I received a call from Nicole Fleming (804-965-5300 x118). According to her, she is a CSR representing American Family Fitness.
Nicole said that she received my letter, she spoke with National Fitness and that NFFS will be refunding the amounts they removed from my account without my authorization and the $100 cancellation fee. She also said that the "people I spoke with" at National Fitness will be counseled. She was very chipper.
Excuse me if I'm skeptical.
I checked my account, and I don't see a deposit pending, but that doesn't mean a transaction hasn't occurred.
Even if they have refunded my money, I'm not sure that I'm going to drop this. I don't believe that what National Fitness did was an accident...not based on what I've seen on the Internet. I feel like I was smart and/or cautious enough to fix this for myself, but there are a lot of people who may not be so lucky.
I'm also not convinced that American Family Fitness isn't culpable. I have to say, I'm surprised that they were so willing to fix this problem, and that they were able to wield the power to do so.
Hmmm...I'll have to sleep on it. I'll take the day off for Thanksgiving. But I may be back on Friday. This could be my new hobby.
My Story
On June 13, 2006, I joined American Family Fitness in Richmond, Virginia. American Family, or “AFF” is a gym owned by Richmond Fitness, Inc., also located in Richmond, but “Member Services” are managed by a company called National Fitness Financial Systems in Layton, Utah.
I knew at the time that I joined American Family that I would be moving to Atlanta in the future. As such, I was certain to inquire about cancellation. I was presented with a contract which has a “permanent relocation” clause that allows one to cancel membership if the member moves to a location where no affiliated facility exists within 25 miles of the member’s new residence. The clause stipulates that the member must provide proof of permanent relocation and is liable for a one-time cancellation charge of $100. It further states that “[t]ermination takes 30 days to process and any draft(s) or payment(s) due during this 30-day period must be processed and collected….” My red flags should’ve gone up, but I accepted: 36 months at $52.95.
It was over a year later that I actually moved to Atlanta. On July 17, 2007, I phoned National Fitness to find out if there are any affiliated gyms within 25 miles of my new home. I provided my new address (and phone number) and I was informed that there are no affiliated gyms in my area. I requested information regarding cancellation and was informed that I must submit a letter of intent to cancel and proof of residency to the Membership Service Department in Layton, Utah, just as the contract stipulates.
On July 18, 2007, I made two crystal-clear copies of my Georgia driver’s license and sent one copy along with a polite cancellation letter to the address provided to me by National Fitness. I mailed the information via Priority service with address confirmation from my local post office. According to the USPS web site, my information was delivered 7/21, so I expected my 30-day processing period to begin on that date.
I was away from home from July 30th through August 6th. When I returned, I found an undated letter from National Fitness. “We have new information regarding your inquiry and have been unable to reach you by phone,” it read. I checked my caller ID and found no calls from National Fitness and none from a Utah area code. There were no voice mail messages, either.
I called National Fitness on August 8th at 3 p.m. and spoke to Hammond (I started writing down the details at this point). Hammond informed me that National Fitness had received my documentation and everything was in order. I’d just need to submit a $100 payment and my 30-day processing period would begin.
You’ll notice at this point that I didn’t mention a $100 payment in the list of items National Fitness asked me to send when I phoned them on July 17th. That’s because I wasn’t asked to send $100. I foolishly assumed that National Fitness would charge $100 to my debit card, the way they’ve charged every payment since June, 2006.
“You haven’t authorized us to charge the $100. You’ve only authorized us to debit your monthly payment,” Hammond informed me. “I didn’t know I was supposed to authorize you. You’re authorized,” I replied. So, Hammond charged $100 to my debit card, and I suppose my 30-day processing period thus began on August 8th, 18 days after it should have.
After I hung up with Hammond, I checked my contract, where I authorized National Fitness to charge my debit card. It reads, “[a]s a convenience to me, I authorize my Bank to make payment to National Fitness for Richmond Fitness, Inc.” It does not specify the type of payment or an amount, so no distinction was made between automatically charging $52.95 monthly and charging $100 once. In my estimation, payment is payment; National Fitness was authorized to charge the cancellation fee and they chose not to do so.
If your “something is fishy” alarm isn’t going off by now, you haven’t been paying attention. Why didn’t National Fitness tell me to send a $100 payment with the letter of cancellation? Why did National Fitness claim they tried to call me when they didn’t? Why didn’t National Fitness automatically charge the cancellation fee to my debit card? Why did National Fitness choose the slowest form of communication to inform me that my cancellation was not being processed? I believe National Fitness is intentionally dragging their feet, hoping to get an extra payment or two in before they cut me loose.
