ABC Financial Services
Reviews and Complaints

I have had a similarly terrible experience with ABC financial and they're post here trying to "resolve" the issue is anything but acceptable. My gym, planet fitness, had changed ownership of several select locations. The company as a whole did not close but most of their locations in florida changed ownership and were now YouFit clubs. I had moved to michigan from florida and attempted to transfer my membership. I went to the gym in florida regularly and was not given any notice that they were planning a change in companies. There was probably a 2 week span between the last time I used my florida gym and the time I went to transfer to my new michigan club. I was told that I could not transfer because my home club in florida was now a YouFit and that I was obligated to continue paying dues to YouFit even though the contract I signed was for Planet Fitness even though I had already fullfilled my 1 year obligation. ABC financial would not offer any help stating that the Club has the right to change ownership and transfer contracts without any notification but I must give 30 days written notice if I wanted to cancel. Absolutely unacceptable! I signed a contract with one company and who is ABC financial to tell me who I must pay my dues to. Once the company closed down all contracts should be null and void. I have fullfilled my contractual obligation to PLANET FITNESS and never entered into any contract with YOUFIT. This is a SCAM all day!

John,

We are dissapointed to hear that your experience with ABC Financial Services was anything but satisfactory.
We pride ourselves in the excellent, Fast and Friendly, customer service our company provides.

A gym location closing is almost always an incovenience to the member that is accustomed to a workout routine at the location they signed up with, however, ABC Financial Services would not continue to bill you had a comparable facility not been made available to you.

Though we understand the discomfort in switching to a new gym, no harm can be made by trying out the comparable facility and subsequently making an educated decision on whether to continue your workout relationship with the new club or not.

Should you have any additional comments you would like to discuss, please email memberservices@abcfinancial.com and we would be happy to address any concerns.

Alex Mena
Consumer Relations
ABC Financial Services, Inc.

This just happend with me to! and ABC is REFUSING to pay my overdraft fees, even though they caused it. I even got the head of my bank to write them a certified letter stating it was their fault, and they still refuse to pay any of it!

Any club backed by ABC Financial will rip you off. Whenever joining a club, just ask them is ABC Financial does their billing. If they say yes...find another club.

I guess you work for ABC Financial?

I know how you feel and you still go out and fight other countries for companies like ABC Financial

I was trapped into 3 days free membership. When I tried to cancel the membership, ABC first stated that they will stop the automatic payment. However, they continue to withdraw the money out of my account. When I submitted the doctor recommendation that I am under treatment and not allow to exercise any fitness class.
Their response is that the certificate is not accepted, unless doctor state that I am disable and cannot move ! When I am trying to talk to them, their response is that customer have to go by their rule !
Please help protect senior citizen trapped by this fraudulent company. Instead of helping seniors to get healthier, ABC is trying to rip off and cause them stress, unhealthy condition and bad time !

I am sorry but I have to disagree with you "nickaaron" Robert J Nauseef is a [censor] who believes that just because you are calling Internal Credit Systems that you are beneath him. And it is proven with the attitude and disposition he takes on the phone. I JUST got off the phone with HIM trying to SET UP PAYMENTS to relieve my debt. But he carried on with a condescending tone the entire time we were on the phone until I gave it right back to him. Only then did he want to "start over". I know sleaze balls like him and I never associate myself with them. I will pay my debt because I am an honest, working man but as far as calling him "professional" and "courteous" I've NEVER heard anything as far away from the truth in all of my 26 years on this beautiful planet. And to clarify, any company trying to collect a debt or handles debt payments is a collection agency. No matter how LEGIT OR NOT it may be. So Angry Customer turn your attention towards the true enemy ICS and Robert J Nauseef. We're all behind ya... Except for Patricia and Nick...

You talked to the collection agency not Robert Nauseef. Internal credit systems handles the calls for ABC NOT THE ATTORNEY. Please do not bash people when you are not clear who you talked to. The attorney only gets involved if litigation is planned or is initiated. I have talked to Mr. Nauseef and he is professional and courteous. Thanks!

