Complaints

• Initial Complaint

  11/05/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  On February 2, 2024, I attempted to cancel my membership. In response, ****'s Membership Accounts Manager sent me an email stating that despite having already paid for February, their policy would actually require me to pay for both March and April due to their 30-day written notice policy. The manager wrote that while my "membership cancellation should be effective March 2nd, 2024," their policy would require "two more payments prior to cancellation." They then positioned it as a favor that they would "opt to set your cancellation for the end of February versus prorated two additional days in March," essentially trying to make it appear they were doing me a service by only demanding one extra month's payment instead of two. This was followed by a threat that any unpaid balance would be "subject to be sent to a collection agency" - a threat they later carried out..To put ****'s practices in context, even Planet Fitness - a company that has faced criticism for its cancellation policies - only requires seven business days' notice for cancellation and offers multiple methods including in-person, mail, and sometimes online options. Yet **** demands a full 30-day notice period with written documentation, a policy that goes far beyond what other industry players consider unreasonable and what prompted the recent FTC "click-to-cancel" legislation.When I refused to pay the additional month's fee of $120, the business sent the amount to a collection agency, which is now negatively impacting my credit score.The business maintains an outdated and potentially illegal cancellation policy that requires written notice with a 30-day waiting period. This practice appears to violate several consumer protection laws:I am seeking the following resolution:Immediate removal of this matter from collections and restoration of my credit score. Thank you for your assistance *** ******

  Business response

  12/04/2024

  With regard to the complaint made by *** ******, There are a number of misstatements in her complaint. Here's what happened: She provided written notice of cancellation on February 2, 2024. She was then notified by our accounting department that per the written agreement that she signed upon joining, that we've received her 30 day notice and her effective date of cancellation was 2/29/24 (giving her 2 days grace!). At this point ********* responded with her objection to requiring ******************************************************************************************** is also incorrect in saying she was required to pay March and April dues. The facts are that we attempted in March to collect February dues which she owed us per contract plus a $25 late fee as she had not made payment on time (stopping payment with her bank), a total of $125. When that payment was rejected we sent her a collection notice and when she didn't pay we sent her to collection. It is apparent that are a number of factors that ********* is unaware of. First, health clubs in ********** are governed by the California Health Studios Act and requiring ********************************************************************************* signed a health club agreement stating this fact and providing her with the email address to send in her written cancellation notice which she did. She also cites a new law passed in ********** to take effect next year that is informally known as "click to cancel". This new law states that a company must allow a consumer to cancel in the same manner that they sign up or join something. Auburn Racquet club, Inc.  does not have online signups so even if the law were in effect, ********* would have the option of cancelling in the same way she signed up which would be in person, however, we allow written notice to be given via email instead and place that in our contracts with the email address noted. ********* asks to be taken out of collections. We will be happy to do so when she pays the rightful debt owed to Auburn Racquet club, ***** $125.

• Initial Complaint

  06/01/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  They canceled my family membership after 5 years. There reasons for doing so I believe to be false. They still took a whole months due and refuse to pay it back in the amount of $197. *** left the owner a few messages and he will not call me back. Whenever Ive spoken to an employee they are rude.

  Business response

  06/01/2023

  To Whom It May ******************* membership was cancelled after years of issues with this family creating problems not adhering to club rules, specifically, allowing their children to run around without supervision, especially on the pool deck, and the complainant's aggressive behavior toward the women in management roles when decisions the business made didn't sit well with him.

  After numerous incidents with one of their children in our babysitting department resulting the first time in a one-week suspension from babysitting and then after more incidents, a month long suspension, Both suspensions due to the child either hitting other children or trying to leave the room unsupervised, both of which are against our rules.Both times the parents were spoken to about the problem with their child. The parents then decided to let their child roam around the grounds freely without supervision and the incident that caused the the final straw of terminating their membership was discovering that it was their child that was identified by other members as the one in a brand new $35,000 sauna, jumping on the wooden seats inside so hard and breaking the wood and causing over $1000 in damages.

  The complainant has a history of aggressive behavior with my staff and in the best interest of the business this family was terminated. Given the circumstances of the termination, no dues will be refunded.

  ***********************, Owner
  

  
  

*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. ↩