cancelling and I signed it. ** had apologized several times during this discussion of my account. In fact, ** feels bad enough about the incident that he agreed to pay out of his own pocket the $240.00. He told us to come back next week on Wednesday to get a check from him. I went back on Wednesday to pick the check and ** said he didn't have the check, he forgot it at home and if he could mail to my address back east. I wasn't happy with this but I was leaving this coming Saturday so I really had no choice in the matter. I gave ** my address back east and left Gold’s Gym. To say the least, I never received a check from ** to this day!

On 4/11/2013, I received a call from a collection agency regarding my Gold’s Gym account, indicating I owe them $4,880.84. What a shocker huh! I contacted Gold’s Gym and they said, “Oh your membership is cancelled, but we froze your personal training account for 1 year.” Now does that really make sense? I cancelled everything with Gold’s Gym. I actually sat with **, the personal trainer, at that time and we went over everything so I thought. Plus we cancelled everything 2 times. In fact, I never once heard the word “freeze an account”. I think something really suspicious is going on here. I contacted Gold’s Gym on April 12, 2013, and they told me they fired ** a long time ago. Now we probably know why.

This situation has now become a serious legal issue regarding how written and verbal commitments and contracts are being implied and induced with Gold’s Gym in the State of California (Civil code sec 1619-1632 - section 1697-1701 and section 1812.80-1812.97). **’s willfully false and misleading information, representation, and advertising by Gold’s Gym will not be dismissed lightly. We took **’s written/verbal agreement and representation with great value as ** is acting in a managerial, executive position at Gold’s Gym.

The 31st was Easter Sunday, so I went to Gold Gym in Arcadia the morning of the following business day. After speaking to several staff member and finally the gym's general manager, he said that it was a 30-day trial and that there was nothing he would do about it, that they were a franchise and independently owned; and I was forced to have a 2-year membership, which I was told was a one year membership if I didn't cancel (and nothing was ever given to me in writing). Gold Gym in Arcadia general mgr. said the only thing I could do was transfer it, when all other members of my family, unfortunately, had joined already and had intentions of keeping the membership. I would have been a lifetime member. Now, I will leave as soon as the forced membership expires.

Last month, I bought a house which requires some extensive remodeling. I called your gym to ask what was the best thing to do with my membership as I was still intending on returning to your gym after the remodel was done. The lady on the phone informed me that the best action to take was to freeze my account. She then stated that I would need to come into the gym and give a date of my return. I did and they had me sign a paper which I thought was just confirming my return date. At no time did anyone mention a $10 a month hold fee.

The following month, I was charged the full membership fee. When I called to get it corrected, I was informed that they were going to be keeping the $10. This was the first time I had heard of it. When I asked why no one had mentioned it, I was told, "Well, I actually read what I sign." I may not appreciate being misled, but don't insult me on top of it. I trusted the person explaining the paper to me and I feel like that was my biggest mistake. Of course after that, I wanted to cancel. I was then informed that even though my yearly contract was up next month, I would still have to pay for another two months. I understand that you have every legal recourse to charge me for these fees under the fine print. All I was expecting from you was a little less insults and a little more customer service.

You could have gotten more money out of me as a continued member for the next ten years than you did by sliding a few fees by me. And of course, I'm campaigning to get every friend in St. Pete to switch gyms now.

After doing some research for the past 2 hours (who has this time!?), this is what I came up with for now. First of all, everyone needs to file a complaint with the business consumer alliance, phone # 562-216-9240, businessconsumeralliance.org. It's public viewing. They will act as mediators to try and reach a resolution with the party. They have 20 days to respond for action. Next, please call Matthew, the attorney representing Ervin Cohen and Jessup law office. This practice acquired everything and took over Gold's when they originally filed for bankruptcy last year. They can also help get your money back as I've been told. I'm waiting to hear back from him today. This sucks and is criminal. I hope you all get proactive! Let's get our money back!

I immediately requested that I be removed from all Gold’s Gym databases and my credit card information removed from their records. I was told that I can’t make such a request without sending a formal written letter and signing paperwork in person. I find this business practice completely unfair and biased to the benefit of Gold’s Gym so they can charge you as long as possible. They have represented that the legal language in their paperwork enables them to do this, yet they are not holding themselves to the same standard they hold their customers to. I must sign paperwork and write formal letters to request cancellation & provide 30 days notice, yet Gold’s Gym doesn’t provide any formal bill, written notification of the reactivation of card charges, or simply a phone call or email to notify the customer, let alone a 30-day advance notification of the right to charge your card.

