New York Sports Club Reviews

I then went through the customer service line for Town Sports and was connected with a competent service rep, but she also could not get the Hoboken manager to respond to her requests. They would not give me a refund without "proof" that I canceled. I showed them various emails with me following up with the Hoboken Manager. This went on for about 10 months before they finally refunded me the fees. Complete lack of responsiveness on both ends, the initial cancellation as well as the follow up on the refund.

I called on December 15th to cancel my membership, however they still charged me $41.73 in January for an annual "rate lock in fee." I asked for it to be reversed since my membership was canceled as of January 15th, and they have refused. If I could give less than 1 star I would. Their billing and customer service practices need to be looked at.

I once called to see if the pool was fixed and I got a rude response from the guy who answered the phone. I mentioned this to **, the manager, who promised a complimentary month. Later she reneged and said she hadn't promise anything and demanded a payment. When my credit number was changed because the information was stolen NYSC called me 6 times in one day without ever leaving a message. After speaking to them about the complimentary month I was promised by **, the manager at the White Plains City Center club, they told me I wasn't telling the truth and that they'd have to check it out. Amazing. That was a few weeks ago. Today ** called yet again asking for a payment--I told her I had a complimentary month which SHE gave me. She then told me she didn't promise and they needed a payment. There are a lot of other gyms in the area which are cleaner and less expensive. I suggest them over NYSC.

However, they continued to bill my account MONTHLY for the same $356.00 dollars in November!!! Worse, they billed me in December and finally noticed the erroneous charge in December for $356.00. So I immediately called their corporate offices and asked them to reverse the charges for the last two months. That's when they told me that I committed to a minimum of 3 months of sessions as per the fine print of the contract. They gave me a copy of the contract and (1) it had my wrong phone number and address information, (2) my one signature was on lines I never signed throughout the contract committing me to 4 sessions a month for 3 months for $356.00 a month and a $150.00 cancellation fee!!!! None of this was even mentioned by the fitness manager, and they refused to reverse the charges and refund my money!!!

Finally after over an hour I get to speak to someone and find out I no longer have an account. Turns out my account had been in default for 6 months and it was in the process of being sent collections. I told them that was impossible because the account is charged to a credit card. After a little digging they found out the card had expired, and I never gave them the new information. I asked them why for 6 months they never called, and allowed my account to go into default and to be sent to collections. The woman's responded "We believe it is the customer responsibility to notify us of any payment changes".

I had a promotional membership that is now longer available and my main concern was maintaining the discounted rate. I told the woman I wanted to speak to her supervisor. After being put on hold for 10 minutes she told me they could waive $85 of late fees (this was the first I was hearing about these fees). I told her I would settle the debt but I needed to talk to her supervisor and discuss reinstated my membership. I wanted to explain that I felt TSI was at fault because the billing department failed to take any action to notify me of a past due balance. This is my favorite part! After giving her new the credit card information and charging the outstanding balance she puts me on hold again to speak to her supervisor, and after 15 minutes I am disconnected.

The next day I call regular member services, their wait time was only about 10 minutes. I explain to her what happen the other day and ask to speak to the supervisor. She puts me on hold for 5 minutes then tell she needs my contact information so she can pass on this complaint, and her supervisor will "get back to me". I explained my disappointment and frustration, and that I was originally calling to add a membership and now NYSC is losing two. I told her I wanted to speak to her supervisor to explain my situation. She put me on hold again after 5 minutes she told me in different words that her supervisor cannot do anything and will not talk to me.

In summary I really liked NYSC's facilities because of their amenities, locations, and working staff. However, at the corporate level, based on my two experiences this organization needs a lot of improvement. Being a former employee and member I know how this club operates on the floor, and I was always proud to be part of that. However, dealing with TSI from this angle, my impression of this organization is nothing I want to be part of, or promote to my friends and family. When a customer contacts a company with a complaint and the operators are unable to resolve the issue, and a supervisor is requested; It is my belief that the complaint should be heard and some sort of attempt should be made to make things right for both parties.

So if any shareholders are reading this message TSI has lost (($52 dues x 2) x 12 months) + ($29 fees x 2) $1,306 a year because they refused to hear out my situation accept some responsibility for this problem or make any sort of attempt to reinstate my account. If you haven't guessed by now. This morning I dumped my TSI shares.

I am so disappointed of your organization, I was not treated fair and with respect by your personnel. They tell me that my petition to obtain my money or my private lessons was denied by "Corporate" that too much time has pass since the contract was signed. Your organization got paid and did not delivered on their promise. It's really shameful. NYSC owes me $700 USC and I would like it back with a letter of apology. My next email is to Consumer Affairs.

The next day when I entered the NYSC Bayonne, NJ Club James (Gen. Manager) was in the front and went into the office area like he did not see me. At the end of the workout I asked to speak to the Gen. Manager at the front desk who informed me he is busy in a meeting. I looked through the glass into his office - he was looking at what looked like his phone. I am writing this review because lack of care and after being ignored in numerous incidents by James the General Manager. Horrible Customer Service.

So I gave them a new card number and I thought that I closed out the account. I was told that he cancelled the membership and charged the new card for $99. However, for the past two months a collection agency has been calling my house two to three times a day, every day, they are still attempting to charge my old card stating that I owe them money since October and the card is no good. Thank god I shut it down. I then went back down to the club and screamed at the manager accused him of harassment and notified the local police. They will do whatever it takes not to let you cancel your membership and will continue to charge your card. Buyer BEWARE. Document Everything.

When I went to cancel, I was told that I would have to come back during the week as no one was there to cancel on weekends. They said I could cancel over the phone, but the recording referred me only to their website. Strange, so I thought it would just be easier to go back to the gym again on Monday and cancel then. I climbed up those stairs (everyone seems to mention them) and requested a cancellation.

I was fine up until then because I wasn't aware that it was going to cost me to cancel. I asked to have my membership canceled and was told that I would have to give a month's notice (implying, I thought, that it was due upon cancellation). I reminded them that I had paid up front so I wouldn't have to pay any extra fees. That's when they started telling me "it's in the contract," which, I pointed out, was never told during the sales pitch. At that point they called over the manager. Let's politely say he was a bit arrogant. In fact, he talked over my head and repeated "it's in the contract, it's in the contract, it's in the contract." Nothing makes me madder than being corrected and being talked down to. That's not what I was told by the associate who signed me up. I asked to speak to her, and she gave me corporate's phone number. She at least was apologetic, and even acknowledged that she "...didn't know about the 30 days notice."

I then called corporate thinking the manager probably didn't cancel my membership. My hunch was right, he hadn't. I got yet another arrogant NYSC agent, who kept correcting me and saying "No Sir" to my contention that a 30 day notice is equal to a cancellation fee. It's not just semantics, I mean, I paid up front so I wouldn't have to pay at the end. Anyway, she wasn't listening and I finally started saying "Yes Ma'am!" to her so that I could finish what I was trying to say. It should never have gotten to that point and I feel I was treated shabbily and perhaps management needs more training. This is also the worst possible way to treat a customer and as a result, I could never recommend the club to anyone. I understand that other people have had positive experiences and I'm only relating mine.

