Gold's Gym Reviews

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.

I brought the case to the BBB in Houston, and all they said was, as long as you signed contracts, there is nothing we can do.

One more thing. These people are so clever; they make you sign a contract in paper and another one on the screen, so you really do not realize that you are signing multiple agreements. And they do it all with a big smile!

In the end, I had to pay them $200 extra for buyout options; and they still charged two extra months of monthly fees because they were unclear for a long time on what was the procedure to cancel the membership and all. Are these greedy people or what? What is the purpose of being a win-lose type of business? I certainly hope some regulator takes a closer look at this type of business. They cannot claim they help people improve their health.

I got a call that a payment was past due, so I called again, and this time was told by some guy who answered the phone that a letter was required to be sent in requesting my membership to be canceled. I did. I got more calls that my payment was still needed. I ignored the first few, then last week I got another call from a recorded message stating a payment was needed. I called to inquire, and asked to speak to Amy **, the lady who signed me up. I was told by her that a certified letter is needed, along with a letter from my doctor stating I could no longer work out. I then reminded her of our conversation, and how easy it would be to cancel in the event that I had to go have surgery. On Jan 27 2012 I had my disk replaced in my lower back. I had a collapsed disk, and was, and still am, in a lot of pain, and now I am still dealing with this.

She did get a note from her physician. But they refused to let her cancel. Her contract states if she moves 30 miles away, she can cancel. She has had to move back in with us, which is 33 miles away. They still wouldn't let her cancel. Yesterday the manager at the gym and the representative in billing said her contract has been cancelled. I have asked for something in writing.

I am disgusted to read all these complaints that are similar to my daughter's experience or worse. What Gold's gym and Max Fitness is doing, seems so fraudulent and against the law. With all these complaints, it seems there could be a class action lawsuit. I don't understand how they are able to get away with it!

I have bent over backwards to try and contact anyone who could help me and it took seven phone numbers to finally get a hold of someone and they told me they wouldn't refund me the money because I didn't cancel my old account. They finally said they would credit my account the $56 and I wouldn't settle, I said, I wanted the money they "stole" from me back into my account. I have been a customer with Gold's for seven years, never late payment once and they treated me like I was dirt. Wow, thanks Gold's Gym, you really showed me how low greed and deception can go.

I have been trying to call Gold’s Gym corporate every day for over a month during my lunch break to try to talk to someone and have been on hold every day for my 30 minute lunch break and never got to talk to anyone. Finally, today, I had a sick day and could remain on hold long enough to actually talk to a human, who told me yes "we are experiencing a high call volume" and "you should have read your contract more closely." Oh my God, I have paid Gold’s for 6 months living nowhere near Gold’s Gym. I feel really burned by small print and wonder why a company would add a small print clause like this. Just to rip off people like me?

Since then they (Gold’s Gym) have changed and decreased their operating hours and completely closed on Sunday. Found out today that they deducted $20.00 out of my account for some form of a yearly fee. I called the gym, they (Gold’s Gym manager) said there was nothing she could do and gave me the number off the corporate office. I phoned them (Gold’s Gym corporate office) and was transferred to a woman's voice mail that was full and I could not leave a message. I phoned the corporate office multiple times to no avail. I was hung up on one time, trapped in a phone tree another time and then just left my name and number with the only person I could find that would answer the phone. Since then, there has been no phone call from anyone affiliated with Gold’s Gym. This is incredibly aggravating. I was warned by many people, including an employee of Gold’s Gym, about their financial traps. This company should be ashamed of their business practices.

Months had passed and Gold's Gym called my sister, telling her that she owe Gold’s Gym $1300-plus and they also told my sister that I owe them the same amount. The total amount that my sister and I owe them is $2700-plus when in fact we only visited their gym twice for a single month. That is like $650 per session gym. My sister got scared so she is now suffering paying the $1300. They made a deal with her that she can pay it $100 a month. I didn't pay mine because I never received any mails from them and I never received official phone calls. Now, I just found out that they submitted that $1300-plus to Swift Funds collection agency and it is in my credit history. I feel so helpless and I don't know what to do. I just graduated from college and starting a life and this is the "welcome to life" gift that Gold's Gym had given me.

Then I scanned it and emailed it to them. They could read it but they could not use it because of the date on my driver's license. They said it had to show proof I moved from Wilmington back to my home town. Then they sent me another bill for a $1000.00. I have been trying to cancel my membership without any success. They change their story every time I talk to them. I am telling everyone to not buy a Gold's Gym membership.

I try to escalate the mistake to all the sales rep who work there, but they keep telling me that the problem will be solved ASAP. But since our subscription date till now, almost 6 months, we are without any response from their side. I appreciate your urgent feedback. Otherwise, I will terminate our contract that you did not respect from the beginning and escalate the case to the concerned department.

Because I had only received three months of use from the gym, I did not feel it right that I should pay for the full fee (although was willing to pay for the services used) and opened a dispute with my credit card company, Discover. I heard back from Discover who stated that they had spoken with the Merchant's bank who agreed to Discover taking the money from the Gold's Gym bank to apply the refund.

Since then my girlfriend (who has no affiliation with my account apart from the fact that I also paid $99 for her to join) has started receiving collections calls from your company for fees unpaid by me. I have spoken with Gold's Gym Corporate Office who gave me Sandy ***'s phone number and I have spoken with her several times in order to get this resolved. Sandy has deferred me to "Ron" who is apparently the owner of both the Sacramento and former Elk Grove facilities, but despite calling Sandy multiple times to get Ron to call me back he has yet to do so. I estimate I have called and spoken to Sandy no fewer than 6 or 7 times regarding getting this resolved so I hope that goes someway to showing that all the effort to date seems to be on my part.

I have called the National Fitness 800 number and explained my situation to them and they were more accommodating than the initial collections calls which were incredibly rude and hostile. I am currently in a "Late Payment" status and am really concerned that this will go to collections on Jan 15th thus affecting my credit score because Ron cannot be bothered to call me back to settle this. As I said before, I am willing to pay for services I used but I want it to be fair. It's interesting that I am getting charged fees on this once your company had accepted the corrections requested by Discover.

At the end of the internship, sometime during the first week of August, as previously arranged with Jim **, he cancelled his membership and moved back to Michigan to resume his university studies. Though he cancelled his membership, Gold's Gym continued to bill my credit card $19.99 every two weeks with the most recent charge on 12/30. When my son recently contacted manager Jim ** (after I noticed the ongoing unauthorized charges on my credit card), he was told that no refund was possible because my son had no proof that he had cancelled his membership. Jim ** is quite aware that my son no longer used Gold's Gym after the first week in August. I also contacted Jim ** and he even refused giving a partial refund for the $200 that was billed to my account since my son returned to Michigan.

This is the first time in my 60 years that I have had a consumer experience serious enough for me to complain to the Better Business Bureau and share my experience on web sites, blogs and social media.

I called my gym who informed me I had to call national fitness. On my first call to national fitness, I was told my membership had been cancelled but that I was still responsible for the first months payment plus a 30 day waiting period. Fine, ok I said. Next thing I know, I got another letter threatening to send my account to collections and report it on my credit score. Again I called and this time was told my membership was not cancelled and they didn't have any paperwork to cancel. At this point, I then faxed a copy of everything I mailed, thank goodness I had save a copy for myself, and I emailed it and I mailed it back.

Another month has gone by and this issue is still not resolved. National fitness says they don't handle cancellations and to go to my gym. My gym says they don't handle it and to call national fitness. I feel like they are betting on me giving up and just paying since I have now talked to the gym manager, asst manager, 4 supervisors for national fitness and countless others. I will not go away and feel at this juncture it is worth seeking an attorney. Do not ever sign any contract with golds gym. They will never cancel it and will randomly deduct money from your account if you set up eft. So here is a fair warning, do not give them your bank account info. No one will take responsibility for resolving my account issues and when I asked for the complaints address, they refused to give me the address stating I could try to find it myself. This has got to be criminal and against BBB? Help!

The woman at the front pulled up my account and told me that we were not month to month but that we had signed a one year contract. So, okay, were stuck in this. Not happy but we can live with it for a year, right? Now I noticed that we had the amount deducted again for a third time this month. Went up there again and was informed that we had signed for bi-weekly payments. I explained that we only signed for bi-monthly payments and that we have a problem with this. Was told by the manager, "bi-weekly, bi-monthly, it means the same thing".

Last I saw, bi-monthly meant twice a month, not every 2 weeks. We had Matt sign us up for the 7th and 21st of the month since it would be bi-monthly. That happened the first month, then we noticed that the dates were changing. Now it was a full week early. But were expected to deal with it. I asked about cancelling, again, and was informed that we can cancel but we are still liable and responsible for the membership till it is paid and will have to give 30 days notice in advance to cancel. The gym could really stand to have a good cleaning. The showers smell like urine, straight up urine, like someone had gone in there and just peed! Nasty.

We called the corporate office and waited, and waited, and waited until we were again told everything was fine. Well, everything was not fine. The Monday after "Black Friday", the biggest shopping day of the year, our account was hit with a $417 Gold's gym withdrawal. I called the Broken Arrow, OK location and was told to speak with the location manager, Rick. I left several messages and never received a call back and finally decided to pay them a visit. I was then directed to Loren the "operations manager" what a joke. She didn't have a clue what was going on and she also told me, Rick had no idea as well.

She made a call to someone in the corporate office and they explained that we were charged for our other membership, a cancellation fee, and a late fee. What a bunch of ** at the Broken Arrow, OK location! There was not one competent person in the entire building! I was told there was nothing I could do and did not even get an apology. I realized I owed the money, at least part of it, but I tried to correct the account on several occasions. I had to leave Loren's office because I felt as if I was going to turn her desk over and throw it through the wall! Needless to say, our Christmas was ruined because of Gold's gym!

They are threatening me now and I believe that Mitch is no longer even working there. I'm dealing with the corporate office in Augusta who could care less about my situation. They just want money. This same situation happened to a number of my co-workers who also lost their jobs. They could not cancel their contract to Gold's Gym in Aiken. All from out of state also. I will have to pay 4 months dues to Gold’s Gym plus late charges. If I refuse, I will have to pay the remaining of the 2-year contract plus the 4 months. And that will go on my credit report.

When I went in to complain, the guy was unbelievably rude and went through such a roundabout description of how the fees would be charged. I realized he was either trying to confuse me or just plain dumb. I asked for the number to corporate so I could verify their policy. I was told, "I don't have any number to give you. I just e-mail some guy." I told him it was very simple math, 24 payments at $___ equals the one year fee. “No, no,” he said again, “and again we have to charge you one month early to cover the last month.” That’s bogus. I love the facility but hate the financial management. I’m still trying to work it out.

It wasn't until December 4th when we received a disturbing call from a collection agency regarding my son's membership and lack of payment. This was the first contact we have received. We let them know it was not intentional and we would take care of it directly with Gold's so we can bring the account up-to-date and give a new debit number for their use.

The following morning on December 5th, my husband went to Gold's to take care of the situation wherein he was told it was out of their hands as it has been sent to collections. He explained what happened with the lost wallet and why did we not receive a phone call or anything in writing as to the delinquent account and confirmed they had three correct phone numbers, mine, my son's and our home number and not one contact. A "handwritten" note was given as to what months are delinquent, fees and the fee for the collections. Nothing was printed out reflecting this information.

