Complain about a product or service

Gold's Gym

Barbara of Hollister, CA March 4, 2009

I had a chance to join the gym for 180.00 for the year. The offer came in the mail because we were members last year and paid 500.00 for 3 of us to join. Well we waited a couple months and the gym was sold to someone else and now they wont except the offer any longer they said it was to late. It was the women manager. But would be 40 somthing a month for members know. The new owner raised the prices. WHY??????? These days they should be happy to get people to join. Plus how many people keep going all year round. You would think they would love to make some money.

Christina of Scotia, NY February 25, 2009

i am a member at golds gym in niskayuna new york. when i walked in that building a year ago and signed my membership i couldn't wait to get started to a healthier lifestyle and this place wow! cardio theater, beautiful equipment, great people, wonderful daycare, free coffee, towels what more could i say. well i have a lot to say now. i am so disgusted with how this place looks now. if you are lucky to even sit on a clean toilet, have soap in the sinks or paper towels to dry your hands off with, also towels for the equipment. then its a good day, the place has gone to hell in a hand bag,

lets talk about the daycare i bring my 3 yr old to, i don't even want to bring her there, the floors, the walls, the toys & the bathroom alone are gross to say the least, i feel like i need to wrap her in saran wrap so she wont be exposed to go knows what daycare staff are wonderful. i cant tell you how many people bring there children there that have snot just oozing from their noses, and every time my daughter gets a cold guess where she picked it up from? probably the gym because my child was never, ever sick until i started to bring her to the daycare at golds. so as i have noticed for some time the equipment has about an inch of gunk on them and under them, forget it probably about 2 inches of dirt and fuzz on the carpet,

lets talk about the fitness aerobic center, can i just tell you the hairballs and [stuff] that are just floating all over the floor. what about using a dry mop. the stench that comes from the cardio theater will make anyone just about double over, and how sick and tired i am of having to watch JUNO for the umpteenth million time!. it used to be nice to go in when the ac worked & they had a diff movie playing and now lets see there are now 4 treadmills in there that dont work, i know of 2 in that room alone that have not been fixed for like 3 months.

now starting the 1st of February they took away the free coffee and free towels but if you pay an extra 10 a month you can have them again. I'm sorry but that just about did me in when i saw that. i pay 50 a month including daycare and if i want coffee or a free small towel that sheds little white fuzz's all over me they smell too i need to pay 10 more a month. a few weeks after i joined they came out with the 19.99 special with no contract and if i did daycare it would have been like 29.99 but, only if i paid like an extra 70 or 90 for a new contract. what is that all about?

i don't even want to go there anymore but 50 dollars is a lot of money and the horror stories alone i have heard to break the contract would be enough to put me in a loony bin all because i wanted to lose a few extra lbs. it wasn't worth it to tell you the truth and i want something done about this,

Janet of Little River, SC February 24, 2009

I signed up for the 2 year membership and stayed with it for 2 years. The final month was June. In July, they continued to debit my charge card, but I wasn't sure if I wanted to cancel or not. In August, my charge card had to be changed and the expiration date changed. They could no longer deduct it. Then the nasty phone calls started. I would have probably continued with them, even though I didn't go to the gym once a month. But when they called and I mentioned that my two years was over, they tried to claim that my contract specified it automatically renewed after the two year period!

Needless to say, I told them where to put their membership, refused to give them an updated credit card, and spoke with them both on the phone and in email. I also submitted a complaint to the Better Business Bureau. They continued to call every single day, sometimes several times, and finally started calling my cell phone as well. They send a bill every month, and are now claiming I owe almost 100. I figure eventually they will give up, and I am just ignoring them. But seriously, there should be a major BUYER BEWARE towards this business, and someone should warn people about giving them your credit card information. For those of you that they are still charging, CHANGE YOUR CREDIT CARD. Call it in like a stolen one and have the number or expiration changed and they will not be able to continue to rob you.

They are claiming I owe them 90.00, but I have no intention of paying it. Mostly it's just aggravation with constant phone calls and now even leaving messages on my cell phone. I do not believe they are able to file a credit bureau report, although they keep threatening to do so.

Christina of Sacramento, CA February 24, 2009

I tried to cancel my membership at Gold's Gym, I went in to speak with Tammy D, who I was told was the person who would be able to help me. She was rude, stated how I signed a two year contract and that there was no way I could get out of it. I asked her if there was someway I could pay a early opt out fee for early cancellation and be able to break the contract. She said no, there was nothing she would do and basically showed me the door.

I explained to her that I was no longer able to afford the dues and that I needed to cancel. She couldn't have cared less about my problems. She did nothing to assist me in finding a way to get out of the contract. When I signed up there were no options for how long membership I could sign up for. they just threw the contract in front of me and said here, sign here, here and here, there was no options of month to month or not. I am very frustrated, I can't afford to pay this anymore and my credit will be really bad if I start sending a stop payment from my bank. I can't afford to ruin my credit over a gym. Is there any way I can get help getting out of this?