I am convinced this practice has been established so they can charge customers without their knowledge and steal monthly fees from unknowing customers until the customer uncovers it. This is an unacceptable business practice and I am taking the time to write this complaint in hopes they will not be able to continue to do this to other unknowing customers.

The fact is I don't believe it to be a bank fee but a Gold's Gym fee designed to gouge its customers. When I attempted to make a purchase in a department store, neither the store nor the bank charged me fee for a declined credit card. And besides, how can I be charged a late fee when I have no notice a fee is due. I notified Gold's Gym of the change card as soon as I received it and should not have been charged a late fee. And how can you charge $10 on a $19.99 fee? That's 50% surcharge. That's outrageous and illegal. I should not be penalized for event beyond my control. And Gold's Gym should not be profiting with bogus fees that have no justification.

Bottom line, they will continue to bill you forever. You have to work at getting out of their "convenient" monthly billing arrangement, and they will hold you to a ludicrous contractual minimum where they provide no service to you (if you don't use their facilities), but you must pay them. It’s a completely unacceptable business practice that cost me several hundred dollars.

Time went on and I noticed that I was still being billed. It is now January. Unfortunately, I cannot find the carbon copy of the cancellation I signed. I honestly, thought I wouldn't need it since Gold's seems to be a reputable name and company. I went to the Gold's at Quail Springs to see if they could help. A person referred me to the corporate number. I looked over my bank account and found some fees, but it looks like there was never any cancellation fees billed to me.

I called the corporate number that was given to me. The rep informed me I never cancelled and that there was no way to cancel or buy out the contract unless I had moved or was disabled. I told him that this was not explained to me and that I signed something stating the account would be cancelled. He said that what I signed was just a "cancellation questionnaire" and that doesn't actually cancel the account.

I got on the website and sent comments to the Quail Springs location, the NW Expressway location and the Venice Beach location in Cali (it's where they are based out of). I got a call back from a manager at the NW Expressway location who stated the same as the person in corporate; you can't cancel unless you moved or are injured. I got back online to check and see if I could find some email addresses of some regional people. There, I found the HR rep over Oklahoma and let them know that their employees were not trained in explaining everything correctly and I would like everything credited back. This was sent to ** and **. I have yet to see a response.

I've been a part of many gyms in OKC: Aspen, Family Fitness (both folded, because of Gold's!), Four Star and Planet Fitness. Aspen and Family Fitness were pleasant to deal with in cancelling or any billing issues I had. I work in customer service for an important company to Oklahoma. We pride ourselves on always doing the right thing for the customer and if there was any fault on our end or someone dropped the ball, we would research it and take care of it.

It's ridiculous, atrocious and misleading to have people sign something, tell them the account will be cancelled and then never actually cancel the account and continue billing them. This is negligence on the employee and bad training under management. I've had better experiences in used car lots. I researched to see if others have had this same problem and it appears they have. There is a company called "CancelWizard" that specializes in cancelling "hard to cancel" accounts. I may give them a buzz and see what they can do for me. The fees they have been billing me are not enough to start a lawsuit over. Do not, for any reason, join Gold's if you intend to change gyms. Make sure you have them explain the fine print.

I wasn't using my Gym membership at the time all of this occurred because I had been in a car accident and had back problems for quite some time, but when I did try to go back, I saw that my gym had completely closed down and a clothing store was being put into the space at the mall where the gym used to reside. To compound the issue, I moved some time shortly after that and did not have internet at my home for about 8 months after moving ... which I explained to Gold's Gym as one of the reasons I did not see the monthly charges until later also because I was making steady payments to the credit card account in question directly from my bank account during that time, because they had put me on paperless billing some time right before all of this occurred.