On December 12th we received a billing statement dated "December 5, 2011" from Gold's Corporate in Texas with an outline of the delinquent monthly fees and NSF fees for each month stating to bring the letter to the local gym to take care of the matter. On December 13th, my husband called Gold's corporate office in Texas and let them know on December 12th we received their letter dated December 5th and would like to take care of the outstanding fees to bring my son's account up-to-date. Corporate basically said the letter is now void and the matter was sent to collections on "December 6th!" They also stated, "I'm sorry, you just now took the time to open it, but it's too late!" I could not believe it! We then asked again why nobody contacted us and they stated they had left a message on our home number. Well, that's not the case because we don't have an answering machine! Oh wow, a little **. Yes!

For one thing, how come we received a call from collections on the 4th, which is the first contact regarding this matter, and now corporate states it was sent to collections on the 6th? I think they are doing a little **-covering there since there were no attempts to contact us whatsoever to get the matter cleared up and they know they are wrong in how this was and is being handled!

After the phone call with corporate on December 13th we again went into the local Gold's to try and clear this up. They stated they could not talk to us about it since it is in collections. We then made sure to have the manager put into the member system "Do not process debit card, card is inactive" so as not to accumulate more delinquent fees, NSF fees, etc. We did request a print out of this request which we have in our possession should they try to charge more monthly fees and NSF fees on top of everything else. My minor son's credit is now going to be tarnished!!

Dealing with Gold's Gym has been complete hell!

I didn’t realize that I had screwed up until the very rude collections agent reached me at work last week. I called the district manager four times and left messages. They always tell me he is there but he is busy and they will give him my message. I called customer service, who says that they cannot do anything, that I must call the collections agency. I did and I got a voice mail. What I really wanted is to continue being a member but the way that I am being treated is making me to think maybe a new membership at the Athletic Club is a good idea!

Why would any business want to run off long-time customers like that? In this economy you might think they would try and keep their customers! Shame on Gold's for being so short-sighted and unresponsive to their customers! Well, I guess there is a clause in my contract (which nobody seems to have a copy of) that says they can force a whole year of payments out of me or something. I still haven’t been shown that in writing.

I am hoping that Gold's Gym sends a letter of apology for deliberately tricking and lying to an 18-year-old as well as the horrible customer service we have received when trying to find out answers regarding the gym memberships he was tricked into. They forging of his initials, I will be pressing charges. To date, I have managed to get a long list of names. This is not going to end here.

I called the post office to schedule redelivery. They told me one more time and it would be returned to me. I realized that is exactly what Gold’s Gym corporate office wants to happen. I emailed them letting them know that if someone did not accept my letter for a third time, I would have to contact the Better Business Bureau. Someone then emailed me back the next day saying that it was received. However, I still have not received my refund for the startup fee. Why on earth is a refund taking this long? I really don’t know what else to do. I have decided to wait for the refund another week. If I don’t see it in the mail or on my bank statements, I will contact the BBB.

Today, I found my bank account had just been drained of $332 by Gold's Gym. After 30 minutes on hold, I spoke to a very rude customer service representative. His records indicated that I canceled my account, but my husband did not cancel his. When I disputed that, he told me I had to "prove it."

This is just amazing. Obviously, they had access to the account for the last 3 years, it's still the same bank. They never took out a dime during that time. And, I'm not really sure what the charge is for. It doesn't seem to equal the monthly costs for membership. If they had kept charging the monthly fee, I would have seen there was a problem and could have dealt with it way back then. We never received any sorts of collections calls or letters from them.

I am contacting my state's attorney general to file a consumer complaint, and I have disputed the charge with my bank.

They never returned my calls, it threw my Utah bank account almost $60 into the negative, so the bank advised me to stop payments, and close the checking account. As soon as I did that, Gold's would not get off my back! I've been in many fights with them, asked to speak with managers, and they will never pass me along. This is a very dishonest company, with terrible customer service. I am so not pleased with their ethics, and morals. Because of them, I have a bank account in the negative. I'm afraid it may go on my credit report.

The following week my checked was cashed with the following written in the subject line: "final payment to close account." Interesting enough, I get a call from the billing company telling me that I owe another months fees! How is this possible? I decided to pay it just to get it over with. I just want to forget this whole situation.

Case closed? Nope. The gym took my checking account information and billed me for another month. I never authorized them to bill from that account. They took the information off the check that said "final payment." This whole process is a rip off. Gold's Gym East Hartford, CT not only flat out lies to you but they withdraw money from an account without authorization. In all, I paid two more monthly payments after making the "final payment."

So, now 2 months after the fact, I just noticed on my credit card statement that they are continuing to charge me. I tried calling and was given a condescending lecture about cancelling within 30 days by the operator. When I spoke with the supervisor (Margeret, **), I was informed that I would continue to be charged for another month which I obviously will not be using as I live in Florida. This is such a blatant scam that I'm surprised that they are able to stay in business. Not only that, but they require a snail mail with confirmation to cancel! I am completely flabbergasted as to why any modern company would require such a tedious cancellation policy, or actually, I'm not because it certainly makes cancelling more difficult.

Not only do I feel genuinely ripped off by this company, the facilities themselves are dirty and poorly maintained. I originally signed up because of its convenient location by York Hospital and as it was one of the HR recommendations. I will be certain that HR knows about my experience so that hopefully, it may serve as a warning to others.

Now I find a month’s charge for June of this year on my credit charge from Gold's Gym, charged in October. I called the headquarters and said this shouldn't be on there, and they said that all the months would eventually be on there, and that there was a glitch in their system. I explained what the sales rep had told us, and they apologized and said they couldn't be held responsible for what one of their employees promised a customer. By the way, the new Gold's Gym still hasn't opened, and their phone doesn't even work!

I no longer care to be a Gold's Gym member. I don't think that I should have to jump through hoops to get my money refunded back to me after I have provided you with statements from my bank. You have admitted that you had a system error, which was the cause for this mess. I meet with the manager of Gold's Gym in Birmingham everyday regarding getting my money returned into my account. This is so absurd, it is not even funny. Is this how Gold's values us as a customer?

Now why am I not going to this gym and still having to pay? I don't understand why no one brought this to my attention at any point during the time I was trying to cancel, which took way too long and led me to running around trying to catch a manager when they weren't busy. I would not recommend joining this gym to my worst enemy. You'd be better off buying a machine to have at home. You would probably save yourself some money and headaches in the long run.

I was totally uninterested in being a part of the "new" club with its new membership rules, so I went to the facility and signed a "make-shift" cancellation form with one of their employees. She was quite rude and snappy and said that no matter what I wrote on the Gold's Gym form, it wouldn't make any difference and I would still be liable for the balance to the new club. At this point, the new club didn't even have any of their own documents or contractual agreements I suppose.

I went to my bank, where I was formerly employed, and placed a stop payment on any further auto withdrawals with the cancellation document that I signed with the young woman. I went ahead and let the initial payment for the coming due post, allowing for a 30-day notice to be effective before I permanently stopped payment. The bank had the stop payment documented as Gold's Gym (taken from the form, I imagine), and fortunately, I called and caught it on the day it was supposed to post. I called my bank and they immediately changed the name on the stop payment to reflect the 'Sportscenter' name and returned the $19.99 auto withdrawal unpaid.

I received a letter from a billing company named National Fitness, 1645 East Highway 193, Suite 100, Layton, UT 84040 800-948-1916 yesterday, 10/17/11, and it stated that I owed $34.99. I can only assume they've added a $25 fee for the return. I called their office this morning and the lady was very rude and unwilling to listen to what I had to say and said, "It'll just end up in collections." I plan to pursue this issue, not because of the measly amount supposedly owed on the 'non-existing' contract with Sportscenter, but because of the principle of the matter. Many, not all, health clubs outside of Gold's Gym are just an outlet to take folk's hard-earned dollars, and they don't really care about the health of the individual at all.

Sometime in 2010 the relevant card expired, no additional charge for Gold's Gym appeared before the expiration of the credit card with which I made original payments. On August 2, 2011 I received a letter from Gold's Gym claiming that I owed an additional $32.99 in charges. On August 16, 2011, First Credit Services Inc. sent me a correspondence indicating that I was indebted to Gold's in the amount of $57.99. I contacted Gold's by phone and was told by Lisa **, a Gold's employee that in fact I owed "hundreds of dollars" and that my payment of $57.99 would not be sufficient to eliminate the "debt".

On September 30, 2011 I received a new letter from First Credit indicating that I was indebted to Gold's in the amount of $267.92. All correspondence from Gold's and First Credit asked for new credit card information, savings or checking account numbers noting that Gold's had tried to run the charge described in their correspondence of August 2, 2011 through the credit card I paid my 2008 invoices with. I checked the Internet and found a number of people indicating longstanding problems of a similar nature with Gold's. Some postings even suggested that complainants should get together for a class action lawsuit.

I was getting ready to leave for 2 trips at the time and was gone for about two months. When I came back, I realized they had kept charging my credit card. I then contacted the manager via email and telephone. She said there was never any cancellation form signed. Basically, she said I was a liar but in a very nice, friendly way. There were many emails sent back and forth. Finally, my husband and I went in together. She gave us a credit but still never found my cancellation form. Finally, two months after that, figuring my account had finally been cancelled, I got a collections agency letter telling me to pay this debt within 30 days.

Either way, I contacted the gym again. She finally, after 5 months of anxiety and lack of sleep over this, bought back the debt from the collections agency. Per her email to me, my membership is finally cancelled. However, I personally will never ever join a Gold's Gym ever again. I will advise anyone wanting to do so against it. I think a civil lawsuit should be filed against these types of organizations, making it easy for people to cancel online by clicking. I want to cancel my membership now, not five months later! By the way, she did find my form finally 4 months or so later and said that it was just a freeze. They had conveniently circled freeze on the form after I had come in (in person) 3 times to cancel. Thanks for listening.

Guess what, nothing was done. No one took care of the incident and she's still there, disrespecting other members. Can someone do something for this location? We pay to go and have fun and get our frustrations and stress out of our minds and bodies, not to get them.

Now, they have new changes in Zumba classes, which no one likes. We have expressed our concerns to the GM (Cesar) who basically told us that if we don't like it, just leave. Well, that is exactly what a lot of us are doing; we won't be renewing our membership. He treated us very nasty, like we were there for free. I guess, who cares about us if we don't have blue eyes and a lot of my friends don't even speak English. I guess, he doesn't care about our business. I really hope that someone takes action before they end up closing this location that has very unpleasant people working there.

When I joined, as soon as I heard that they wanted, and would only let me join, if I gave them access to my bank account. Red flags went up all over. Instead of walking out, I got sucked into this, I'm sure with illegal tact that they use. Now I'm going to the secretary of state to file a complaint against these crooks. I suggest that every one here that has been used by Gold's, to do the same! Even if giving them access to your bank account is legal on paper, it shouldn't be. It's just more political corruption if you pay off the right politicians. I also suggest that everyone that has been scammed by Gold's get involved to stop this usury and fraudulent activity!

When I confronted him today, he was very unprofessional and rude. He couldn't find my cancellation in my folder, and asked me if I had it I had to look for it. It's almost unbelievable that an honest decent company would treat a long time customer like that. Hopefully, not all Golds Gyms are treating their customers like that, because I like to exercise there.I just want my money back for August and September.

