Menu
Paramount Acceptance

Paramount Acceptance review: Deceptive business practices 14

H
Author of the review
12:00 am EDT
Featured review
This review was chosen algorithmically as the most valued customer feedback.

Paramount Acceptance
P.O. Box 17317
Salt Lake City, Utah 84117
[protected]

My boyfriend and I were on a family plan. Paramount Acceptance is the billing company for Riviera Fitness. The plan was due to expire on November 7, 2007. My boyfriend moved to Canada. I asked Paramount Acceptance to cancel his part of the plan. I faxed 8 pages of documentation including his acceptance letter to Dalhousie in Nova Scotia Canada and class registration on July 12th. My documentation included my new contact information for Paramount on July 12th and explained the situation with him moving. I called on July 13th and was told by staff that the paperwork had been received and that I would receive a phone call within 5 days with a decision on the cancellation. I never received a call from Paramount. I called them Monday July 23rd and left a message asking about the status of the cancellation. I called again on Tuesday July 24th and spoke to Ben Baker. He read me the notes off my account but could not tell me what they meant. I called again on Wednesday July 25th and spoke to Ally in cancellations. She stated the information had to be taken to corporate headquarters and she would take it over that day. Ally assured me she would call me later on Wed or Thurs morning. I gave her my updated phone number again. No one from the company called me Wed or Thursday. I called another person in cancellations on Thursday and she stated the notes on my account were 2 weeks old and it seemed no one had worked on the account in 2 weeks. The other person in cancellations assured me that Ally would call me back. I left another message for Ally on Friday July 27th but as of July 30th, I had not received any information from Paramount and submitted my complaint to the Better Business Bureau of Utah and customer service at Paramount.

I received a call from Ally at Paramount finally and she stated that I needed to speak to Jeremiah at the Riviera in Madison, AL and have him re-write my contract to just include me. I drove to the Riviera in Madison on July 31st and spoke to Jeremiah. He re-wrote my contract and assured me it would expire at the same time as my old plan. There is NOTHING on the new plan to indicate that it was a 24 month contract. I called Paramount on Tuesday, August 14th to ensure that my automatic draft was connected to my new account. Staff in the automatic draft section stated that my new plan was in the computer as a new 24 month plan. I told her that was not what I signed up for. She told me to call the Riviera in Madison to speak to the Manager about the plan. I called the Manager, Kristen, and she stated she could not help me and I needed to call Jeremiah at the Riviera in Athens, AL to correct the mistake. I called Jeremiah on Tuesday August 14th and asked him to fix the mistake. He stated he would call Paramount and then call me back. I called Jeremiah several times. On Wednesday August 15th, Jeremiah stated he had called Paramount several times but no one would return his calls. He stated he had done everything he could do and would ask the owners, Bonnie and Clay, to call Paramount. On Thursday August 16th, I found 2 charges from Paramount on my bank statement. I called and spoke to Ms. Hill at Paramount. She stated my old family plan contract had not been cancelled and she would cancel it and refund my money for that contract. My new contract does not have any information on it regarding it being for a 24 month term. I want all my contracts with Paramount Acceptance/Riviera Fitness canceled and all automatic draft payments stopped. I have been trying to work with this company for over a month and am worse off than when I started.

14 comments
N
N
Nesa Feder
, US
Apr 14, 2017 11:23 am EDT

I signed up with Rivera Fitness for Paramount Acceptance to deduct $20 a month for a one year term from my credit card account. Two months past that years term they were still attempting to deduct the $20. I called Paramount Acceptance to ask them to stop the deductions. The person I spoke with explained that the deductions were not on a year's contract but a monthly term and would continue unless I requested them to stop by email that he kept changing the subject when I asked for it and never got an email address. He said in order for me to stop it I would have to pay the $310 balance owed, $20 for each month and 10 late fee assessed. 9 payments cleared, which would make 4 payments due to complete the year that means ([4X20=80] + [10X4=40] =$120) and even it the additional two beyond the year are added that's ([20X2=40] + 120 = 180). He told me they would waive the late fees which would leave $230. Really? Plus the guy was very rude he would not listen to me until I said "so the customer is allowed to talk?" He became quiet and when I finished he wouldn't say anything, just quiet over the phone so I said "so now we are not having a conversation, I'm doing all the talking." He said I'm listening. Then he started saying the same thing as if I never said anything, gave any information or proved a point. Bad business.

