Complaints

• Initial Complaint

  04/07/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I went to Anytime fitness and fulfilled my contract with them. They made it nearly impossible to cancel my membership and left me with another charge to my account which they claim I missed. The previous owner Jessica (who got fired for malpractice) sent my whole membership (which I already paid during my contract at the gym) to collections for the full amount and told them I missed multiple payments which I did not. I have been trying to resolve this matter for months now and both Kingston Data (Donna Robertson the creditor) and Lachlan (new anytime fitness manager) keep giving me the run around by ignoring me and then claiming different stories. I spoke to Lachlan on the phone for an extensive period of time where he confirmed I was right and that the previous manager was scamming people and not doing their job correctly and a few other victims had the same issue. I asked him if there was something he could do as the creditor is claiming they did not buy this "debt" and I do not owe this money and its sitting in collections affecting my credit poorly. He said yes he will talk to the owner and help me. Then Donna (creditor) called me this morning and told me that Lachlan told her that he gave me all the tools necesary and tried to help me to get me to pay this amount which he told me I never owed. I feel like kingston data and anytime (ABC) are in it together where they get false contracts sent to collections to collect more money from people. I even offered to pay $100. just so they could remove it even tho I never owed even a penny and they refused. I am extremely angry at this malpractice from both sides and how they keep lying to me and telling me different stories when the Manager himself confirmed it. They need to be held accountable and I want this off my credit bureau and removed as I fulfilled my contract and do not owe them any money.

  Customer response

  04/07/2024

  this is the collection company that is part of the problem 

  Business response

  05/07/2024

  We're very disappointed it has come to this. We went out of our way to accommodate *****'s needs, and were willing to forego hundreds of dollars that she owed us in order to resolve this cleanly. Instead she has resorted to slandering us and our business online in multiple places.
  
  We have been in contact with her recently and discussed this issue in detail multiple times, both over the phone and by email. This started because ***** had a long history of being DELIQUENT with payments. Despite her having roughly 10 months left on her contract of payments with us, we decided to WAIVE the remaining time and money owed by on her on her contract (we have a copy her fully signed and binding contract). Cancelling/waiving her contract was not necessary on our part and purely out of goodwill and trying to help her. 
  
  The ONLY condition was that se simply pay the final $39.90 past-due that she owed us at the time and she would not have the pay any cancellation fees or honour the rest of her contract. This would have saved her over $600 in her contract fees or a $300 cancellation fee.
  
  Regrettably, she ghosted us and avoided all our attempts to help her. She outright refused to pay off the debt and eventually TOLD US to send her account to collections, as she had no intention of paying. At that time, we again offered to negotiate a reduced payoff to avoid collections, to protect her credit score, and respect your financial standing. 
  
  She replied "DON'T CARE SEND IT" to collections. So we did, and now she is slandering us online. We may decide to take legal action against her as this is defamation and precedent has been set in BC courts protecting business from false and slanderous reviews.

  Her Google review will be proof of her illegal behaviour.
  
  We were patient with her situation, and did everything in our power to help her, but her unwillingness to co-operate is what lead to a collections agency being involved. 

  Customer response

  05/07/2024

   
  Complaint: 21942798
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  its false and I wrote a ****** review to warn others of their fraud behaviour. This manager that is speaking now is lying and has only been there a couple of months. I was never delinquent. I was unaware of the $30 payment. When I spoke to the old manager I asked and confirmed that I was fulfilled and wanted out of my contract. I do not have a history of delinquent and its false claims that will have me *** them. Not the other way around. And even if I owed the $30. They cannot make up $600. I tried telling them I would happily pay $100 just to get them to take it off my bureau. I spoke to the manager on the phone and explained what was happening and he agreed with me and blamed it on the previous manager and said there were other people suffering the same problem by her and that he would talk to the owners for me. He even told me to give the collection company his information to tell them I was not in the wrong. When the collection company came back to me to say that he said I was a liar and he never spoke to me thats when I knew a scam was happening and I was being gaslit. The manager also knows Im a woman of colour and I believe this is a racism target 
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ********************

  Business response

  10/07/2024

  Unfortunately, this person has a history of missing payment and making false claims. I think its obvious from the argument below, combined with the proof points attached.
  
  ****** argument in quotes, my responses below:
  
  its false and I wrote a ****** review to warn others of their fraud behaviour. This manager that is speaking now is lying and has only been there a couple of months.
  