I also, have had dealings with ABC Financial. I had a neck injury and was unable to continue my membership. My doctor wrote a letter to ABC stating I had a neck injury and he did not want me involved in a exercise program. This was in keeping with my contract, section 2. They said the doctors note was not sufficient because I was not disabled. Section two of their contract read "the term disability means a condition which precludes the buyer from physically using the facilites, and such condition is verified by a physician". My doctor's note clearly stated I was not to be involved in exercise program. My doctor suggested that Breathe Fitness and ABC Financial send me to a Independent Medical Examiner to evaluated my condition since they were calling my doctor a liar. Of course, they would have to pay for this themselves. It amazes me that the state and federal government has not gotten involved in the scams the financial services for these gyms pull. Do you know I tried to pay for a year up front and they wouldn't let me, they wanted financial information so they could continue to bill me. I feel sorry for everyone involved with ABC Financial. My husband is a big mucky, muck attorney in the corporate world and has gone through the contract and it is clear I have complied with section 2, yet they will not let me out of the contract, and continue to harrase me with e-mails and phone calls. I am an accountant and when people mess with my money, I go after them with every legal means in my power. I would advise everyone who has dealings with ABC Financial to hit them as hard as you can in the pocketbook.

I went to the gym and asked the gym rep to cancel my account because i was moving out of town. He asked me to proved him. I told him that my company is taking care of everything and that i have no proof. I just left town and stoped going.

I called my bank and asked them to stop paying.

I am getting calls from ABC fin. everyday. I get around 15 calleds a day. The ABC fin representative said that the club will denied my membership if i dont pay. I say OK.

I still get calls from ABC to pay. I just dont answer.

I want to know what happends if i just dont pay. ?

Do someone knows?

I totally agree with angry customer. Robert Nauseef is a royal ### who should have his liscense stripped from him. Or does he even have a liscense? By the way he talked to me on the phone, you'd think he wasn't a lawyer, just some kid who was picked on in school so he takes his anger out on all the helpless debt-payers who talk to him. I asked him nicely about my account and he said, "Woah, woah, woah! Stop right there! I didn't understand a word of what you just asked me!" and the conversation ended with him hanging up on me! ABC financial is crap! Just look at all the complaints about them. They don't even know what they're doing. When I called ABC to get the situation handled, they said I should call the gym I placed membership with and get it from them. When I called the gym, my information wasn't there! It was sent to that corrupt law firm in North Carolina where you're treated like a dog because of a measly $500 dollar debt that is going to put Powerhouse gym out of business, right? I have accepted that I owe that debt, but of all the debts I've ever had to pay, I've never experienced anything quite like this. Most companies will say, "Hey, you're actually going to pay your debt, lets make it a little easier on you and knock off a little of that debt!" I moved away for college and couldn't attend that gym anymore. And I only went to the damn gym 5 times and now I'm being charged for the rest of the 2 years that I never attended! I know you still have to pay even if you don't attend, but do they believe in cutting someone a break?

I'm so sorry you lost your job. :-( I'm afraid you don't understand the position of ABC Financial however. We are hired by gyms to handle their billing. We are not able to cancel / change the contracts that were signed by the member and the gym. Signing a gym membership is not much different than buying a car. If you don't use it, you still need to make the monthly payments.

When the gyms get members, that is the income that pays for their facilities, repairs, salaries, etc. If people cancel prior to the end of their agreement, it will hurt the function power of the gym. I understand your situation also. Please remember to read all agreements before signing them and take into consideration that your own personal situations may change.

Do no take out the situation on the reps that take the calls. They have to work so hard and are only enforcing what your signed agreement states. Also, ABC does not turn anyone over for collection. They only handle billing.

I wish you better luck in the coming year.

Here is my story:

I have made 5 phone calls to their customer service since late May concerning my cancelled membership and yet they continue to bill my credit card.

I was a member of Escondido Workout on 409 W. Felicita Ave in Escondido, CA, since January of 2003. I went to the gym one day in late May and it was gone - literally – the building was completely empty and a “for lease” sign on the building. I went to another gym to see if I could find the owner to cancel my membership and the person there told me I could continue going to their gym if I wanted and they would transfer my membership. I told them no thanks; their gym was 10 miles from my house and was not the kind of facility I would ever want to join. They gave me ABC's phone number and said ABC would make sure that the membership was cancelled and not transferred to them. I then called ABC and the person I talked to said they would take care of it.

However, on my next credit card bill, I was billed again by ABC. I called them on 6/15 and the person I spoke with apologized and said it would be taken care of and my June billing would be credited. I asked for a reference or cancellation number to be sure, and she gave me #208358.

