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Bally Total Fitness

Bally • Sales Practices, Contracts • The 12-Day Rule • "Lifetime" Contracts • Moved Away • Maintenance • Child Care • Opening Late • Headphone Policy --- News • Bally's Customers Hope To Exercise Their Rights

We get so many complaints about Bally Total Fitness, it's a workout just to sort through them. Maybe the most important thing to know about all health clubs is that the contracts are legally binding. If you want to cancel your membership, you must do it in the manner specified in the contract -- in writing, via certified mail, usually. Otherwise you end up like Kathleen (below).

Kathleen of Waterford, MI (8/4/05):
In April of 1990, I went to the Waterford Balley's (which at that time was called Vic Tanney) with my sister-in-law to see what it was like. The girl that met with us talked me into joining. After I filled all the paperwork out, she told me that I needed to bring back a cancelled check to verify my checking account. She also informed me that if I wanted to cancel that I should contact them within 4 days. The following day I called and cancelled the membership. I was then under the impression that everything was taken care of.

Now 15 years later, as I am trying to get my finances in order to buy a house, I find out that I was turned over to a collection agency and I owe over $1100.00 to Balley�s. 15 years later!

Daniel of Englewood, NJ October 7, 2008

Daniel of Englewood NJ (10/07/08)
Absolute headache. Relentless when calling me to get paid. Absolutely ignored all my attempts to contact them when I was trying to transfer membership. I ended up giving up after weeks of trying and signing a whole new contract. My mistake...

Another incident, my CC was lost and I reported it lost, but forgot to call Bally to let them know for a week or two... Late FEES! Administrative FEES!

Quickest people to add on extra fees and charges. The laziest and most unreachable people when you are trying to transfer membership or ask for help. Does not care for the customer at all. Bally Total Fitness is a Horrendous mess in the US.

Eli of Denver, CO October 6, 2008

Eli of Denver CO (10/06/08)
I register for a membership but I sign with a program with a free menbership and my grandfather past way. I have to go out the country and call back to the fitness when I back and cancel my membership and they keep send me a bills and call me. I never use the membership at all

I am get a lots of frustration with these. its been almost 4 years and its been afecting me with everything. it show in my credit and I send a letter to the credit report companies about it and nothing get resolved. I dont know what to do. I been miss job opportunities and to buy a house as well because my credit

Steven of Cambridge, MA October 6, 2008

Steven of Cambridge MA (10/06/08)
My experience with BallyTotal Fitness began approx. eitht months ago. My sales numbers are usually the highest in the North East Reagion. Therefor I've climbed their twisted coporate ladder rapidly. We are trained initially at the corporate level. Basically to emphasize the concept of: TODAY, TODAY, TODAY. Create urgency any way you can. Our commsions are based on how much money is put down and most of all access, to any of your banking accounts. Most plans start with a 150 enrollment fee our commision doubles if you use your card. I have been in sales for 15 years and never have I worked for an organization with such little class.

My primary duties as a sales manager is The Closer. Since Bally treats it employee so bad the is an astrnomical turnover rate. I am constantly spending my day training the crop of fit coached that come in every two weeks. As far as your memberships There is so much fine print and claused that once you sign, as my G.M. says laughingly WE OWN THEM NOW That's the mentality from the top to the bottom.

People are promised a free trial. Step one get people in. Next is a body analysis. Which consists of body wieght and percentate of body fat. The scales at my gym add 5-10 pounds to your actual wieght, which in turn raises your body fat. A tour of the facility is next. Due to water leaks and insect and rodent investion there is a preset path that the tour follows. Our club loses all hot water twice a week on average. I am told by upper management to get the number at all costs Which is the monthly sales goal.

The ploblem is using the Bally Sales tactics has left me with a negative feeling about something that should be positive. I litterally have to shower every time I leave for the evening. Also the way one tends to see themselves gets to the point where it is hard to look in the mirror, I feel this is caused by taking someone's insecurities and using them to sign a three year contract. This is the number one tactic used in training.

When I was hired at BallyTotal Fitness I was told that our commision was 6% of the Net Member Value This is the difference between what the contracts Actuall Value is. I was told the net value is lower due to people cancelling and not paying for thier full contract. I could accept this. So you are not alone. Bally's treats it's employees' the same way the treat their members terrible. I am on the verge of losing my apartment and I write more business than 99% of the Sales Managers. I also suppose to recieve a 500 bonus each month.

I was told by my Distric Manager that if I spent time trianing the constanlty changing sales team and spending my day closing their sales I would recieve this and lt would increase by 250 per month until it topped out at 1000. What [he] never told me was that recieving this bonus the entire club,(including personal trianing) must make their quota, which never happens.

C. of Alamo, CA October 2, 2008

C. of Alamo CA (10/02/08)
I upgraded my account to Premium membership which allows me to use more than the one club I originally signed up at. I do enjoy being able to use the 4 different Bally's locations in the area except that Bally's has now decided to not renew the lease on the building of the Bally's location closest to my work and home. Now I'm required to drive miles to the next closest location which is time-consuming and ecologically wasteful.

I've tried to cancel my membership by contacting them via their website but have not received any response. To their credit, they did refund an error when I changed over my original membership and I have not seen double withdrawals from my checking account since the fixed my membership.

I don't seem to have any problem with correspondence unless I want to cancel my membership. I guess they make it as difficult as possible and I know the chain is having financial difficulties. Should they have offered cancellations if they close a local club? Yes. That would be good business.

A gym membership where I have to now drive out of my city to enjoy.

Britney of Rancho Cordova, CA September 28, 2008

Britney of Rancho Cordova CA (09/28/08)
In January of 2006 I moved to San Jose, Ca and signed up for a membership with Bally Total Fitness. Although it was not explained to me at the time this was a 3 year contract, that is not where my issues started. In June of 2007 I decided to relocate to Sacramento, CA and in needed to cancel my membership since there is not a Bally's anywhere near by. My contract stated I needed to be more then 25 miles outside of a Bally's club in order to cancel prior to my three year term (this also was not explained to me), but I was in fact well outside of the 25 mile radius.

The person I spoke to at Bally's explained that I needed to fax in my cancellation along with a copy of a bill with my new address on it, which I did, SEVERAL times. Each time I would try to send it, it would go through, I would call a couple days later to confirm, only to find out they never recieved the fax. The person I spoke to this time agreed to put the notes on my account that I would be sending my cancellation via mail. I proceeded to send in the cancellation with the copy of the bill with my new address as requested, I would call and follow up, every time to hear them say they never recieved it. I would ask to speak with a supervisor, to which they would say they would take my name and number and call me back, of course, I would never recieve a phone call.

Since I had sent in my cancellation, and everytime I called the person on the other end could verify my address change, I refused to continue to have them take the 50 a month from me for a gym I was not using, and they KNEW I was living at least 25 miles away from (in accordance with thier policy). Then they started calling me for collections, even though they could confirm that I was not living within the area, and that had been in fact trying to cancel. AT this point I was livid, asking to speak with supervisors, again getting the run around that they could not give out a supervisors name or contact information, that no one had email, and that they would call me back, which of course they never did.

Finally, in JANUARY of 2008, they recieved my fax, which was only achieved since I called and made the person sit on the phone with me until they receied it, confirmed they recieved it, and confirmed the cancellation. They assured me at that time that this would not be reflected on my credit report.

Well, this was a lie, I now have a key doragatory on my credit report, which is severly damaging my credit rating. I have called Bally's several times, again, to try to have this corrected, and getting the same run around. No supervisor available, promised returned phone calls which are never returned. And all the while, my ability to make the rest of my financial life work is damaged.

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