L.A. FITNESS SCAM.

wjewell
wjewell Posts: 282 Member
in Motivation and Support
So I decided to get a personal trainer at L.A. Fitness. It was kind of expensive so of course I had TONS of questions. He assured me I wasn't under any type of contract, it was month to month so if I decided to go solo I could just cancel it, no repercussions, just cancel. When he asked me to sign I asked to read over it all and he said, "Oh it's just the receipt saying that we can bill your visa card"...So I said okay and signed. I never got measured, weighed, my BF%, never got my "fitness plan", never got my "dietary plan"...NOTHING. So Finally, $250 later I decided to just go cancel it since I can't get them to do anything... When I go to cancel I'm told that I'm under a 12 month contract, and if I want to cancel I have to pay an additional 50% of what I owe.. which is about $700. Also, the four-1 hour sessions I was supposed to get per month is actually only 2-30 minute sessions per month..ALSO, the trainer i was supposed to have, is not my trainer... in fact I have no specific trainer.. ALSO they aren't supposed to give me and dietary advice even though I was told they would. On top of all of that... My initials were FORGED on the CONTRACT that was supposed to be a receipt! I'm livid....and you know what the company said? "We can't help you because you signed the contract...." Who do these people think they are? What a JOKE.

Any advice?
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Replies

  • MrsRobertson1005
    MrsRobertson1005 Posts: 552 Member
    like i said, horrible! I'm just commenting to bump you up so hopefully you get some answers!
  • wjewell
    wjewell Posts: 282 Member
    Thanks hun! :D I am really trying to not get too upset...but basically I'm going to owe them over $1200... I thought at most I would be paying them like $300... Just do it three months until I get a good idea of what I should do and then do it on my own.. I was so wrong and naive. I was at a very vulnerable time and believed the lies.. :-/
  • usedasbrandnew
    usedasbrandnew Posts: 300 Member
    I would contact their corporate office, let them know you will be writing a letter to your local news station, paper, all of us on MFP all of your friends if this situation is not resolved. Have the names of the people who did this, dates and whatnot on hand when you call so they'll know you're serious. It would also be cool to be able to let them know if they can't work it out you have so and so on retainer as your attorney. :)
  • wjewell
    wjewell Posts: 282 Member
    I most definitely do have an attorney at my fingertips should I need to call him.. Similar lawsuits are happening right now due to the forgery... It doesn't even LOOK like my handwriting..however, it does match HIS handwriting perfectly well. It stinks because I like this facility and its very close and convenient...but this isn't.. :-/
  • sweet110
    sweet110 Posts: 332 Member
    Call your credit card company about revoking their right to bill your credit card. Getting LA Fitness to cease billing you is one thing...getting back any money that they've already billed to your account is something else entirely. Its always harder to get money back than to avoid paying it.

    Good luck.
  • nrvo
    nrvo Posts: 473 Member
    Report them to the Better Business Bureau, and write a negative yelp review.
  • 00trayn
    00trayn Posts: 1,849 Member
    That is INCREDIBLY shady! I did personal training at my gym for a year, but they were very upfront about the stipulations of the contract. They let me choose 3, 6 or 12 months (it was cheaper per session for the longer commitments), and I knew what would happen if I canceled (same as you, pay 50% of remaining). The fact that they lied to you about what was in the contract and initialed portions you didn't even see is illegal. I'd definitely start with contacting their corporate office and reporting the incident. The local news channel isn't a bad idea either... bad PR is way worse to a place like that than some legal issues.
  • FlynnMacCallister
    FlynnMacCallister Posts: 172 Member
    I most definitely do have an attorney at my fingertips should I need to call him.. Similar lawsuits are happening right now due to the forgery... It doesn't even LOOK like my handwriting..however, it does match HIS handwriting perfectly well. It stinks because I like this facility and its very close and convenient...but this isn't.. :-/

    Yeah, I was going to say take it straight to a lawyer, or if you're not in a position to do that contact your local police station or legal aid office for advice. Sometimes all it takes is a stern look from an attorney and the scammers scatter like cockroaches.
  • SexyMrsCarty
    SexyMrsCarty Posts: 57 Member
    I agree 100% Report them to the Better Business Bureau, and write negative review's call your credit card asap and have them spot all payments further on. This is fraud and should be dealt with proper.
    On another point this is why I hate most big name gyms they get you all hyp in your "free" assessements and talk you into **** you don't need or don't want and who was he to tell you what you were signing and not let you read it for your self :mad: I am very sorry for your situation I wish you were close to me and I would take you to my gym smaller yes but working for the people and really care about you.
  • neelia
    neelia Posts: 750 Member
    I agree with the above posters- & I would DEFINITELY report them to the BBB and write your local news media.
  • wickedcricket
    wickedcricket Posts: 1,246 Member
    I'd go on twitter & facebook- give it as much bad publicity as possible. That's really the only thing that works these days. Get the word out- tell your friends to tell their friends. If you can get it out on twitter... they might reconsider.
    Also, if it's a bogus charge on your credit card, can't you just get that taken off? I don't have the best credit, I'd default & let them sue me (whatever) and tell what happened in court- let the chips fall where they may.
    but that's just me - I'm WICKED cricket
  • chevy88grl
    chevy88grl Posts: 3,937 Member
    First thing? Cancel that credit card before they try and hit your card for all the charges as I'm sure somewhere in fine print it says they can do it. Even though you didn't initial it, they will try and do it. Cancel that card NOW.