     >   As you can see from the attached document, we have documented all the communication. ***** is hoping to blame everything on a new manager and hoping we dont have records of all her previous conversions with our managers. She didnt realize that we keep all communication history. As you can see, she knew/signed her 2-year membership agreement, acknowledged the term and the cancellation process, was engaged in conversation about the late fees and the amount remaining on her contract.
  In addition, you can see that she asked about how much longer and more money was on her contract on April 10, 2022 and we responded over email (see attached Email History. 

  NOTE: Publicly accusing a company of fraud in a review, without proof, and subsequently being shown as a false statement or review, has been prosecuted before in ** up to $90,000 in favour of the business. See here - ***************************************************************************************************************************** - "********* defence was that everything he said was true. The judge disagreed. The only evidence supporting Mr. ******** allegations of fraud is his own," Justice ******************* wrote.
  
  I was never delinquent. I was unaware of the $30 payment.

    >  False, as documented in our text communication (separate document) and email history (attached document) with her and her account with ****************** our payment processor.In addition, there were 12 DELIQUENT PAYMENTS before this, between March 2021 March 2022. She has a history of being delinquent.
  
  When I spoke to the old manager I asked and confirmed that I was fulfilled and wanted out of my contract. I do not have a history of delinquent and its false claims that will have me *** them. Not the other way around. And even if I owed the $30...

     >  It's clear here that she knows she is in the wrong. I dont have a history of delinquent (yes, see proof attached) and even if I owed the $30. Who says that unless they already know they were delinquent and owed the $30? See attached supporting documents. It was clear she needed to pay her delinquent fees and then also had to pay to cancel the contract.
  
  They cannot make up $600. I tried telling them I would happily pay $100 just to get them to take it off my bureau.

    >  It's not made up, $600 was the total remaining on the membership agreement that she signed (see attached contract). However, the cancelation fee is either the remaining contract value OR $300... the LESSER of the two. Even so, we offered her an even cheaper buyout of only $250 (less than the $300 cancelation penalty listed in the contract), to be paid as soon as she brought her delinquent account into good standing. She replied "YES" to paying the $250 but then ghosted us and never paid the $250 to cancel (see attached Email Communication). Unfortunately, we had no choice but to eventually send it to collections as a last resort. Collections is not good for the member, and not good for us. They always go after the full contract amount, which is why we offer a cheaper buyout for the member as a way to avoid the headache and pain of collections, as we explained to *****. However, as you can see in the email communications, when we said her account would end up up in collections if we refused to bring it up-to-date and pay the cancelation, she responded "DON'T CARE. SEND IT." 
  
  I spoke to the manager on the phone and explained what was happening and he agreed with me and blamed it on the previous manager and said there were other people suffering the same problem by her and that he would talk to the owners for me. He even told me to give the collection company his information to tell them I was not in the wrong. When the collection company came back to me to say that he said I was a liar and he never spoke to me thats when I knew a scam was happening and I was being gaslit.
  Absolutely not true. We have worked with this collection company (********) for over 10-years with 4 different locations. They are a professional and long standing collections company.
  
  The manager also knows Im a woman of colour and I believe this is a racism target 
  I dont even know where to start with this comment, other than its completely ridiculous to assume that color, or any other human characteristic, has anything to do with one not paying their bills and ending up in collections. 

  SUMMARY - As a small business owner, it boggles my mind that people like ***** have no problem signing a promise/agreement, with no intention to honour it. Not only that, but they try to blame us when they miss payments or want to cancel but don't want to pay the fee. We explain the cancelation process & fee ad nauseum at sign up EVERYTIME to avoid these types of is***s. It amazes me that people still try to blame the local small businesses for their own choices. Now, a local small business has to spend time (we already work very long hours) refuting a very clear and simple contract that the member has signed and is clearly responsible for, along with delinquent payments.

  Do they not understand that as a small business, the reason they get such a good deal to join originally, is that we budget in the lifetime monthly payments of their membership so we can try to break even on the good deal we gave them to start? Do they have any idea how a business works? When things like this happen, and members become delinquent or refuse to pay or refuse to pay the cancelation fee on a contract they chose to sign(!), it affects our ability to pay our staff, pay our bills, and continue to stay open. As a local community, we need to look after each other, honour the promises and contracts we sign with local businesses, realize there is more in this world than just "me" and take accountability for one's own actions. 

