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Lucille Roberts - Cancellation Fees

Lucille Roberts • Self-Renewing Contracts • Cancellation Fees • Facilities • Other Problems

Trace of Brooklyn writes (7/15/03):
In July 2002, I became a member of Lucille Roberts once I moved to New York and settled within my new position at an insurance company located on Wall Street. As the fall commenced, the classes decreased as well as the instructors. I found that the classes became infrequent because instructors were not available and class time was delayed because instructors arrived late due to last minute calls by management.

I am a working woman in the financial district with a tight schedule and the Wall Street location caters to individuals like myself, therefore it's an inconvenience when classes are canceled and instructors are late. I take physical fitness very seriously. I believe that the main idea of a fitness club is to ensure that a individual's mind, body and soul is nurtured by positive elements that include good organization, security, and flexibility. My second problem is the lack of organization among the employees and the lack of security. On several occasions, lockers have been clipped and money and personal items stolen, and unfortunately I was one of the victims. The employees did not express any remorse or concerns or desires to try to alleviate a growing problem at this location.

Also on two occasions, I signed up for the free consultation and I left messages, no one returned my call until a month later. There are too many inconsistencies within the gym amongst the staff and fitness classes.

I have contacted customer service of Lucille Roberts and the representatives told me that I would have to pay over $220 of cancellation fees and keep in mind that the cancellation fee increases every month. I have called and sent two letters and I have not received a response. I reported this to my credit card company since Lucille Roberts continues to bill. They sent me the response from one of the customer service representatives named Johanna Melo. I called her on her personal line and left a message. I have not heard from her or received any call backs from anyone. This has become a financial and physical inconvenience. Due to the frustration, I have not returned to Lucille Roberts since April and have found other alternatives, but I am still being charged every month.

Denise of Brooklyn writes (7/11/03):
In May of 2002, I opened a two year term membership, and I told the person that I only could pay for one year term and she told me it was fine but to contact customer service and let them know after a year. About three months ago I called and explained to them that within a few months I would need to cancel, that person said fine. I called on July 11, 2003 to cancel and Ingrid the customer service rep. told me I couldn't, if it wasn't due to medical or moving reasons I couldn't cancel.

I was told that I had eight payments left and that wasn't a lot of money; I told her it was and my personal problems come first, she said they was nothing she could do. After that I asked to speak to a supervisor and he was very nasty calling me a liar because I had never called before because there wasn't any record of me calling which I had but mysteriously there wasn't anything there. I asked to speak to someone higher and he told me there wasn't and the answer to me cancelling was no. He said that my personal problems wasn't a reason to cancel; I signed the contract and that was what mattered. I told him that I had worked for retail and that's not how you to business, was this a way to take people for granted and he said this wasn't retail and he had nothing further to say.

Nancy of Philadelphia (6/24/03):
I first was interested in joining Lucille Roberts when I was told by my sister-in-law that Lucille Roberts was running a special were you could get a membership for up two years at 19.23 a month with no commitment if two people joined together kind of like a buddy thing. The sales person was very clear in explaining that there would be no commitment. I too was very persistent in making sure to ask several times if there would be any commitment. The sales person even laughed at me after assuring me for the fourth time that there would be no commitment. I would not have joined if I had to make a commitment. Now 16 months later I called the customer service department to cancel my membership and they are charging me a $200+ cancellation fee.

Ericka of Newark NJ (5/20/03):
I'm a member at Lucille Roberts. I put my sister under my account so she could be a member too. My sister hasn't been going so she told me to go ahead and cancel her membership so they wont keep taking my money for nothing. They tell me I have to pay $156.00 in order to cancel that membership. I lost my job due to the tragedy with the Towers. I can't barely keep money on my account. Everytime they take $19.95 out of my account I get charged with a $31.00 overdraft so as you can see is $50.00 every month that i have to keep putting on my account for them and we dont even go to the gym, they are making easy money off us.

Carole of Amityville NY (5/10/03):
Maybe someone should look into the way they recruit and retain their members. They sign you up for a one-year membership, hand you a laminated card that clearly states "1 yr membership" with an expiration date. BUT the catch is when you no longer attend because you think your membership has expired, they inform you that on the "contract" (that piece of paper that you never carry with you) that your membership continues (even though the card (which you carry with you states "EXPIRED") and that they continue to take the money out of you account (if you are stupid enough to give them your number like me)!

Helena of Glenside PA (4/8/03):
Two years ago I signed a contract with Lucille Roberts fitness club. I was told several times that the membership would only be $19.99 and that I could terminate the membership whenever I wanted. I tried after about a year to terminate and was told that I would have to pay a total of $180. April of 2002, I suffered a heart attack and called Lucille Roberts again to terminate the membership. Again I was told that I would owe them money. I decided to wait until the membership expired which was in October of 2002.

Well to my suprise, Lucille Roberts is still take money from my checking account every month. This has caused me much hardship since I am currently unemployed and I have tried repeately to contact Lucill Roberts by telephone. My bank is charging me $15. to stop this company from withdrawing money from my account. There is no contract! it expired in October 2002.

Irene of Lindenhurst NY (2/05/03):
I, too, was victimized by a "friendly" salesperson at Lucille Roberts on Sunrise Highway in Massapequa. She stated at least 3 times during our conversation that I was under no obligation to continue paying my dues after I had paid the equivalent of 6 months dues. She also said that I would get my second year free (buy one, get one free!!) if I continued paying my dues through the year. Well, I completed the year and wanted to make sure that I got my second year free. I called their Manhattan office only to be told that I signed up for 2 years (with a friend, no less!) I got no response about stopping the payment of dues, and I got no response when I phoned Suzanne who told me she never misrepresents the contracts. She outright lied to me, and to others as well. I'm in the process of filing complaints with the Attorney General, Better Business Bureau and I'm also going to contact the media. These rip-offs need to stop!