I could complain. I could argue over the contract. I could yell at the customer service reps and demand to speak with a manager. I could threaten. But I don’t believe it would do any good.
If you troll the Internet for information about National Fitness, you’ll find similar stories. Stories of unathorized credit card transactions. Stories of National Fitness' propensity to "lose" documentation. Stories of threats and intimidation. This appears to be the National Fitness modus operandi: do what it takes, just get the money.
And so my mission is to show National Fitness (and every gym that associates with National Fitness) the error of their ways. I intend to hit them where it hurts: in the pocketbook.
In the immortal words of Howard Beale, I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take this anymore.
I knew at the time that I joined American Family that I would be moving to Atlanta in the future. As such, I was certain to inquire about cancellation. I was presented with a contract which has a “permanent relocation” clause that allows one to cancel membership if the member moves to a location where no affiliated facility exists within 25 miles of the member’s new residence. The clause stipulates that the member must provide proof of permanent relocation and is liable for a one-time cancellation charge of $100. It further states that “[t]ermination takes 30 days to process and any draft(s) or payment(s) due during this 30-day period must be processed and collected….” My red flags should’ve gone up, but I accepted: 36 months at $52.95.
It was over a year later that I actually moved to Atlanta. On July 17, 2007, I phoned National Fitness to find out if there are any affiliated gyms within 25 miles of my new home. I provided my new address (and phone number) and I was informed that there are no affiliated gyms in my area. I requested information regarding cancellation and was informed that I must submit a letter of intent to cancel and proof of residency to the Membership Service Department in Layton, Utah, just as the contract stipulates.
On July 18, 2007, I made two crystal-clear copies of my Georgia driver’s license and sent one copy along with a polite cancellation letter to the address provided to me by National Fitness. I mailed the information via Priority service with address confirmation from my local post office. According to the USPS web site, my information was delivered 7/21, so I expected my 30-day processing period to begin on that date.
I was away from home from July 30th through August 6th. When I returned, I found an undated letter from National Fitness. “We have new information regarding your inquiry and have been unable to reach you by phone,” it read. I checked my caller ID and found no calls from National Fitness and none from a Utah area code. There were no voice mail messages, either.
I called National Fitness on August 8th at 3 p.m. and spoke to Hammond (I started writing down the details at this point). Hammond informed me that National Fitness had received my documentation and everything was in order. I’d just need to submit a $100 payment and my 30-day processing period would begin.
You’ll notice at this point that I didn’t mention a $100 payment in the list of items National Fitness asked me to send when I phoned them on July 17th. That’s because I wasn’t asked to send $100. I foolishly assumed that National Fitness would charge $100 to my debit card, the way they’ve charged every payment since June, 2006.
“You haven’t authorized us to charge the $100. You’ve only authorized us to debit your monthly payment,” Hammond informed me. “I didn’t know I was supposed to authorize you. You’re authorized,” I replied. So, Hammond charged $100 to my debit card, and I suppose my 30-day processing period thus began on August 8th, 18 days after it should have.
After I hung up with Hammond, I checked my contract, where I authorized National Fitness to charge my debit card. It reads, “[a]s a convenience to me, I authorize my Bank to make payment to National Fitness for Richmond Fitness, Inc.” It does not specify the type of payment or an amount, so no distinction was made between automatically charging $52.95 monthly and charging $100 once. In my estimation, payment is payment; National Fitness was authorized to charge the cancellation fee and they chose not to do so.
If your “something is fishy” alarm isn’t going off by now, you haven’t been paying attention. Why didn’t National Fitness tell me to send a $100 payment with the letter of cancellation? Why did National Fitness claim they tried to call me when they didn’t? Why didn’t National Fitness automatically charge the cancellation fee to my debit card? Why did National Fitness choose the slowest form of communication to inform me that my cancellation was not being processed? I believe National Fitness is intentionally dragging their feet, hoping to get an extra payment or two in before they cut me loose.
I could complain. I could argue over the contract. I could yell at the customer service reps and demand to speak with a manager. I could threaten. But I don’t believe it would do any good.
If you troll the Internet for information about National Fitness, you’ll find similar stories. Stories of unathorized credit card transactions. Stories of National Fitness' propensity to "lose" documentation. Stories of threats and intimidation. This appears to be the National Fitness modus operandi: do what it takes, just get the money.
And so my mission is to show National Fitness (and every gym that associates with National Fitness) the error of their ways. I intend to hit them where it hurts: in the pocketbook.
In the immortal words of Howard Beale, I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take this anymore.
Fitness Facilities Associated With National Fitness
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
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