  Customer response

  10/07/2024

   
  Complaint: 21942798
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  The entire essay they wrote is a lie and I am tired of business finding loopholes to try and charge people what they do not owe. They keep hammering the word deliquent in and now its becoming very racist at this point. Im not going to stand for this. And they just admitted that I did not owe anything but they illegally sent my contract to collections. These are not false claims. They are very real and this is heavily affecting my credit score. this back and forth emailing through the portal is nonsense. Point of the matter is:

   

  A: The previous manager did not tell me about their bs contract formalities and the new manager even admitted on the phone that she did not inform clients of this. Doesn't even matter at this point because I am adamant that I did not owe anything.

   

  B: They keep talking about history of delinquent: that is all great to keep going on and on about that but as you can see from their chart the payments were made. So moot point. 

   

  C: I finally said I do not care because I was tired of ******* giving me the run around and now ******* lying and giving the run around. Please remember I have been trying to figure this out for over a year now and these people just seem to want to continue to gaslight me and bully me because I will not allow it and I am standing up for myself. I am appalled that these companies continue to get away with it.

   

  D: all that being said. EVEN IF, I owed "the $30 payment that made them send to collections" why on earth is it so difficult to negotiate to just pay it off. Are they really that big of bullies that they want an obscene amount from me that I for sure do not owe?

  
  E: BBB we need this to stop. at this point its on my credit bureau and my goal is to get it off. I explained to the collection agency that I am willing to negotiate to get rid of it but I am not willing to pay what I do not owe. They claimed they did not buy the debt from anytime. I went and spoke to ******* on the phone (even though he will deny this as he has continued to deny everything and I should have recorded our conversation. Funny because he asked me if the call was being recorded and I said no because I was trying to deal in good faith. But I see now why he asked that ) anyways. ******* told me the ************* IN FACT bought the debt. So which one is it? Are they both lying?  

   

  In conclusion: What I am asking for at this point, is to negotiate a fair amount and settle this so it can come off of my credit bureau followed by a letter from ************* releasing me off whatever the settlement is agreed upon. I think it is a fair ask and $647 is not fair and I am not willing to over pay something. 

   

  Also I am tired of the same rhetoric of them lying and making false claims while I am telling my truth. It is very telling. And last time I checked we had a freedom of speech law that we are allowed to write reviews. the whole point of the review is to let others know what kind of business they will be dealing with. I am certainly not the only one who has been through this with them and I have many stories from people who claim the same issue. Bottom line is you cannot sign up for a gym membership, fulfill your contract, and then try and move on because they will not let you and that is the main problem that happened to me. It is not ok. I think we need to ask ourselves, why would I make up that they fired the last manager for poor business practice? That is  in fact what ******* told me. So surely there is validity to this. 

  So, lets make this settlement happen so we can all move on because I am sick of dealing with these people and I am sure the feeling is mutual. Perhaps in the future they will make better steps to deal their business in good faith rather than hurt people like they've done to me. I am traumatized. 

   

   

  
  Sincerely,
  
  ********************

  Business response

  12/07/2024

  This will be our last reponse, as we have provided all the proof required to show this situation was a clear case of ***** refusing to honour the contract she signed, and being sent to collections as a result of that.

  *****’s brash use of harsh, demeaning, and insulting words like "gaslight" and "racist" is just a further example of how she will go to extreme lengths to prove her case, regardless of the facts.

  Quite simply, not paying your bills and going to collections has nothing to do with any of those things.

  In addition, I think ***** misunderstands what the word “delinquent” means in this case? Delinquent is a term used to describe an account that is in arrears, not a personal description. I thought that was obvious.
  
  DELIQUENT: Yes, ***** was Delinquent in her final payment – PROOF

   > See attached “ABC Financial Processor - Draft Payment History - *****C – 2.pdf”

  On June 23, ***** closed her bank account in an effort to stop the payment of her membership fee dues that she still owed in her contract with us. She did not want to negotiate a cancelation fee with us and instead said “SEND IT” to collections.
  As you can see, ABC financial (our payment processor) tried to draft the next payment on July 8, but couldn't because the bank account had been closed – See attached  “ABC Financial Processor - Draft Payment History - *****C – 2.pdf."
  Because the bank account was closed, on July 12, the payment went DELIQUENT AGAIN because ***** had closed the account.

  Summary:
  1. ***** was still in contract.
  2. ***** closed her bank account to avoid paying her membership dues.
  3. ***** refused to negotiate a cancelation fee with us (NOTE - we had dropped the cancellation fee even further, to only $250 in order to help her out).
  4. ***** brashly told us to "SEND IT" to collections
  5. We sent it to collections.
  6. ***** had ample opportunities to correct this situation but instead tried to skip out on paying the signed contract. This ENTIRE ISSUE is *****’s own doing.
  