My credit card is being charged monthly for the dues for the contract. The contract is very misleading, saying one thing at the top, another at the bottom, more on the back, etc. I DID NOT join with anyone, yet it states that I joined with a friend. I joined the "No Commitment" program, which is explained near my signature; that's the only program that was described to me (several times at my request) and I was assured that there was no obligation after the six months' fee was paid.

Guila of Katamon, Jerusalem (2/3/03):
I signed up for Lucille Roberts two years ago. I then lived in Brooklyn. They told me I could cancel my membership whenever I moved to a city where there were no club. I am from France so they told me that whenever I moved back they would only need to see a plane ticket and that would be it. Eventually I moved back to my parents. I wanted to cancel my membership. This was in June 2002. They said I needed 2 bills sent to my name in Paris in order to cancel my membership. That was new and since I lived by my parents all bills was sent to their names! I had none! They refused to cancel it unless i paid the difference which was of about $150. Everyone around me was so shocked that all my American friends and family called on my behalf. But nothing helped. Since June 2002 I have paid $20 a month, now my two years contract is over. I have paid $160 for NO reason.

Kara of Poughkeepsie NY (11/5/03):
I joined Lucille Roberts in February, 2001. I remember feeling a little swindled at the time because they offered one price in commercials and another when you apply for a membership. The representative I dealt with used a three-card monty type explanation of the different memberships available. I decided that I wanted a membership for ONE YEAR. I signed a contract as such. I later moved, and was told that I had to pay extended fees to cancel my membership. After the year had concluded, I emptied my bank account having been told this would close my account.

I have since moved three times and my mail has still not caught up with me. I checked with my bank recently because I never recieved a notice of my account closing, only to find out that my bank account had remained live because I was being continually billed by Lucille Roberts. I called the customer service line and was told that the fine print of my contract stated that my membership would not be terminated at the end of the year, but I would continue to be billed until further notice. I had NOT been made aware of this at the time of the contract signing. Now, unbeknowst to me, I was billed $270 in the overdraft protection of my bank account. Each time money was extracted, I was billed both by Lucille Roberts and by my bank for using overdraft funds.

I am furious that the customer representative was unwilling to be understanding to my situation, and unwilling to make any amends.

Naree of New York, NY (11/1/02):
I joined Lucille Roberts in November of 2001, signing a two-year, $20-a-month contract. I was told that I could cancel at any time and not pay any extra fees. One year later, I moved to a different part of the city. This new area makes it inconvenient for me to get to a Lucille Roberts facility. So, a year into my contract, I call customer service and talk to "Sherry, operator number 1106." This woman snapped at me and told me I would have to pay $380 to cancel my membership. When I tried to ask why the price was so high, she snapped at me and told me "you just have to pay it" over and over again.

I tried explaining to her that when I had signed up, the woman had simply said that I could cancel at any time, with no penalties, as long as I had paid through each previous month. As I also explained, I have the credit card statements to prove that I have paid the $20.01 a month faithfully since I first signed up for Lucille Roberts. Apparently, none of that matters, and the "contract" has changed definitions in between the time I signed up and the time I talked to the extremely rude Sherry.

Toral of Jersey City, NJ writes (1/7/02):
Hearing the name ‘Lucille Roberts’ generates trust in women, and so my mom and I decided to join the gym. Little did we know that disappointment was in our future.

We joined the gym being told we were doing it for $19.24 and we could cancel “any time” with one month notice. The pleasant receptionist also made sure she repeated this numerous times. She also informed us that we would be “eligible to continue for this amount for up to 2 years.”

With trust and great expectations we signed our contracts. Now after four months I wanted to terminate my mother's account for health reasons. I called the customer service number to do so and the representative enlightened me that I would have to pay a due for $116.63 if I wish to terminate. Appalled by this I tried to explain to the representative that this is not what I was told. In return I received impatience and rudeness from her.

I cannot explain in words the disappointment my family and I feel. Even my friends and colleagues were shocked by such behavior at Lucille Roberts. I also deal with customers regularly in my career. My job requires compassion and caring but nothing can be accomplished without honesty. Business is the game but trust is the essence for success. And I sadly can say that this is missing at Lucille Roberts.

Theresa of Brooklyn NY writes 11/7/01):
I joined this gym on May 2001 because of the proximity to my job and my train. Because of the tragic WTC attack, my gym was closed since the attack and re-openned October 29, 2001. I have decided that I want to cancel my membership because of this tragedy and I am afraid of structural damage to the building (it is a block from ground zero) but they won`t waive the fees. I have a two year contract and they want me to pay off the balance. This is an insensitive response of their organization and in fact they charged me for dues on Sept 13, 2001.

Rose Marie of Kearny NJ (2/6/01):
I applied for a 2-year membership on Wednesday, January 31, 2001. Under some circumstances and setbacks with my job, I called to cancel the contract thinking I have 7 days to cancel. Well, when I called they told me that I have to pay an additional $33.78 for a cancellation charge.

Ok, here goes. For a monthly non-committment charge for joining the gym is $39 and they were so kind to take me from a committed membership to a non-committed membership but since I want to cancel they need 30 days notice so they have to charge me for cancellation fees. I haven't even used the gym yet, and they are telling me that that is all they can do. They also told me that they can't satisfy everyone. That is all they can do! I can't afford $100 for something I am not planning on attending.