Then I received my July billing and I was again billed by ABC. I called ABC on 8/3 and went over the whole situation again with one of their service reps. She said that the only way I could cancel is to go to the club and submit a cancellation directly with them. I tried to explain to her AGAIN that the club doesn’t exist anymore, that is why I cancelled. And the previous two times I talked to ABC they said they had taken care of it. She said she didn’t know what to tell me, so I asked to speak to the manager (Margaret). I explained the situation again to Margaret and she said she would take care of it and be sure I was credited for the last billing. But she said she had to email the club to verify it and then she would call me the next day. I asked her how she could contact the club SINCE IT DOESN’T EXIST ANYMORE and she said she had to do some verification but promised to call me back the next day. She did not call me back. I waited 3 days and then called again on 8/6. I spent considerable time with another representative going over the same old story. She said at one point that my membership agreement stated that if the club transferred my membership to another club within 10 miles, that I had to go to the new club and couldn’t transfer. That is totally bogus; I have the contract in front of me and it says no such thing. In fact, under Membership Cancellation, it says that I “agree to give notice at the club of enrollment” which as I explained several times no longer exists. I asked to speak to Margaret again and the rep said she wasn’t available and put me through to her voicemail. I left a detailed voicemail asking why she didn’t call me back as promised and to please do so as this is now bordering on fraud in my opinion. She has not returned my call.

In addition to my many phone calls, I have now sent an email and a fax demanding that they cancel my membership and refund my prior billings and have received no response from them.

This company has been an arm wrestler when it comes to resolving billing issues. This company auto debits my monthly gym membership fee. Early this month my debit card was compromised, the bank cancelled it and replaced it. There is no easy way to approach, fix and resolve this issue with this company.

The auto debit attempt occurred before I had a new debit card. The company also waited 9 days to tell me that their debit was unsuccessful. Upon receiving an automated call from "ABC Financial", I contacted my local gym to ensure this was a legitimate call, being that ABC, Inc sounded like the most generic name and would be perfect for a scam.

The same day I called ABC to give them the new debit card number. I entered it in the automated billing system, and checked my balance and billing history.

1. The automated computer system told me I had no billing history
2. The balance due was $20 more than I suspected it should be.

Having a perfect credit history and with them, I contacted a person who waived the $20 fee (supposedly), confirmed that my billing information was updated, and said the next bill would auto draft the next day.

The next day I got another day from the automated computers system. It seems that my auto debit didn't happen properly.

I called the company again, spoke with a person, and was told that I would have to pay a $5 fee to make a payment over the phone. Given that I'd had the fee waived and updated the information, this seemed ridiculous. They told me I could pay the balance online at abcfinancial.com with no fees, so I hung up and proceeded to register at the website.

The website would not accept the account number that ABC had given me over the phone just moments earlier. So I called back in.

Upon calling in, I was told that the auto debit was set & ready to go the next day. I still haven't seen an attempt on my card.

The same day, I received a letter from ABC. essentially reiterating the problem they took 9 days to report to me, and as well, adding some very nasty verbiage at the end referring to the "unpaid debt". Certainly not a customer service friendly company who is appreciative and respectful of customers, by any means.

Upon calling in again, the amount I owed went from $34.xx to $74.xx. I was told that they were now billing me for two months, though next month's payment isn't due until April 1st. This makes no sense whatsoever.

I can't believe that debit cards never expire or get compromised and replaced. I can't believe that this is an abnormal occurrence for this company. I can't believe how incompetently their systems have handled trying to update my billing information, have an accurate amount listed as what I owe, and the ability to draft it and correct the issue.

If they'd stop making phone calls and sending letters for a moment and focus on making their systems work better, they could save a lot of money on the phone calls & letters. The people who answer the phone were ok, but the system is incompetent.

ABC Financial = "Predatory Billing" These guys are definitely bad news. You cannot cancel your gym membership via the club or over the phone. To cancel membership requires a written letter and 30 days to "process". I wrote a letter as instructed stating my reason for cancellation. When my local post office saw where my letter was going they recommended sending it return receipt. The fact that the post office is aware of the business practices of this company should be a clue. I did eventually get the receipt but the membership was not cancelled. I finally changed my credit card account number to stop the automated payments. Of course I had to change the number with all the other accounts that bill against my card. Now the ABC billing machine is sending the bills to my home. This week I will be filing a formal complaint with Consumer Affairs and with the Better Business Bereau. I am also considering legal action and potentially a class action suit.

After finding Alex Mena's responses show up on multiple complaint sites, I called him about the problem we were having canceling 3 accounts. This was after I had a very hard time with ABC's customer service. I must say, Alex was very helpful and got things resolved to our satisfaction right away. In fact, he got us a month's charges refunded.

Mr. Mena is an asset to ABC Financial, and they need to hire more people like him. The funny thing is, I don't think that's his primary job, but he does customer service better than the folks in customer service.