Gold's Gym ignored my emails and certified letter requesting the account be cancelled and that I be refunded for the money they took illegally from my credit card. There was no response. I filed a claim with my credit card and they charged back some of the funds, but left me with about 1/2 to try to recover from Gold's on my own, to no avail. I didn't get any response or action from Gold's Gym until I filed a complaint with the BBB (BBB.org) at which point they finally cancelled my account (supposedly). Yet, I still received a collection letter from them for monthly dues supposedly owed by me since my credit card was cancelled.

Gold's Gym claimed to the BBB that I used the membership at some point and never requested a cancellation until September 2012 (which was when I first discovered the charges and began requesting the refund and cancellation of the membership). I responded back, shocked that they would outright lie about me using the membership when I have never even once stepped foot in their facility. This issue still has not been resolved. I don't trust them and they would probably be still charging my credit card if my account had not been closed.

The facility is actually quite nice and has always been very clean. All the equipment has been in good working order, and there is plenty of it. The cardio equipment is right there on the main floor and easily accessible. It is the first thing you see as soon as you enter the place. I have seen plenty of senior citizens there working out and using it with no issues. There is even a separate section just for women, which is nice for any of the ladies amongst us that may get intimidated by all the "muscle" and "testosterone" in the main workout area. I have also been a long time member of the YMCA here in the area as well, which also has some really nice facilities.

So far, I've had no problems with the staff there at Gold's Gym. Last summer, it was actually funny while working out there when the power went out due to a severe thunderstorm. The staff escorted us with flashlights to the locker room (was completely dark) to let us get our stuff and herded everybody near the front entrance. It's real fun trying to bench a couple hundred pounds to only have the power go out on you. In fact even when I initially signed up, Chris actually took his time to fully explain the contract, including all the "enhancement fees", and made it very clear just what I was getting into here. He even let me try the gym out for a couple of days even before signing up a contract! I went and did some sets on the equipment, worked cardio for a bit, and even swam some laps at the pool, just to see how it all is. Once satisfied, I went back to him and decided to talk business.

Anyway, over the past few months, I started getting calls and mail from some outfit called "Taft Financial Services". I did not know who this was and thinking "scam", I went and ignored it all. Fast forward to just yesterday (11/24/2012), I got another letter from this "Taft" outfit. It was threatening collections and lawsuits and all kinds of other nasty things if I did not get current on this debt. I am fairly wealthy, although not "rich" by any standard. I have no debt whatsoever. Both of my vehicles are paid off, as well as my modest home in a working-class neighborhood. I also have no credit-card debt either. So, needless to say, I was bit put off by this.

I decided to go do some investigating and dig into just what the H-E-double-Hocky-Sticks was going on here and why I am getting these letters. It turned out this is a local outfit (based in Culpeper) that handles the membership collections and financing for the Gold's Gym that I am a member of. While also googling, I ran across this site and read all these pages of grief that some people are dealing with this very situation. Thus, I decided to share my story and thoughts on this matter. I went over to the my local Gold's Gym with a bit of trepidation thinking how much runaround and other BS I was going to encounter here dealing with this.

I walked up to the front desk and asked the lady just what the heck this is about (politely, of course), while showing the letter I got in the mail yesterday. She looked up my account in the computer and it turned out the credit card (actually my "check card" through the local credit union) expired. I then remember that it indeed expired back in July and never gave Gold's Gym any thought of updating their records, especially since I don't typically use automatic billing, as I prefer to manually pay my bills through the credit union's electronic "bill-pay" service (I don't like things being automatically taken out of my account - I am that much a control freak when it comes to my finances).

I then told her, "Let's go and get this straightened out right here." I gave her my new check card and immediately updated the records in the computer. I also had to make good on the past four months of membership fees and one round of "enhancement" fees (I don't like it, but it does help keep the equipment up-to-date, and they do have some nice equipment at that location). This was a total of about $181 and some change. I went ahead and paid it and she gave me a receipt showing that I paid it. She also took a copy everything and made sure my payment information was up-to-date as well. There were no "late fees" or "processing fees" or any other such BS. I simply paid what was rightfully owed. I got copies and receipts of all this, so I know it is paid up. She even told me if I get any more calls or letters from Taft, to immediately let them know, although she didn't anticipate anymore.

After reading all this, and from others with similar situations, I was actually quite impressed with just how smooth it actually went. It seems that the folks that run the local Gold's Gym here in Fredericksburg actually seem to care about customer service and have a clue as to how a gym should be run. I don't currently intend to cancel my membership at this time, but it will be interesting to see what happens if/when it comes time to do so.