It's really too bad because I liked the location. I feel bad for those choosing to live in such a low cesspool of existence. Good luck and heads up.

I will never join this gym again after my contract expires. I have never been so undervalued by a sales staff.

So, the next step I took a few months ago was to call the corporate office and cancel my membership; I was hung up on, placed on hold forever, and hung up on again--I gave up. Today, I called back; I talked to a girl, who I failed to get the name of, and said that we could not cancel. Ok, so they lied when we signed the contract—a big shocker. So, she then said that she would cancel the rest of the quarterly fees for the remainder of our contract, which ends in 2013. I said, “thank you” and hung up.

Then, I called back because I figured it was just another lie to get me off the phone. I then spoke to Yoshi, who I then explained my situation to. He said there were no notes in the file that I had spoken to anyone in that office. Wow! Really? Then he continued to be completely rude to me; he told me that I was making up what I was telling him, and they couldn't cancel those fees, although the girl said she did.

What's wrong with this picture? He kept asking who I spoke to, and I kept telling him that I didn't know her name. I was also told that since we had paid up front, that there was no way we could cancel. He was very rude. When I asked for a supervisor, he wouldn't transfer me to one. So, the result of this whole fiasco is that we have to sell our membership or sit it out—wow. Thank you for the options. Never again will I ever sign up with Gold’s Gym or any other for that matter. I have two legs and a road to run on. I can honestly say that I will not recommend this gym to anyone. They're conniving jerks, who rip people off, and don’t "change their lives".

Buffalo Gold's Gym will not give the results, info, anything on who won at their site, or any mention of the payout to the winners. I was one of those who participated in the fitness challenge, and get nowhere with Gold's Gym on an answer for the contest. They give excuses and wont return any calls. When I did speak to them, they say they changed ownership, but still no answer for the results.

After just over a year and some medical problems, I stopped attending regularly. I requested a cancellation but it was denied. I was told that the account was in my daughter's name (she signed up with me) although the monthly charges were coming out of my checking account. She would have to show a utility bill with new address and pay $100 cancellation fee (doesn't sound like "no problem" to me).

Now that the two years is up, I emailed their corporate office to get the account cancelled. I got a response indicating that it would be cancelled as requested on 12 Aug 2011. I checked my bank account online and found out that they have taken out an entire month's fee on 10 Aug 2011. When I called the office in Salt Lake City, I was told that the charges were taken out for the previous month.

I then reviewed my 2009 statements and found out that the monthly charge was taken out the day I signed up in August of 2009. I called back to tell them this information and to indicate that his explanation didn't make sense. He (Yoshi) told me that the almost $50 charged in August was an initiation fee and the 24-month contract didn't start until the September payment.

Gold's Gym is a scam. They get you coming and going and don't tell you the truth—anything to get you to sign! We have been constantly lied to. These are just a couple of examples.

When I asked what they were going to do for her and for the others who are either disabled or injured to climb the stairs, I was told that the old projection room is now to be used for cardio and they would set up the cardio equipment in there. The only problem is that the room is freezing cold, the walls are black and the lighting is very low due to movies being projected on the front wall of the room.

For eight weeks, I have been asking them if there was anything they could do to remedy the situation—turning down the air conditioning, painting the walls white, increasing the lighting, or moving some of the cardio equipment in the general gym area. Besides, there are more than enough locations within the actual gym to place bikes and treadmills

Yesterday, I finally got someone to tell me that they would be making no changes. My mom has to wear a sweater inside the room and if I wanted light in the room, I had to request that someone with the light "key" to turn on the lights. Unfortunately, turning the lighting up with the light "key" only gives you the minimum of light due to the fact that this is still a movie projection room and they show movies in there while working out. So, you see, they are unwilling to make any changes to accommodate some of their members.

Let me say that I have been a member of Gold’s since 1984 together with my family members and friends. My mom is 85 years old and is a paying member. She has been told by her physician that her cardio workouts are more than necessary; they are medically needed. What is she to do? Should I cancel her membership, as well as mine, so she could work out elsewhere? What about the others who are unable to climb the stairs? Are these people to fumble around in a black room? It sounds like a recipe for disaster to me. Someone will get hurt in there and Gold's will be sued. Only then will changes be made.

It is a ** as it appears that their members are not as important as they claim they are. The changes I am requesting would cost the gym nothing, only a can of paint and brighter lights. A simple turn of the air conditioning unit would have solved the problem of the cold in that room. It is so cold you can hang meat in there. It is a shame that Gold’s has turned into a "muscle" gym, only catering to the younger and more physically fit.

We got a charge on our credit card for $241 and $270 for another year. I immediately called and said that we did not want to continue and was given an email and fax to send my letter to.

When I called on Monday, I spoke to Jasmin, who said she was the office manager and that I could not mail anything because it was paid. I told her we had not been paying for months now and didn’t think we even had to call because it was going to be only the one charge. Our credit card number had been also changed by the bank due to security reasons. She said it didn’t matter. She would not give the address as it had to be within 30 days of the cancellation period.

It seems all they care about is stealing your money. She didn’t even give me an option to prorate and take off 11 months.

As you can imagine when trainers are switched with this frequency, the quality of the product being purchased is diminished. The gym's policy is not indicative to keeping customers. I want to warn anyone contemplating on purchasing a personal training package that there are no refunds allowed. Don't do it. I don't care if the rapture comes, they don't care if you're happy and will not refund your money. The gym is a joke for a lot of other reasons but I will not go into those at this time.

During this conversation, the manager was rude to the point of telling us we were bad parents by saying “that's bad parenting” to everything that was being said about my 3-year-old. He also barely paid attention to us – he was waving and nodding to other members as they were coming and going. This 'meeting' happened just inside the gym doors, off to the side of the front desk. The only 'help' he offered was to cancel my membership, which I made clear I was not interested in doing.

Towards the end of the conversation, the gym manager stopped the child care manager from talking. We were suggesting other options other than kicking my 3-year-old out. He sent her away and asked me again if I would like to cancel my membership. At this point I told him no, that we were trying to work something out and he said it’s not going to happen. He again said, “I'll just cancel your membership”. I again said no, that’s not what I want. So my husband said that the gym manager was just "being an **" and we asked for a number to reach someone above him.

He said, “That’s it, I'm cancelling your membership because you don't call me that in my gym”. I stopped him and said, “Look you said we are using 'bad parenting' and he said you are 'being an **'. It’s the same thing, no?”

He refused to give me a phone number for someone above him and gave me an email address. I asked for a corporate number and he said there is none. I asked again and he said I'll give you this number but it’s just a voicemail and he again stated he was going to cancel my membership. My husband said lets go, he is acting like an '** on steroids', which really set off the manager (why?). He said that’s it, the membership will be cancelled and get out of my gym.

We both turned and started walking to the front doors and the manager called to our backs and said "You are just jealous of me".

After this, I called the number he gave me. It rang and rang and no voicemail. I went home and emailed the address he had given me and I also emailed Gold's Gym through their website.

The next day, I went to a different location (Hershey) and spoke to the manager there. He was very helpful and even gave me the number to reach Gold's VP. He said he couldn't do anything for me, but if I wanted to come to this location I was more than welcome. As soon as we stepped outside, I called the number he gave me and left a message with the VP. She called me back right away and we spoke. She apologized for how I was treated and said that I was welcome to go to the Hershey location.

The next day, she called me back and said I was "posting messages all over Facebook, putting down the company and the Harrisburg manager." I did, in fact, post on the main Gold's facebook page, saying I had a bad customer service experience at the Harrisburg location and was treated poorly. I posted something similar to this twice and it was removed from the site both times within minutes. I also posted in my own facebook: "so much for gold's gym. bad. bad. bad." A few people asked what happened and I said, “The manager was an ** and the child care sucks.” I’m just stating my own opinions on my own facebook profile.

I received an email that evening from the Harrisburg Gold's Gym manager stating that Gold's, as a franchise, was going to take legal action against me "as a result of ‘Defamation of Character’ and ‘Cyber Bullying’."

Since that email, I have yet to hear more from the company.

My credit card records show that I have paid through the month of June 2010. My billing date is the 11th of each month, so by 11 July 2010, I was paid in full.

Since that date, I've received a bill for cancellation of the membership (no services rendered on their part), and a bill to "lock in my membership rate".

Why am I being charged to cancel my membership, when I was already required to pay and additional 30 days of membership before my account could be terminated? And why would I pay to lock in a membership rate when I've already requested cancellation of my membership?!?

I'm in the process of writing a letter to ABC Financial, explaining why I believe the charges are not justifiable. I assume, based on the number of complaints you've recieved regarding Gold's Gym and ABC Financial, that I'm going to have a difficult time of this.

I get the impression they're just dreaming up any way possible to bill me. My current credit rating is impecable, and a direct reflection of my commitment towards paying my debts, but it does not indicate my willingness to pay for services that I have not received.

Based on the number of complaints that have already been submitted, I would assume someone would be doing something about their billing practices. A class action suit would not be inappropriate at this point.

On May 17th I wrote a letter documenting the events and explaining I had paid the full amount due at the Cedar Park location on 4/19. There was no response or acknowledgement of my contesting the charges. On 5/26 I received a 60 day credit notice from First Credit Services saying I owed $50.97 ($25.97 + 25 late fee). On July 11 a third notice from First credit Services was received saying I owed $50.97 and on Thursday 7/28 a threatening phone call was received saying if the amount owed was not paid immediately, the issue would be reported to a credit bureau. After debating the issue over the phone to no avail I agreed to pay the additional money demanded to "clear" the file and was informed there would be an additional $9.00 fee for paperwork and handling by the debit collector! This seems to be a case of pure consumer fraud and harassment.

I was surprised at the high-pressure salesman approach of Gold's Gym and unfortunately paid no real attention to the contract since I couldn't see how that had much to do with anything. I was told I would join on a monthly basis and that there would be an extra semi-annual fee beginning, in my case, in January 2012. I told them I doubted I wanted the membership for more than a month or two and really thought little of it at the time.

A short time later, I saw a charge for $15.95 from a company called "Paramount Acceptance" on my Discover Card bill. I had no idea who they were and I disputed the charge. They apparently sent a form letter back to Discover Card indicating I had signed a contract for the fee with Gold's Gym. Evidently, what I thought was silliness was Gold's Gym's way of getting money out of people, and beyond what they had told me verbally. I was not aware that Gold's Gym had even retained my credit card number that I used for the first monthly payment, much less sent it to a third party to charge me additional fees they had specifically indicated they weren't going to charge me.

I went many rounds with Discover Card, Gold's Gym, and Paramount Acceptance, and pretty much only got the run around. Along the way, I screamed so loudly I have no doubt they could hear me a few buildings away. According to Paramount Acceptance, they've supposedly cancelled my Gold's Gym membership, but they wouldn't confirm that in writing. Discover Card responded not only with being totally unwilling to help but indicating they were going to report me to credit bureau, after 24 years as a card member with literally hundreds of thousands of dollars in charges and with never a single late payment. I was in disbelief, to put it mildly. As soon as my final payoff check arrives, I will be cancelling my account with Discover Card and have advised them accordingly. I've had it with all of them--Gold's, Paramount, and Discover.