G
G
Gary Carter
, US
Aug 29, 2016 8:04 pm EDT
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

I had a account with a gym that close down and didn't call me or text me or email me to tell me that they were going out of business and then was sent me to another gym without asking me or talking to me but they call me for their money and I keep telling them that the gym was close down and nobody didn't call me or email me to tell me that so tell paramount that the gym is close down for good and there have no gym in my city and none were I live at and they want me to pay for a gym that close down for good

K
K
Kristin Irons
, US
Feb 09, 2016 12:47 pm EST

Somehow between the contract I sign at Riviera Fitness here in Ft. Walton Beach, Florida and then onto Paramount, the terms seem to change. Paramount chooses to click buttons and change whatever the hell they want and try to continue charging your account all they please. You try to call and talk things out and you get no where. You go to the gym and the manager is never available to speak with you, nor does she return phone calls. If you do get a chance to talk to her she doesn't support what you were told at the time of signing the contract stating "That employee was misinformed. You should have never been told that!" Then you visit the Crestview gym. Same scenario. Left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing. Not to mention that I have counted over 5 treadmills not working at one time, ongoing over several months. In Ft. Walton it equated to 25% of the cardio equipment. Cardio accounts for most of my workout. I feel that Riviera owes me 25% of my contract back for not fulfilling their end of even operating a gym. Maybe when the businesses in this area actually care about the business they are in, and the customers they serve... their businesses will thrive and more money would be put into the local economy. In regards to paramount. I have blocked your transactions. I am not paying. We invested that money in a home gym set up, all purchased on Amazon! How do you like them apples?! Do better business and you won't have to fight with the customers to get their money! STOP CALLING MY PHONE!

B
B
Barbara Parsont
, US
Jan 21, 2016 1:00 pm EST

I am having the same problem w/ Paramount. They call me once a week and today I invoked my rights under FDCPA law and requested they do not call me anymore and to collect whatever they are trying to collect through mail only. The girl put me on hold and then I hung up. They are stupid and I think with everyone that is complaining on here that a class action lawsuit should start and sue the s..t out of them! Then maybe they will stop this abuse. by the way, I don't owe Kinetix any money my contract was up in October 2014 and I even wrote them a certified letter cancelling my membership, they lost it, how convenient!

P
P
PissedOffCustomer!!!!
, US
Jul 08, 2015 11:53 am EDT

I have been trying to cancel my month-to-month membership for three months now. Nobody is in the gym when I go by and of course, nobody answers the phone. When I finally got someone on the phone and tell them I got a letter from their billing company and I wanted to cancel, they said once I get a letter, it should already be cancelled and that I should pay the balance and I would be done with them. I took him for what he said to be true. I found out that I was still racking up charges and fees and they refused to accommodate me in any way and said I owed $80 for one month membership which should have been $15.99. This company is such a joke. I called the billing company, Paramount, and asked to speak to a manager or supervisor and the lady I spoke with said they didn't have one today (go figure). I said well who is running the place? She said there were just other associates like her. This place is a ripoff. Do NOT do business with this company. I will make sure I tell as many people as I can. I paid them $80 today (the total due when I called today) then after I paid it they told me I still had another past due balance of $72. There is absolutely no way. They are fabricating charges and I will be sure to follow up on this to the fullest extent of the law.

K
K
Kathleen Adams
Toney, US
Mar 20, 2013 9:57 am EDT
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

I signed up for 1year membership and just found out they been taking money from my checking account for 6 years. They cant find my membership number and its not on my contract but they have enough information to take it out of my account. Kinda my fault just never paid any attention to my bank statement close enough. Will let you no how this goes, called 1 time couldnt find out anything now its time to get mean.

P
P
phantomfaery
Elyria, US
Feb 04, 2013 6:22 pm EST

I had joined through compel fitness in North Olmsted Ohio. Per my contract and the trainer that signed me up; I was able to request a hold if I needed one. A few months later, I picked up a second job to help pay bills; which left me working 80 hours per week and being a full time student. Needless to say, I didn't have time for the gym let alone training sessions. So, I called and requested a hold for a two month period while I tried to shift my schedule around to allow for at least a trip to the gym for my monthly training sessions. I was told that everything went through just fine, only to have my account charged. I went through over a month of headaches and being tossed around between the gym and Paramount to try and solve this and get my money back. Finally, I contacted my bank and explained the unauthorized debit. I reported them to the BBB, and filed a fraud charge against them through my bank. The bank refunded my money, and I had a new bank card issued to me to avoid further charges. The nightmare still hasn't ended, though; because now Paramount is blowing my phone up every day trying to collect money. Currently, I'm looking into FDCPA laws and see if they fall under those guidelines to get them to stop calling me.