With that, this is what I highly recommend doing for those that are trying to cancel their membership. First, and foremost, I hope you kept a copy of your contract. Read it and be sure you understand exactly what is going on. After that, I would type up a polite letter indicating your intention to cancel. You may have to state a reason why. Keep it brief, i.e., "lost job and can no longer afford membership", or "doctor won't let me workout anymore. His statement attached". You don't need to write a whole dissertation on why you need/want to cancel, just a brief sentence or two should be suffice. Even if you are cancelling just because you are not satisfied with, again keep it brief and polite. No need to write some big nastygram at them, although it may be tempting at times. They may use it as "retaliation" and just ignore your request to cancel. If you are trying to get out of one- or two-year contract early, say due to loss of job, medical reasons or moving, also get copies of doctor statements, any "pink slips" from work, or proof of having moved, i.e., apartment lease, house title, mortgage statement, etc. In fact, I would probably even go so far as to get your letter notarized by a local notary public.

Make copies of everything and file them in a safe place! I would then mail it to the gym by certified letter with return receipt. You can go to the Gold's Gym website and find the address to your gym using the "locator" service. Keep any receipts you get from the post office as well any receipts you get indicating when it is delivered and file those with your copies of the letter and attached documentation. That way, you have a copy and a record of everything and what exactly was sent, when it was sent and when it was received. Also, if you have to pay a cancellation fee, get a receipt for that as well (if it went to your credit card, keep a copy of the credit card statement showing the cancellation charge). Once that has been received by the gym, you fulfilled your obligation, especially if you paid a cancellation fee. They may charge you an extra month during the 30-day period. Let them have it, it is not worth it in the long run to try to fight them for a refund on the extra $50 or so.

Also, if you used a credit card or a check card for the automatic payments, call your CC company or bank and get them to invalidate that card and get a new one issued. If you are using direct check drafting, that may be a bit more difficult. You may get the bank to stop and block any payments. The worst case scenario is to completely close your account and open a new one. At the point they received your request for cancellation, you are no longer obligated to pay any charges after that point in time, regardless if the people at that particular gym location are too incompetent or unwilling to process the cancellation. That is their problem, not yours - you fulfilled your end of the bargain.

Do not be intimidated by any collections calls you may get. Tell them you sent in your cancellation and if you did as was suggested above, you tell them that you have full documented proof of what was sent and when. Also, tell them you no longer want to be contacted. By law, they are required to obligate such. If the collections try to ding your credit rating, dispute it with the credit reporting agencies, again using your documented cancellation as proof that you indeed cancelled as per what was required by that location and your member contract, and that you are no longer obligated to any charges or debt that was incurred after that point in time. If, God forbid, it actually comes down to a lawsuit, again, you have full documented proof you could show in court (why I think getting it notarized as well may be a good idea) that you cancelled your membership as per contract and you should not be required to pay any debt incurred after that point.

Further, check with the state laws and even the attorney general. Apparently, there are laws in some states that requires the gym to cancel any membership over a year for any reason whatsoever, as long as you give them the proper 30-day notice. I know, it seems like a lot of leg work and a lot of hoops to jump through just to cancel a friggan membership, but at least this way, your butt-end will be totally covered if they don't honor their end of the contract.

They asked Michelle if someone from the gym took the money because it was not their code. I was very upset because now I have to drive back and they do not seem to understand someone took the money out of the account. I then asked how I could stop the account. She smiled and said, "No way. You are in until July of next year." I am on a month to month contract which stated in the contract I have to give them 30 days’ notice. I told them I will make a complaint because they were not willing to help. It has been a month of this wild goose chase.

Then, they came back and said that the fact that I gave them my info for an automatic payment obligated me to the contract. I asked once again if they had ever had my signature on any document agreeing to this. They said no, but because I had given automatic payment info, that was the same thing. Fast forward 3 weeks later, I had 2 messages left for the manager to call me and, finally, today I'm getting a hold of the manager at the location. Jared, I think was his name. Anyway, he informed me of the same thing ABC told me. I informed him I would not be making any more payments because I never agreed to it. He said I'd be able to cancel if I moved over 25 miles away from a location. Again, where I'm moving, it is 22 miles from a Gold's Gym. No way am I continuing this.