I don't know how exactly this will play from here, but after reading endless pages of similar complaints about Gold's Gym, et al. on the Internet, I couldn't help but wonder why there isn't a class-action lawsuit or some other very public campaign to either get Gold's Gym to stop their practices,or force them out of business. I wondered if this contact might lead to information about such an action or effort and if so, how I might be able to become a part of it or support it. (Sorry, however, folks, I may as well clarify up front: I'm a very poor guy and have already been robbed for $15.95 so far.)

My daughter happens to work for the local Tooele newspaper, but having already contacted the editor of the newspaper through my daughter, and because Gold's Gym advertises with them, they won't touch it (surprise, surprise). They even declined to publish my letter to the editor about the matter.

One lesson I've learned was never to fill out or sign anything. Anyway, I paid using my sister's bank account and without my knowledge, they were still charging the account. Because of this she ended up closing that account and she just got a new account. Just recently I found out I am in collections, and people are calling me all the time. And these people are not nice. This place is a fraud. I will never attend this gym again and I would not recommend anyone to join it!!!

i took her word and went through with it and now being that i was mislead by her iam in collection with a debt. i didnt want a contract with golds gym and i been only one time in jan.2011 and havent been back every because i thought if i didnt pay again it was over just like the lady told me when i first was there in oct.2010 and i dont want my credit messed up because of this,so it u could please help me with this issue please do. i dont feel iam respondable for something that was told to me wrong, i feel i was trick into signing something i didnt understand completely. she gave me false information for me to sign the paper.please let me know if you could help i

I went to his cubicle with him, and he continued to try and sell me a whole two-year contract for $22/month. I stated multiple times, very clearly, that I was barley 19, a student with no job and had no money. I stated multiple times I didn't want a full contract or to pay anything, I just wanted whatever the Jamba Juice award gave me for free. He seemed to comply, and filled out some paperwork asking me information as he filled it out. He reassured me multiple times it was only paperwork for my bar code to enter the gym. He said that the only reason he had to fill out the paperwork was so that it looked like a contract only for the bar code. He told me to put the paperwork away for 30 days then all would be canceled on July 25th so I could have the free membership and the bar code needed for gym entrance. He assured me that he was filling out the paperwork as if I were going to keep a two-year membership only because Gold's Gym corporate needed that information in their computer system to get me a bar code, that it was a very standard practice, he said.

His hand was covering the paperwork for the most part while he told me where to sign. Never once did his hand reveal the consumer warning as he again reassured me over and over that he was only allowing me to see paper where I was supposed to initial and sign. He never once gave me the opportunity to read it. Like any good salesman, he small-talked me quite a bit, and found out that if I did buy a VIP membership, I wouldn't need daycare or tanning and I was uninterested in a personal trainer.

A few days past and a friend of mine, who also entered the drawing but won the VIP like me, was talked into a full two-year contract and a personal trainer contract that she very clearly stated she didn't want. Fortunately, she was within the three-day period to cancel.

I started looking over my paperwork, which I had previously thought was unimportant since Mr. ** reassured me over and over that it was just information to get me a bar code. Unfortunately, as I read the paperwork, it became very clear to me that it was a full 24-month contract in the amount of $37.17 per month and included a daycare and tanning and personal training--everything he had assured me that it was not nor had I would have wanted if purchasing a contract for membership. After multiple calls to the Sandy Gym where Mr. ** originally "sold" me the contract, he couldn't seem to remember who I was and had no time for me.

I made a call to the headquarters of Utah and they told me the only thing I could do was sell the membership in KSL. I later drove to the headquarters to see what really could be done. A supervisor made a call to Mr. **, who assured them that he "sold" me a contract, and I knowingly signed it. I tried to reason with the office staff and acknowledged that I did sign the contract and wanted to rework the contract down then to a lower payment for lesser options as I did not need all the VIP options. I was trying desperately to make right my mistake; however, the staff was very discourteous and told me to be careful of what I sign in the future.

I did not receive a copy of the contract at that time. Bob said there was not a need to get a copy since it was not going to be processed. Bob denies everything. Personal trainer manager, Kaycee, stated she would put the contract on hold for three months until June 2011 due to my financial issues. I told her that I did not want the contract in February and still do not want the contract in June. It should not have been processed and no services were used. In addition, the contract was for two persons (my daughter and I). She had moved out of state for school, unable to use the services. Again, the contract was to be cancelled due to relocation. Gold's Gym is refusing to cancel the contract and is demanding payment in full when no services have been used.

Today, I just wanted to sit and discuss options, but when I contacted John ** about this, he was very discourteous and did not even attempt to hear my concern. As a matter of fact, I was never even offered a chair in the room full of salesmen. I understand that Gold's main concern is the money--and it was made very clear today. But I am a consumer that spends my hard-earned money to frequent this gym, and I was treated like customers do not even matter. I have never been so disappointed in any establishment that I support.

Like I've said, I've been here for three years, and I have never asked or complained about one thing. But when I have a legitimate concern, I'm treated like an insignificant member of your chain. I have even brought people in to join the gym, but never will I do that again. This is utterly ridiculous for someone to be treated like this. I understand this may be how mangers are trained, but how do you all plan to keep customers if your main concern is not the customer? As I've said, I am very disappointed and discouraged at how I was treated today. I will be contacting all Business Bureaus and Consumer Agencies to let them know. I just can't believe this is how customers are treated in the establishment that I've supported for three years.

On the same day, I spoke with Kevin from the membership dept. at 4:04 pm. He told me that, "Yes, I did put you in a 2-year contract. What are you going to do? Nobody will help you and you have to pay the $50 contract cancel fees." I then spoke with Judy on June 8, 2011 at 11:42 pm which she was very rude and had me on the speaker phone and had employees in the background laughing. She told me I had to pay $50 which I think was unfair that what they did to me. And she forced to me read the contract over the phone, made threats to me over the phone that, "No one will listen to you, not even Consumer Affairs or the Better Business Bureau." I would like the help of Consumer Affairs to return my $50.

I have been scammed over $200. I am a full-time student with little part-time work. These con artists have stolen money that I need to pay for my schooling expenses.

This $202, in my opinion, is not a valid charge. I am willing to pay the $34, but now my case is with a credit agency and they are demanding $202 fee for a mistake that was done by ABC Financial i.e. not charging my credit card for the month of November. Please help me

On September 2010 my husband, Angel Martinez, went in to Gold's Gym (Bandera Facility) to cancel our account. Our contract expired in September and we were moving to a new address. He told the person that assisted him that he needed to close our account. Gold's Gym front desk associate told him that by him signing both accounts were closed since he was the primary. He left thinking all was done. In January 14-16, I received a letter from Gold's Gym International stating I owed $81.06 in past dues since my account was not closed back in September with my husband's. The letter also stated that Gold's Gym representative have been trying to contact me by phone. I never received a phone call from Gold's Gym or any other kind of communication prior to this.

On January 24 I went to the facility in person (on Bandera). The person at the front desk that assisted me, Raymond ***, apologized for the inconvenience and gave a number to call to resolve this matter. I also filled out a membership cancellation questionnaire advised by Raymond **** to stop any more charges from Gold's Gym. I called the number I was given and after many tries of explaining, I find people at the other end transferring me from one person to the other unable to help me. I went back to the facility on March 6 to speak to Angel **** operations manager; he had told my husband back in January that he was going to send a letter to the corporate office in order to explain the situation. I asked Angel if he sent the letter but he could not recall. He checked your system and found no history of it.

I explained the situation one more time and he said that he was sending the letter that evening and he would let me know once corporate got back to him. He said it would not take more than 24 hours. I decided to call Angel ***** back on March 10 since I have not heard anything from him. He answered and said that their system was down, that he would call me as soon as the system was up. As of today, March 14, I have not received a call from Angel *****. I need for Gold's Gym to look at all documentation enclosed as an attempt to solve this issue which threatens to ruin my credit. Please also look at our payment history with Gold's Gym. We were faithful and exceptional customers for two years. Our obligation period was over, when my husband approached to cancel our account. In your records you should have the form that my husband filled out back in September. There is absolutely no need for us to have cancelled only one account since we were not planning of using the facility. As I mentioned before, we were moving to a new home and Gold's Gym location was no longer convenient for us. Did Gold's Gym front desk associate make an error at the time my husband approached to cancel our accounts?

If Gold's Gym FDA had mentioned that I needed to come in to cancel my own account, I would have taken immediate action on this matter. Would you also look at our check-in history in your system and see that my husband nor I had made use of the facility since my husband approached to cancel the account? We joined Gold Gym through my husband's employer (HEB). His employer had worked out a deal with Gold's Gym to offer HEB employees better rates and I would like to think that Gold's Gym also meets the same customer care his employer stands for. If we were misinformed by FDA and the facility have not being used since then, I ask that you make the right decision so my husband Angel **** and myself Yara *** can still maintain a relationship that can lead to future business with Gold's Gym.

I had trouble with the billing for myself after I had surgery on my foot, supplied letters from doctor, but to no avail for several months. I do not recommend ever using Gold's.

Well, guess what - they took out the monthly charge in December. I called the local gym - not only would the manager not listen but I also called the corporate office and registered my complaint and she said "You will be assessed this fee". She was very rude. I explained to the manager and the corporate office that I had spoke to several employees before and also the individual on the day I visited the gym to cancel and was told "no more fee assessment". Now they give me the bull of "it's in your contract".

I would not want my worst enemy to join Gold's unless they want to get a staff infection from the dirt and stink of this place. Not only this but their employees need attitude adjustments. Now, I hope they use my December fee to purchase cleaning supplies and do something with this place. Also, they are the most unfriendly people I know. Don't join Gold's! How can you keep up your health with exercise when you take the chance of getting sick from the odor at the gym.

They never showed me a copy of the contract before I signed it and since I didn't know it was a contract I didn't know that was what I was signing. I'm now working full time and taking classes full time and have no time to use the membership. I just went in to try and cancel it and was told I had signed a 36 month contract and that there was nothing they could do.

The person who signed me up never said anything about what I was signing up for was a 36 month contract. I went in there interested in a month to month. They said, I was sent a copy of the contract but that was after I had already signed the contract and was sent by email.

And now, after reading the other complaints, I’m nervous if I pay the remaining $450 that I owe immediately to just be done with it, that they may make it difficult still. I don't appreciate the no-cancellation fee policy. Even $300 would be reasonable, really. Wish me luck. This is a notice, a warning people to know what Gold’s Gym’s policies are. I do take blame for not knowing myself. Do they even offer reasonable month to month option? I am now out an unfair amount of money I think. And I am quite nervous about the difficulty level of canceling this membership.

The manager of Gold's Gym is saying that it was never canceled and I needed to come in and cancel. I have already cancelled and I am in the process of disputing this with the credit card company. They say they can't stop the monthly charges because it is not a recurring payment, but it is. Don't know what to do at this point. Please help.

Then I inquired why the form had to be notarized and Gianna said that it was "company policy." I was able to enter into a payment arrangement without a notary, but I had to terminate it with one? It was only a stumbling block to take advantage to bill me yet one more month.Since I am employed and my son attends school, it took about two weeks to get both of us together, sign the paper in front of a notary, and then I set forth to end my contract, William's membership, with Gold's Gym. During that two week time frame, I was once again billed for a month of gym use that we no longer wanted.

