Complaints

• Initial Complaint

  10/27/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  2 stars because the trainers are excellent, but that's it because the business model is not client-friendly, i.e. 'consumer beware'. This is a clean studio with very kind instructors, however they collect pre-payments for 30 days at time, issuing a set # of credits that can only be used in the specific billing period for which they were paid. This is NOT clear in their contacts and is not discussed at time of sign-up! I signed up for 90 days only to figure out that we SM though they appear to have a lot of classes, when I logged into app to sign up for classes that met my level of capability and schedule, it was just a series of wait lists, I added myself to wait lists, only to find out that ties up ,y credits, keeping me from signing for classes later in the 30-day period that might have availability. When I tried to remove myself from a wait list to sign up for one of the classes a week or two later, the credits were not added back to my account, meaning I could not add any more classes. When you don't get into a wait listed class, there is no notification advising that the credit is again available for use. My first 30 days, I only got to use 2 / 4 credits. My second 30 days, only 1 / 4 credits used. I reached out to the club manager for help and was told there was nothing they could do since they have no provision to roll credits. This is BS. They offered to help me get into classes for the final 39 days of my contract. We will see...Bottom line - be wary in signing up with Club Pilates (or Pure Barre) as they write the contracts very loosely, but in a way designed to 100% favor the business. Don't get sick, have a car accident, travel, have limited hours of personal availability, or have a real life that might cause your pre-paid credits go unused ... in 30 days, POOF! they're gone! Businesses of integrity should simply do the RIGHT thing by their clients, current and former, when it comes to requiring pre-payments for services not yet rendered.

  Business response

  01/31/2023

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2022/11/07) */ The client signed up for a 4 class a month agreement. We clearly go over that they have 4 classes assigned to their account on billing date and have 30 days to use with no rollover of credits. It's also in the contract that ******** signed. I am attaching her signed agreement and with the highlighted bullet point on Box #2 that states the credits are available upon billing and do not roll over. The client signed the agreement on 8/23 and we checked in with her on 9/8. She did not mention any trouble booking classes, she complained about the instructor not doing the exercise with them and only using verbal cues for the class. This is the same format that the free intro class she took used so she was aware of the style of class and instruction. The first we heard of her difficulty booking classes was when she submitted her 30 day notice to cancel her agreement on 10/20. We offered to help get her booked into the classes she was looking to take. We did make an exception and roll a credit over for her during this last month so she has taken two classes this period and has three more booked. So there has been no issue getting her into classes that she wants to take. If she had communicated with us earlier, this issue could have been solved but she waited until submitting her cancellation to express her concerns. Consumer Response /* (3000, 8, 2022/11/08) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) I had hoped not to have to go back and forth with this owner, I was optimistic they would want to do the right thing for their customer -- and possibly retain that customer beyond the initial 3 month trial, while possibly creating a raving fan. The biggest objection I have to the response is that the printed copy of what I signed does NOT state that classes do not roll over. I still have this peice of paper. The version on the tiny digital screen where customers are asked to sign is different from what was handed to me. As the printed copy that was easier to read, there was every right to believe this matched what was on the digital screen... And yet it wasn't. This is a very shoddy practice, at best, and otherwise fraudulent. I do hope it was just a mistake, in which case the owner should want to make it right. I'm sure the attorney general would be interested in fraudulent documents that represent terms of agreements, although I hope that step won't be necessary. Nothing was stated by the person at the facility that credits had to be used within 30 days -- together, we reviewed the "printed" copy not the small digital version. As for class scheduling, I brought it up only after learning that the credits I paid for in good faith were no longer available for my use. I could not have anticipated this and they require 30-day notice to cancel, so I felt I had no choice but to tender my cancel immediately. Still,this business collected my money with no concern for the fact that the resulting prepaid fees were egregious for the actual services provided. There is absolutely no reason to continue to pay out $120 monthly for services I may or may not be able to schedule, and for which the owner is so inflexible that they are unwilling to help a customer find a workable ongoing solution. I do not believe any extra credits were applied to my account, as the owner states but I will double check. When I first brought this to the attention of the facility, their initial response was that there was nothing they could do. It wasn't until I continued to press that the facility manager helped me to get into a class. One class I received only about an hour notification for, which was insufficient for me to drive home from work, change clothes and drive to their facility by the start time, so I had to decline. I work in a business that's built on customer service. Based on the very disappointing response from the owner, it's clear thar the business has adopted a very short term/immediate approach to customer service vs long-term retention. I can not in good conscience recommend this business to others and will share my experience to help others avoid this trap. By lodging my complaint, I was really just seeking a reasonable resolution, not an argument. I think if this owner were in the shoes of the customer they might reconsider everything they've stated in their response. Business Response /* (4000, 10, 2022/11/10) */ I am attaching her full agreement that she signed when joining. This contract was emailed to her as soon as it was completed. Section 2 bullet point 3 states If your membership includes class credits, please note that they will expire on a monthly basis and that future classes can only be booked when new credits are available on account. Expiring credits do not rollover into the following month. She mentioned a sheet handed to her. The only sheet handed to her would be our client acknowledgement form that I am also attaching. Bullet point 9 states 4 class and 8 class members must use their credits within 30 days. The credits do not rollover to future months. Consumer Response /* (4200, 12, 2022/11/11) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) The owner is mistaken. The agreement was never emailed to me. If so, please provide date and time it was sent. Business Response /* (4000, 14, 2022/11/11) */ August 23, 2022 7:43pm

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