M
M
mjasonhayes
Shalimar, US
Nov 15, 2011 7:41 am EST

i recently made an informal complaint in passing to the "manager" of Riviera Fitness in Fort Walton Beach, Florida concerning the music choice of the gym. There have been numerous complaints, as i understand it, from multiple members. My exact words to Julie, the manager and part owner who never works out and sits in her office all day, were: "the music is horrible to work out to." The choice that Julie has imposed on us is of a local radio station that plays little uplifting, very childish/girlie and most often slow melancholy tunes that are in the "charts" today. i made the comment because i would like for my gym to be the best and i would hope that Julie (and a man who i was told is named Ren and is the regional manager of sorts and was in her office at the time) would take it upon themselves to resolve an apparently recurring issue. None of the such. Instead, as it was relayed to me by a friend who also goes to this gym, that he overheard the manager Julie, along with Ren (the regional manager) talking to Chris the employee at the counter about how i was not the type of person they wanted to have as a member in their gym. My friend also heard something about canceling my contract (i have a V.I.P. contract that i paid 2 years in advance for entirely). This is just bad business. The people who run Riviera have their priorities all wrong and have a negative attitude to boot. Julie causes so much "drama" in the gym that i have been sick of her fake smile for almost 9 or the 11 months i have been a member here.

B
B
Barry H
Sugar City, US
Sep 28, 2011 4:38 am EDT

I'd really like to keep my membership longer as long as possible actually the problem is I can't afford to keep paying the yearly fees and the monthly fees. My wife and I wanted to make this a lifetime type of change for us but it's just not going to work for us financially. We were told upfront that there is no contract and that we can get out at anytime. I sure hope that proves to be true. I wonder how long I can keep the membership without paying the mantanence fee again..

C
C
Creme.Brulee
West Jord, US
Sep 26, 2011 7:25 pm EDT

They are awful. I called and revoked authorization to auto debit my account and still they charged. I wrote a letter and revoked again and still they charged. I would get paid and they would charge my account for different amounts, up to $70 at a time! I had originally signed up for a plan that was supposed to be good as long as I worked for a particular company. Well, it's been a year and they are STILL charging me. I have talked to my bank about it and they said that you can't get out of a gym membership and that if they were to try and dispute the charge I wouldn't win. Apparently these people take you to court over a GYM MEMBERSHIP. Does anyone else think this is insane? Never again will I sign up for something like this, EVER. Shame on me for trying to get in some exercise. I'll only go places that don't require a membership, like a community fitness center. I've learned my lesson.

V
V
vijedoc
Birmingham, US
Mar 17, 2011 5:22 pm EDT
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

I have moved to a different city right now and told them to cancle my contarct that i dont need their services but to no avail. Now i think im not the only one screw up by paramount. why dont we start a page of facebook an riviera's scrapulous business practice.

B
B
badmanbrad12
Metairie, US
Aug 28, 2010 10:07 am EDT

These people are absolute jerks, and after they get you in a contract dont care at all
I had several run ins with the staff, asked to talk to the owners, but they wouldnt tell me who they were or give me a phone #
they sent me to Paramount acceptance instead who told me they have nothing to do with how its run, then hung up on me
Total jerks

C
C
cortney24
Carlsbad, US
Sep 21, 2009 12:40 pm EDT

Paramount Acceptance in affiliation with Riviera Fitness is ###! I wish I would have looked on-line to see how many complaints they have for screwing people over. I think one huge problem is that their staff isn’t trained properly and they have the worst customer service I have ever seen. My husband and I moved because he is in the military, and got stationed at a different base (in a completely different state), and I tried canceling. I was given the run around every time I called. I sent in proper documentation to cancel, and I was told it was going to be $100.00 to cancel. Okay fine…but not only did they charge us the $100.00 they continued to charge our account like we were still members. I called them back finally realizing that they were charging our account, and they tell me that the document I sent in wasn’t a valid piece of documentation. A new lease agreement with my new address wasn’t proper identification; and the funny thing is that Paramount told me that is what they needed for proof. So now I am resending things in and still have to pay another cancellation fee. If I were you save yourself the time, energy, and money, and stay away from Riviera Fitness and Paramount Acceptance. Join another gym, trust me even if it is the closest one, it will save you numerous headaches in the future! A shady business like that should be shut down, and it’s too bad there are worthless companies in the world to begin with!

Y
Y
Yolanda Torrance
,
Feb 19, 2008 6:09 pm EST

The French, Paramount Acceptance and all of its affiliates are horrible! They lie to get you to sign a contract but death wont even get you out of it. I will never do business with them again and will try my best to deter anyone else from having to deal with such a poor excuse for a business.