When I entered the facility, I brought a form for a representative to sign stating that they had received the cancellation agreement, that the form was completed correctly, and that the membership was over and there would be no more further billings. Surprisingly the representative (Stephanie) said that she wasn't comfortable with signing my form since the original contract supposedly stated that they needed 60 days advance notice to cancel a membership. I asked Stephanie to show me where in the contract that was stated and she could not show it to me.I have now left two messages for the owner, Dave **, to call me back to rectify this and I have not received a return phone call.

I had absolutely no intentions on having any kind of account with them any longer. I have argued with the collections representatives, sent them copies of the letter I had originally sent and thought the problem was solved. Now, I have an debt collection attorney calling me and threatening court! I am a single parent on disability and cannot afford an attorney to handle this! On top of that, this attorney is a real **** who talks to me like I am a complete idiot and doesn't want to hear anything unless I am going to pay him $217! This is an ongoing nightmare! I will never recommend Gold's Gym to anybody!

I almost wasted $200.00. The cancellation process or fee was not discussed in the so-called contract. Read before you sign anything.

In late December of 2009, I moved to Oregon. I stopped by Gold's and told them I was moving but was told I needed to bring a utility bill or something official in. I did not have any of that. I have lived in a town just south of Portland since January of 2010 and monthly debits of $32.99 continued to be taken out of my account. I called Corporate to cancel and they informed me they could not cancel through them. I called Gold's in Las Vegas and the manager (who I was told I had to speak to) was never in. I tried a final time in May and then just gave up.

Rather than deal with the hoops, they had placed in the way of cancellation. I opened a new bank account, moved all my bills over to that account and cancelled the account that Gold's was debiting. The last debit before I closed the account was in August. Gold's had acted like they couldn't be sure where I lived or if I had really moved, however, I recently received a Past Due bill. It had not been forwarded from my old Vegas address but was sent directly to my Oregon address.

Obviously, they knew I was no longer in a position to partake in the service they provide, and I had expressed my desire to end our relationship. However, they saw (and continue to see) no fault on their part in collecting money for services rendered when none are. I was informed today that because I signed a contract with them, that if I don't pay, I will be sent to a collection agency. It is my contention that since I had $263.92 debited from my account after I was no longer able to go to their facilities, that I owe them nothing further and, in fact, it would be better said that they owe me.

Either way, until people stand up and say they won't pay, Gold's will continue to spit on the customer and try to intimidate you. I was a SNAP member also and as soon as I told them I wouldn't be able to stay on, they quit charging my account. Gold's behaves as if once you sign a contract with them, you are bound and they are not. For my part, they will not get one dime more from me. Ever.

While, reading complaints from New York to Florida, it seems that Gold's has a common theme, crooked practices. I really think something legally should be done, to prevent them them from doing this to hard working consumers. They have a blatant disregard for their customers. I have personally emailed their corporate office and have been totally ignored. I just think the word should get out about their unethical standards of dealing with people.

I was so excited because instead of $156, I thought I was only paying 78 for each of us and for the whole year just like the previous one. Anyways, I get my statement and it shows that they have charged a monthly payment for the 4 accounts. I went in and talked to the manager and said that I had agreed to make those payments. I told him that I trusted him and thought he had given me a better deal. I know that is partly my fault because I did not read the contract, but I thought I was getting the same thing I got 2 days before. Now they don't want me to keep paying a $39 monthly payment for 4 persons.

Paying $39 for 4 persons on a monthly basis is a lot and I don't have that kind of money. I told them that I wanted to cancel and they said I have to pay $100 for each cancellation. After reading some of the complaints, I got scared because I don't want that to happen to me. I want to be able to cancel and don't have any more problems. I also told them that I can pay the difference to make up for $156 for each person. I'm waiting for their response.

The issue started when Josh was not able to train me at the only time I could, which was after I left work, (they are convenient to where I work). So he switched me to another trainer, Brad. Brad was good to begin with but I noticed that he really didn’t care if I lost weight or not and wasn’t really pushing me like I wanted. Some days he pushed me so hard though I told him it hurt, and he said if I didn’t want to be there, I didn’t have to be. What? I pay a lot and did I say a lot of money for trainer fees, and he says if I didn’t want to be there, I didn’t have to be! What nerve.

So I talked to Josh and the only time he could train me was in the mornings, so I tried that and I get there at 6:00 in the morning and I worked out till 7. So I walked up front and waited for Josh to finish his bootcamp he was involved with. When the lady at the front desk (who was obviously on a personal phone call) she told me to go work out. I replied that I had already worked out and I was waiting on my trainer. She said in a prissy little way "Well, go work out again." And as I replied to her, she took the phone away from her face and said, "Can I finish this first?"

She was very, very rude. I would think that Gold’s would make our satisfaction guaranteed. So after that I went home, stopped payment on all of their bank drafts and I really don’t care if it goes to collections. I was not treated right and I don’t believe even though I signed a contract that I should have to pay to workout somewhere that does not care about me. The next gym, I am not going to sign a contract. It’s just a ** way of them stealing money from people they ** off.

He became snotty and disrespectful to me, and took my free pass away and told me that due to restrictions at his discretion, it was a member club and was therefore a person that didn't want to be a member so subsequently I was not welcome back and I was the type of person that received free passes and went from gym to gym on the passes. My impression of Gold's Gym's free VIP pass is that it's like an automobile dealership sending you a free key to unlock a car and when you get there, the key does not work and then they try to sell you a car.

Gold's 7-day pass was just a gimmick to get me into the club and sign up for a membership, and they don't give you 7 days to look the place over and then make a decision. If you don't join right there and then, they take your pass away. I knew he was lying to me when he said he didn't have a program for $10 a month with no commitment, because there is another Gold's Gym just 4 miles further south that has a giant banner on the outside of the gym that says, "No commitments and fees as low as $9.95." I have used various fitness clubs throughout the years for 4 decades and every time I go into a Gold's Gym, the manager is snot-nosed, rude and disrespectful little twit who thinks he's quite a piece of work because he is the manager.

The monthly fee continued to be taken out of her account until July, and we called about it. The girls at the gym gave us another number to contact. When we called them, they informed us that they had received our daughter's paperwork and driver's license, but that they needed further proof that she was no longer in the state. I told them that her driver's license clearly indicated that, as it was a Missouri license!

The girl told us that it was not satisfactory, and they would continue to take the money out of the account. When I called the Gold's Gym back to see if they could help me, the girl there told me that she was so sorry, but her hands were tied. She also told me that this sort of thing happens all the time! I called my bank and talked with them about it. They immediately filed a claim on my behalf, and stopped the auto withdrawal. Both my daughter and I have received numerous phone calls on our cell phones from a collection company. A girl called my cell tonight, and I asked her how she got my cell number. She said it was on my daughter's paperwork.

That is a lie. The telephone number is **. The woman's name is Courtney **, and she told me that she would call me every day. Our daughter was a member at this gym in good faith. She asked before joining about being a student who would be leaving. They told her that there would be no problem. She never missed a payment. All payments were taken directly from her checking account. She even allowed them to take the extra two months after she sent in her paperwork to withdraw when she graduated. We are being harassed, and they have said that our daughter's credit score will reflect this.

Once this couple helped me to my car. I called my husband and told him what had just happened. He then advised me to go to Lake land Regional hospital and have them to check me for injuries. I had received serious bruises and abrasions on my lower extremities and a cut on my lower lip. I also have my two front teeth loosened but I have not been able to have them looked at yet to see how serious this might be since we do not have dental insurance.

I hope this accident that I experienced won't ever happen to anybody else on that gym anymore. 10/16/2010 10:54 a.m.

I was able to reasonably do this. My knee was hurting but I thought I was just sore and that is why this was happening, you know, being seriously overweight and out of shape. I also felt that maybe I should tough it out because Bobby was a trainer. Surely, he'd tell me to stop if he thought there was a chance that I may have really hurt myself. We moved on to weight training. As I walked, we both hear my knee pop again and I even had to stop walking. He asked me again was I okay and I repeated again that I was not sure but I was not a quitter so if he thought we should move on then let's move on and we did. I then was placed on a machine that requires me to lay on my back and push the weights up with legs. I survived that. I told him my knee was still hurting me but exercising felt good.

I was going home to soak and hopefully the pain will end. This was on a Friday. By Sunday, I was in the emergency room being assigned crutches and a full brace that went from my thighs to my ankles due to a knee sprain. I stayed this way for three months! The account is delinquent and initially, I just wanted to cancel it. But that lady was so snotty and rude that the conversation went from, "Yes you can cancel, pay the past due amount and a cancellation fee that will be no less than $250" to "Well, your sprain is not a valid reason to cancel the contract. Only an accident that is terminal is just cause" and her very rudely expressing to me that they file accident reports every time someone is hurt and me saying no, that is not true because they did not when I got hurt.

I lost the ability to take fully care of myself for three months. Being a mom, a wife and a student became beyond challenging because my mobility was interfered with. I had no insurance to pay for this so now there is another hospital bill on my credit. Even after all this time, I have been too scared of hurting myself again to go in with a trainer or even in the gym. My knee still pops at times and the pain is traumatic. I fall wherever I am when it pops and cannot avoid screaming in response to the pain. When I initially got hurt, my husband was livid and said I should look into my legal rights then. I said no, I did not want to cause a big fuss and perhaps it would be okay and I would just go back after I healed and work our solo instead of with a trainer.

Well, financial hardship followed my accident at the gym and we have no money now. I failed my class at school because of the pain and the inability to concentrate and found myself without the temporary financial help of a school check. This was how we paid the gym membership and some of our other bills. When I got hurt in their gym under their trainer's care in April, we still paid automatically through our bank account and did so until around September. I would have simply asked that they send us a summary of the monies due and tried to pay it with the clear understanding of the cancellation but apparently that was not suitable to her.

On the form was handwritten my husband's name, age, and birth date, as well as my name, address, phone number, SS number, and credit card info. There were also blocks of pre-printed fine print on the page which were unreadable on the fax page. No other handwritten information was on the form. No information on the form was read to me or explained to me. John simply stated that he needed my signature to authorize the $480 payment. I signed the form and faxed it back as instructed. My credit card was charged $480 on April 30, as expected. Then, another charge of $480 was charged to me on May 28 which appeared on my July statement.

I immediately contacted the Gold's Gym corporate office on July 1 to report the mistake. I was informed that they had my signature on a one year contract with a monthly fee of $480. I informed them that this is not what I had agreed to. But I was told they could do nothing about it and that I would have to contact the Palm Springs office directly. I then called John at Gold's Gym Palm Springs. He said he'd have to look for the contract and that I should call back the next day. I called back on July 2 and was told that John was out for the holiday weekend. The next week, my husband went into the gym to speak with John directly.

John produced the signed contract, which now contained new handwritten information, indicating that I would be paying $480 per month for a total of $5,670 for the year. My husband explained that this was not the contract that I had signed. Furthermore, we never would have signed up for a one-year contract since he had since moved to Santa Monica. John asked my husband to provide proof of his new address and said that he would use this to cancel the contract. We waited a week and heard nothing. I called back on July 14. When I asked to speak to John, I was told that he had been fired. I asked to speak with another manager and was given the name of Aaron **, the regional manager. I tried reaching Aaron but was told he would be out of the office for a few days and was given his email address. I emailed Aaron on July 14, explaining the situation in detail and asking that he resolve the matter. I received no response.

