Fitness First, virtually impossible to cancel the membership

[whizzfizz]

Delivered the letter and got someone to sign for. Called the bank just now and told them I want to cancel an "auto charge" to my credit card, to my astonishment, she asked me: is that for FitnessFirst? She must have either gone through my transactions already by the time the phone was answered, or she was just having a potshot.:) She said there is no easy way to stop from the Bank side. Thanks whizzfizz.

yea, its the merchant that has to stop it, but at least after the first 14 days you will be able to get your $$ back so you wont be about of pocket.

Once you do a few chargebacks the merchant will get the hint ;)

[RANDOID]

yea, its the merchant that has to stop it, but at least after the first 14 days you will be able to get your $$ back so you wont be about of pocket.

Once you do a few chargebacks the merchant will get the hint ;)If your pedantic enough, you could get a large sign and a megaphone and picket them.

No-one likes to be picketed... its bad for business. It pushes their marketing efforts backwards.

[linton]

I thought thats exactly what nsu was doing here, Picketing in the 21st century. :)

[JimJim]

This reminds me a lot of an episode of Friends...

[freddyfartbox]

Burn down the gym. That'll f**k 'em.

[whizzfizz]

Delivered the letter and got someone to sign for it. Called the bank just now and told them I want to cancel an "auto charge" to my credit card, to my astonishment, she asked me: is that for FitnessFirst? She must have either gone through my transactions already by the time the phone was answered, or she was just having a potshot.:) She said there is no easy way to stop from the Bank side. Thanks whizzfizz.

:p

any more debits from fitnessfirst NSU ??

[nsu]

:p

any more debits from fitnessfirst NSU ??

I forgot about the appointment. They charged again on the 15th of Dec. It does not surprise me a bit. I hand delivered my letter wanting to cancel and got a signature from one of their staff saying it is received, that was on 5th of Dec. They simply ignore it.

I will have to ask the bank to charge back and show them the letter. This clearly shows they don't care! Unlucky for me.:mad:

[whizzfizz]

I forgot about the appointment. They charged again on the 15th of Dec. It does not surprise me a bit. I hand delivered my letter wanting to cancel and got a signature from one of their staff saying it is received, that was on 5th of Dec. They simply ignore it.

I will have to ask the bank to charge back and show them the letter. This clearly shows they don't care! Unlucky for me.:mad:

sadly thats only 10 days... under the 14, so you might not get ya $$ on that one. But, no harm in trying to get it back, because the amount is so small, its probably not going to be worth the banks effort to buggerize around, so they may just give it to you.

[jokiin]

Burn down the gym. That'll f**k 'em.

Maybe, won't stop them billing you though

[RANDOID]

Maybe, won't stop them billing you thoughThen NSU will just ahve to burn the bank down too... :rolling: :eek: :dD

[jokiin]

Then NSU will just ahve to burn the bank down too... :rolling: :eek: :dD

Now you're talking:D

[popeye]

There's a thing on A Current Affair tonight about this mob. You're obviously not the only one they're pissing off.

[Lord Smelly]

You beat me to it popeye and it appears they are suffering exactly what you are nsu the only method which worked for the dude on the TV was to block the direct debt with the bank.

[popeye]

You beat me to it popeye and it appears they are suffering exactly what you are nsu the only method which worked for the dude on the TV was to block the direct debt with the bank.

Maybe it was nsu on ACA!!! :PI

[Fat Cat]

Hi people,

There are 2 things that weren’t aired on ‘A Current Affair’ that everyone should be aware of. Please warn others regarding the information below.

I am actively involved in research on exercise adherence in the ‘gymnasium’ industry.
The figures are pretty daunting. 80% of people who start a gym program will drop out within the first 6 to 12 weeks.
So if gyms such as Fitness First sell you a 1 month or 3 month membership, they will lose out on all that potential income earned from a 12 month membership, since 80% of you will stop visiting after this period.

Recognising this, they coax you into signing up for a 12 month membership, by offering you ‘generous discounts’. Basically, the 1 month & 3 month memberships are hiked up significantly in proportion to the 12 month membership rate, which encourages the consumer to opt for the latter option as it appears more ‘economical’. This way they get their hands on the income for 12 months from the 80% who don’t even visit the gym after the initial 6 to 12 week period.

