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  • Report:  #948082

Complaint Review: Fitness Connection

Fitness Connection PO Box 680768 Houston, Texas 77268 Customer/Cancellation Problems with Fitness Connection Reno, Nevada and Corporate Office I, Internet

  • Reported By:
    K.P/J.B. — Valley Village California United States of America
  • Submitted:
    Fri, September 28, 2012
  • Updated:
    Sun, February 22, 2015

I am submitting this statement concerning Fitness Connection, as I have experienced problems with the company fulfilling their cancellation agreements, giving the wrong or contradictory information, poor customer service and fraudulent charges to my account.  I have submitted this statement to the Better Business Bureau, to the Bank of America Claims department, to RipoffReport.com and to the CEO, Jeff Skeens personal Facebook profile, as the company was
unwilling to provide his direct email or contact information.

April 2012: My spouse and I signed a 12 month contract with Fitness Connection at the Reno, NV center.  We each agreed to a $29.95 gym membership fee and an $80 trainer fee per month. In our copy of the contract it states in the cancellation policy that if you move further than 25 miles from the nearest location that you are entitled to cancel your membership without penalty.

May 2012: My spouse, our primary income provider, lost her job.  However, we continued to pay our monthly dues, though we could not afford the gas to actually use our membership

May-June 2012: My spouse and I made several in person and over-the-phone attempts to speak with a manager regarding putting our membership on a 3 month freeze so that we could arrange our finances.  At no time did we try to opt out of our contract, because of the penalties outlined in our contract.

July 2012: We were finally able to get a manager on the phone, who approved a 3 month freeze on our memberships and trainer fees.  However, they only put a freeze on the memberships, not the trainer fees.  We attempted several times to follow up over the phone (My spouse had just taken a job in Southern California and I was still in Nevada fulfilling our lease) but our messages for call back were never returned.

Late July 2012-Mid August 2012
: As my spouse and I prepared to move to Southern California, we researched it Fitness Connection had locations near our residence.  When we saw they did not we referenced our contracts and attempted to contact the Reno Fitness Connection to cancel our contract.  We had a signed lease as proof of our residence change, and when my spouse returned to Nevada for the move, we went in person to the Fitness Connection and were told that the manager was not in, but that they would take a message and relay it to her.

We didnt receive a call back, and after a week I called the Reno Fitness Connection and the manager picked up the call.  I explained our situation and she told me that we each needed to mail in a form to the corporate office and that I could
come down to the location and get the form.  She also told me that there was a cancellation fee of $50.  I told her that the cancellation fee was not mentioned in the contract that we signed in April and that we already moved to
California.  I also explained that we made several attempts before we moved to get the correct forms and information
for cancelling and were never called back.

The manager asked for my email to send me a picture of the forms that I could print out and send in.  At no time did she mention a 30 day written notice to corporate BEFORE those forms could be submitted and said that a copy of my lease was not necessary (I made sure to ask, as proof of those things is usually required).

I submitted the forms and our accounts were charged for August, which we accepted as we did not submit the cancellation until the middle of the month (although we had been trying for several weeks to cancel our contracts).

Mid August-Current (Late September):About a week ago I was reviewing our bank statements and saw that we had been charged for our memberships and personal trainer in spite of having sent in the appropriate forms per the Reno Fitness Connection location.  I immediately called their corporate office I Houston and spoke with Joanna, who informed me that her supervisor was not available and that she would take my information and submit it the Reno Fitness Connection to assist me.  I was confused how the Reno Fitness Connection could help, as cancellations are handled by corporate, but I agreed and let her take my information. I did not receive a call back

Two days later (today 9/28/12) I called back and spoke with Amber, who identified herself as the Supervisor for the Reno Fitness Connection at the corporate location.  I explained everything I detailed above and requested our account be cancelled immediately, and that the charges for September be refunded back to us.  She refused and told me that we would need to submit a written notice with our names, date of birth, barcode number (membership number) as well as copies of utility bills, lease agreements etc. to prove we had moved.  She even noted that those might not even be enough proof, depending on the documents, to cancel our memberships, and that she could get in trouble for cancelling us if they were not the right ones. 

She also informed me that the forms we had mailed were never received and that since I did not send them certified mail, there was no proof they were ever sent.  However, I informed her that I did have email documentation that of the forms and the procedure I was given by her employees and that they needed to cancel our membership regardless.  She said unless she received the information she requested they would not cancel it and continue to charge us.  I informed her I would speak with my bank and any reporting agencies, and she outlined that those were options but they would continue to charge me and if they could not collect payment they would send our accounts to collections.  This
was all in spite of the fact I had already followed their original cancellation procedure as outlined by her Reno Fitness Connection management.

Amber also told me that if the information she requested for cancellation, including the written statement, and copies of utilities, lease agreements etc. of our new residence were postmarked today 9/28/2012, that she would receive them within their 3-day grace period and we would not be billed in October.  She reiterated that they were unwilling to refund me for September when I asked.