Financially I can't afford to keep paying for this, I am having to take out cash advances just to have the funds available to cover the gym cost. I need help getting out of this contract.

Meredith of Parkville, MD February 20, 2009

I'm having trouble cancelling my membership & my husband's membership. I have been a member since 2005 and my husband joined in 2007. We were both under the impression that after 1 year of membership we'd be on a month to month membership & could cancel at any time. This is how it was explanined to me by Danny in 2005 when I joined.

After filling out the cancellation form 11/04/08, I spoke with Mr. L who informed me about the correct terms of my contract. Once your membership renews you are locked in for another year. I was told that my membership expired 01/31/09 & my husband's expired 02/28/09. Mr. L was rude and spoke to me in a very condesending manner, but did state that he would note our accounts so that they did not renew & that the last charge for my account would be 01/15/09. (02/15/09 for my husband's)

I called my credit card company on 02/18/09 & was told that there were 2 charges. I called the gym back & spoke to a different person who told me that neither account reflected any notes regarding cancellation. He pulled the folders for my membership & my husband's. He found a cancellation form in my husband's folder, but nothing in mine! I luckily had a copy that I was able to fax over.

I called later & Mr. L confirmed that he did receive the fax but that it would take him a couple of days to look into this & that I should call back on Friday 02/20/09 after 12PM. When I did I was informed by a different employee, who was very rude as well, that he never works on Fridays!

Being a member of this gym has been a terrible experience!! The equipment is always broken. There have been numerous occasions when the gym has not opened on time. The air conditioning in one of the fitness studios has been broken for some time & the heat would become unbearable in it during the summer months. The facility itself is dirty. The staff is rude, unhelpful, and unknowledgable about the gym's policies. I looked up this business on the BBB webiste & it has the lowest rating possible! I filed a complaint with them.

Karen of San Jose, CA February 18, 2009

Golds Gym will not let you cancel a membership. I have been trying for years and two years ago thought it was finished. They continue to illegally take money out of my checking account.

They have taken thousands of dollars from me and there is no way to stop them.

Andrew of Long Beach, CA February 14, 2009

Raised membership without notification 3.00 more per month out of my checking account, I know several other members this happened to as well, is tapping into my checking account without my concent legal? I have been a member for 12 years at the same rate, I feel golds should be charging more to the new sign ups, not thier loyal clients.

Taunya of Orem, UT February 13, 2009

I brought my daughter in with a one day free coupon to try the gym out. They took her drivers license for while she was in the gym. After the high pressure sales once her free workout was complete we left the gym, forgetting her drivers license. When she and her husband went to pick it up the next evening, the drivers license couldn't be found. Turned out they had given it to the sales associate to force them to go through another round of high pressure sales. When they finally got the drivers license back, the people at Golds Gym had punched two holes in it, without her permission. So, not only did she have to go through their high pressure sales twice, she now has to pay the money and the time to get a new drivers license for something they did without her permission to her identification.

My daughter will have to pay money and time to replace her drivers license. It also makes me worried if they're messing with peoples id, without the people knowing.

Larry of Phenix City, AL February 11, 2009

talked w this salesperson and requested a one yr agreement w no roll-over clauses or other stips causing me more money obligation. after much nego- tiating he finally agreed to my request for 49 mo billed to credit card. he went somewhere to the office and came back w a contract and said sign here and here and here. i wanted to read it first but he insisted that i sign now. when i asked for a copy, he said that it would have to be approved by corporate firt. the next day i received several calls asking me to come in and get started, which i didnt go.

i never received my contract and when i visited the club for my copy i found out why. the contract had a 25 late fee, almost 5o% of service, a clause that stated a certified letter must be sent to the above address 30 days prior to the end of contract term or you will be billed month to month the monthly fee. why should i be required to cancel a contract that was for 13 months, should cancel anyway. well my credit failed on my 11th pmt and was charged a 25 late fee. another catch.

you are billed 30 days in arrears so that created another revenue source for them. after sending the registered letter for cancellation, i was notified that all pmts must be current in order for the cancellation to be effective!! more revenue!! now i know why i didnt get a copy of the contract. when i told the manager that by not giving me a copy of the contract they had violated the federal truth in lending law. my comments were ignored. i believe that business conducted like this needs a handslap

Sarah of Bloomington, IL February 4, 2009

they sent out a 15.00 a month promotion card. it sounded like a good deal. come to find out had to pay in full 360.00( 15.00 a month) for 2yrs membership and sign a contract. only 15.00 a month if you paid in full up front! the 3 day period to cancel is a scam. most people do not know if they like the service within 3 days. they know within 30 days. the public transportation does not go anywhere near the building. they do not care about the economy crisis. ALL THEY CARE ABOUT IS GETTING THEIR MONEY! DO NOT BELIEVE THE 15.00 A MONTH PROMOTION THEY SEND OUT TO YOU! THEY USE ANOTHER COMPANY TO SELL THE PROMOTION!

my cell phone broke on me and can not afford new contacts because i got service that i am no longer using. i have only used the services 3 times since i got it.

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