We regret to hear that your experience with ABC Financial Services was anything BUT Fast and Friendly. We are aware that each individual situation differs from the next, however, all consumer concerns are taken very seriously and we would like the opportunity to review your situation and thoroughly satisfy your needs. We pride ourselves in providing excellent customer service and would be happy to rectify any inconvenience this may have caused you.

Should you have additional comments you would care to discuss, please email memberservices@abcfinancial.com.

Alex Mena
Consumer Relations
ABC Financial Services, Inc.

A day later, ABC did finally debit my account, but for $9.50 more than they agreed to the day previously. It seems after waiving a $20 fee because I had perfect payment history with them, they tagged on another fee of $9.50 before they charged me.

Shady practices, indeed.

Another phone call in, and allegedly this amount will be credited to my next month's bill. We'll see...

Come on here people! ... get real!... If I am having my car payment automatically taken out of my checking or savings account at Bank-A Inc... and latter I decide to move my checking and savings accounts down the road to Bank-B Inc. and I don't let the Finance Company that gave me my car loan know anything about this.. Come on!
You folks just want to have a face or place to blame, other than yourselves, for your lack of responsibilty and accountability. We all make mistakes and forget things that have adverse affects, but the wise person realizes this, and by doing so lessens the chances of it happening to THEMSELVES again..

Blaming the Club or ABC (billing Co.) for what you state is "Credit Card Fraud" on behalf of some crook somewhere out there, is completely rediculious. I am surprised you don't try blaming the Owners of the club you joined for taking part in the credit card fraud as well.. You are rediculious. Place blame where it is due... and that is with the actual crook(s) that performed fraud on your credit card, along with YOURSELF. You yourself hold the FULL responsiblity of notifying any automatic withdrawal's or EFT agreement companies (ABC) that your credit card was cancelled or compromised... News flash!: That is YOUR RESPONSIBILTY... or do you expect your banks, mortgage Co.'s, finance Co's. or ABC or the club to have psychic people on staff constantly plugged into your world!... Your complaint is unjustified and merely a frustrated rant with your attempt to blame someone other than yourself, or an unidentifiable crook that compromised your credit card.. I agree with the above "Pay as cheduled and on time and all is good." and if you know your credit card or checking account has changed in ANY WAY, take some accountability and notify the seperate billing CO (ABC)... of this ... That is unless you are just trying to get out of your contract/membership or a last payment, I suspect the case is here.. Kudo's to the club or the finance Co. for crediting back half of the late/insufficient funds fee to this person when you didn't really have to.. Sounds to me like you are a "Stand-up" Company... I don't know of any other finance companies or banks that would do that.. As far as the person above that "Renewed their Bank Card"...You did more than just "Renew your Bank card", that you are not letting us know about here... You had to change your account number and/or routing number as well for it to possibly bounce back from the billing company... and you obviously failed to share that info with your billing company (and us in this forum)...Nice try but you are being rediculious as well.

I agree... I hate the high charges for late fees.

If you are late making a mortgage payment, car payment and/or call to make your utilities payments over the phone by credit card = they will charge phone convenience charges and/or late fee... But thats 'ok'?

C'mon... EVERYONE has the fees you speak of :)

GOOD NEWS... Pay as cheduled and on time and all is good.

I recently renewed my bank card, which disable anytime fitness' ability to collect their monthly fees. I figured this out after only being 2 days late. WHen I called to clear up the matter, they tried to charge me a $20 late fee and a $5 "convenience fee. I argued my point and had a heated discussion with their collection department, after which all fees were waived. I think these types of business practices should be made illegal. There needs to be better protection for consumers and common sense installed into our financial systems.

I'm with you partner. The same thing happened to me. It's unbelievable.

i don't think it would be ABC that put the block on your CCD. I would think your bank put that on your CCD. ABC collects my monies for my gym membership and I have never had an issue with them. True enough the hold time is crazy but when your on hold and you hang up and call right back then your pushed further down the line. I think ABC is an AWESOME company compared to previous billing experiences.

ABC Financial Services regrets to hear that your experience with our organization has been anything other than satisfactory.

As a consumer myself, I understand the frustration in having to do additional work to demonstrate you have made a payment to your account, when everything has already been done correctly on your end. Each situation differs from the next, however, all consumer concerns are taken very seriously and we would like the opportunity to review your situation and satisfy your needs.

Please be assured our company will take the necessary steps to rectify your situation and aide in growing your relationship with KnuckleUp Fitness.
Should you have any additional comments you would like to discuss, please email memberservices@abcfinancial.com.

