L.A. FITNESS SCAM.

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  • gmallan
    gmallan Posts: 2,099 Member
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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: 7,702 Member
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    Bump so that more people see this.
  • JoJo__Fit
    JoJo__Fit Posts: 258 Member
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    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: 1,568 Member
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    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.
  • Phoenix_Warrior
    Phoenix_Warrior Posts: 1,633 Member
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    This happened to my sister in law as well! ! Raise hell
  • Karabobarra
    Karabobarra Posts: 782 Member
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    http://www.backdoorla.com/2011/08/22/la-fitness-sleazy-cancellation-policy/

    http://www.theguardian.com/money/2013/sep/10/la-fitness-membership-contracts

    http://www.pissedconsumer.com/reviews-by-company/la-fitness/la-fitness-how-to-cancel-forever-20120418313116.html

    http://www.cancel-help.com/cancel-la-fitness-membership/

    hope some of this helps....
  • born2drum
    born2drum Posts: 731 Member
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    Sorry but DONT EVER EVER SIGN ANYTHING WITHOUT READYING WHAT YOU SIGN. Let this be a lesson learned.
  • born2drum
    born2drum Posts: 731 Member
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    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. :)
    That won't work. She can't prove anything.
  • SugarLou57
    SugarLou57 Posts: 84 Member
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    Have you spoken with the club manager or just the person at the front desk? If not the manager start there - and if he/she gives you no satisfaction tell him you'll be contacting the corporate office AND your lawyer AND the local investigative TV station.

    The LA Fitness I go to is awesome, and I see the same trainers around all the time so I'm sad for you that you're having this problem. What a wrench thrown into the wheels of your fitness program!
  • LesaDave
    LesaDave Posts: 1,480 Member
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    http://www.backdoorla.com/2011/08/22/la-fitness-sleazy-cancellation-policy/

    http://www.theguardian.com/money/2013/sep/10/la-fitness-membership-contracts

    http://www.pissedconsumer.com/reviews-by-company/la-fitness/la-fitness-how-to-cancel-forever-20120418313116.html

    http://www.cancel-help.com/cancel-la-fitness-membership/

    hope some of this helps....

    WWWOOOOOWWWWW!! Even the one that signed up one day and found out they had cancer the NEXT DAY.
  • nidhisapra
    nidhisapra Posts: 1
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    The exact thing happened with me 2 months back at LA Fitness close to my workplace. I joined it because it was close and convenient and just wanted to sign up for 10 sessions in total. At the time of signing, the guy never mentioned any kind of contract even once. He said the same things - signing on receipt, accident liability waiver etc. A complete scam! Now I am stuck in a 12 month contract which I never wanted to enter into ever. Were you able to resolve your situation? Any kind of advice from you would help as I am in the same boat. Thanks.
  • elvisrodriguez581187
    elvisrodriguez581187 Posts: 1
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    Give am a call at 352 817-4754
    I'm starting a class action lawsuit agains them
    They did the same to me
  • chloematilds
    chloematilds Posts: 111 Member
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    Anything that includes forgery must be sued.
  • Jestinia
    Jestinia Posts: 1,153 Member
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    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.

    I was going to suggest this. It seems a lot of people are unhappy with this company/franchise/whatever it is:
    http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/directory/la-fitness

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