LA Fitness problems?
Does anyone have any info on "Allegedly deceptive business practices" of LA Fitness?
I happened to find this petition site, Petition Site with a petition to stop the LA Fitness club from opening in W. Roxbury. These people seem to be very upset that the permits were fast-tracked by the city, and have lots of alleged problems with LA Fitness listed on the petition.
It's written by the "VFW Parkway Business Assoc" but I don't know if that's a real group or not.
I almost hate to give them any publicity but the petition has been signed by people in Australia and Romania (Romania?) so I guess it's out there.
I just don't get it. I know health clubs often have tricky or misleading contracts, but I don't know enough about LA Fitness to know if they are really that bad. Seems to me a new business in an abandoned building would be a good thing.
Comments
Neighboring gyms might be behind it
West Roxbury's gym wars.
Golds Gym and Boston North
Golds Gym and Boston North Fitness and a host of others are just as bad...
I think before you join a Healthclub you need to see if they are members of the BBB. If they are not then dont deal with them.
"behind it" seems a little accusatory
... considering that there IS a history there. He's probably working from resources like this:
http://www.ripoffreport.com/searchresults.asp?q1=ALL&q4=&q6=&q3=&q2=&q7=&searchtype=0&submit2=Search!&q5=LA+Fitness+
(2 of the top 5 hits in google for the search "LA Fitness" are sites that carry multiple allegations of bad behaviour by LA Fitness clubs in a variety of locations)
if the local and locally-owned gyms are behind it, then is this any different than local merchants opposing a chain store that's known to come in and sell below cost until competitors are forced out of business?
LA Fitness is a pretty bad
LA Fitness is a pretty bad coporate operator. You can't make this stuff up. Unlike Golds or others, LA Fitness is not a franchise, it's run by a mother ship. That means this stuff comes from the top, or is at least tolerated:
FROM PA:
PRESS RELEASE
Bucks County's Award-winning B&R Family Fitness Club Files Lawsuit Challenging L.A. Fitness' Unfair Business Practices
Lawsuit Alleges That Rival Fitness Chain is Damaging Health Club's Reputation, Business with False and Misleading Information
Last update: 12:01 p.m. EST Dec. 11, 2008
FEASTERVILLE, Pa., Dec 11, 2008 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- In today's ailing economy, every client counts. This is particularly true in a marketplace where locally owned businesses have to compete against mammoth national chains, so that consumers can continue to have options. One local business, Bucks County, Pennsylvania's B&R Family Fitness Club, is fighting a national chain's unscrupulous attempts to unfairly damage its business. In a complaint filed in the Bucks County Court of Common Pleas on December 9, 2008, B&R Family Fitness alleges that California-based L.A. Fitness' Huntington Valley location is interfering with B&R's prospective business relationships by disseminating falsehoods to potential B&R clients.
The lawsuit claims that, according to witnesses, L.A. Fitness employees attempt to dissuade prospective B&R customers by telling them that B&R has declared bankruptcy, is close to declaring bankruptcy, or is otherwise having significant financial problems. "B&R is not suffering from financial difficulties," said attorney Michael Eidel, a partner at Fox Rothschild who represents B&R.
The L.A. Fitness employees further tell prospective customers, according to the complaint, that entering into a B&R membership is risky because the health club's financial woes will render the club unable to honor its contracts
FROM CALIFORNIA:
Scammed at LA Fitness
February 27, 2007 by Kirsten Van Detta Kirsten Van Detta Published Content: 26 Total Views: 186,748 Favorited By: 11 CPs Full Profile | Subscribe | Add to Favorites Recommend (57)Single page Font SizeRead comments (144) Lessons Learned from LA Fitness' Fraudulent Business Practices
LA Fitness may be adequate for working out, but when it comes to account management, they are used car salesmen at best.
Every year LA Fitness offers some sort of promotion that makes joining the gym sound easy as pie. Well, that part is true. Everything runs like a well-oiled machine while you're signing your contract and direct debit agreement. What they don't tell you while you're signing up for spinning classes is the sort of customer service department they run and billing practices they engage in. Here are the three major scams LA Fitness runs on its members.
FROM FLORIDA
LaFitness
Posted: 2008-02-12 by Chung Yi [send email]
Worst of all!
Complaint Rating:
Company information:
LaFitness
1925N.military trail
West Palm Beach, Florida
United States
Phone: 5616831277
www.lafitness.com
If i compare this club to human figure, this place and staffs are all head to toe in serious infection of sickness,call humiliation! Let me just briefly write down about the problem i have encountered here.
1. Male staffs are completely occupied with membership issues, so their main interests is how much human heads are coming into as members,at once you are a member, part of your money is going to their commission, so they don't want to know you after, they act they are not responsible accommodating member's real need in the gym.
2. Male staffs' sexual harassing behavior is so obvious, as soon as i enter a la fitness center i need to get out just to avoid creepy attention of these staffs'. It was the main reason i never consider again going back!
3. After the cancellation of membership (i don't even know how rarely i have visited this place!), they still have charged to my checking account, causing over -500 balance, still trying to attempt to charge for the canceled membership. Their excuses are it takes 2 weeks to cancel the membership even after i canceled, so i still owe them amount. This is so called legal robbery in strict business world.
Of international interest.
Look at the signatures. Of the baker's dozen signatures there so far, we have Germany, Romania, and Australia chiming in. Must be some heavy stuff LA Fitness is into, pissing off people around the globe enough to electronically register their distaste for the pending W.R. location.
scammed by LA Fitness
LA fitness in Springfield Ma. has horrible financial business dealings. I have been trying to cancel my fitness training program for a few months now. At first I was being put off. Phone calls were being dropped. People were not available to help. I went in physically and sat down with someone who said it was cancelled. He did it on the computer. Then he handed me a paper saying I had to mail it in for it to be complete. I mailed it the next day. On the paper it said the account would be concelled upon receiving this letter. A month later I am again charged for services that I cancelled. I called and they said there is nothing in the computer saying I cancelled.
I don't know if anyone here can help me.
very frustrated.