Complaint Review: XSport Fitness

I was training 3 times a week with a personal trainer for almost 6 months.  It came time to renew and sign up for more sessions.  I had made a plan with my trainer and the manager, Ron to sign up on 8/29.  

8/29 came and I told my trainer I could not sign up that week, as I wouldn't have enough money, that it would have to wait until the next week.  )I had to go out of town and needed the cash.)  His boss Ron, the manager of the club, called me and said if I didn't sign up for training that week, my trainer would be in big trouble, that I needed to help him.  He said he understood my financial situation and that he could help me if I just signed up that week.  Becuase I did not want my trainer to get in whatever "trouble" that was looming, I agreed to meet with him.  We set up a contract for 64 sessions on 8/31.  I gave him a check on Friday 9/2 and his deal was that he would hold the check until the following week.  This holding of the check was the entire basis of our deal. It was the only way I could sign up.  

When I woke up on Saturday 9/3, the check had already been posted!  My bank account went negative, leaving me with less than nothing in my account while I was out of town. I immediately texted my trainer to tell him that his boss lied to me. My trainer responded by telling me that he had bad news, he was leaving Xsport for another job, that he only had one more week of training left!  Coincidence? I think not!

I immediately called the corporate office to try and cancel my sessions and complain about the manager.  The office was closed and had no way to leave a message!  I had to wait until Tuesday 9/6 (Monday was a holiday) in order to speak with someone in corporate.  I explained my story to the customer service girl and after checking the contract and my check tells me there is nothing she can do it about it.  The contract says you need to cancel within 3 business days of paying the money.  She told me business days are whatever days the club is open, which is 7 days a week.  I told her in the past, people in the actual club told me that you have to do everything through corporate.  She confirmed this and then said that cancellation would have had to be made by letter to corporate within 3 days. How am I supposed to get a letter to a company in 3 days on a holiday weekend?! Also, why is the contract defining business hours by those of the physical club, when the actual cancelling is done through corporate which has M-F business hours?  

I've been a customer with Xsport for a long time and have spent a lot of money on services.  Ron went out of his way to pressure me and manipulate me into something I wasn't comfortable with by telling me my trainer was going to be in trouble.  He lied about my trainer getting in trouble because the truth was that my trainer was leaving. He knew my financial situation and made a deal with me, but turned around and did the exact opposite of what he promised me!  He is a liar and I find it shocking that the club wants to support someone representing their company in this manner.    

I work in a service industry and people sign contracts (very large contracts) with us all the time. If a customer has a legitimate issue where they feel that information was misrepresented, there is always something that can be done to cancel a contract or refund any deposits.  The contracted company always has the power to do the right thing.  Unfortunately, XSport does not operate in this line of ethics.