I immediately went back and told them to stop charging right away and to reimburse me. And ever since I have gotten some many promises from all different NYSC employees that they would take care of it. And nothing has happened. On the contrary, they tried to charge two more times my credit card! My bank was alerted and refused the charges. After writing a review on Yelp, NYSP contacted me the same day - again promising to take care of the situation. The responsible for Manhattan scheduled twice a time to call me - he never followed through. I call this theft and will file a police report.

I went back to NYSC and Dominique told me that he will request for the money to be returned and while I was there, I told him that I would like to cancel my account as I do not trust NYSC anymore. He told me that I should wait and again had me convinced to place my account on freeze. I was waiting for the reply and return of the money which did not happen. Well, in May they did not charge me but in June they charged me $632 and as soon as I discovered that I went back to NYSC and personally spoke to the manager James and Dominique. Dominique who was the witness and stated that he will cancel my personal training account and will make sure they do not charge me in July. Guess what, they still charged and that point I have had enough and requested my account to be cancelled and called my credit card to dispute June and July charges while they could not dispute March and April charges and recommended me to talk to NYSC.

I called customer service who kept giving me the run around that they are waiting for the confirmation from NYSC, while NYSC kept telling me that they already did. Meantime, Dominique, Jess and Daniel (all who were involved) have left the company. Now I have no help and apparently their vice president for financial department denied my request. I am upset as this is my hard earned money and I can not get my money back while I trusted NYSC, was their loyal customer. I really need help but do not know what to do. I moved to Texas and my club was in NJ and I have no way to get my money back. I am very dissatisfied with their customer service and their managers.

A few months later I was still not able to go back and realized I was being charged the whole time except for the first month. I asked for a credit back and was told that I had no proof that I froze my account (no freeze notice - which was not my error) and that I would only get dues going forward. The membership services person basically made me feel as if this was all my fault. I couldn't believe I was being treated this way. She would not give me the name of a manager and eventually stop replying to my emails.

All I wanted was my $245 credited back to me... after 14 yrs and THOUSANDS of dollars in revenue you'd think there would be some customer loyalty, not to mention that I had to provide doctor's notes from my oncologist. I tried corporate headquarters (no one responded) and NYSC's facebook page which told me someone would be in touch in 48 hours and it's been a week... I can't in good consciousness be a part of a gym that doesn't care about their members and only cares about their bottom line. This has yet to be resolved.

I have never gotten a satisfactory response, and in fact, have been given evasive, runaround answers. Each time I saw him at the club, it was a different, non-sensible bureaucratic response. I told him I was going to cancel and he urged me not to, that he would address the situation. He did not, so on August 19 I formally requested cancellation of the personal fitness contract and that no further charges were to be made to my account. I also requested restitution (again) for the lost sessions. At that point he told me it was a 30-day cancellation policy, and I would be charged the $356 fee on September 14. He said "read the contract". I have rarely seen such an arrogant, customer be-damned attitude. I thought you guys were in the service business. Moreover, NY Sports itself abrogated the contract by not living up to its part of the contract in providing me a trainer.

I had told ** that it had been my intention to continue after this month on a pay as you go basis of probably three to four sessions per month. By my estimate the treatment by ** and lack of response by the W. 62nd Street GM, will cost NY Sports - by my calculation about $4200 per year in revenue, since I also intend to cancel my membership. Over five years, that amounts to over $20,000 in lost revenue. I continue to hope this situation gets resolved in a fair and equitable manner. To date, based on attitude and treatment, that does not seem possible. I have already contacted the credit card company about this situation. Why not find an equitable solution rather than continuing down this road. I again request: No further charges for the personal training contract, and restitution for the lost sessions (equivalent to $270).

When he came back 10 minutes later, didn't even look at me and rudely told me that I am not eligible because my id said "part time", dismissed me as though I am not good enough for this gym, then moved on to the next customer. Note that the masters program is only listed as part time because the classes are offered on weekends (10 hours each weekend, nothing part time about it). This sales person moved on to the next customer immediately so that there would be no room for discussion. Not being a confrontational person and feeling a little embarrassed because I knew there was another reason, I left, upset with the way he handled the situation as he easily could have asked me when I called if I was a full time or part time student especially since I told him I was calling from work. I happened to mention it to my friend, who then called in to find out that they didn't to give me the student rate because I am too old. What a disgrace and a lousy organization.

First, your sales people should know the rules and regulations and should have been able to handle inquiries over the phone, professionally and respectfully. Second, no one should be treated poorly, no matter how old the person is. This person basically called me a liar and was nothing less than rude and dismissed me as though I am not even human. The end result is that you are getting a complaint...is it worth it? Finally, we live in a great country where age discrimination is against the law, period. If you offer a program for "students", then a student is a student no matter what their age. Next you will only sign up women who are pretty. I know I don't matter to you in any way and I know that this complaint will go nowhere, because you have already shown that you run an unprofessional organization, but hopefully someone will read this complaint and will not join your gym. Social networks are great in this respect....it will help spread the word. Have a nice day.

Very unorganized and not controlled. At what point they were asking the parents to come join to help them. I was getting very aggravated. By the time it was pizza time there were no drinks set up or the pizza. One of the "coaches" threw the pies on the kids plate and my husband and I had to do most of the work. I forgot to mention the "party room" for food was a storage room. There was a football table there where a 1 yr old got hurt on. Time for cake, they couldn't figure out where the lights were to shut it off. A simple task that ruined one of the kid's fav part of a party. The entire cake was cut up after my husband told them to ask if anyone wanted seconds. She stuck spoons in the extra pieces as well. End of party they couldn't close the cake bc the spoons were sticking out, no one grabbed bags to bag the gifts and they were pushing us out the door. I understand it's a kid's party, but I didn't have to spend that much for something so unorganized. A lot of money for kids to just run around in a big room.

He then charged me for the two first months on my credit card and charged my girlfriend with the first month which I paid in cash - a total of $207. When I got home I was a bit surprised to discover that they actually have an offer of 30 days for $30 and a bit angry. I therefore went back to the club to change my subscription to the 30 days for $30 deal. But the manager told me that deal was only for new members and I have already been a member for about 20 hours now. This does not make any sense whatsoever.

I then told him I would like to cancel both me and my girlfriend’s subscription to NYSC because of this bad treatment. The manager then tells me that is not possible. I have to wait two months before I can cancel. I then tell the manager that his own website says that you can get a full refund within 10 days. He then asked me to come back some other day. I tell him I would like my money back, but he insists that I come back another day.

I then returned to the club today to cancel my membership. And now I could only cancel my own membership and not my girlfriend’s. I finally canceled my own membership, but the manager refused to return all my money. He will only return $69 even though I paid a full $138 because it is only the first $69 that are refundable. I had to go to the club 4 times to cancel my membership and then I can only get ½ of it back? This is no way to treat customers and an extreme lack of customer service. Stay away from this gym!

Last week I also made a formal complaint by phone against the manager at Mercer Street after I went to the location and discovered that he was the person with whom I tried to close the account with over a year ago. I believe he failed to close the account out of spite (or incompetence). The Mercer Street facility has a particularly notorious reputation for failing to close accounts and for continuing to bill its customers. With the exception of revisiting the Mercer location 2 weeks ago and meeting Mr. **, I have not used a NY Sports Club gym in over three years. Their own records confirm that. Although I was told by three separate phone reps that upper management would be contacting me by phone, I have yet to hear back from anyone.

