Anytime Fitness - Beware
So on the surface this is a good enough gym. Its clean, has sufficient equipment, and of course the biggest advantage; it is open 24 hours. But before making the decision to join or renew your existing membership please keep reading.
So youโve walked in, took a look around, decided that the gym, location, and $45 monthly membership fee is what you want. Youโll then sit down and begin the paperwork process, filling out the vital information, emergency contacts, etcโฆ Youโve been told that youโre signing up for a 12 month membership at $45 per month, with one first month free. All good so farโฆ Then you will be notified that there will be a $68 enrollment fee. $25 of which will be for what they will tell you is a โdepositโ for an access key fob. Youโve come this far, no problem. Then just before signing on the bottom line youโll be notified the gym charges its members $25 twice annually for maintenance/improvement of their facility/equipment. (Doesnโt seem right that the members are to be obligated beyond their monthly membership for upkeep and improvements to the gym, and worse that this is now being mentioned just before signing the last line)โฆ but once again, youโve already made your decision so no reason to back out now over $50 bucks and only your name left to sign.
Needless to say I signed the contract and walked out the door with my shiny new key fob. For the next three months I worked out at the gym about 3 times a week and was satisfied with the gym. It fit my needs, primarily being open after I got out of work late at night. But then life got in the way and it no longer became convenient for me to be there, my fault, not the gyms. I could have made up some sort of reason, injury or other clause that would theoretically allow me to opt out of my contract but instead I decided to do the right thing and fulfill my 12 month contract obligation. So I became the perfect memberโฆ the one who doesnโt use the facility but continues to pay the membership (and maintenance fees) for the duration of the contract.
Now this is where the businessesโ true colors showed. After I had made my final payment I called the gym to cancel, assuming this would be an easy process after having fulfilled my contract obligation. The call went to James (the owner, or part owner as I understand). The phone number listed on the gyms website is directed to his cell phone so this is who you get to talk to if you want to call the business. I was given the run around by James, he wasnโt at work yet and would call me in an hour when he got in. An hour and a half passed, no call. I called back and he angrily said he was not yet at work and call me when he got there. Another 1.5 hours, no call. I called back, James picked up but said he was in a meeting. At this point he became very rude and condescending, then turning to insulting and making completely ignorant and unprofessional remarks. He hung up the phone and then called me back another 45 minutes later and spent 15 minutes ignorantly rambling about meaningless nonsense. In my life I donโt think Iโve encountered such a rude, arrogant, and condescending individual.
Realizing that conversation was going nowhere with him I ended the call and went over to the gym a couple days later. Fortunately, James was not there and I met with a manager โAnnaโ, the lone bright spot throughout this process. She was sympathetic and caring and apologetic for how the situation was being handled. And it was clear that this was not an anomaly as she was very much used to having to mitigate these interactions between gym members and James. I left after leaving a formal written request to cancel my membership (because my previous telephone and written email request clearly did nothing). I got an email from her about a week later that James will not discontinue my payments and that I will be obligated to uphold my membership through January 18thโฆ72days after I submitted my formal request for cancellation on November 4th! Apparently the contract requires a 30 day notice but clearly James is making up his own rules outside of what is legal and contractually bound. And that $25 key fob deposit. That was a โpurchaseโ not to be refunded. Minor after all of this but just extra salt on the wound.
I hate spending time over such trivial matters and lets be honest, weโre talking about the small sum of less than $100. But Iโm so angry about how a very good member of a gym was treated that Iโll be submitting a complaint to the better business bureau (it wonโt be the first complaint against this anytime fitness location).
Do yourself a favor if youโre considering a membership here and RUN AWAY! And if youโre an existing member deciding whether to renewโฆ Cancel now. If youโre lucky youโll only be obligated for another few months.
Reason of review: Poor customer service.
Monetary Loss: $45.
Preferred solution: Full refund.
Location: Mount Prospect, Illinois
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Comments
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Agreed! I was considering joining, but have reconsidered based on your thorough review. Thanks for taking the time to post!
Thank you for the awesome review. I am not going to join any of this franchise.........