Do not sign a fitness contract with Lady of America before reading this!
Lady of America does not include fine print in their contracts, they make up rules and procedures according to each situation so they can get out of any possible cancellation, without refunding your money.
In 2000 I signed a 2 year fitness contract. After 2 months the first center closed without warning. I was sent to another center miles away. By Christmas this one shut down too. By January I was at my 3rd center. After reading my contract I realized they were past their mile limit and I was able to cancel my contract without paying the remainder of the balance. Well, after speaking to their "unfriendly" customer service, they told me to talk to the manager of that center.
That manager sent my information to headquarters and they signed me up and said I agreed to continue using this center, without my actual agreement, so now I couldn't get out of the contract. Sneaky, hmm..
I called and wrote months later and cancelled my contract, or so I thought, according to every written and oral instruction I was given. I saved every letter, fax, and documented every conversation (thank goodness!) They made me pay my very expensive balance even after all this aggrevation, and I repeatedly told them not to renew my contract when it was due to expire.
They ignored every request, renewed my contract and began charging the credit card I registered with. I had to have my credit card co. dispute the charges and won, but had to cancel my card. Months later Lady of America sent my "closed" account to a local collection agency to try to get more money out of me, and this agency then began harrasing me for money they could not prove was in debt. Calls at work and letters in the mail followed. I am still in dispute over this horrible situation to this day.
Here is my advice:
Save all documents (write down names and times of who you spoke with and where). Save all correspondence whether it's phone, fax, or mail. And send mail certified/return receipt. Take the time to file reports - Lady of America and any collection agency will hate that. They want to discourage you from doing this because now the government will get involved. I took this time, over many months, and it IS aggrevating, but if you are innocent and have everything documented, filing formal complaints with goverment agencies will put more people in your defense. I highly recommend doing this if you feel you've been ripped off. I am still waiting to hear the end result from all these government agencies, but swear I will never join another gym, and will tell the world never to do business with Lady of America. They are out to rip women off. Beware!
Upset in Florida
West Palm Beach, Florida
U.S.A.