This place is the WORST. DO NOT BECOME A MEMBER. A LOT OF MY FRIENDS HAVE BILLING ISSUES. THEIR CUSTOMER SERVICE IS TERRIBLE. THE GYMS IN WESTCHESTER COUNTY ARE NOT TAKEN CARE OF. ESPECIALLY DOBBS FERRY. THE SHOWERS DON'T WORK, THERE IS COLD WATER AND THE MANAGEMENT IS INATTENTIVE AND INEFFICIENT. I am letting my company know - we have a corporate contract with them - about the BAIT AND SWITCH tactic NYSC used on me at time of signing. I am also going to report them to the Better Business Bureau.

When I joined this club thought I was joining an ADULT gym. The location at 63rd and WEA was an absolute haven - one of the best undiscovered locations in the city with a 25-foot pool where the temperature was perfect and you never had to wait for a lane. It was truly an oasis where swimming was meditation in motion. They had always had family swims on Saturday and Sunday afternoons leaving two lanes for lap swimmers, but it was manageable. Now the kids have taken over and they are screaming in the locker room. Half of all available swim hours are allocated to children and even though there is a designated family change area, mothers and nannies bring the babes into the women's locker room where, after working a full day, paying adult members have to put up with children running around, screaming, crying, or gaping at your naked body.

Yesterday I reminded two women that there is a family changing area. One with her two kids left apologizing that it was a "potty" emergency, but the other woman whose little boy was absolutely kicking and screaming adamantly refused. And accused me of not liking children. When I told her, and yes I was damn angry at the low blow because I like children just fine, but NOT IN THE LOCKER ROOM, anyway, when I told her that I worked all day and paid a monthly membership for a little relaxation and quiet, she responded by saying she worked too only she didn't have to pay anything because my money was paying for her to be able to come to the pool. Um, what? And she said this with absolute glee, damn proud of getting a free deal.

That was when it got ugly, and once dressed I left the locker room shaking with rage looking for the manager who wasn't there. I am and have always been someone who is happy for my tax dollars to serve the populace with programs that help level the playing field for the disadvantaged. This arrogant, entitled woman makes me want to vote Republican and that would not be something I would find admirable in anyone. Apparently the management of this club and of the entire chain have arranged some deal, I don't know, through tax rebates or putting some of my dues money toward funding programs for people who can't pay. Fine. Just keep the kids out of the locker room and get them out of the pool by 6 pm on weekdays. Period. Because not only are you going to lose my membership, but from the complaining I've heard, you're going to lose quite a few.

I filed a dispute with my credit card company, but it likely will go nowhere as their documentation will find me in the wrong because I did not present documentation. Their contract is a trap! How can I present a document they never gave me? How can NYSC not be held liable for the mistake they made? How can transactions for billing be solely the responsibility of the client? This makes no sense!

NYSC went into my account to take the 39 dollars, which represented insurance that his membership fee would not increase - on what membership? There was no more membership. This is one of their surprise fees, which occurs the first week in January each year. We paid it when he was a member and now we are still supposed to pay it even though the membership was no longer in effect. I have documents to prove all that I've said. I am reporting them to the better business bureau and if necessary bringing them to court.

After speaking with the General Manager, she informed me that someone with a similar name was taking classes and the trainer selected my name in the system and began automatically charging my account. It baffles me how their systems are so poor that there is no check-and-balance to avoid something like this. They didn't refer to anything that would be more unique i.e., membership ID, address, picture, anything!

She then informed me they will put in a request with the Corp office for a refund. I waited about a week and was told my account would be refunded by the end of the month (by end of March 2014). We are now in April and it has been over 3 weeks since I spotted this and my account STILL HAS NOT BEEN REFUNDED. As this is going on, they have no issues with charging my credit card the monthly fee. It's outrageous that this is something that I had to spot and take all the initiative in correcting. Having to put up with several lies in the process, I am still not certain if they are running a Scam or if it is a legitimate mistake. Either way, they have not corrected this mistake in a timely fashion and I am still out over $700.

I WILL NEVER RECOMMEND THIS GYM TO ANYONE and I was sure to inform all my coworkers, who work in the same building as the gym, what was going on to make sure they do not sign up either. Mistakes happen, it's understandable, but it's the ability of the company to right their wrong that differentiates good management from the terrible ones. And this, I can confidently say, is terrible!

My real problems began when I decided to cancel my private training without giving them a 30 day notice. When I asked my trainer if I can do, that she said that I definitely can, but I'll have to pay a $150 cancellation fee (which I was absolutely ok with). When I called the customer care service the lady I spoke to told me that there is no way for me to get out of it without a 30 notice but she can send an email to my "training director" (what for?) to see if this issue could be solved somehow. She ended up sending an email to my PT stating that I'm refusing to pay a cancellation fee...

Second time I called the customer care rep started basically yelling at me after, being refused to cancel my PT yet again, I asked if I could be transferred to someone who have the authority to deal with that kind of problems. "You want me transfer you to someone who'll tell you that you can waive your services but you just can't!!! I have the authority, and I can't help you!!!'' She repeated over and over again. In fact she acted as if I was arguing with her over her own money that I wanted to take away from her. Ridiculous and unprofessional.

I have neither time nor desire to waste my energy on battling people like that, besides it really was my own mistake not notifying them on time. So I agreed to pay another month of private training ($632 for 8 sessions) even though I have no time for them anymore. But I put in a cancellation notice not only for the training but for the general membership too, and I can't wait to be done with NYSC once and for all (hope it goes bankrupt one day). Also reading all the reviews above, I'll make sure to block my card to prevent them from charging it after I'm gone.

Prior to working out I was given a flier with all of the membership options. It wasn't until this time that I was told that the $19.99 was for a "restricted" membership and that I would not be able to workout between the hours of 4:30 and 7:30 PM WHAT?!?!?!?! If I wanted the unrestricted membership I would have to pay them $49.99 per month but they would give me a special rate of $39.99. NO THANKS!! This was very deceiving on their part.

I knew I wasn't joining at those rates but decided to take advantage of the one free workout. While I was on the treadmill I could not change the channel fast enough on the small personal television which was showing Al Sharpton on MSNBC. That station and CNN both came in loud and clear but guess what?? No Fox News. Your read this correctly. The New York Sports Club has blocked Fox News from their televisions. The audacity for them to censor the news that their members watch because it differs from their political views is simply outrageous. No wonder our country is in such deep trouble when you have corporate hacks like this telling you what you are allowed to watch. I will never give this company a single nickel of my money.

After faxing said document to the manager, I called to verify and was told it was never received. I personally got a doctor’s note from my doctor and handed it to the manager. After filling out necessary documents I asked will I be billed next month, manager responded no. Thought that was the end of my worries until I realized that the first of the very next month I was billed. Not for the regular monthly amount I've been paying but I was charged $20 extra on top of the regular monthly fee.

Considering that with a doctor’s note the cancellation fee should have been waived I am uncertain as to why this occurred. I was told I would be issued a refund in 2-3days. After calling the manager back to see if all is well. My calls are forwarded to an answering system. I still have yet to receive word on whether or not my refund came through. When I inquired about what the hold-up was, no one was able to give an explanation. It's been 3 weeks and I am still waiting for my refund. If you join try not to cancel, it’s quite a hassle.