You won’t believe this but this is actually how gyms make the majority of their income.

What is even more incredible is the following: ‘Fitness-NSW’ (www.fitnessnsw.com.au) is supposed to be the industry body for the gymnasium industry and has a ‘Code of Practice’ (endorsed by the Office of Fair Trading) which is supposed to protect the consumer from such financial rip-off scams.
However, did you know that until recently the President of Fitness-NSW is none other than Mr Mark Forrest, the General Manager of Fitness First !! As the largest contingent within Fitness-NSW, Fitness First had a monopoly in Fitness-NSW, and so their practices are continually overlooked. Talk about conflict of interest.
Mark Forrest remains an active board member on Fitness-NSW, & you can rest assured that Fitness-NSW will continue to turn a blind-eye to these breaches of the Code of Practice that are supposed to be policed.

[chatza]

I have a simular problem with an gym that my wife is/was with called body talk who shut down.
She had'nt been in for a long time so i thought id call to cancel the member ship to find out that number had been disconnected so i went down there and there was a note on the door saying that all memberships have been transfered to Genesis gym near by. So of i went to Genesis they said that they can cancel and someone from the office will call to confirm, that was 1 month ago now. So i called them again and now im told that i need to get onto the merchant who bodytalk used but i cannot find out who they are all i see on my bank statement is "Payment to merchant MBR SVC Bodytalk".
Does anyone have any ideas on how i can find them without resorting to asking the bank to block the deduction which will no doubt end up in some debt collection agency sending me letters?

[tuesday]

I have a simular problem with an gym that my wife is/was with called body talk who shut down.
She had'nt been in for a long time so i thought id call to cancel the member ship to find out that number had been disconnected so i went down there and there was a note on the door saying that all memberships have been transfered to Genesis gym near by. So of i went to Genesis they said that they can cancel and someone from the office will call to confirm, that was 1 month ago now. So i called them again and now im told that i need to get onto the merchant who bodytalk used but i cannot find out who they are all i see on my bank statement is "Payment to merchant MBR SVC Bodytalk".
Does anyone have any ideas on how i can find them without resorting to asking the bank to block the deduction which will no doubt end up in some debt collection agency sending me letters?

Try 'Not Good Enough' or NGE as they are known.
There are gripes on there about fitness First,but unsure if your Gym is listed.:)

http://www.notgoodenough.org/index.php

[sonnet]

I had the same situation with cancelling Fitness First...

They say they'll call back to make an appointment and dont. Theyt say i HAVE to fill in an exit form...

Forget your bank - read what you actually agreed you would do in the contract (http://www.fitnessfirst.com.au/corporate/terms) and then do that! I did. Here's how:


There 2 types of cancelling - before the min time and after.

"After" is pretty simple. Despite what FF staff say... the contract you signed, confirms;
1. You do NOT have to have an appointment.
2. Do NOT have to turn up in person.

All you need to do is;

1. give 30 days notice in writing,
2. deliver it to the club.
3. They will take a MAX of 7 days to send you a written receipt of your termnination request- from that 7 days your 30 day termination notice starts.

ie they get another 37 days out of you - equal to 2 months. But thats what you (and I) agreed to...

If their staff tell you something different - write to the Dept of Fair Trading in your state.

It's all in clause 14 of the agreement:


"14. TERMINATION AFTER THE MINIMUM TERM

1. You can terminate your membership after the minimum term if you give us 30 days notice. See 2(b) and (c) for when the period starts.

2. You must be aware that:

a. Your termination notice must be in writing and delivered to your club.

b. Your termination notice period starts only after: (1) We send back to you our written receipt of your termination notice. We promise to do this within 7 days of the date we receive your termination notice. (2) Your next direct debit occurs. "

good luck all!!

[Hermit]

Welcome to the forum, Sonnet. That's a very useful first post.

I wonder if Nsu is battling FF still.

[femme fatale]

I wonder if Nsu is battling FF still.

We've come to an amenable truce, Hermit. He pleads "Spank me! Spank me", and I obligingly demur...