Complaint Review: Ladies Workout Express - National Fitness Financial

I signed up with this local gym called Ladies Workout Express back in Sept 2007. I liked it because is was so close to my home. When I signed up, I had no idea I was signing a deal with the Devil. On May 10, 2008, I get an E-Mail from the owner, Jeanette Shelton, telling me (us) she was closing the doors forever (recession) and she was releasing me from the terms of my contract, whatever was left. Payments stopped. I thought this was done.

A couple months later, I start getting these phone calls from this woman bill collector with the National Fitness Financial Service, Layton, UT. Immediately she come out accusing me of not paying my bills, she was rude and abrasive. She told me I was not released from my contract, that the owner had no authority to cancell the contract, and that I was seriously delinquent, I would be sued if I don't pay immediately, they were going to report this to my credit for 7 years, and to top things off, I was obligated through Sept 2010. I was floored! I remembered signing for a year, not 2. I asked for a copy of he contract, when it finally came, I see that there is this renewal clause (wish I understood this more), and under very very very small print, a shakey process to cancell after the first year. Ridiculous!! I don't feel I should go through the motions of cancelling since they went out of business!! I told her I would not pay them anything, because the gym was closed. She said I was expected to travel across the city (Albuquerque) to the only other gym in an area I am very unfimaliar with. I absolutely do not and will not travel across the city to work out at a gym I did nit sign up with. If I wanted to do this in the first place, I would have signed up with a better gym that had more anemities!! To me, this certainly is a material breach of contract. I am sure their are numerous other former members that are in the same boat as me. I am preparing a report to send to the Attorney General, Sata Fe, NM. This is absolutely wrong and unacceptable. We have got to stop this type of agressive scamming and unfair consumer practices. Just doing a google search on this company pulls up numerous, similar, reports on this very same company, all acorss the US.

G S
Albuquerque, New Mexico
U.S.A.