I checked my credit card statement and I was not charged a processing fee and instead the monthly rate for Feb and March. I called same salesperson and was told again that I misunderstood because I was charged for Feb and Mar but can use any location. I explained again the nearest location is 45 min. away and asked for a refund for Feb as I felt deceived into paying for 2 months. If I had known the gym was opening 3/24, I would've waited until then. The limited time only founder's rate is a scam.

Clearly, NYSC (Midtown East, at least) is unconcerned with customer satisfaction. For an organization of its size, NYSC's customer data management and their information interconnectivity system is woefully inept. Moreover, their attitude exudes: "We're the only game in town and we don't have to work for our customers' business." Fortunately, nearby are better clubs with better service, more interesting classes, and friendlier, more accessible staff. If you're considering NYSC, rest assured, you can do better elsewhere.

He did not offer a compromise or to speak with his superiors. Washington Sports Club took thousands of dollars from my family because I did not know they were still paying the bill. The club must have proof that I have not walked through their doors in years but it did not matter to them. They could not even admit that someone may have made a mistake years ago when canceling my membership. I did not think to keep proof for five to six years. I thought it was a done deal when I canceled. To keep from going to creditors, I had to pay the company on order to get proof of cancellation. They may think they are following contracts but the practice is immoral and they have no customer service.

So I required $30 back, but they still didn't refund me and didn't even ask for excuse!!! What if I didn't check this? They would have charged me more and more? Maybe they are charging everyone extra, but customers just don't notice? So except this tiny small fact that they are charging money any time they want from my card so one more thing -

When I came in to cancel my account I was told that I do not have enough documents for cancel department! I said I am leaving the country, but They even told me that my foreign passport doesn't count for them! I told them that they are in another language and they told me they have a translation department (which is a lie, because eventually they forced me to make a delay in two days while I was searching for documents ... And then I canceled my account in NYSC Sports Club. But I was charged (!) for cancelling my account!!!!

On the other day (early in the morning!), I was told that it is the VERY LAST FINAL payment - $58.33 (on February 25). And it is payment because I didn't make 30 day notice! (Did they translated my documents to another language for such a short period of time?!!) But they need 30 DAYS to close account!!???!!! So I wanted to freeze my account for the next month not to pay so MUCH ($58.33) , because I will not be in city and will not use a club ... BUT (!) they told me I cannot because my account has to stay active for 30 days before closing! Also a contract DOESN'T say anything which a manager said! But what can I do? Go to lower?!!!!!

2/4, NYSC called me to ask if my credit card was cancelled because they couldn't charge it. I told her the whole story and told her to enter into the billing computer that I have never been a member. 2/19, I (again) drove to the gym. The manager, ** quit or was fired, the guy who signed me up said "I don't have anything to do with billing - don't ask me", and the new General Manager, **, was in her office on a webinar for the next 20 minutes - asked if I could wait for her. I guess I made enough commotion that she came out, copied my information and promised to call me this afternoon. It’s 7 pm, and guess who never called? I guess I will have to take these ** to Small Claims Court.

I received a second hang up call at 8.21am this morning from the NYSC 866-634-8221 number. No message was left for me.

I called the number and reached the NYSC "Updating Department".

The woman I spoke to (I'm not publishing her name) gave me the same story I have heard in collection calls from the NYSC since early January: My credit card info needs to be updated and payment made. But this time for February!

I explained, again, that I have exchanged many emails over the last four weeks with the manager of the Cobble Hill branch of the NYSC. I asked her if I could email her a copy of my credit card receipt, the proof of the payment I made to NYSC, and my cancellation of the membership.

She said she could not receive emails.

She said if I spoke to the manager at Cobble Hill, he had not cancelled my membership. She had no record of any of our correspondence.

After I expressed my intense dissatisfaction (with remarkable restraint, I think) she told me she would contact Member Services for me, and would give me a call back to connect me so that I did not have to stay on hold again.

She did this. I was called back by Nadia Robbins in Member Services. She had no record of a cancellation, nor of any of this history. I told her the whole story from the beginning. She seemed genuinely willing to try to resolve this. She put me on hold for 20 minutes and then sent me an email stating:

"I have waived the balance on your account. Your membership is cancelled and you have a $0 balance."

It would appear that this matter is resolved (though I thought that was the case when I cancelled with the Cobble Hill manager).

It has taken 4 weeks, approximately 24 emails and 10 phone calls to reach this point.

The assistance I received today was effective. But based on my experience over the last month, the amount of time I have wasted and the stress entailed, I could never recommend the NYSC to anyone else.

Original Review: Feb. 4, 2014

I have just filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. Buyer Beware. I had a one-year membership at the Cobble Hill NYSC. It ended at the end of 2013. I moved at the same time, and had no wish to start another membership. On January 8, 2014, I received a call from someone saying they represented NYSC and that they needed updated credit card info for me. The call was unexpected and so rude that I assumed it was a phishing attempt. I called the Cobble Hill branch of NYSC immediately to speak to the manager, and said someone pretending to be from NYSC was trying to get personal info from me, specifically an "updated credit card number." That was when I learned that my annual membership had in fact ended in December, not November, as I had supposed. So I was perfectly happy to pay the extra month I owed - December - on the phone, via the manager.

But the Cobble Hill manager then told me I also owed money for another two months, January and February (bear in mind I made this call on the 8th of January). He said I also had to pay a cancellation fee. For a membership whose 12 months had ended the previous month. I did not understand. News to me: Not only is one required to cancel a membership that has ostensibly ended, but one can only do so one month in advance. So now I was considered a member, in arrears, for January and February. The NYSC had apparently been trying to automatically bill my card. But I had canceled the card they had on record, for an unrelated security concern. Hence the collection call.

I had received no email or phone call at the time my annual membership came to an end to remind me or to inform me that I was automatically enrolled in a monthly membership from then on. I received no notice that I would be billed for additional months. Unless you actively cancel (for which you are penalized), they keep automatically billing your credit card. On the phone that day I paid the cancellation fee, and the month I owed. The manager agreed to waive the additional months for which I had no idea I was going to be billed, after hearing my strong objections. I asked for a copy of that day's billing receipt, and thought that would be the end of it. In the meantime I received two more collection calls, and an email from a main branch of NYSC, demanding payment. Bank records showed that the payment discussed with the manager had already gone through.

I was very upset by the collection calls, as I have excellent credit, and very concerned that this will affect it. It took weeks - and dozens of emails to the manager - to receive a copy of the signed receipt of payment from him, but at last he did inform me in writing that my membership was canceled, and on January 22nd I received that receipt, signed and countersigned by the manager and myself. I thought it was over. But on February 3rd I received an email from NYSC saying they had received "updated billing information" for me but that my card had been returned and that I owed $135. ??? I responded by email immediately, to the address provided, and I cc'd the manager at Cobble Hill, explaining that I had paid an outstanding $78.95 plus $13.99 cancellation.

I have not received a response. On February 4th called the 877 number provided, but after spending 25 minutes on hold, gave up. I am astounded that the New York Sports Club is still allowed to operate negative billing like this after hundreds of complaints, many of which are more serious than mine. Surely this is ripe for a class action suit?

The shocker was that on Wed., Nov 26th, a NYSC manager (16 St and 8th Ave, NYC) had shown me a contract with my name and CC info but with someone else's signature. The signature was not even for my name. Can someone say illegal? I plan to seek legal counsel in case they do not rectify the situation but I'm concerned that it will not be corrected due to NYSC horrible reputation. There should be an investigation to see how the contract was falsely signed as this is criminal activity. This is one of the worse experiences I've had as a consumer ever. I will post an update later on.

