Monday, January 02, 2006
Why does Bally's stink?
About a year ago, my husband joined Bally's in Massachusetts. At the time he joined, he asked for a month-to-month membership, which he was told could be cancelled at any time.
Bally's presented him with a one page membership form that stated that his term of membership was, "one month, renewable." Unfortunately, he missed the fine print that stated that he was actually signing page 1 of a 4 page contract. Bally's didn't think it was important to show him the other three pages of the contract, which contained various onerous terms.
This past August, my husband and I decided to move across country. He cancelled his membership at one of Bally's Massachusetts locations. We were told that his account was closed and we would not be billed further. However, the next month, my credit card was charged. We called again and were assured that this mistake would be corrected. Still, the next month, we were charged again. This time, we called the national office and were told that the membership was not a month to month at all. Bally's claimed that my husband had agreed to a 3 year contract and told us that we owed them more than $700 dollars for the final two years of the membership. (Much more than the $20 per month my husband had agreed to pay.)
We have called Bally's on 5 occassions to request a copy of the membership contract that my husband signed. So far, it has not been provided. In fact, I was told by one of Bally's
"customer service reps" that the terms of the contract were unimportant and that we should just pay up.
Bally's calls my husbands cell phone at least once a week to demand we pay them the money they claim we owe. I have repeatedly explained that my husband had a month to month membership and that he cancelled it. Bally's conveniently has no record of any of my calls and "has not gotten around to" reading the letter I sent by certified mail explaining my situation. Their employees have called me a liar and threatened us, but have never been able to answer any of my questions. When I asked to speak to a manager, I was told that I didn't have a "good reason" to talk to one and therefore would not be put through to one.
My husband and I have each belonged to other gyms where we were treated with respect and had no problem cancelling when we moved. I urge you to choose another gym and avoid the irritation and expense of dealing with Bally's. (Soon we'll be paying attorney's fees to get this matter straigtened out.)
Bally's presented him with a one page membership form that stated that his term of membership was, "one month, renewable." Unfortunately, he missed the fine print that stated that he was actually signing page 1 of a 4 page contract. Bally's didn't think it was important to show him the other three pages of the contract, which contained various onerous terms.
This past August, my husband and I decided to move across country. He cancelled his membership at one of Bally's Massachusetts locations. We were told that his account was closed and we would not be billed further. However, the next month, my credit card was charged. We called again and were assured that this mistake would be corrected. Still, the next month, we were charged again. This time, we called the national office and were told that the membership was not a month to month at all. Bally's claimed that my husband had agreed to a 3 year contract and told us that we owed them more than $700 dollars for the final two years of the membership. (Much more than the $20 per month my husband had agreed to pay.)
We have called Bally's on 5 occassions to request a copy of the membership contract that my husband signed. So far, it has not been provided. In fact, I was told by one of Bally's
"customer service reps" that the terms of the contract were unimportant and that we should just pay up.
Bally's calls my husbands cell phone at least once a week to demand we pay them the money they claim we owe. I have repeatedly explained that my husband had a month to month membership and that he cancelled it. Bally's conveniently has no record of any of my calls and "has not gotten around to" reading the letter I sent by certified mail explaining my situation. Their employees have called me a liar and threatened us, but have never been able to answer any of my questions. When I asked to speak to a manager, I was told that I didn't have a "good reason" to talk to one and therefore would not be put through to one.
My husband and I have each belonged to other gyms where we were treated with respect and had no problem cancelling when we moved. I urge you to choose another gym and avoid the irritation and expense of dealing with Bally's. (Soon we'll be paying attorney's fees to get this matter straigtened out.)
# posted by Ballys Stinks! @ 3:32 PM 