  HISTORY:
  ***** has a history of false accusations, false statements, and delinquent payments.
  

  Examples:
  1. FALSE: ***** says she paid her debt off and was in good standing.
  Truth: She paid and then promptly CLOSED her bank account in an effort to stop the payments of her membership fees from her bank account while she was still in contract with us (see attached “ABC Financial Processor - Draft Payment History - *****C – 2.pdf”)
  In *****’s argument, she conveniently said nothing about closing her bank account in order to avoid paying the rest of her contract. Thus, her account went delinquent again.
  
  2. FALSE: ***** says we “sell our debt to Kingston Collections.”
  Truth: How would ***** know what the terms of our business partnerships are? Kingston Data and Credit is paid a percentage of the debt that they collect, very standard with collection companies.
  Again, ***** pushes a false narrative making statements that are wrong.
  
  3. FALSE: ***** says we “fired” Jessica
  Truth: We did NOT fire Jessica. She was a fantastic manager and person. She got a great job offer and we fully supported her. We were sad to see her leave but excited for her new career.
  Again, another example of ***** making false statements based on things she has no idea about.
  
  OUTCOME:
  It’s not surprising that we’re at this point when you look at *****’s payment history, delinquent account history, current delinquent account, and the falsehoods she pushes.

  The simple truth is:
   > ***** refused to pay her bills
   > *****’s account went delinquent AGAIN after she closed her bank account
   > ***** refused to negotiate the payment with us (even after the multiple attempts we made)
   > We warned ***** that it would go to collections if we could not settle the account amicably.
   > ***** said “DON’T CARE, SEND IT.” Words have consequences.
   > We sent the account to collections, per her request.
   > ***** learns the hard way that not paying your bills and being sent to collections is a bad experience and can have long lasting results.
  
  NEXT STEPS:
  It's ironic that ***** is now begging us for the $300 cancellation fee we ORIGINALLY offered her to cancel in the first place, before collections was even involved. The irony is mind boggling, actually.

  Against our better judgement, here is our last and final offer:

  We can settle the account with collections. However, it’s important to understand this might still have an impact on the credit score.
  

  ACTIONS:
    1.  ***** immediately removes and never posts another review on any platform about Anytime Fitness (good or bad). She sends an email to the club (poco@anytimefitness.com) clearly stating that the matter has been resolved to her satisfaction and that she promises not write any more reviews or defame us going forward.
    2.  ***** immediately pays the $300 cancelation fee plus a $75 administration charge to us ($375 total).
  

  Whether ***** takes this offer or not, we will consider this matter closed. If ***** chooses not to settle the payment, we will continue to leave it with collections.

  ***** can either pay that amount in the club or with Kingston. Please note, she has to let us know what she chooses, as we need to let Kingston know.

  ATTACHED:

  1. Contract highlighting that ***** read and initialed the cancellation policy
  2. The ABC delinquent payment history showing that Erica had paid BUT then CLOSED her bank account to avoid fulfilling her obligations with the membership agreement. So, she went delinquent again, of course
  
  EXHIBITS & RESPONSES:

  In response to *****’s points:

    A: ***** literally signed the contract where the cancelation policy was made clear. See attached Cancellation policy and her initials.
    B: *****’s history is an indicator of her consumer habits and rating. A history of delinquent payments and false statements shows a pattern, which can then be used in a court of law.
    C: ***** said “Don’t Care. Sent it” concerning collections.
    D: We offered to negotiate the cancellation policy with Erike multiple times. We begged ***** to pay it off before the debt went to collections. However, ***** chose to close her bank account and ghost the whole thing instead. Life, business, and contracts don’t work like that. People are accountable for the decisions they make and the contracts they sign.
    E: Again, Kingston doesn’t buy debt from us. This is yet another half-baked attempt to discredit us and of ***** pushing a false narrative she knows nothing about. Kingston provides a service to collect payment in which they collect the entire contract value owed and keep a percentage of it. 

  Customer response

  12/07/2024

  
  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  **** ***** *** ****. Was never offered a $300 cancellation fee. ***** ****** *** **** ****** *** I’m done. I was finished my contract. I will not be paying this. It can call off later. I’m done with them and I will be telling everyone not to use their facilities. Also BBB this was a really awful way of mediation. What a waste of time. 
  