I am sending a certified letter tomorrow letting them know my situation, log of my calls, and that I canceled my automatic payments. It's absolutely crazy - horrible business taking advantage of people without having any signature to their agreement. I love supporting local businesses - and while I know this is a national chain, I was glad to have one nearby me - that experience is clearly ruined and it's a disappointment to read of Gold's very thick history of scamming people. They'll never have my business again ever.

Thirdly, you know Gold's Gym is up to some shady ** because you can't even locate their offices in Jacksonville, NC. All you can find is a PO Box. (Good thing too because I want to tell them some things). If you are thinking about joining here or know someone who is, don't. Stay the ** away from this place! Oh and last, I had to change my debit card number one time and forgot to tell Gold's Gym. Oh no problem. They charged me my $14 a month fee plus $49.99!

They are evil and don't even want to work with you which, to me, is bad business. So, I am cancelling both my contracts with them and will give another gym my business. It would have been simpler if they actually listened to me and went out of their way to make it work. They might ruin my credit, but are not getting another dime out of me. I hope I can encourage anyone researching gyms to not give Gold's Gym your business. All the corporate person I spoke to could say was, "you signed the contract, you have to follow the rules." Okay, how about 1 less customer? Gold's Gym did not leave a good impression with me. All they did was give me anger.

I gave Gold's gym a phone call and the lady politely told me she would look into it and refund me and give me a call back. I never received a call back. A week later, I called again and spoke to the "manager" I have never spoken to, a more rude and arrogant man who is supposed to be running a business. I argued for 15 minutes on the phone before hanging up. I am a customer and I should never be disrespected the way I was. He accused me of lying. I just want to prevent this from happening to anyone else, so save yourself the money and go to a different gym where you are treated with respect.

Almost one year later, on June 1, 2012, I received a charge for $8.99 from Gold's Gym on the card they were not able to charge when I was a member. This charge was not authorized by me. I have not had anything to do with Gold's Gym since August of 2011. I am not sure what the $8.99 charge is for. I have disputed the charge with my credit card company and requested that my card number be changed. I am not sure what recourse I have, but I am reporting this to Consumer Affairs, my local state attorney and the Better Business Bureau. This organization is clearly making fraudulent charges on their previous members cards and charging current members bogus fees.

Today, I received the first paper actual bill from their collections department. We cannot get a confirmation saying my membership is cancelled or the balance cleared. I do not know what to do. We spent the last hour on hold and then got disconnected.

I went to the bank and cancelled my debit card and replaced it with a new one so they could no longer take out any money. I received a letter a few weeks ago stating they were reporting me to the credit bureau for breach of my contract with them. A week or so ago, I received a post card from them that read if I would take advantage of membership package offered, then my account would be "swiped" clean slate. This to me seemed to not be on the up and up. My neighbor explained her experience with trying to cancel her membership and they need to have something done to prevent them illegally taking money from a person’s banking account with authorization! I am seeking counsel to discuss this matter.

Yes, they have. I just found out today they had still been taking my monthly payments as well as a maintenance fee for $30. I called the Gym and was given an 800# to call. A rep told me that I have to fax or mail in a cancellation statement which would take 30 days to be submitted and any fees within that time frame will still have to be paid. Seriously! Can you all smell a scam? The purpose of a contract is to set a specific time frame from this date to that date, no if's, and's, or but's about it. Never before in my life! This is what happens when someone tries to do right! I had been faithfully paying even though I had discontinued going a while back; yet, this is the treatment I get. So undoubtedly, I will still be paying next month's bill because it's within the 30-day cancellation cycle. Gold's Gym sucks!

Do not ever, ever, ever sign a contract with Gold's Gym. Just stick to month by month payments. Also, it's mighty peculiar how they won't except Walmart Visa Debit cards, that's because they love to scam and they can't make automatic withdrawals from it. I started off with Gold' Gym with a Walmart Visa Debit, then after a few months, I was charged with a late fee because they claim to have had difficulties getting the money off it although the money was on it. So I had to pay a late fee of $30 I think it was. Then they advised me to change over to my bank debit card. I should have smelled a scam then, but silly me, I didn't. I wouldn't return to Gold's Gym even if it was $5. They'd still find a way to get over on you.

