Complaint Review: Bally Total Fitness Memorial II Club Houston Texas

I have been a member of Bally Total Fitness since 1993. My entire family each have a Platium Membership to the club. I workout at the Bally's Memorial City II club. In Feb 2007 I decided to inquire about personal training, to help me loose weight. I was assigned a personal trainer named Issac. I signed a contract for 48 sessions. I completed those sessions and renewed a contract in June 2007 for 26 sessions. I used up 6 sessions when my husband called me in July 2007 and told me a solider died and he was escorting someone back to the states from Iraq and he would like to see me and my two sons while he was on leave at Fort Benning GA. So I told Issac I will be gone I am not sure for how long.. How many sessions do I have left.. He said "18". I came back to the gym 3 weeks later, I decided to change personal trainers because of the lack of unprofessionalism I had recieved from Issac. He was never in the club on the schedule appointment time, I would always have to have the front desk page him. Some times he would have to go home unexpectedly, and cancel less than 24 hours. I had been complaining about his lack of professionalism to the General Manager Mark Coffee all along. So, I got a new personal trainer, when she looked in the system she found I only had 10 sessions left. So I thought how could this happen I had 18 when I left for GA. It seems that he had been redeeming my sessions for money and signing my name to the books so that he could get paid on his pay check. He even photo copied my Membership ID and clocked me as being in the club on days I was out of STATE! He signed my name on the days I was attending the soldiers funeral who had died in Iraq. He explained to the General Manger that I had missed and not showed up for 10 sessions! The policy is if you cancel in less than 24 hours you still have to pay the personal training fee. He never called me and told me I had an appointment, instead he thought it was righteous to steal my contract and justify it as not showing up. How can I make a personal training appointment if I am out of state. He never called me or had any communication with me what so ever. Several times I tried contacting him and he simply never answered. So he signed my name in the books 10 times as if I was at the club so he could get paid. As soon as I found out I was outraged! I waited for the General Manager Mark Coffee to show up at the club for 3 hours. When I told him he got out the books and matched his signature as forging mine. The General Manger said well you can have your sessions back but you have to train under Issac to get them back. Now why would I want to train under someone who is completely unprofessional, steals and lies? To me this is an open shut case.. He stole he should get fired and I should get my sessions back. Marc the GM didn't want Issac to loose his job so he covered up the fact he stole and never gave me back my sessions. I called the Regional Office in CA about this and they never responded back to me. So, I decided to train under my new trainer Roc until this matter could get cleared up. I completed 2 sessions with Roc. When she called me yesterday 5 mins after my scheduled personal training time to tell me that she would not be in that day she would have to cancel due to food poisioning from the night before. So I said ok go ahead and feel better.. She thought I would leave the gym, I decided to stay and train on my own.. 30 mins later she walks in all happy and perky.. she started to train someone else. This is 30 mins after she called me to tell me she would not be able to make it in.. So I talked to the General Manger Mark Coffee, I was already sensitive due to no action being taken against the personal trainer who stole from me. He said he would have a talk with her. She lied to him and said she was sick and she felt better.. Now when you don't feel better a responsible adult calls her boss 1st to tell him that she is ill. I feel like I have been discriminated against due to the 1st issue. I feel like this club defends liars, and theives. In my book Bally Total Fitness are nothing but crooks, they stole 2k from me with no intention to make the issue better. Emty promises and no action. I do not trust anyone at that club who works there now. and after being a member for 13 years I am looking for a new gym. My husband who is still deployed in Iraq is outraged that this club could take advantage of his family while he is serving his country in a war. Most of my husbands paycheck went to this club.. They simply do not care.

C.morris
Houston, Texas
U.S.A.

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