Complaint Review: BALLY TOTAL FITNESS

On September 4, 2006, my wife and I went to the Bally Total Fitness at 3301 Coral Way, Miami Florida. We were met by Hector Neira, who gave us a tour and began the process of signing us up on a Platinum Month to Month contract, with a Family and Friends add-on. The total was $75.97 per month for both of us.

Mr. Neira explained that we could cancel at any time. Also, noted on the back of the first page of the contract is the disclosure that under Florida state law, the contract can be cancelled within three (3) days without penalty for full refund, and that the refund will be issued within thirty (30) days of notification. Using my Mastercard bank card, Mr. Neira began the paperwork.

Miriam then came into the office to complete the sign-up process. She appeared to be in a hurry, and got angry when my wife Gabriela asked a couple of very basic questions about the contract before signing the first page. Mr. Neira returned, and upon being informed of the rude treatment, he rationalized her behavior by stating She's had a long day. After leaving the facility we had second thoughts, and decided that we would not give our business to a place whose employee treated us in such a rude and unprofessional manner.

Gabriela called Bally Total Fitness the next day, and informed Mr. Neira we were canceling the contract. He asked her to come by the facility in person the next day (Sept 5, 2006) and stated he would cancel the contract. She went to the location, and Mr. Neira wrote cancel across the contract and advised he would take care of it, and that we would get a full refund.

On September 19, 2006, we called Bally's customer service and spoke with Debbie who stated that they had not received any notice of cancellation from the Coral Way location, and that the process would take two weeks. We called again on September 25th and spoke to Nicole to inquire as to the status of the refund. We were told again that it would take about two weeks. Apparently, Mr. Neira did not process the cancellation.

On October 9, 2006, Bally Total Fitness debited our account for an additional $75.97. We immediately called the customer service number and again were told that the process would take two more weeks.

It appears that Bally Total Fitness was not merely negligent in processing this cancellation, but is engaging in a pattern of hiding behind policy to facilitate credit card fraud and theft. We have notified the Florida Office of Attorney General, Citibank's fraud department and the Better Business Bureau. We are also prepared to present this issue to the U.S. Secret Service financial crimes division if Bally Total Fitness does not resolve this immediately.

Gabriela
Confidential, Florida
U.S.A.