Nothing was said about a contract so I wasn't thinking anything about it. On 4/18/2012, I checked my March statement, which became available on 4/16/2012. I was charged $320 on 3/16/2012, so then I checked online banking and again, charged $320 on 4/16/2012. What the hell. I called up the gym and asked for a manager. I was told he wasn't there. So I talked with the sales manager. I told him I bought 8 sessions on 2/16/2012 and I was being charged monthly. He told me to wait. So I waited and then he said I signed a contract. I told him no, I signed up for 8 sessions. He said I signed a contract for 8 sessions a month for a year. I said no, I didn't. I was told only 8 sessions and that Sean had clicked off the recurring monthly charges, so I'd only be charged for that month.

Me and my wife went in to Gold's Gym in Conroe, TX to see if the manager was really there or not. He wasn't, I talked to the same sales manager and and he said the same thing, that I signed up for a year. I again stated I only signed up for a month and that I didn't have any contract. So he disappeared and went to the printer. He gave me 2 pieces of paper, it was a contract with my signature. This is the first time I ever saw this document. So anyway, we left. I called the next day from work and got their manager, Ronnie **. Remember that name, don't deal with him or this gym. He said I signed a contract, but would talk to corporate about it. I got a call the same day from Ronnie saying that they couldn't do anything about it because I signed a contract.

I told him that the first time I saw a contract or even knew anything about a contract was on 4/18/2012, when we went in on the day we first complained. We requested they call Sean ** to see what he said. They absolutely refused, saying he no longer works for the company and they can't contact him. There is something going on when they won't call the person who signed me up. So now I'm going through the BBB, which they are of no help. They just relay the emails between us and them, back and forth. That's it. Everything is at a stand still. So all I can do is warn everyone else. They are cheats and liars. Stay away from Gold's Gym and from Ronnie ** or Sean **. Cheats and cheats.

I arrived in Millbrae, CA, my new home and called the 1-800 # and it prompted me to put in my zip code, which I did. It directed me to Crunch Fitness in San Mateo, CA. When the rep answered, she told me that Crunch bought out this Gold’s location. I was disappointed but she assured me that everything was the same and even better and invited me for a look around. I then called the 1-800 Gold’s number back, but discovered that this number is a black hole with no possibility of speaking with anyone in the corporate office. I discovered the nearest Gold’s was 14 miles away in San Francisco or 20 mile in Mountain View.

I had no choice but to join Crunch. I tried the 1-800 again, with no luck, so I didn't know what to do but it was put in the back of my mind. Gold's has my email and old address which all my mail is being forwarded from for a year. I honestly forgot to update my debit card info because I did not know where to do this at and I was not going to give details over the phone to the gym in Phoenix. I figured Gold’s would contact me via email or mail but they didn't. They waited like vultures until the two month period for overdue accounts was referred to an abusive collections agency called Swift to contact me. They contacted my mother who has my emergency contact on my application to find me. I later spoke to the rep in Phoenix and she did say they tried calling but could not get through. My fault as I changed my phone number when I moved. They were clever enough to find me via my emergency contact when they knew they had me on the hook!

Shame on Gold's for not operating a clean business! You are a corporate predator and deserve to go out of business! Right here and now, I am willing and able to bring my account current. I calculated that I owe you $100. Gold's claims I owe them $1,100. I asked Swift debt collectors for a breakdown of which he nastily said he couldn’t provide more that $100 contract break fee and $50 penalty plus arrears. My calculation comes to $250. The balance they say is that I have to complete the contract and pay the unscrupulously sly collector for their services. Well, if I have to pay off the remaining year of my contract, why can't I use a Gold’s Gym? They threatened to report this on my credit as well! Isn't that illegal? I contacted the manager in Gold's Phoenix and she was very surprised because I was only 2 or 3 days past the 60 past due period. I didn't even get notification from Gold’s! Just straight to debt collector! She said she would look into it. I let Swift know this! Huh!

