Body Fitness Gym, Inc. Complaint

Refuses to Honor Their Contract - Gym Membership

- Spring Hill, Florida
My name is Ann Darling. I am a 66-year-old Senior on a fixed income in Spring Hill, Fl. In May I went to various gyms for the first time in my life to tour their facilities. When I got to Body Fitness on Mariner St., a fast-talking, high-pressure salesman named [snip] did not give me a tour of his gym--instead he sat me down and high-pressured me into buying almost $100 worth of meal replacements and he produced a contract for Body Fitness and high-pressured me into believing I needed to sign it with my credit card number. I am ashamed to say, I fell for his high-pressure sales pitch!

The next day I went back to Body Fitness and finally got a tour of the gym which I had wanted the first day and never got! I didn't like their equipment, the gym setup, the high-pressure atmosphere or anything about Body Fitness. So I went home and carefully re-read the Body Fitness Contract and realized this high-pressure salesman had charged a lumpsum of $511.20 payable all at once and charged to my credit card for "Gym Membership fees" stated right under the signature and credit card number! I read the cancellation clause and it said I had by State of Florida law three days to send a Certified Cancellation letter for a full refund of my fees. I quickly sent a cancellation letter vis Certified US Mail and got a signature receipt at the Gym on the other end within 3 days. That is when my problems with this gym really began--THEY SAID THEY WOULD NOT REFUND MY FEES, that they were non-refundable and tough luck for me!

Since then I have had nothing but lies, contract alterations and refusals to cooperate from this Gym since and of May 2008.They REFUSE TO HONOR THEIR OWN GYM MEMBERSHIP FEES CONTRACT AND REFUND MY FEES PER THEIR OWN CANCELLATION RULES! They have lied to my credit card company by sending an altered Contract to them--they will lie to anyone who asks in order to keep my $511.20 which they have no right to keep!

Recently I discovered this Gym is NOT BONDED with the State of Florida--I have tried to get relief through the Florida Consumer and Ag Dept but to no avail--No one will advocate for me, a 66 year old Senior citizen single woman gym novice on a fixed income who was taken advantage of by this fast-talking high-pressure salesman [snip]!

These people at Body Fitness guilty of fraud, misrepresentation, breach of contract and perpetrating financial hardship on me, the consumer!

Is there anyone or anywhere I can get help to advocate on my behalf against these lying, contract altering, gym charlatans? I remain desperately taken advantage of in Spring Hill--
Ann Darling





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Reader Comments:

Posted by donna on 02/15/2010
Ann Darling is a flat out liar. She is delusional and evil in every sense of the word. I am a small business owner for over 6 years. Have been in corporate America working 16 hours per day for the last 15 years. I have been in the fitness industry over 30. We do not have a refund policy for personal training and neither do any other organization with the same written contracts. I feel sorry for her and wish she would read and understand how the real world works. Her only reason for not training was she had a car repair bill. "that was supposed to be more important than keeping her word".

And least of all we use copier paper to make copies of contracts like most small business do. She was more than welcome to use the training and had a free membership to the gym thru her insurance company.

Posted by impossible_dreamer85 on 10/07/2010
Donna is actually the liar here. There are many complaints against Body Fitness not honoring their contracts with members or with employees. When I confronted her about a breach in my contract, she immediately became defensive, raised her voice at me, yelled at me, insulted me, and demanded I leave. She threw a tantrum right there in the middle of the store. As a teacher I've seen many tantrums, but never by a woman twice my age. I'd expect a 50-something year old woman to know how to behave professionally. Prior to this incident I was an excellent customer. My payments were never late, I called if I was ever running late from work to a training session, and bought all of my supplements and meal replacements from their store even though I could get them cheaper at GNC. And even before this complaint, she and her husband were "joint training" me and several times refused to train me because I had a sore throat (NOT in my contract) or canceled my session for other reasons without informing me (also NOT in my contract). I paid for many sessions that I didn't get and was told this is just "part of the business." If she would have just been honest with me when I first tried to resolve the complaint 5 months ago, I wouldn't be filing for an investigation against her business and taking her to small claims court. I truly feel sorry for her husband. He is a nice person and a great trainer, and he is attached to this lying, predatory, bitter woman.



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