  *** *** **** ***** ** **** ********** ****** **** *** *** **** *** ****** *** ******* Thanks 

   

  ******* hate ********. I hate this whole thing. I don’t want to hear a word of this. ***** and *****. Bye 
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***** *********

• Initial Complaint

  06/09/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  About a year ago I made the mistake of signing up with this disaster company. I was told I could cancel with flight tickets or valid reasons within my agreement. I did so but to their mistake, they continued charging me and harassing me with emails and phone calls. They even went as far as sending me to their collection agency to do even more harassing with emails and phone calls. The only thing they forgot to do was a HOME VISIT. The owner of this business called, apologized, and offered a free month as compensation. I accepted it. again my mistake. After the free month, they continued as if my agreement was still ongoing and everything happened repeatedly. I had to block them to prevent them from calling me day and night. Today there was a collection notice on my credit report. They took me to the collection. This is unacceptable and unethical. you are robbing people of their money. I want my collection removed and this harassment stop. I know the owner can take care of this as the first time he cleared his mistake with just a snap of a finger. so don't even bother to start with this is out of our hands and it's in the hand of the financial company and bullshits.

  Business response

  14/09/2022

  Hi ***** I’m disappointed we are back here again. This is not the first time your payments have gone delinquent, as you know. In fact, you had the exact same issue with a different local gym as well (Gold's Gym). 

  When this happened the first time, we were nice enough to give you a free month to help you get things sorted out on your end. However, even after that you still refused to update your payment information, leaving us unpaid. This is the root of the problem. I understand your frustration over not being able to freeze your account, but it’s a very simple process (as we have continually explained to you). To freeze your account, your account must be up today date (with any missed or delinquent payments taken care of). Our system won’t let you freeze until that is done. You can cancel your membership/account at any time by paying out the remainder of the contract or $300, which ever is less. We explained this to you multiple times.
   
  We had been in constant communication with you about this issue of your delinquent status, as it's important for us to get this resolved. As we stated, we are happy to freeze your account while you are out of the country. All you need to freeze your membership/account is 1. proof of a flight or change of address to show you are out of town and 2. ensuring your account/membership is in good standing, meaning it is up-to-date with payment. Unfortunately, you were not interested in helping us get this sorted out for you. Again, it’s very simple. We have no ability to freeze your membership until your account is up to date. 
   
  So, here is exactly how this happened. You asked about how to freeze, as you mentioned you might be going away in March. That’s no problem and we are always happy to do that for our members. Again, all we need is a 1. a travel itinerary (like a snap shot of your ticket) or proof of address change and 2. making sure your account/membership is up-to-date. However, you completely ignored us. And so March came and went.
   
  Then on May 25th, 2-months later, you finally responded to us and said you would “send us the flight itinerary" showing you had been out of the country in March/April. In the process, you were very **** to our staff and demanding that we freeze your account retroactively. While we don't normally do freezes retroactively, we said ok, as part of our attempt to help make things work best for you. However, you sent us a flight itinerary for a future trip, not the March/April trip or timeframe you were complaining about. When we asked for the trip details of this past trip (again), you ignored us. 
   
  We called, texted and sent you emails explaining that you're still responsible for your past dues and that we need some sort of payment in order to freeze your membership for your future trips. You responded by email acknowledging that you understood this, and understood that we would not be able to cancel or freeze you until these overdue payments were settled. Again, we made it clear that we can’t cancel or freeze an account until the past dues are paid or you make arrangements to pay (like a special payment plan that works for you). Again, you chose to ignore us. 
   
  Finally, e explained to you that after 90-days of being delinquent, accounts are automatically transferred to a collections agency and our hands are tied after that. This almost never happens, as long before that 90-days expires, we work with members to make sure we can figure out an amenable solution for our members. We tried to do this with you, but your ignored our attempts. Having your account sent to a collections agency is not good for us, it’s not good for you or your credit score, and the only ones who win are the collections agency. But again, you refused to work with us and seemed not to care about going to a collection’s agency. 
  However, a
  Once your delinquent account was transferred to the collection’s agency, you started receiving communications from them. You then sent us an email asking “how much do I owe?" However, at that point it was too late for us to fix it out for you, as the account was now out of our hands and with the collection’s agency (as we explained would happen). 
   
  Overall, we tried very hard to work with you on a better solution. This is even more evident as we gave you a free month the first time this happened. However, you choose to ignore our attempts. Unfortunately, the collection agency won’t negotiate and will demand full payment. We did everything possible to avoid this situation.
  
  

  Customer response

  16/09/2022

  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  **** *********

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