Getting ripped off by extreme fitness

[Hybridel]

I used to be a member of extreme in thornhill, but after my contract expired I decided not to renew it, and canceled my account.

They have been charging my visa for personal training sessions that I paid for a long time ago, $106.74


They have made 6 un-authorized charges, I called visa and they pretty much told me there is nothing they can do, since visa is a guaranteed form of payment.

TD Visa finally called the gym, and got ahold of the credit manager who claims my account has been in collections for 6 months ( which is complete bullshit ) he also denies that I ever came in to cancel.

TD won't do anything unless I can find the paper I got from the gym when I canceled ( which I lost when I moved )

Going to the gym itself and demanding to speak to somebody isn't an option, since I now live in Alberta

Any ideas? I'm getting really tired of being ripped off $106 every month

thanks in advance

 

[Venus_mgr]

Google extreme fitness... goodluck.
http://www.blogto.com/sports_play/2008/05/extreme_fitness_extreme_ripoff/

 

[Keyra]

One thing you could do ...

Call TD Visa and report your card as lost, likely stolen. Tell them you need your Visa to be cancelled immediately to avoid the thief running up obscene charges on it.

They'll cancel your current Visa card immediately, and then send you a new one with a new account number. Problem solved - the crooks won't be able to charge any more fraudulent fitness fees onto it, because the number will have changed. You'll still be on the hook for the previous ones, but at least they won't be able to add any more B.S. new charges on top of the old ones.

It's a bit of a dirty trick, but sometimes you have to fight dirty against crooks like that. It's just a thought - but it's almost guaranteed to work. Let me know if you use this method.

 

[hunter001]

I used to be a member of extreme in thornhill, but after my contract expired I decided not to renew it, and canceled my account.

They have been charging my visa for personal training sessions that I paid for a long time ago, $106.74

Perhaps you had two contracts one for a membership which you canceled and another for the personal training session which the paperwork may not have been executed correctly?

The way I read your post it seem like they maybe separate issues.

 

[Robinto]

You and a thousand other people. Almost everybody who quits a gym finds this out.
Its not newsworthy.

Happened to me, once too.
I was so pissed, I refused to budge on principle, and wouldn't cough up another dime.
At the time, my credit rating was fine, I had no need to apply for loans, mortgages, etc, the collection guys finally stopped, and eventually the debt came off my report. Takes years though.

Without the paper, you can't even sue. You could bluff, and file a suit in Small claims court, and they probably won't show up, and you'll win by default, and maybe recover your money. If you have the energy to try.

Then you could repair your credit report immediately. If you haven't mentioned that you have lost the paper to head office that is.

Otherwise, take your lumps.
Have someone resign your membership, in person, properly.

If you're not worried about your credit rating, cancel your Visa card, and at least you'll stop further debits.

People with pre-auth cheques, have to get new bank accounts. If you simply cancel the pre-auth, the company changes the amount, by as little as a penny, and starts withdrawing again.

These gym guys are like mobsters. The other trick they love, is to sell lifetime memberships to everyone, a few months before they go bankrupt.

Then they buy the assets back with a different numbered company, and start up business under a new name.

Sorry man.

 

[The LoLRus]

Dude, call in Visa stolen,
End of problem!!

Which is what you shouldve done from day one.
The guys at Extreme are probably laughing at you

 

[Sam Rothstein]

I am thinking of joining a gym, does anyne know a way to pay them that will not end up including them in my will 50 years later!

 

[Robinto]

I tried googling variations of "fitness club scam cancellation"
This trick goes back to the days of Vic Tanny's health clubs

I did find a link to an Ontario site with a link to a help line at
http://www.gov.on.ca/MGS/en/ConsProt/STEL02_045933.html

Looks like they've shut down the lifetime membership scam at least. You can pay month by month now, so you don't get dinged for the portion of the year after they shut down. A registered letter will suffice to cancel, but they have up to 30 days to file te\he paper, so they get you for an extra month anyway.

In my case, they said I had to come in, in person.

The YMCA isn''t known to play this game, so far as I know.

 

[keepmovingforward]

xtreme sux. i got screwed over once. i gues si was young and naive. i was about to sign the contract for the personal training for 5K which provided me with a lot of sessions...and i was hesitant and i noticed the printing saying that you have 10 days to change your mind. i asked about it and i was told not to worry about it. they said they're flexible and it doesnt mean anything. so i signed..figured i should take a couple session to see how it goes...8 days in. i wanted to cancel. i go to the managers office and the dude tells me he cant do it and i need to come at another time. i asked him about the 10 day thing...he said dont worry about it. i come 14 days in...to talk to the manager...he tells me there is nothing i can do..and basically kinda bitched me out. until i pulled the guy in the room who said it was ok. kept me in the room arguing for an hr...which was retarded...finally we settled on an 800 dollar plan monthly...3 months in..i paid it in full...and htey kept charging me the next 3 months...which i came in and tried to stop. it took me another 3 months to get my money back...honestly...that place is no fucking gym. sale people there and managers are just there to sneak you in and get the commission. they dont give a shit about anything.

honestly, im not even one to bitch about anything. but wow, the amount of things that they do..its not even something you read about bad cases on the net. my friends got screwed in the pass and i only found out once i told them about what happened to me.