My next issue is in regards to my personal training membership. There was a special going on - a 6-month, 1/month training program - which I signed up for in March. With my one month of frozen membership, that 6 months was up in September. I had an amazing trainer during that time and enjoyed my sessions. In September I had my last session and was told nothing more than, best of luck. However I was still charged for personal training in both October and November. Once I saw the charge in October, I called the manager who told me that was an error. They had no record of taking out $59 from my account, only my monthly membership fee, and my personal training membership was in the system as deactivated.

So I went ahead to dispute the charge through my credit card company, but when November came and I was charged again, it made no sense. I then came across a "membership agreement", my first time seeing it, in which it said that I had to put a 30-day cancellation request - for my "6-month membership special". Besides that being ridiculous to begin with, my signature was nowhere on that agreement and I was never told about it previously. I called membership services, spoke to a very unhelpful and unfriendly assistant, Darcy, and was just told all of the small print details that the club sleazily does not make clearly known. I was also told they had to contact the club to see if a "verbal agreement" was made - which I can assure you was not - but making a judgement of how to proceed with their error based on a "he said she said" policy is just ridiculous. At this point, all I want is my fees withdrawn for the months of October and November. Those were the two months after my training package was completed.

I understand having fees - at the end of the day, this is a business, there's nothing wrong with that. But based on the excessiveness and type of fees New York Sports Club has, it's shocking to me you don't have a pay a fee to use a bathroom once you walk into the club! I pay close to $100/month. I had my membership for a year and tried to downgrade to a core package - "no problem, pay a fee". I'm a 26-year-old dental student paying for school from high interest student loans - but I'm not eligible for a student price because I'm over 25. Wouldn't matter too much now anyway because their student membership deal? Yeah, that's not going on this month - but next month it should be back.

The manager who told me all of these details at another NYSC location was embarrassed even saying this stuff to me! If a manager of a gym sees all of these fees as being excessive and ridiculous, how do they expect their members to feel? I had a fantastic spin teacher which was the only reason I put up with these schemes, but at this point, she's not even worth it. I have submitted ALL cancellation requests to the gym at this point and a promise to never ever ever deal with any of New York Sports Club gyms in the future. To pay the same prices for a gym in New York City that is huge with classes all day as a gym that is small, has maybe 10 people in the gym at peak time, and an average of 5 classes a day, was the first "wow this is dumb" fact I overlooked. But ridiculous fees, nasty customer service operators, and just poor customer service in general just put the icing on the cake. Terrible business practices, New York Sports Club, terrible!

I would also check the credentials of some of these people. Several of them know ZERO about Anatomy and Kinesiology. I would be very hesitant before I would sign up unless you have investigated.... Do not join this club if you live in Westchester! By the time you pay for parking and your membership, you have paid at least 150 dollars a month. For that amount of money, there are cleaner and more professional facilities to join and be happy!

May 2013: I registered for New York Sports Club's core membership at the Mercer Street location with ** after being assured that if I were to cancel my membership, I would not need to pay a cancellation fee. I expressed concern about one before agreeing to join as I was just graduating college and unsure if I would secure employment by September 2013. He told me that there would be no cancellation fee if I were obliged to cancel early and I literally watched him calculate how far the home address I supplied that day (**, Riverhead, NY 11901) so I joined. I also remember showing my ID, which included my address.

August 28, 2013: I went to **, the Customer Service Manager of the Mercer Street location of New York Sports Club (henceforth abbreviated as NYSC) seeking to cancel my membership bearing a copy of my resignation notice for my job. He told me I would need to come back with an official 2-weeks or a letter bearing the letterhead of my job. I did exactly that the same day. I asked whether I also needed to prove my home address in any way. I was told no.

August 30, 2013: I went to purchase a train ticket to go to work and my bank card declined. A call to my bank to investigate why I suddenly had no money in my account after having over $140 the last time I checked my balance revealed that NYSC had put a hold against my checking account of all its contents. I then called NYSC and was told I need to submit a proof of address and a scanned copy or photo of my learner's permit. I did just that- but then realized I'd forgotten to attach the attachments. I sent another email noting that attachments were included in the subject line and thought the attachments had attached, but apparently a glitch made them not- and NYSC conveniently waited until after September 1 to tell me this. I called a few hours later when I noticed that I still had not received my refund even though I had sent my proof of address. They did not tell me during this call that the attachments had not attached. Instead, they said the hold would be removed from my bank account within the next 48 hours - which it was. Total time on phone- 32 minutes, mostly on hold.

September 2, 2013: I received an email saying my proof of address was not received and thus they were unable to process my request. September 3, 2013: I opened email from previous day when I checked it. I then checked my Sent folder and was annoyed to notice that the attachments did not attach - likely a glitch with my email server as CUNY.edu's server is not known for reliability - not NYSC's fault that they did not attach BUT I should have been told much sooner than 4 days after sending the message specifying there were attachments right in the subject line. Furthermore, when I made a point to call them, they should have informed me the attachments had not gone through at that point. Anyhow, I then checked my Sent folder to confirm that the attachments had gone through this time. They had.

September 6, 2013: I received a very confusing email saying, among other things, that my payment was resubmitting and "Final Payment: ?" By this point, I was highly annoyed and sent an email saying, "It would be nice if you told me what my payment was rather than a vague question mark so I didn't have to take a trip to the bank just to check my balance and make sure my account wasn't messed up by NYSC - again." (That trip to the bank revealed that my account - so far - had been left alone. I assumed that the situation was resolved.

September 10, 2013: I checked my bank balance and notice that once again it had much less than it ought. I looked at my online bank statement and, sure enough, NYSC was the culprit. There was a September 9 transaction where $145.33 was taken by "NYSC Mercer Street" I sent an email to every Member Services and Commit Cancel email I had plus the Customer Service manager of the location I joined. None have replied so far. I also attempted to call Member Services but it was closed. There goes one cell phone minute.

September 11, 2013: I have made three phone calls thus far today. The first one said my proof of move was received but completely denied any bank charges were made. She gave me her email address and I emailed her a screenshot of my bank statement. I haven't heard back yet. The second person denied that I'd ever sent a proof of move. The third person said that I'd sent a proof of move - but after September 1 (problem is I attempted to send it 2 days before the first and they didn't bother to tell me it hadn't attached until the apparent September 1 deadline had passed. I now intend to put a return receipt on all my messages).The third person also claimed that I had canceled my proof of move, which I absolutely did NOT. I never ONCE said I was making it a regular cancellation. I So now we have customer service representatives telling me different things - and actually making things up.

Supposedly I'm getting a refund in "14-21 business days" (an outrageously long time given they have computers) but I do not trust this company. This also means I have to cancel a job interview I was supposed to have tomorrow, which means I have now been cost a job because of this company - I literally cannot afford the transportation there and back because NYSC took all that money from me. If anything else happens I certainly intend to give updates on this situation.