In the meantime, I contacted my credit card company, Capital One, to file a dispute. During the two months it took Capital One to investigate the situation, Gold's continued to charge me $480 each month (on 5/28, 6/28, and 7/28). In August, I placed a block against Gold’s on my credit card so that they could not continue to charge me each month. On September 7, I received a letter from Capital One stating that they were not able to resolve the dispute because they had received written information from Jessica ** at Gold's that 1) I had signed a one-year contract, 2) that I had not attempted to contact them to stop the charges, and 3) that they were justified in continuing the charges because my husband had used a training session as late as July.

Jessica also submitted a "usage report" to Capital One indicating that Chari had used as many as 26 training sessions. I responded to Capital One explaining that 1) the contract I signed was not the contract that they submitted, 2) that Chari had used a training session in July but that it was part of his initial 16 training sessions which had no time limit, and 3) that the usage report Gold's submitted was completely fraudulent since my husband had only used 10 of his original 16 sessions. Capital One responded that I would have to resolve the matter directly with Gold's.

On September 23, my husband called Jessica and explained the situation, our repeated attempts to resolve it with Gold's with no response. And the report she submitted regarding his training session usage was false - which was confirmed by the trainer (Mike) himself. Jessica asked that I send her an email explaining the entire situation, which I did on September 23. On Monday, 9/27, I received a call from Katie **, a regional manager working with Aaron **’s office. She stated that "as a courtesy to me", they would not be submitting any further charges.

I reminded her that they had already submitted 3 months of additional charges, on 5/28, 6/28, and 7/28. Katie said that this was all she was authorized to do. So, I immediately sent an email to Jessica on 9/27 requesting that the three months of previous charges be dropped. I also emailed Aaron ** on 9/28 requesting the same thing. Aaron called me on 9/28 and stated that the only way he could cancel the previous 3 months’ charges was if I faxed him the original blank contract that I had signed back in April. I emailed Jessica on 9/28 letting her know what Aaron had agreed to. She agreed that sending them this document was all I needed to do in order to cancel the charges. She asked that I send it directly to Aaron because it was not her decision to make (which I found interesting since Aaron had told me that Jessica was his superior).

I faxed the original contract to him on 9/29, and emailed him the same day requesting that he confirm receipt of the fax. When I received no confirmation, I emailed him again on 10/1. On 10/6/10, I received an email from Katie ** stating that "upon further review", they could only cancel the 7/28/10 charge. Since my husband had used training sessions after the first month of billing, they would have to charge me for that month. And they would also have to charge me for an additional month after that, because the contract stated that I needed to provide a 30-day written cancellation notice.

I replied that Chari had still not used the original 16 sessions which had no time limit. I said that I was not given any information about a cancellation notice policy because I did not sign up for a one-year contract. And I said that if she was citing information from the form John faxed me to sign, it was unreadable so I still would not have had any knowledge of a cancellation policy. Her response was "This was the final decision made by our vice president.” I requested the vice president's contact info and have received no response.

It has been over three months now that I have been attempting to resolve this matter with Gold’s Gym. This situation has caused me a tremendous amount of stress, anxiety, and insomnia. I am requesting that Gold’s Gym cancel the additional charges from 5/28/10 and 6/28/10, billed to me after I had already paid the $480 for the 16 sessions I had authorized. I have a copy of a blank contract that I signed which was later filled in without my knowledge, tying me to a one-year contract. I also have a copy of a fraudulent usage report Gold’s submitted to my credit card company, claiming training sessions that were never used. I appreciate your assistance with this matter.

I received my credit card statement and noticed that Gold's gym had charged the fee to my credit card on September 14th. I immediately phoned and spoke to Mary, the owner. I explained that I was never made aware that Power House was closing and never had the opportunity to choose whether or not I wanted to continue my membership with this new gym. I further explained that I have since joined another gym. I was told that Power House had every right to transfer my membership and that in order to cancel, I needed to let them know 60 days prior. I'm not sure how I could have done so, since I was not notified. Mary further stated that the owners of Power House made every attempt to contact its members (well that may very well be the case), however, I have a house phone with an answering machine, a cell phone that takes messages, email and a mailbox.

I received no communication regarding the gym closing and the transfer of my membership. I requested that my account be credited and was told they would not do so. She would make sure I was not charged any additional fee, however, she could not do anything about the past charge to my account. This is not a lot of money, however, it is the principal. How dare they take it upon themselves to do this without my approval.

I called to have this taken care of and was met with all the rules and penalties for canceling a membership. I wanted to handle this for my dad, his wife and my mom was almost gone. I was told that they needed a note from her doctor on his letterhead stating she could not continue to work out. This letter could not be faxed or just mailed; it had to be a certified letter. Do you realize that my Dad had to leave the hospital, go to the doctor’s office, get the letter, go to the post office and they still had to fight with them to cancel?

I will never, ever stop saying negative things about Gold's Gym. They are money grubbing, uncaring and unfeeling. They should work the brain out sometimes instead of the body because there is nothing between the ears.

My bank account is now being charged against my will. The owner and front desk receptionist were incredibly rude and I was told I could complain all I wanted, that they were not going to cancel until I get the form notarized. This is the first complaint I have submitted on this issue, but will be contacting my bank, Better Business Bureau and the State Attorney General's Office to file complaints as well.

I had even offered to remove it and to upgrade and add the tanning membership, which at least I could use. They gave me the biggest runaround. I must call back or come back and cancel services with a sales manager. The manager was never available. No call backs. The refuse to provide a copy of the electronic contract they are billing me for. Billing dispute is virtually impossible. I wasn't originally even trying to cancel my membership, just a $20 add-on. Although this experience has caused me so much stress, I refuse to retain a membership there. This caused extreme stress and being reported to a collection agency. I wasted lunch breaks that were spent holding and waiting for call backs.

Now ABC financial is calling me stating I owe for August and my acct has never been frozen. I call Robert and informed him and once again he said he would handle it. But I get another call at my job from ABC saying nothing has changed. I told Robert and he said I will take care of it but I have something else to do first. So now I am referring the issue to the Georgia Attorney General office.

They finally agreed to reimburse me for one month after I sent them many certified letters. Unfortunately, when my son was 21, he decided to go join Gold's Gym in Crowley, Texas. I warned him of the consequences. He is moving to go away to school now and my husband and I decided to pay off his membership rather than Gold's Gym surprise him with their extra $50.00 twice a year bill. They refused to take our payment in full! They do not want you to pay off your membership because they want continued access to your checking account. This way, they can overcharge you as long as they can get away with it. I do not have the money to get an attorney, but please please anyone who reads this, do not give these crooks your business.

When I told them I never signed anything because the day I signed up their computer wasn't working, all I got was attitude. I was never asked later to sign anything. When they figured out that I was not supposed to be charged, this they told me you should be happy that you were not required to pay an enrollment fee and there is nothing they can do. How would you feel if someone took out $79 out of your account without you knowing or for any reason.

I called ABC financial who handles their payments and they said they will investigate it within 3-5 business day. I doubt this will happen but one can hope. In the mean time, I have made a claim with my bank about this.

I later noticed that on 4/29/10, not only had I not been refunded the initial $79.98, but I had been charged an additional $39.99 fee. I called and spoke with Chris again. He was apologetic, acknowledged that he remembered me and that a mistake had been made on their part, and assured me I would receive a $120 refund. After receiving two more $39.99 charges on 5/30 and 6/29, and multiple phone conversations with Gold's employees which left me with the impression that the situation would be remedied (though it wasn't). I called Gold's billing company, ABC Financial Services, on 7/12. They informed me that Kevin, the manager at Gold's in Medford, told them that he had a 24-month contract with my signature on it.

I immediately called Gold's back and requested to speak to Chris, but was told he was on vacation and, according to Kevin, may not be returning. Kevin also told me that since they had my signature on a contract, there was nothing he could do about the situation, regardless of what Chris told me. After mentioning I had come in with the 7-day free trial coupon, Kevin agreed to check with his owners if this documentation would help rectify the situation. I called back the next day, and Kevin informed me that although I may have been verbally deceived by Chris, there's nothing he could do, as he had to go by the owner's decision which is based on the signed document. I then requested the name of the owner or his supervisor, and he refused to give it to me.

I then came in person to talk with Kevin as well as hand in a written complaint detailing what happened, which I later emailed to Gold's corporate offices and sent online via the customer feedback links on Gold's website. Kevin acknowledged that Chris had been fired due to all the disputes he garnered, but maintained that the owners would still not likely refund the contract. Furthermore, after disputing the previous charges through my credit card company and having them voided, I received a letter from ABC Financial that they had now added late charges along with the voided amount and threatened legal action and credit rating problems if I did not pay the full amount. Total charges so far: $268.44. Total cost of 2 year membership: $959.76, not including additional fees.

They gave me a receipt for those months but did not want to give me prove of the other months that I paid. Kevin started to yelled at me saying that he can't give me a receipt. He started to talk to me very loud and disrespectful. I told that I only asked him for a print out that prove that I was paying the gym. He told me that I did not need that to get a refund from the health insurance. I told him that I did not like the way that he was treating me and asked him to be more respectful to me. I told him that I was a customer that needed help from him and that it was his responsibility to help me with this. After I said that, he screamed at me, "Get out of the gym, out of the gym, out of the gym." He walked me to the door and said, "Get the hell out here. You are not welcome to the gym anymore!"

After that shocking reaction I walked to the door and I told him that it was fine, that I would leave but I needed my contract to be broken and the money back for the three months that I paid in advance. He laughed at me and told me that I would have to pay until the last cent of my contract. After I left the gym I called his manager named July and explained to her what happened. She asked me what did I want to compensate for what happened. I told her that after that embarrassing moment I wanted to cancel the gym membership with no penalty and that I need a refund of the money that I paid for three months in advance. She told me that it was fine and that I just needed to check my bank statement and that the money would be refund on Monday of the following week.

Since that day, I have been waiting, calling the manager, July, at her cell phone number and leaving messages almost every day. She just ignores my calls. I called to the Arlington, South Boston, Medford gyms and left messages for her telling her that my refund have not being made. I called financial services and they told me that Gold's Gym have not authorize them to make any refund. I'm very upset at this situation and seems like nobody wants to help me. I think that this is a terrible way to run a business and I think that you should train your employees in customer services. Do not go to this gym because they are very rude and not honest !

The music is too loud for the population of the gym at that time. Ron ** gave us his superior's web address, but it does not work (**). His name appears, but no way to make contact. But this site did. I hope you can help!

We are considering dropping our membership. We just want the corporate office to hear our voices.

Who when I told him I was seeking a lawyer, he said, "Your getting a lawyer after 2 years? " And I said,"If you can collect money after 2 years then I can get a lawyer!" He then said "enjoy your credit score! " and hung up.

This is on my credit report and I just bought a house and can not get credit for furniture or home depot or lowes or anything else I might need.

After 5 years for continuous use of this Gym, I was not aware that I was still under any contract. After many weeks of trying to cancel, I was finally able to connect to one of Golds Gym's manager, Robert, on June 1, 2010 who is the only one in charge of cancellations as I had been told by the other staff. He told me that I had to wait until November 1, 2010 since your 2 year contract didn't expire yet. I do not remember signing anything like that, but in any case, I couldn't continue to work out at Golds Gym since the new management dramatically cut evening hours last year and for other reasons I am forced to reveal just today.