    Once you have cancelled the card, I would cancel the membership and I would let them know that your initials have been forged. Let them know you're in contact with an attorney for forgery. Usually, when you start saying "Lawyer", companies back WAY down.
  • Angela_Freeborn
    Angela_Freeborn Posts: 62
    I agree, I would call your credit card company right away and stop all payments to them, then contact the BBB report them, And contact their head office to let them know what happend and if nothing is done you will take it furtherie news, freinds ect..., all at the same time contact your laywer advise him/her of whats going on, and take it from there, but what ever you do please dont let them get away with this, as im sure you are not the only person they have done this too, and will not be the last. Im very sorry to even hear this happend to you.
    It really makes me angry when you have companies or people out there for that matter reeping benifits from our weight problems.. they use us is what they do!
    Please keep us updated though.. I wish you luck hun. :)
  • laineyluma
    laineyluma Posts: 358 Member
    In our area the saying is "channel 9 is on your side" :wink:

    Sorry they did this to you!
  • emrys1976
    emrys1976 Posts: 213 Member
    I signed up for a year-contract with LA Fitness and for the most part, I had completely incompetent *kitten* training me, blowing out me knee, no-showing for appointments, etc. When I was diagnosed with a heart condition a month later and told not exercise, I was told to fill out all my paperwork and supply a letter from my doctor, which I did, and then I never heard from them again - until after I had my bank issue me a new debit card and they weren't able to get their payment. My bank told me that changing my card number was only a temporary solution because Visa can release my new number to them if they request it. We're switching to a credit union that only issues MasterCard now :-) Stay away from those contracts - that is a bad, bad company! (And they pay the trainers peanuts, btw, for anyone who cares about fair wages)
  • dad106
    dad106 Posts: 4,868 Member
    Just so you know for next time, unless a trainer is a registered dietitian they can not give diet advice.... They can suggest, but they cannot legally give you a meal plan and diet advice.

    I'd also get the heck out of that gym.. and go find another one if you can... where they will treat you better.

    I've heard from another poster on here, that their trainers are not even certified.. that they just take a training course through the company and then suddenly they are PT's.. which is not right.. You can get seriously injured if a person has no clue what they are doing.
  • dovesgate
    dovesgate Posts: 894 Member
    You can also file a complaint on Ripoffreport.com

    First thing though, I'd have your lawyer get in touch with them. Forgery is illegal so you've got the tools to get them by the balls so to speak. Go through legal channels first - they are more likely to deal with you to keep it all under the table so no one knows how shady they are.
  • deadstarsunburn
    deadstarsunburn Posts: 1,337 Member
    Tell your credit card company, contact corporate, inform BBB.
    The only hang up I for see is that you didn't read the contract and signed it. The forced initial may be the thing that saves you if you had to go to small claims.
    I'm actually in the middle of studying contracts and as long as you signed it they kind of have you stuck.
  • wjewell
    wjewell Posts: 282 Member
    Tell your credit card company, contact corporate, inform BBB.
    The only hang up I for see is that you didn't read the contract and signed it. The forced initial may be the thing that saves you if you had to go to small claims.
    I'm actually in the middle of studying contracts and as long as you signed it they kind of have you stuck.



    Here's the thing.. I asked to read what I was signing.. I was assured there was no need to because it was only a receipt authorizing him to charge my card... I had no idea it was a contract...After I asked several times and was told "No, no contract.." and that I was only signing a receipt I was an idiot and signed... THINKING it was actually a receipt.. After wards is when he must have initialed for me...because since he didn't want me to know it was a contract, and the initials HAD to be there authorizing the 12 month term and blah blah...he knew i wouldn't sign if I knew it was a 12 month contract... SO frustrating. HOPEFULLY I will be getting some help. More updates to come for sure :D
  • kamillion77
    kamillion77 Posts: 1
    Did you get any results? I kinda went thru a similar situation..however they DID inform me it was a contract but like u didn't really allow m,e to read over it clearly. I'm kinda regretting signing up. What can I do to get out of it? Any advice?
  • gmallan
    gmallan Posts: 2,099 Member
    I most definitely do have an attorney at my fingertips should I need to call him.. Similar lawsuits are happening right now due to the forgery... It doesn't even LOOK like my handwriting..however, it does match HIS handwriting perfectly well. It stinks because I like this facility and its very close and convenient...but this isn't.. :-/

    Definitely contact your lawyer. I'm Australian but would assume it could be similar in the US. Anytime someone forges your signature like that it is fraud which is a very serious criminal matter. Also the statements made at the time of signing can be considered inducement to sign the contract and at the very least misleading and deceptive, if not much worse. You probably should read these things before you sign them but if they have made deliberate false statements in order to induce you to sign it's definitely not okay.