I have saved each and every email I sent and received in regards to this situation and I have phone records available on my various calls to Town Sports International seeking to resolve this situation. Also, it may be of interest to peruse this web site, which has other customer stories- I wish I had checked this before joining. https://www.consumeraffairs.com/health_clubs/ny_sports_club.html

They have a sign outside the club stating last day of sale for the entire month! When I asked, why? After seeing this sign day after day, the shady sales guy said, "Oh that's bc we had so many people the night before that we had to run it another day to register everyone. 3 weeks later... same sign and I don't see many members which for me is the one and only good thing about this gym. It’s not crowded.

Janet who is the manager at this facility has yet to call me back after numerous attempts to reach her. She is always at a meeting and obviously can’t get on the phone for my promised refund. This is by far the worst experience I have ever had at a NYSC! It's no wonder they hire shady people, they are starving for customers!!! Bottom line there must be a way for me to get the money they clearly owe me for their mistake. Please help, this is very important!!!

When we personally met them, they said that they cannot transfer the membership (God knows for what). I told him if they cannot, then cancel it. I also told him that I will not pay for next month's fee. They PROMISED that they will get back to us. OF COURSE they never did. And I was charged $128 for I don’t know what. I tried calling them but as EXPECTED, none of them were available. I feel they are highly unprofessional and I was mentally and financially harassed. Customer service is almost negligible. I am willing to speak to higher authorities or their supervisors, but I have no patience to deal with the staff at FOREST Hills. Who would be the best person to deal with this?

On April 16th, I noticed that in my credit card statement, there were two charges, one of $27.99 and another one of $89.99. I also realized I never got a receipt from him with a description of my transaction. On April 17th, I went to talk to **. He said that what I had signed up was that on the 13th month of membership, I will have a month free and again, he assured me that I was not in a contract. When I asked for a receipt, he said he could not give me one.

When I went home that day, I extensively checked the fine prints of my Livingsocial deal and of the NYSC website and could not find anywhere the condition that I had to be local (from NYC) for NYSC to accept the deal. On April 18th, I went again and talked to the General Manager, Ms. **. She heard my complaints and agreed that the reasons that ** gave me for not honoring the deal were not reasonable and that he should have accepted the deal I had already purchased. She also noticed in my account that ** had signed me up for a membership without my consent. I talked to her and got to the verbal agreement that they will use the $89.99 as a credit for me to use the gym in May and that I could cancel the contract I had with them at any time in May.

Again I asked for a receipt and she could not give me one. I went again on April 24 to follow up on my complaint and to ask for a receipt. This time, I talked to Ms. ** and Ms. **. Ms. ** said she had emailed her boss and had not heard back. Again, I was not able to obtain a receipt this time either. On April 30th, I called (212-288-5700) Ms. ** for a follow up. She said she had not heard anything back so I told her I wanted to cancel my membership to the gym. She replied by asking why and after my reasons, she said that it will take 24 to 48 hours for me to hear back from her with a confirmation.

On May 2nd and May 7th, I emailed her back because I had not heard from her but did not get a reply back. On May 14th, I went to the gym and talked to Ms. ** and she assured me that my contract with the gym will be cancelled and that my credit card will not be charged again. However, she checked my account and the fraudulent contract was still in my account. She emailed Ms. ** (using a different email address than the one I had for her), Mr. **, and CCed me in it, regarding my request.

A week later, I have not heard back from them. A gym trial that was meant to cost me just $24 has cost me $142, a lot of stress and a waste of my time. Right now, I am worried they will charge my credit card for the months that remain in the fraudulent contract.

After being a peaceful paying client for 2 years, they still wanted to get another payment out of me. I, of course, complained to customer service so they waived 15 days. Really, I still need to pay half and be punished because their associates gave me the wrong information? I'll settle for the fee and never go there again.

How all of this is left unfixed is beyond me! You speak with any person in the gym, they all will tell you to run far away from the contract. The membership fee keeps rising as the gym keeps getting worse. It's $55 for a decaying NYSC gym or $40 for LA membership where you can go to any of them on the island? The answer is clear.

I called the club and was told by the manager (Sasha) that my cancellation was incorrectly processed. When I inquired what that meant, I was told that the other manager, moron, never processed the paperwork. Further, I was told I had to pay a $20.78 fee to cancel my account. Seriously, what the **? God only knows if I'll see my money refunded to my account. ** NYSC!

I'm not from the USA, so my billing address is my home country address. I went back home for holidays and when I checked my credit card statement, I saw that NYSC has been charging me since August 2012 for a service that I've never used! It's up to 3 months now and until now they hadn't refunded me yet! The manager comes up with lousy excuses; I need to call 4 times per day to talk to her and she never replies to my messages. I'm completely disappointed! This is misappropriation! I foresee that I'll leave this country without the $1,000.00 that NYSC wrongly charged me.

Original Review: Jan. 18, 2013

Please do not become a member. My husband and I are both teachers. Last July, we wanted to join a gym. We were sold a membership by someone called Andrew at the St. James branch. He said to open a regular membership and then before the end of August, to ask for a downgrade to a teacher membership ($29). We did so and sent in the documents they requested. To our surprise, they begun charging us the regular price, not the one we were told.

After calling several times and going to the gym in person to solve the issue (by the way, in order to be seen by someone we had to tell them that we wanted to open a membership), we have been told to suck it up and that we need to continue to pay almost $60 each until July 2013 or pay a fee of $150 to leave them. The person who sold us our memberships no longer works there. I feel we have been cheated. Do these people work on commission? Do they need to lie to get new members? I wonder if we are the only ones that have been tricked this way! I will advise everyone I know to never do business with them. They are just not ethical.

What we got finally: a) no return for the trial passport; 2) double charge for October; 3) the charge for November; 4) late payment fee for November when the first charge must have been in December; 4) rate-lock fee of $39 that was not mentioned before the contract signing; 5) cancellation fee applied to the account when no cancellation was not requested. A lot of health was lost during nervous conversations with the management. Don't do business with New York Sport Club, Town Sports International.

The second call to the "new membership" department also tried transferring me. However, because of a busy signal, was unable to transfer as well. I asked to speak to a manager or another department that could assist. Her response, "Sorry, I am going to disconnect from you now." As I'm responding, "Are you serious?" I get hung up on. Another call, I waited for 50 minutes on hold and I finally got to the correct department to cancel. The representative first stated that I owed for the whole month of January, plus a rate lock fee. I have been trying to cancel for over a month and refused to pay for services I would not use. Finally, she agreed for me to pay just up to the day of today's call. If I hadn't complained, they would have made money from their inability to answer the phone.

It shouldn't take over 20 calls in the span of over a month to get through. I'm home sick today and was able to sit listening to crappy music for a couple of hours. But who has time to do that normally? Why should I have to? Especially when the times to call are during the work week with no extended hours. If I wanted to set up a new membership, I would have gotten assistance a lot faster. I canceled my membership because of a move. But after dealing with the horrible customer service, ridiculous phone waits and unprofessional staff, I would never choose this gym to sign up with again. Sitting on the phone as I write this for 16 minutes so far to log a formal complaint. How long before you think I might get to a representative? Ha!

Five hours later at 5:30 pm, the receptionist told me sorry, but no one is available to help me and she is unable to interrupt anyone and they are about to go home. At this point, I had to get in my car, leave my family for dinner, and drive to the Sports Club to find someone to cancel my trial membership. I was so angry and disappointed in how they treat their customers. Upon arrival, the manager assisted me with a very condescending tone. I am not one to complain or become that angry but I find that behavior unacceptable and I will only have negative things to say about that experience.