I explained to him that I chose a not very fancy but well-equipped Golds Gym 5 years ago, only because it was the only gym in the area where I live that closes at midnight at any day of the week. Those hours of operation were perfect for my visits to the gym. I usually get home from my work around 10 pm, change, and will get to Golds Gym around 10:30 pm. 1.5 to 2 hours were enough time for me to have my exercises routine.

Since the new management cut evening hours to 11 pm from Monday until Friday and 4 hours less on Saturdays and Sundays (from midnight down to 8 pm), I could go to Golds Gym only on my vacations days or if I were able to leave my job early which is a rare occasion. As a result of not being able to work out as in previous years, I gained 15 pounds of extra weight; my body shape changed to the worst and my overall health declined.

After revealing some of these facts to Robert, he told me that he was willing to cancel my membership but only if I send to Golds Gym a letter asking for a cancellation. I faxed the requested letter the next day, June 2, 2010 and soon received a call from Garry **, who told me that he is denying the cancellation that I was promised the day before by manager Robert. Then, I asked Garry about what happened to the promise given to me by Robert the day before. Garry pronounced himself as the owner of Golds Gym and that he is overruling the decision made the day earlier by Robert (He spoke to me in a tough, unpleasant manner. This may explain why the new employees of Golds Gym he hired are not as friendly as the staff under the old ownership). This situation forced me to look for help from government consumer protection agencies and to my credit card company since I continue to be charged regardless of my immense efforts to cancel this 5 year old membership at Golds Gym.

In addition to the stated above reasons, I have no choice but to reveal some medical information that makes my exercise routine at any gym impossible for many months ahead. Firstly, on April 30, 2010, I had surgery at NYU Hospital for joint diseases on my left hand (see medical records attached). A giant cell tumor of tendon sheath was removed under full anesthesia. Since the surgery, I really can't do any heavy lifting with my hands for at least the next 6 months. I have been told that this can provoke a return of the Tumor.

Secondly, since March 2010, I have been suffering from Heel Spur Syndrome on my left foot. My GP referred me to podiatrist who has been treating me weekly. The treatment includes injections of medicine to my left heel, stretching, wearing special pads in my shoes, etc. So far, the provided treatment has eased the pain, but full recovery could take up to one year. Even 15 to 20 minutes of regular walking brings pain back to my left foot. One of the requirements for full recovery is avoiding any exercise that would involve my feet.

In order to make a decision in this dispute, please note three serious reasons that should free me from any obligations that may exist to the Golds Gym:

3. My left Heel Spur Syndrome is not allowing me to do most exercises using my feet for the next 6 to 12 month.

Obviously, I can't use Golds Gym for the next 6 to 12 months for serious medical reasons listed above. In addition, new working hours of the Golds Gym limited my ability to exercise as much as before and that change cost me a decline in my health. If you need any additional information from my doctors, please let me know. Since I live two blocks away from the Golds Gym with presently a very unfriendly management towards me, I would hope, if it is possible, to keep my medical records as private as the situation permits.

By the way, when I called to file a complaint, the pool had been drained, supposedly to fix the filter. I have no doubt in my mind, it was because of the dirty water. I have a copy of the health board's report.

Do not trust the cleanliness at Gold's! You could get sick!

Then, I was surprised when I noticed that I was billed for May and June of 2010 on my credit card. I called once again and was advised for the first time that it wouldn't be canceled automatically and that my membership is on "continuous" cycle until I informed them that I no longer wanted the membership. I expressed that I didn't want the membership as I already signed up for LA Fitness and was told previously that I would no longer be billed once my year was up. I attempted to cancel the membership then and there. I was then informed that I would have to come in to sign cancellation papers and I wasn't able to do anything over the phone. At this point, I told them that I have been staying in West Palm Beach for the summer and that I had a hectic work and school schedule. They apologized and still insisted that I come in to the gym, they never specified that I had to come in on a certain day or time.

So, I came into Gold's gym on 6/26/2010 at 12:30PM to find out that I wasn't able to simply cancel my membership. I was advised that I would have to come in and speak to the general manager between Monday-Friday 1-6 PM. I once again explained that I work between that time frame and was staying far away for the summer and it would be impossible for me to come in between that time. They didn't offer any assistance, didn't let me sign cancellation papers and I feel as if they just want to keep billing me. The staff handed me the GM's business card with the name Ken R. and wrote 1-6 PM on it and told me that she wasn't able to assist me and that I would have to speak with him directly. She then even told me that it would take an additional 30 days and I would also incur a cancellation fee.

I am tired of being given the run around and would like to get my money back from May and June of 2010 as I did not use the membership and I was constantly misinformed by their sales staff. I am paying for two gyms simultaneously and the gym offers no assistance and refuses to let me cancel my membership! This whole thing is at a point where it's getting ridiculous and as a person in the customer service industry, this is simply appalling!

So today I called them to inform them that my contract is up July 15 and I cannot continue to afford the ridiculous membership fee. Imagine my delight when they told me that I would be required to walk into the gym and sign a cancellation form which requires 45 day notice. Why 45 days? So that they can bill unsuspecting people an extra month of course. Only after I asked them if there was another way to cancel without having to travel to the facility did the woman mention I could fax a letter (conveniently forgetting to mention this before). When I asked for the corporate number, in hopes that I could appeal to a higher authority, she declined it.

The next time, it was they didn't have enough membership drive to warrant the pools, even though you could never find a parking place and had to drive around 3 to 4 times only to never find a parking place. The last time, they said the city was giving them issues and they would not be getting the pools. I told them I want out of my contract. I have been waiting for them due to my arthritis in my neck and knees. This form of therapy works well for me.

They have lied at every turn knowing they were never going to get a pool. I stopped my payments since they seem to keep taking them out on November 2009. Now they are stating I never canceled my membership and want me to pay over $200. If you want a fitness place that stands behind their word, Gold's Gym is not the place! I canceled my membership where I stopped them from taking money in November 2009, after I canceled it. Now they say I owe over $200 for a service they never even fulfilled!

Now, four years later, they are trying to collect money from me stating I never canceled the contract! It canceled after 24 months. Further, when I called the manager, Ken, to discuss this, he told me, "You actually owe us $1,260 but since we are owned by a new company and they can only charge you from the time they took over. So the best I can do for you is charge you $100 fee and you can get out of the contract." What? He acted as if he was doing me a favor by only charging me $100 for a contract that had long been dead. If I had tried to enforce it by going back to the gym, they wouldn't have let me in! This is outrageous!

I'd like to know how many people they are trying to do this too, people who don't want to fight and just right the checks to get them off their back so they are getting away with this and collecting fees undeservedly. Business is so bad, they are scheming to rip people off $100 at a time? They are continuing to harass me stating I owe them money and have a collection agency trying to collect monies from me.

However, when faced with this, managers from Gold's Gym straight up denied that it was their trash; that it must be Unico, the trash collectors. So the following time, I found a trash bag full of Gold's Gym's invoices and sales receipts, I brought it over to the receptionist, showed her the contents, and asked if this would not happen again. The receptionist replied, "okay", as if she had no clue what was going on. The manager, Stephanie, came over and said that there were two things in the trash that were not theirs, that they had an "arrangement" with the other manager to drop off other trash, and that I was rude. I calmly told her that she did not have that arrangement with me and that it was not a little bit of trash, it was the entire trash can full. Later, I hear slander from my employees (who have witnesses) that their manager, Nick, said I was in a screaming match with Stephanie and that I am a raging **.

I did not figure it was such an emotional issue when their manager, Vince, approached my employee, Brit, with witness, Alex, that we need to cut it out putting trash by their desk. He was yelling at Brittany when she showed him the trash exclaiming he has no control over his night crew and that Unico probably did it.

I get in Wednesday and there is trash again from their location. I bring it over as promised and Nick comes storming, yelling, charging, at my stand (with customer witness) with his trash exclaiming (very threatening) that this wasn't their trash. I take a piece out and the first thing I grabbed was their trash. He yelled, "this is a free area" and I calmly said, "No, sir, actually within the white tiles is our area". He yells, to the point where I am getting physically ill, shaky and physically threatened. "This needs to stop", he looks at me and throws the trash in my direction into my stand. I tell him he is being irrational but he has already stormed off.

I call the appropriate people, where Mike, the owner, was informed. He said he called the managers and fired the cleaning staff. Nick does not approach us to apologize. In fact, my employee has to call him over to tell him he is not welcome where he immediately yells and insults my character. I walk up and he asks what he can do to make nice. I ask for an apology. He says he will not apologize if I don't and that "You are wrong and I am right".

This whole ordeal, I will just say have made me to feel bullied, approached violently, and intimidated. He constantly interjected, not hearing what I had to say. Finally, he comes again. I let him talk, but feel his constant belittlement by saying things like, "I make five times more than you" and "I wanted to throw that trash at your face" (I have a witness and written recordings). I apologized for what he must have seen as insulting by me simply showing him that it was their trash. He bolts off (literally, runs away).

I contacted the owner. Immediately, I get accused for starting it, "there is always two instigators" and "how he could see my managers saying that (that I am a raging ***) and that you are combative". He refused to listen to my points, saying that "I rambled on, and would not stop to listen". However, I let the man speak his piece even through belittling comments like, "I have been dealing with people, trained thousands of employees" automatically putting his credentials in my face to intimidate me in order to dismiss my complaint. He would not take responsibility for his employees actions stating, "I trust her (Stephanie) above anyone."

I have been emotionally affected these past few weeks. I cannot believe how they are allowed to bully people around without having someone call them out. I felt bullied into apologizing for no fault of my own. I have started on depression remedies, where I am normally the sunshine in the room. I break down in tears, affecting my career and school studies. I have to work three yards from their deep intimidation where I am considering quitting if something is not done, losing all my income, possibly going on unemployment in this economic crisis. I do not feel safe at my work, for myself and my coworkers.

In January, they posted you would be charged a $40 annual fee on the doors of the restrooms. I raised the issue that it was "no contract, no fees." They told me that corporate could do what they wanted (wrong answer). In late January, they withdrew the $40 per person out of my wife's account. I looked over the supposed non-contract we had signed. It very clearly stated the maximum charge would be $29.95 per person per year.

I wrote a letter of cancellation and explained they broke the contract. We went down to the bank and had the card number changed. I received a call about the charge not going through, to which I responded with "You're never going to get another dime. You broke the contract. I'm not obligated anymore." They proceeded to tell me that I had to give them 30 days notification and I would be charged another month beyond that. I told them good luck in collecting it.

They have since sent me two letters, one each month, letting me know that there is an oversight and that I need to make payment (adding $4.50 to the bill). I called and finally got hold of Mrs. **. I explained this again and was told that they would have to turn this over to collections. (What were they trying to do?) I am here to warn anyone from entering into an agreement with anyone where there is supposedly no contract. If they have to have your credit card number on a contract, run.

After some five phone calls and three faxes, so far, I just got $320 withdrawn from my account. I can not get a bill breakdown and all I get is "that is what is owed." Within two months, they have withdrawn $68 (2/8/10) + $97 (2/12/10) + $165 (3/22/10) + $39 (4/2/10) + $320 (4/24/10) for a couple membership that pay $39 a month each. I cannot mathematically comprehend how two members can be charge $650 for two months. Numerous charges. This has caused arguing between our family members and although, we all have a contract with Gold's, we are so disgusted that we can see how to step in the Gym or any other similar. My unemployed son in addition to the $650, I was charged $225 by the bank due to NSF.