    It is a relatively small amount of money but I'm sure you aren't the only one who's had this happen. Is there a small claims court you could file an action in? Here in Oz these are generally a lot cheaper option to traditional court because often lawyers aren't involved.
  • justwanderful
    justwanderful Posts: 142 Member
    First thing? Cancel that credit card before they try and hit your card for all the charges as I'm sure somewhere in fine print it says they can do it. Even though you didn't initial it, they will try and do it. Cancel that card NOW.

    Once you have cancelled the card, I would cancel the membership and I would let them know that your initials have been forged. Let them know you're in contact with an attorney for forgery. Usually, when you start saying "Lawyer", companies back WAY down.


    ^^^^^^THIS^^^^^^^

    Do it NOW!

    .
  • kaavery120188
    kaavery120188 Posts: 52 Member
    Simliar situation happened to me at LA Fitness. When I signed up for the personal trainer, he told me that I could cancel at any time and stop paying the monthly fee. Even when I cancelled, the woman at the front desk said my card wouldn't be charged any more. Spoiler alert: I was still charged. I called corporate to see what was up and they said I "signed a contract" to continue paying. They are a huge scam. While I love the gym itself and the options they have, they were extremely shady in getting me to sign up. To make it worse, I tried to make it worth my while and go ahead and do the training if I was being forced to pay for it. Every time I got a trainer the trainer would quit the next week. I would have to start from scratch with a new person every week, explain my goals, blah blah blah. I will be looking into a new gym once my "contract" is up!
  • scrymsmary
    scrymsmary Posts: 3 Member
    Oh man. I was thinking about canceling my personal training, now I'm afraid of what I will learn if I do go to cancel it!
    I know they treat their trainers like crap and pay them crap too. I have had 2 really great trainers in the 6 mos of training I have had, but they just reach a point where they don't like getting screwed anymore - which I totally understand. I am tired of having to find someone new just as I get in the groove with someone.
  • jethurette
    jethurette Posts: 1
    jethurette I signed my contract 5 days a ago and on this contract with LA Fitness they said i have a right to cancel that then after i signed it. Do you think i can still cancelled it or it gonna be the same **** as the other people please any idea....
    3 minutes ago · Comment
  • MysteriousMerlin
    MysteriousMerlin Posts: 2,270 Member
    A very similiar thing happened with my husband at Club Fitness. He will not have anything automatically charged to his credit card, so he arranged to pay in cash every month. We did sign a year contract, but with that stipulation made clear. He still had to put it on his card, but it was not to be withdrawn. Yet every month, he was double paying because he'd go in person to pay for the month, and the next day or so it was also charged to his card, and he'd have to fight with them to get it removed. He ended up contacting their corporate offices, because they were violating the contract and he was sick of messing with it every month. He got all the charges removed and we were released from the contract without paying a penalty.

    Try their corporate office, and keep asking to talk to someone higher and higher until you get it resolved. The squeaky wheel gets the grease, especially if you plan on sharing your experience anywhere online, and you inform them of that very fact :happy:
  • jhomzkitot
    jhomzkitot Posts: 1
    Same thing just happened. And I'm upset that I just saw this email. I am in the military and is constantly moving. So I decided to cancel my personal training and gym membership. When I signed the "contract", they said the same exact thing. That I can cancel it anytime with no charges. But today, I got a reply email from LA fitness saying that I need to pay the rest of my contract which is unfair since I won't be able to use it anyways. I think something's have to be done with this. First off, it's very unfair that they have to write their contract like that. What's the point of paying if you're not gonna be able to use it, right? I just sent them another email explaining my concerns but I plan on calling the corporate as well. I hope nobody gets screwed with this kind of scam anymore.
  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 7,945 Member
    Bump so that more people see this.
  • JoJo__Fit
    JoJo__Fit Posts: 258 Member
    WOW! That sucks, Sorry you have to deal with that! Do you have a copy of the contract? Also give corporate a call, maybe they can help.

    I would never hire a trainer at any gym!!! Unless they have tons of experience, which is hard to find. By that time they are training clients on their own.

    I have a friend who was a trainer at LAFITNESS for years, and she was excellent. She ended up leaving and training clients on her own. She would say that every trainer that LAFITNESS would hire, half of the time they didn't know what they were doing.

    My boyfriend owns a couple of supplement shops, here in Los Angeles County and they aren't franchises either. He knows a tons of experienced trainers. If you are willing to do online, send me a request and I can help you! :)
  • knra_grl
    knra_grl Posts: 1,566 Member
    can't your credit card company just discontinue the charges? You did not receive the services you paid for therefore it is not an authorized purchase - I would call them and ask them to cancel this for you explaining exactly what happened.

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