Fast forward three months later, I hadn't stepped foot in NYSC because I'm 400 miles away at college and I got charged $279 out of the blue. I called the Astoria NYSC to speak with Don who assured me that it was a blimp in the system and that he would call me back the next day to refund my money. I received no such call, so I decided to call Member Services. The lady required me to send additional information (lease contract, receipts, etc.), all of which I sent to her. Since she had received my information, I was told to expect my refund in 2 weeks’ time.

It has been almost 3 weeks since speaking to her and 2 months since this whole ordeal started. What type of business is this? I was told my membership would be cancelled in August and, out of the blue, I was charged $279. I provided them with all the information to prove that I had moved and still have not received a refund. This is no different than someone stealing from your pocket.

Fourth, shower curtains that are worn, torn and don't close all the way, so that encourages sex and jo in the showers. Fifth, former trainers who are allowed into the club without a membership and hog up the machines. One of them screamed at me when I tried to use a bench that he was using (even though he was about 10 feet away on another bench and there was no towel or any indication that someone was working there). I know for a fact that he is not a member because I heard him mention it to one of the trainers. Sixth, I have been a member for 16 years. I pay $98/month. I have friends who joined in the last 5 years or so and they pay anywhere from $60-75/month.

When I questioned one of the NYSC membership reps, I was told the only way I could bring my membership down (by $10) was to pay the full year in advance. I declined because I still have dreams of joining Equinox and don't want to commit myself fully to NYSC. Finally, the club sometimes opens late on weekends and the person responsible never so much as offers a good morning or any apology when she finally shows up. So why do I continue working out there? Simple. The place has gone so far downhill over the past decade that it's relatively empty except for peak hours. And I hate crowds.

The receptionist tried to assist me and explained that these are onetime fees charged to everyone to avoid a "rate hike". She said that everyone has the same question. I find it miserable that there was nobody in Sales to be connected to and that the Corporate office does not have a proper hotline for this despicable practice. I have been a customer for years in the club. Perhaps I never noticed this charge before this year. But I am livid! I need a human being in Sales or a manager and I simply want this charge removed for both me and my daughter.

I emailed her on December 28th informing her I wanted to cancel my account but received no reply. I called today, December 31st, and was given the runaround. The customer service operator, Kathleen, was a rude, condescending ** and didn't help me at all. I went to the club, spoke to Ms. ** and she said that the system was down and she was going to the Wall Street Club and she would cancel my membership and I wouldn't get charged. I get a vm at 7:54pm stating that she cancelled membership but I had to pay $127; otherwise, I would have to deal with collections when I was told I wouldn't have to pay anything. I emailed her explaining the situation, but of course, no replies. I feel so duped and I need help dealing with them and reporting them to Consumer Affairs and the Better Business Bureau. Can anybody please advise? They should go to jail for misleading people.

Charging a hefty early termination fee to someone who signed up for a one-year contract and wanted to cancel their membership after the one-year mark has passed is unfair business practice. Be warned that NYSC loves to squeeze in hidden charges to their customers and takes absolutely no accountability for not making these clear to their customers. In addition, the club is overpriced and lacks decent customer service.

We are still in the process of ending this nightmare with NYSC. No one in the NYSC organization has any good intention to help, but only more ways to come up with additional charges. The NYSC corporate office is a total waste of time to deal with. They are rude and keep digging for more money. Stay away from NYSC at all cost!

I wanted to freeze my account for the month of December because I really needed the money for Christmas shopping, plus I was going to be traveling a lot anyway. I had to call them three times. All three times, the girl answering the phone sent me to someone's voice mail. The girl answering the phone never told me I'd have to come in person to freeze my account or that I could do it online. I ended up leaving two detailed messages to call me back if there were any problems. I’m a busy person myself and could not keep calling more than that. I expected after two voice mails, they should get back to me.

No callback, but sure enough, there was the $80 charge for the month of December. I called up customer service (on Monday, Dec. 3), and they were so rude to me! They said they would not credit my account. They said it was my fault because I did not complete the freeze correctly, that I would have had to come in to the gym to do this. Nobody ever told me that after all the multiples times I had called. They just disregarded me and passed off my call to someone’s voice mail. If some competent employee at the gym could have told me to just come in or that I could do it online, or would have at the least gave me a call back, then this never would have happened. Now all of a sudden, it’s all my fault and they will not credit my account.

I would have been less upset if the member services person I was speaking to was nice to me, but the girl Kathleen ** was so mean and rude. I expect more from a quality gym like NYSC. It’s too bad because I really like the gym, but it sucks that they don’t value you at all as a member and that the employees are incompetent.

They refused to honor my Groupon for a trial membership for 30 days, since I had already been a trial member for 3 days. One of my friends, who was a member, gave me a guest pass. Nowhere on the Groupon fine print does it say this. I've since contacted Groupon and an NYSC associate, and got no response from either. The people are the worst. Every NYSC employee I've encountered is bored, unfriendly, and chats away at the front desk while people are lined up to ask questions.

I returned mainly to try the Zumba classes, and while some instructors are good, I had an instructor at the Irving Plaza 7 PM Zumba class tell me not to watch her (because it made her feel nervous), and kept checking her Facebook in between songs (the songs are 5 min long and class is an hour long). If you are going to be neurotic and self-obsessed, maybe you shouldn't become a Zumba teacher. I've had a few Zumba teachers though, who are good, and this was my 2nd Zumba experience. But if it were my first one, I'd definitely stay away.

I've already filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau, and I encourage everyone to do the same if you have issues!

She is a good liar. NYSC is not an army; it is not a school; it is just a basic sport club and we are paying money to get a good service and get some relaxation at the gym. However, since the beginning of my membership, I have never been treated as a customer. I am a well-educated, high-class woman and the thing that happened at that class was very dishonorable. I don’t know what I have to do, but I know I am so mad and very upset. Whatever happens in the class, instructors have to solve the problems; they don’t have any right to yell at or humiliate their customer. Before everything else, I am their customer. I did not deserve that attitude.

The reason I first requested to cancel services was to lower the monthly rate of my passport package as I have been an active member for two years, paying the rate of $73.95 a month. Today I see a promotion in Groupon for $24 for a passport membership that is at a $49 value. How is it that the passport membership is published at $49, yet my same membership is at $73.95 and it cannot be lowered? Lies after lies, I find that to be preposterous.

I am requesting that my monthly membership be lowered at the $49 rate or else I will be forced to voice my issue on the social networking tools at my disposal as well as the NYS PSC (New York State Public Service Commission). I have yet to receive a response from them. How can they offer the same package I have for the "original value" of $49 yet I pay $73.95 a month and they state they can't lower the price?

Nine months into the membership, in May of 2009, I informed the club that I would not be in the city for the next couple of months since the school year had finished and so they presented me with the option of freezing my account. I did this with the understanding that I could unfreeze the account at a future date. What I was not told was that the company would unfreeze my account on their own without notifying me, and begin charging my regular monthly fee of $76.49 from my checking account.

What I was also not told when I signed my initial contract was that after the initial 12 months of my membership, the account would revert to a monthly membership until my cancellation. Since I was overall dissatisfied with the service at the gym and since I felt I was overcharged for my membership to begin with, I saw no reason to unfreeze my account. Only last Sunday, March 11, 2012, did I realize that New York Sports Club had continued charging my account every month. In the last 31 months since the club unfroze my account without notifying me, they have extracted $2371.19.

