Complain about a product or service

Washington Sports Club

Washington DC & Suburban Virginia/Maryland

Denise of Germantown, MD July 2, 2009

On 12/28/2008 I sat down with B. Wells to talk about getting a membership to the club for myself and my son who was also there. I specifically asked about the cancellation terms of the contract and was told emphatically that there would be no problem cancelling at any time as long as I gave them 30 days written notice, He explained that on the contract the terms for cancellation under "consumer rights" I could see how to cancel. I decided we would join.

I found that I don't use the club and so I decided to write and cancel my membership. I have since discovered that the way the contract reads effectively binds me to pay for one year unless I pay a cancellation fee of 250. What galls me is the realization that I was lied to so convincingly, and that verbal commitments are worthless. My 20 year old son was there to hear me ask specifically about the ease of cancellation at any time.

I called Member services and spoke to D. Donahue. After she told me my contract could not be terminated without penalty until Dec. 28 I asked her to consider my June request in writing by certified mail to be an official request to terminate in December for myself and my son. She informed me that I had to wait until Nov. to give the 30 day notice and that I couldn't cancel for him because he is 20 years old, even though the membership is on my credit card.

I want out of this but I fear there is no recourse to the verbal fraud perpetrated because I signed the contract for a year. The damages to me are that I can't afford to stay and I can't afford to leave.

Jessica of Rehoboth Beach, DE July 27, 2009

In April 2007 I signed a 24 month contract with Washington Sports Clubs (WSC). I am their ideal member - I hardly used the club. In July 2008 I visited the club to cancel my membership because I was pregnant. I was informed that I needed a doctor's note and that my membership "ended" in April 2009. In March 2009 I moved out of state. I called the club several times and left messages to ensure that my membership would be canceled. I did not have my "contract" handy as a reference ... and I could not find cancellation information on their website.

After several calls with no return phone calls I assumed it was cancelled. Then I checked my credit card statement ... I was STILL being billed in May and June when I thought it had ended in April. There was a phone number on the credit card which I called. She said that I needed to submit paperwork to cancel the contract (which ended in April) but that she would do me a "courtesy" of canceling over the phone. I suggested that she refund my fees for the June billing since I had called repeatedly in March and that I thought the contract end was in essence a termination ... she told me that she couldn't do that and that she had already extended a courtesy by canceling over the phone. I think they need to have full disclosure and easy access to information on how to cancel a membership.

I was dealing with a sick child and lived out of state ... I did not have an old contract available for viewing. Perhaps that is my error ... however, I believe their lack of returned calls and lack of publicly available information on the terms of their agreements is deceptive. I will continue to fight the June bill on my credit card, but think that others must be getting bamboozled as well.

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