An hour later, I get a call from a Swift rep saying he had additional info for me, huh! He said the owner of Gold's Gym in Phoenix was "enraged" that she spoke with me and demanded her name. She did nothing wrong and I refused to give it, as he, the "owner", should know his gym's managers name huh? I arranged two equal payments to pay the $1,100 as I certainly do not want my credit hindered and told him to never contact me again! Shame on Gold’s! The owner should take a business ethics course! I suspect you will see many more Gold's establishments fold and they will wonder why! I am an avid bodybuilder, but will never again step foot into a Gold’s Gym. I will give my business to a reputable gym who does not involve themselves in the underhanded practices that Gold's does. I will tell all my friends and anyone who asks about this experience, I am certain they will not entertain the idea of joining a Gold’s. I think the founders of the first Gold's Gym would be ashamed of these practices!

We noticed that the charges were still coming out for January and the subsequent months but did not have occasion to go into the office until May of 2012, when we were charged for the 5th month beyond the terms of our contract. Before going into the corporate office to inquire, I went into the gym and spoke with a personal trainer who said that their contracts do go month to month unless we let them know otherwise. He did say that since we had not used any sessions since 2 months into our contract, we could likely get some sessions credited back to us.

Upon going into the corporate offices, I discovered that I had failed to check the box on the contract that stated that I did not want the contract to renew month to month. This is my failing; however, they were unwilling to credit back any of the 5 months nor would they even meet me halfway and credit me a part of the time. I must admit my lack of reading the contract upon signing up. I will say, however, that Gold's Gym does not display any type of grasp of the concept of Customer Service as they "simply go by their contract" and are not interested in retaining a customer for any longer than the term of their contract.

Needless to say, I have both my membership and the personal trainer sessions on a "do not renew" status at this point. They have elected to choose to generate $650 in revenue for 5 months of service not provided instead of having me renew for another year of membership. I would highly advise anyone who is considering entering into a contractual agreement with Gold's Gym to thoroughly read their contract so that they don't make the same mistake that I did. And be aware that Golds' Gym are very firm on enforcing their contract and don't appear to be interested in taking care of their customers.

Also, the changing room stinks, and its air conditioner used to be shut until and unless someone complains about it to switch it on. And the toilet tiles are broken. The exhausts in the shower are too low and are not covered. One day, I almost lost my fingers while having a shower. To add, the treadmill is having a problem of earthing. I was never able to do cardio on the treadmill, because it gave some kind of current while running.

I left the gym and joined Talwalkar's, which is 10km away from my place. But I guess it is worth now. I am highly unsatisfied with Gold's Gym, it being an international chain. I never thought it will lack so many small things.

I felt totally discriminated and I do believe that the manger does not like me because I am openly gay man and an emigrant. He mentioned that in a phone conversation that he had with my friend and he even hung off the phone on us. Now I have to still pay Gold's Gym since they said that my membership is VIP, for 2 locations, but I cannot use both location anymore. Since the second location is on the valley, it is too far from my Hollywood apartment and it is impossible for me to go there. I want to sue them for many reasons, but clearly, I see a breach of contract. I am still a VIP member and still I have to pay, but they don't allow me anymore to have full use of what I was paying for.

I tried to reason with them, but they will never accept that they are wrong. They have a rude, arrogant attitude, they protect each other and they won't admit that they were so rude with me. Instead, they prefer to blame the customer. I did refer many customer to the gym on the past, I spent a lot of money paying my expensive membership and buying from them all kinds of products. I am a member for 4 years on that location and I was treated worse than an animal. I also have a friend who was a victim of them. They mistreated him 9 months ago, he is 66 years old. He was discriminated for his age and for being gay. We really need a lawyer who can face them.

I can cancel a credit card, a utility account, and even a bank account over the phone or email. Why should a gym require a certified letter?! I told them I was in the middle of moving and would not go to the absurd effort of sending in a certified letter. They responded to my email, so I know they received my cancellation instruction. I canceled the credit card that the fees were being drawn on, but they are still calling for payment, and I am afraid they will sell the account to a collections agency.

They have got to be the sleaziest business I have ever come across, and I am baffled that they are allowed to get away with this insanity. By the way, I was told by an attorney that their cancellation requirements are legally unenforceable. So I don't know why credit agencies will even buy their accounts. It looks like I may have to do some damage repair with credit agencies.