I have not used a NYSC gym in that period of time, nor have I received any form of contact or evidence from the club (aside from the monthly charges on my debit card statements) that I was still a member there. Since you have to scan a membership card every time you use an NYSC gym, my usage reports show that I haven't set foot in one in this span of time. Predictably, the company denies any wrongdoing and their offers are a refund of 2 months of charges!

I'm enraged and I'm in the process of filing complaints with the Bureau of Better Business as well as the New York State Consumer Protection Board, and the Attorney General's website. If you or anyone you know is a member of NYSC, please have them contact me as I am making a petition of active members to show this company that its members will not stand for these deceitful business practices which include exploiting college students with the fine print in their contracts.

I called their corporate office and a woman condescendingly explained to me over the phone that nothing was processed incorrectly. I told her the exact details of the cash transaction that I made and exactly what I was told by the employee who signed me up. I also told this woman that I had repeatedly been assured that no further charges would be made to my account. Her response was that she could not verify the verbal agreement made between me and the person who signed me up. At this point, it seems to me that they say whatever they can to lure you in, even lying until they obtain your cc information. It's also possible that they just need to better educate their employees on their policies, a case for which I should not have been penalized with 80 dollars.

The most she was willing to do was to connect me back to this gym to clear this up, when the only reason why I called the corporate office was because I had already communicated with them about four times. I also did not plan on returning to this gym because on many occasions, the male employees gawked at me while I worked out which made me really uncomfortable (also, perhaps it's necessary to say that I'm not one of those women who dress inappropriately at the gym). Nobody likes to be stared at after running for an hour.

Three days later, my bank assessed a charge from NYSC in the amount of $185. I was absolutely shocked and angered that this occurred and contacted Ashley immediately. She claimed that she wasn't aware that NYSC would immediately charge this amount and said "it was likely disapproved by her manager.” This contradicted her original claim that she would make sure if there were any issues before processing, she would notify me at once. That clearly never happened.

She supposedly went and spoke to the GM about this, returned and basically denied any wrongdoing in this matter, citing that they were allowed to charge me the $185. I did not accept this decision and demanded that the appropriate difference be refunded to my account ($125). Ashley agreed to request the refund from management and notify me when was processed.

Instead of honoring a bank refund (where the difference would be refunded to my Chase Checking Account), NYSC decided to refund the difference to my internal NYSC account and $125 was refunded and available for credit for upcoming dues billed after February 1st. This underhanded action caused me enormous frustration. After learning this, I demanded that the money be refunded back to my bank account. Ashley responded with "Sorry, we cannot do that, bank refunds can only be processed unless you cancel your membership." I couldn't believe I had to consider cancelling my membership as the only option. But knowing that they had $125 which I desperately needed, I had no choice but to request a cancellation, which would grant me the bank refund I demanded.

The initial call to NYSC took place on February 6. The $185 debit from my account went through on February 8th. It is now February 29th and I still have yet to receive my refund. According to NYSC, the cancellation went through on the 13th, and the refund request went through on the 14th. Ashley informed me that the bank refund would process between 2-4 business days. She was wrong. When Feb. 20 came around and the refund still hadn't been reflected in my account, she then apologized and said "sorry, it's really 2-4 weeks." At this point, it would be hard for anyone to imagine that I was not beyond frustrated and angered at this series of misinformation and underhanded activity.

I now had to demand that the refund be expedited. The debit of $185 compromised my Chase Bank Account, and all my other automated debits continued, causing my account to be overdrawn. I have since been assessed $50 in Overdraft and Extended Insufficient fees. Chase Bank agreed to honor a refund of these fees, but only once the $125 refund takes place. It has been over 11 days now. Numerous emails and phone calls have gone unanswered and unattended to, after a multitude of late responses "apologizing for the inconvenience".

I am currently awaiting a follow-up from Ashley in which she was awaiting the status of the refund from the General Manager. There have been many road blocks for me in being able to speak directly to the refund department. I have threatened to make this a larger consumer affairs issue and this is the first step. As a member for over 5 years, this has been a huge headache. I always enjoyed going to NYSC and I am very disappointed that its personnel handled this so carelessly, incorrectly, and with no sense of urgency in rectifying the matter.

I continue to wait until the money is back into my account. My bank is overdrawn by $62.02. I have other bills that will now be delayed as a result of this ordeal. It is my belief that the Asst. GM is the major cause of this error with her lack of attention and thoroughness in helping me with this problem. Additional responsibility falls onto the General Manager (whom I have been denied contact with) and the refund department (who I have also been told responds to email inquiries by NYSC personnel only). If there was a way to hasten this matter, I would have been allowed to contact the appropriate people directly and had my questions answered.

I hope they resolve this matter by the end of the week. In my opinion, if they were able to remove the money from my account within such a quick time period, they should be able to refund the money just as easily. My patience has officially worn out.

After I moved to the city, I went though the history of my bank transaction for February then I found out NYSC charged me for the February membership again and, I didn't get the refund either. I got a hold of a manager in Princeton NYSC and he said he will be in contact with me very shortly. Of course, I didn't hear back from him nor could I ever get a hold of him ever again for some stupid reason.

3 weeks ago, I emailed and rang the fella, Alan, and he said he will make sure his boss will give me a ring regarding this process and I was assured I've got nothing to worry about. However, since I'm a college student and living on my budget from the money my parents give me (unemployed), I was kinda going low on my budget. Since they owe me over a hundred something dollars for January and February membership, I asked him to pass it on to his boss. I rang Alan again after one week because the loser hasn't bothered to sort this problem out. The fella goes, even though he left a memo about it, his boss has been super busy.

Its been nearly a month since the problem occurred. To be precise, Its been 1 month and 2 weeks since I demanded a refund. What the ** has been up till now? Hence, despite the fact that I've been desperately getting a hold of the manager more than 5 times and never get to hear back from him? this is total nonsense. I'm actually raging over this ** at this point, I'm pretty sure they will charge me for another membership fee on the 1st march. Is there anything I can do at this stage? I don't live in Princeton nor do I have time to go there again, I never get to get a hold of the manager. Could you guys please help me about this situation? I'm very close to contacting consumers rights association. I'd highly appreciate your feedback.

I’m sure I’m not the only woman that has, is or will be going through this. I've helped him out with his personal situations expecting respect back, but he is very selfish. It’s been a while, but the more I thought about it, I needed to complain because I’m sure there are more women that are getting used for his personal gain. All he wants is a sexual experience.

I thought everything was resolved. Now, I am getting calls from a collection agency saying that I signed up from June to October '10 and I owe them money. From the complaints I have read here, this seems to be a pattern. This company is to be avoided as their business tactics are deplorable. I have always had a stellar credit score, what happens to it now! I'm in on the class action! They should not be allowed to get away with defrauding people and ruining their credit.

Instead, I have taken NYSC to court to protest the poor level of training that left me in worse condition than when I started, and thousands of dollars poorer. These people sell dreams to gullible people. After about six months on hold, suddenly with no notice my credit card is billed at $61.25 cents a month, which is more than my dues were initially. Now I am fighting that. It is endless. NYSC is like the roach motel. Once you join, you can never get out.