The woman told me I should go in to the gym and talk to the gym manager because I had signed a two-year contract. That's when I first realized I'd been lied to and tricked by these people. I went in to the gym and asked the girl behind the desk to talk to the manager. She got offended and started giving me attitude about wanting to see the manager and refused to get him unless I told her what the problem was. After I explained what had happened about the contract, she went and got the manager. I told the manager that I wanted to cancel the account because I'd been lied to and couldn't afford to pay for a gym membership at the time. I just wanted to try it out for the free month. He told me okay and I thought everything was taken care of.

Then I started getting letter from Paramount telling me I owed them a few months payments for the gym membership. I called the number they left me everyday for about a week leaving message after message trying to get a hold of someone. No one could be bothered to return my calls. Then they started calling me every week about the issue. I kept explaining what happened to them and all I was ever told was "I'm sorry but there's nothing I can do." They act all polite and like they care. And then when you tell them you have no money and can't pay, they get hostile and start making threats. Yesterday, I called again to try and get things sorted out.

Again I was told to call the cooperate number and again I was told the same I can't help you line. They won't answer any of my questions or tell me what to do to resolve the situation other than to pay them the money. I don't have a job and when I told them that they said I should start asking my friends to borrow the money because they weren't going to leave me alone. The guy I talked to told me if I don't pay then they're going to give my case to their attorney. It doesn't change the fact that these people are liars and as soon as you say, "I'm not paying," they get rude and hostile. I'm constantly stressed out about this. I don't sleep much at night anymore and I hardly eat. I'm scared of what will happen and there's nothing I can do about it. I'm unemployed and if I manage to get a job then all my money would have to go to these people and I have other bills that need to be paid.

I finally connected with my assigned trainer, she doesn't return calls, and got 4 of the 6 training sessions I paid for. She was always over 5 minutes late, but of course ended on time. I specifically asked her to show me stomach exercises on my last session. She said, "Oh, that's only cardio!" and showed me the same machines as the last session, in between flirting with all the guys.

I probably only really received a 10-minute session. So on my own, I tried to do a pull-up stomach crunch machine and now have torn a tendon in my neck. I tried to get a refund, but they are charging me $125.00 for being a member for less than 6 months, and they are actually still charging me for the 2 sessions that I never received with my joke of a trainer. Steer clear, these people are liars and they do not have real trainers. I have been dealing with my neck pain for every day since.

My claim is simple, they broke the contract, the contract is voided at that time with or without their permission. I watched several people walk out of there mad and couldn't understand why, since then I've found out first hand. Today, Gold's gym has sent me a bill for the second month both for me and my wife. This has been turned over to the BBB but I have not received a resolution.

Those of you who are fed up with Golds Gym and are tired of the harassing calls and mail, let's get together and fight back. I'm sure that with enough of us, there is a lawyer somewhere willing to fight these issues. I will gladly be the first name on the list of ex-clients who want Golds gym to stop the lying and cheating.

I will be willing to testify to my experience and help in any way possible to prevent these clownies from doing this to other people. I had financial loss from them obtaining authorization to bill my debit card illegally and also time and effort to cancel membership.

They keep billing me as a past due account, yet it is impossible to cancel membership. I will be willing to testify to my experience and help in any way possible to prevent these clownies from doing this to other people. First the loss of money from them obtaining authorization to bill my debit card. Financial loss and time and effort to cancel membership

2. Golds Gym needs to stop the collection agency.

March 2010, I had $28 deducted from my account again. I called and spoke with Janette and she said to give her a copy of my March bank statement, so I did. Janette said that they didn't know why this happened. They think it was because they had a new computer program that they had recently switched over to so it must have some how activated my account again. She said that they put a stop on the deductions and it shouldn't happen again. I called my bank and put a stop payment and my bank was going to look in to these charges as well.

Today (March 25,2010), spoke with Janette and she said that it was in the refund department and should take 30-60 days. I then asked her to delete my bank account number from their system and she said that they can't. I asked to speak to her supervisor (Becky) and she got on the line and said that it couldn't be deleted and I said can't you delete my entire file from their computer and she said no. I then asked what software they used and she said "motion" software. I googled Motion Software but it just gives me software for creating motions. I marked my calendar, lets see if I get my account credited. I also spoke with a friend of mine and the same thing is happening to her and she's dealing with them as well.

I tried to speak to the meathead, steroid infused manager, who raised his voice and flexed his pecs telling me to call National Fitness. I have moved from the area but still continue to pay for a membership I will never use!

On March 7, I spoke with "Brian" who stated that he would document this mistake using a "member service log"/ Greg (General Manager/ Owner) would be notified and that it would be 5 days before my reimbursement would be processed. On March 11, I spoke with "Sam" who asked me to fax the signed "Termination Form" ~ which I did. On March 17, when I called to check the status, "Sam" said that it should be completed by the end of the week. On March 19, "Brian" stated that my account was credited back that day ~ my bank shows not even a pending credit.

I understand that the manager who authorized my request has resigned without proper handling of such paperwork. At this point, that detail (which is really just an excuse) doesn't change the fact that I feel it is 100% unacceptable that I would still be waiting to be refunded 15 days after my initial contact. I also am not confident, at this point, that the information I have been provided has been accurate or reliable. Golds Gym is notorious for billing issues of which I am now directly effected. What I want is for someone to take responsibility, and to not give me an excuse.

The worst part of my Gold's experience was when I decided to leave. I talked with the manager who said he was changing things and that I should stick around for another month at a discounted rate. He told me as soon as the month was over, if I hadn't changed my mind, the contract would be discontinued and I would not be charged in the future.

This was the most frustrating experience: I was charged for not one, but two months after I was assured my membership was canceled. Both times, I had to call multiple times to get the manager to return my call. And both times, I was assured I would receive a refund in my account. It ended up taking something like 2-3 weeks to get a refund once it finally went through.

I will never again join Gold's Gym. They overcharged and under delivered in every aspect of my experience with them. I was charged for two months of membership fees that were not refunded for weeks at a time.

Finally, the checking account was closed out (got married and consolidated with new husband's account at another bank). Overdraft fees on the account were being taken from originally, some of these in excess of $50.00. They charged me for gym fees for 1 1/2 years without being able to use the facilities due to medical issues.

Finally, the checking account was closed out (got married and consolidated with new husband's account at another bank). Overdraft fees on the account were being taken from originally, some of these in excess of $50.00. They charged me for gym fees for 1 1/2 years without being able to use the facilities due to medical issues.

So do you really like they are in a hurry to fix your credit card? The only person in the gym making any money is the GM and the sales staff. The Operations Manager, the front desk and the kid’s club employee could all be on welfare. While the GM and the Sales staff are racking in the money some making $100,000 dollars a year the Operations manager and the other staff is making min wage or just a little higher. So, of course they are trying to pick up a little extra any time they can.

I told them that we are not happy with their facility so we are cancelling the membership. They told me that I have to appear in person in order to cancel the service. Well, I did show up at the health club, and they told me that I have to bring my parents; they have to be present in order to cancel. Well, my parents showed up and they told me that the only person who can authorize to process the cancellation form is the general manager and he is not available at the time.

This incident happened while the general manager has left the company. And I have to start telling the whole story to the new general manager. I kept calling them but the new manager never returned my call. So on January 2010, I had an appointment with Sean (new general manager) and he gave me the form to sign for cancellation--which I did. I had asked about the form for my parents. He told me that he was by himself and he cannot pull out the contract. He told me he will dig out the contract and give me a call for the next day. Until now, he hasn't called me and I have been trying to call him every week and left messages time after time.

There is no customer service. He does not return my calls. I told them that I need to get this resolved. I feel like I had been given the run around! In the meantime, they are still charging my credit card. Today, 3/4/10, I finally talked to Sean and I told him that my contract has not been cancelled and I asked about my parents--which he told me he doesn't remember. And now, he told me that in order to cancel the membership for my parents, I have to pay $30 for my father and $20 for my mother before my parents can sign the cancellation form.

This is a nightmare. I am at my wits end to talk to this people. Gold's Gym is the worse place to do business with. No customer service. Nobody knows what they are doing and they always think that they have the right to run the customer around.

He had to talk to corporate. He did not call back. My bank account went overdraft since they just went ahead and withdrew the payment! I called him the following day. They put me on hold, then they hung up. I kept calling but had no success. I went in person and spoke with him (the zero enrollment was still there). He wrote my name and number down and said he would get back with me. He never did. I called corporate office. They told me I would have to pay $100 cancellation fee for all three of us.I was really upset since it had gone overdraft already. I am not working and looking for employment. I'm still trying to cancel without them having to overdraft me again.

They have done it 5 times since May of 09. We didn't catch it until now, because the "decline fee" is combined with the monthly membership fee on the billing. We have 3 family members with the membership and this has happened to one of us. Beware! Had we known of this scam, we would have never signed up with Gold's Gym. There really should be an investigation into this and I would imagine a class action suit. Over $100.00 in illegal charges that ABC has billed us for related to their their error. I imagine this happens to hundreds of people with automatic billing through Gold's Gym.

1) Equipment--I described in detail the type of equipment I needed per my doctor because of my injuries. The person I signed up with said they had it. On my first workout day I found out it they don't have it. They had me try and use a rubber band instead; but it didn't work.

2) An extra $25.00 was added to the contract without my knowledge for "Club Enhancement Fee". I wasn't even able to see the contract until it was all signed and printed out. There was no mention or indication of the fee until the contract was already signed and then printed out.

3) Towel Service is supposed to be included -- When I went for my first workout they said all the towels were lost, so they gave me some little hand towels to use instead.

4) Cardio Equipment -- I tried several of the machines and none of them were working right. Some gave a pulse of 160+ other gave no pulse or wouldn't respond to the information or workout choices.

5) On my first visit the man wouldn't show me how to use the equipment. He was trying to give me lessons in self massage with a foam roller instead, and kept talking about his hernia operation the whole time.

I later found out that they indeed did try and take out the payment. I have repeatedly tried to contact them to add on the time to the end of my contract. Of course, no one ever calls, just sends threatening letters all the time.

As of this post, I am only two months behind. If anyone there would get off their butts and return phone calls, then I wouldn't be behind at all. That also goes for their financial company. If I had not waited till the day before they were to take the money out, I would have been charged an extra $36 on top of the payment. I have not been able to work out. As I stated I tried to resolve the matter, but apparently, they prefer to make threats.

I spoke with Virginia F. last Wednesday and was told to email her my request and proof of where I would be moving. She agreed to accept a mortgage interest statement (used for tax purposes) which I promptly emailed her. It is now Monday, 5 days after my email to her and I have heard nothing. I called and left several messages for her on Friday and called three times today with no response. I even asked to speak with Naomi or Ed (evidently her superiors) and was ignored by them as well. I sent another email today and the server returned it as her mailbox was full and could not receive any further messages. I have decided to contact my bank tomorrow and stop any further automatic debits to my account.

These people are impossible to deal with and I advise you to stay clear. If they choose to mar my credit, I will certainly take legal action.