My spouse spoke with Amber as well to request her supervisors information (her supervisor is on a 3 week vacation), the partners of the companys names and information, and the CEOs name and contact information.  She gave limited information and refused to give us the name of the CEO.  My Spouse and I used Google to look up the information she would not provide.  

I have sent her via priority mail, which has been certified, the requested information.  However, I am concerned that they will either not cancel my accounts or will attempt to collect money, which I do not owe them.  I am concerned that these practices are misleading, borderline fraudulent and abusive and I do not wish our credit to be effected by their
policies. Therefore, this statement is to raise awareness of this issue, to detail the history of our experience, and to make sure that our memberships and personal trainer account are cancelled completely and that we are taken care
of, as it does not seem to be the companys priority to take care of us or to follow their own contractual obligations/requirements .

5 Updates & Rebuttals


Kim Smith

anytown,
North Carolina,

Fitness Connection Jeff Skeen

#6Consumer Comment

Sun, February 22, 2015

I, like hundreds of current and former customers of Fitness Connection, am having a serious problem with this business. The unethical billing practices of this business are bogus and fraudulent, and those who cannot get their problems resolved locally should send the chief executive officer, Jeffrey K. Skeen an email. His email address is jskeen@fitnessconnectionusa.com . Also, find him on facebook by searching for his name or sending a certified letter to the corporate office. The address is 8200 Greensboro Drive, Suite 900, McClean, VA 22102.

If no resolution is reached after contacting Jeff, file a complaint with the attorney general's office in your state. 


Fitness Connection

Houston,
Texas,

Fitness Connection Business Response

#6UPDATE Employee

Wed, April 17, 2013

To whom it may concern,

In order for me to properly respond to this complaint I will need to access the members account. Can the member please provide me with the following information:

Full Name
Date of birth
Location attended

After researching the members account I can then better respond with correct information.

Respectfully,
Beverly Wiggins
Dispute Resolution Liaison


nery g

houston,
Texas,

fitness connection

#6Consumer Comment

Tue, April 16, 2013

Fitness Connection is very corrupt ..  I am myself having problems cancelling my membership and i picked the plan for $9.99 a month NO CONTRACT CANCEL ANYTIME  i have tried to cancel my account for 4 months FITNESS CONNECTION just lie and lie just they can steal peoples money,  I suggest to whoever is going trough the same problems with this company hire a lawyer and get your money back form this corrupt scumbags i know i will...  BEWARE OF FITNESS CONNECTION THEY ARE CORRUPT... 


K.P/J.B.

Valley Village,
California,
United States of America

Email Received from Fitness Connection 10.4.12, 7:50am

#6Author of original report

Thu, October 04, 2012

Last week I submitted a claim with my bank concerning Fitness Connection and placed a stop-payment on my bank account against them.  

This morning I received an email from ABC Financial Services, the billing company which partners with Fitness Connection.  I was not able to copy and paste the email into this box, so I am typing it verbatim, with the exception of my personal information:

ABC Financial Services, INC.
P.O.Box 6800
Sherwood, AR. 72124-6800

October 4, 2012

Account Name: ************
Agreement #: 6884-*****
Pay Mode/Account: *********** 
Notice Reason: Chargeback

K**********:

ABC Financial Services is the billing company for your Fitness Connection Reno membership.  Our records indicate that your billing information on file may need to be updated.  Currently, this information is used to draft your monthly dues and in order to avoid possible interruption of your membership, please contact us immediately to verify we have the most current information.

You may update your membership billing information online by visiting our website at: www.myiclubonline.com

Should you have questions about your membership account or wish to speak with a Customer Care Representative, please contact us at 1-866-420-0867.  Our office hours are Monday through Friday, 7:00AM to 9:00PM, Central Time. (ABC is prepared to accept new billing information by phone upon you authorization.)

Thank you in advance for your cooperation in allowing us to service your membership.

Customer Care Division 

ABC Financial

This communication is an attempt to collect a debt.  Any information obtained will be used for that purpose

Unless you notify this office within 30 days after receiving this notice that you dispute the validity of this debt or any portion thereof, this office will assume this debt is valid. If you notify this office in writing within 30 days from receiving this notice, this office will obtain verification of the debt or obtain a copy of a judgment or verification. If you request from this office in writing within 30 days after receiving this notice, this office will provide you with the name and address of the original creditor, if different from the current creditor.


Fitness Connection

Houston,
Texas,
United States of America

Fitness Connection Response

#6UPDATE Employee

Mon, October 01, 2012

K.P./J.B.

We are sorry to hear that you are not please with our agreement terms, however we are more concerned that you believe your experience was less than professional.  Our response would detail your account history however you did not provide a name in order for us to complete any research.  Our Member Service Dept Manager, Diana at 281-931-6609 is more that happy to personally assist you in reference to your account and making sure that any request that you have sent in has been handled properly.



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