STAY AWAY!

 

[Cobster]

I am thinking of joining a gym, does anyne know a way to pay them that will not end up including them in my will 50 years later!

The ONLY sure fire way, sign a contract and pay in full with a cheque up front.

Super Fitness is notorious for screwing people over, I never had a problem with them. Could be the exception to the rule I guess.

 

[Hybridel]

I signed a 1 year contract, and purchased some training sessions.

the sessions were paid for when my membership expired, since I wasn't very happy with the gym I canceled the membership.

I went in, talked to a sales person who referred me to a manager that asked me why i was leaving etc etc.

I signed a paper saying effective immediately my membership would be canceled.


I moved to Alberta, and have since then misplaced the paper I got from the gym when I left ( my fault... but I didn't think a big company like extreme would openly rip people off )

Anyways, TD Visa says theres nothing they can do in terms of stopping the payments, let alone refund my money unless I can find this paper, or somehow get the gym to cough up another copy ( ya right )


after looking at that google link, it looks like I'm not the only one... and the BBB is aware, but has yet to do anything. How does a company get away with robbing people like this?

Looks like my only option is reporting my card as lost, and/or demanding a new card #

If I have to fly all the hell way back to Toronto to get this sorted out, it isn't going to be pretty


edit- found this link, http://www.gov.on.ca/mgs/en/ConsProt/STEL02_168949.html
but since I'm lacking proof of my cancellation.. looks like it's going to be a pain in the ass to stop the charges, let alone get my $ back

 

[great bear]

Check this out: The Bear trains at a military base. Better equipment than most gyms have. The equipment is maintained by two full time maintence personel. The gym opens at 6.00 am and closes at 11.00 pm. The annual cost? $300.00! Eat your hearts out. And no life time contracts, and no one hustles you. Downside is very few women work out there.

 

[1bigdog]

They have been doing this since they opened in 1998. Good luck.

 

[lewd]

The ONLY sure fire way, sign a contract and pay in full with a cheque up front.

The downside to this is that they close up shop in 3 months. Not likely though, but stranger things have happened. The renos on most of the Extreme Fitness gyms have been pretty extensive and who knows how leveraged they are with the banks.

I went into one last week to have a look and got the full on sales pitch. First a cute girl shows you the place, give you the opening price, and then in comes the manager.

My buddy just quit Extreme by canceling his credit card. Maybe there are ways around it using Pay as you go credit cards that have a fixed limit per month.

Edit: Your credit rating can still be negatively affected if you cancel your chequing account.

 

[smylee52]

Curzon's-Premier Fitness runs the same scam once they have your credit card .
Short of cancelling your credit card you should give them written notice of cancelling your membership . That might work .

Not much consumer protection in this area .

 

[Hybridel]

I did give them written notice... and I did receive a piece of paper that verified this, however when I moved to Alberta I misplaced it.


Talked to my bank, and they once again told me there is absolutely nothing they can do about it until I find this paper.


If anyone has a friend or family member that works at extreme thornhill... please let me know

I'll pay for a copy of my cancellation letter that I KNOW they have on file.... it's the only way I'll get one.... since I highly doubt they'll cough one up if I show up there

 

[Cycleguy007]

I'm getting really tired of being ripped off $106 every month

Just curious why it took you 6 months to catch the mistake... Don't you check your statements?

 

[squash500]

I did give them written notice... and I did receive a piece of paper that verified this, however when I moved to Alberta I misplaced it.


Talked to my bank, and they once again told me there is absolutely nothing they can do about it until I find this paper.


If anyone has a friend or family member that works at extreme thornhill... please let me know

I'll pay for a copy of my cancellation letter that I KNOW they have on file.... it's the only way I'll get one.... since I highly doubt they'll cough one up if I show up there

I realize that Extreme Fitness are a nightmare to deal with. Would it be possible to somehow get a legal letter drawn up demanding that the Extreme fitness thornhill location provide you with a copy of this cancellation letter ? Extreme should have this letter in their files?

 

[WhaWhaWha]

You may not be able to backtrack the last 6 charges. But send a registered letter of cancellation immediately to stop the next one. Get it witnessed by a notary if you have to.

 

[Hybridel]

I realize that Extreme Fitness are a nightmare to deal with. Would it be possible to somehow get a legal letter drawn up demanding that the Extreme fitness thornhill location provide you with a copy of this cancellation letter ? Extreme should have this letter in their files?

I know they have a copy of this letter... one of the managers I spoke with pulled up my file, and he admitted that yes I did cancel.. but I had to speak with someone else.

Worst comes to worst, I'm flying back to Toronto on my days off, and I'm not leaving until I get a copy.

I realize getting my $ back for the fraudulent charges won't happen... but that's my fault for losing the paper, all I want is for the charges to stop