Alex Mena
Consumer Relations
ABC Financial Services, Inc.

You have a responsibility to read before you sign on the dotted line. Yes it is frustrating that you cannot cancel for the reasons you thought, but don't just take the word of the club, read the print. Did you read your mortgage paperwork or your car note, there are stipulations in all contracts. ABC Financial is handling the billing for many clubs, they only enforce what you agreed to when you signed your gym contract.
It is always easy to state you could not get thru but companies like this have new integrated phone systems, not like years ago. You can leave a message if you don't have time to hold.

Read your contract to see if you fit within the acceptable cancellation policies (disability, relocation, etc...) Cancelling a contract just because you don't want to go/pay anymore is not a valid reason. I know for a fact that if the hold times are over five minutes when calling that company, it gives you the option to enter a callback number and hang up. The queue holds original place in line, and when your call would have been answered, the phone system will automatically call the callback number you entered. Easy peasy, no more waiting on hold.

I have the same experience as you have. I tried to get hold of ABC Financial to cancel my membership of Anytime Fitness so many times, but I could not. Then I sent an email few times. Six days after, I got an email that I could not cancel no matter what reasons except "relocation" and "doctor's documentation", which is not acceptable and fair. I just want to CANCEL. The officer of the fitness center did not mention anything about the cancellation.

Everyone file complaints with the BBB!

I totally agree with you and I'm middle of the same process will update you within a week as how it goes.

I've a probelm with ABC Financial. I moved to Philadelphia from Chiacago and called ABC to cancel my membership in October. They asked me to send a postal mail along with a proof that I moved and that too they need a notice of 60 days. I sent a postal mail requesting them to cancel the membership along with a utility bill. But in January I saw ABC still charging my bank account. I called them up again to find out that they haven't received the postal mail. I was shocked and this was a clear sign of Rip off. Al the major banks, credit card companies work through phone either to cancel the account or to open an account. ABC has a clear strategy to exploit as much money as you can from a customer. If anyone is up to sue this company then I'm in.

kumarforyou@gmail.com

ABC Financial is a total scam, their mission statement is to get as much money out of clients as possible daily, their fees are ridiculous, worse than loan sharks! The manager at Golds gym says there is no problem with my membership and I am up to date, and she has had similar problems with other members, but I have been harrased and hassled by numerous letters threatening collection and recorded phone calls as they try to collect from my membership that is current but I am trying to cancel and not even listening to manager who is involved. I am ready to take to news, report this scam and sue this company, please contact me if you also wish to sue, at lifestylist@live.com

im going thru the same problem... i moved 23.5 miles away from the gym and i ve tryed to cancel my contract! i ve called abc financial, and they toldme that i can not! that i have to be 25 plus miles away to cancel! so, i asked, if i could pay a termination fee or something because i am not going to drive 23/5 miles to go to excersice! and the answer was NO. I have to pay 32 dlls for 1 whole year and 6 months without using the gym. I am currently attending 24 hrs fittness with a month to month membership. I have the same benefits that i had at golds! GOLDS GYM SUCKS! I am telling all the people i know NOT TO SIGN ANY CONTRACTS WITH GOLDS GYM!

Screw Gold's Gym! Since when is a "one-year" contract actually 36 months, and renewed automatically? And why do they require 60 days notice via certified mail to cancel? There's more than one way to skin a cat though; at the end of my "one-year" contract, I sent them a certified letter of cancellation, but also went to my bank and, for a one-time fee, had them put a permanent stop payment on the automatic withdrawal. Gold's got all 11 payments as required by the contract, but can't draw a penny more out of my account. And there's nothing they can do about it. Screw 'em!

yeah...hell yeah to all of you. I'm going through a hell of a process with cancellation with GOlds Gym. I canceled with 24 hour fitness, and it was a bliss. I was very satisfy with 24 hour fitness. Golds Gym is some gold diggers. I turned in my cancellation letter and the director decided to hide what is required, so I get to pay another month for cancellation. I'm so PISSED OFF...she then said, "well we need this docs and this docs...for cancellation to take place." Take place my [censor]...why didn't she told me then!?! Anyone in GOLD's Gym, good luck to you...ADVICE TO OTHERS: STAY AWAY!

I moved to a state without a Gold's Gym and have had to work for two months to cancel my membership. Before I even moved, I notified my local Gold's who asked me to contact ABC Financial. I did, and I learned that I'd need proof that my address had changed. So, I moved and I waited out the month or so before my bills came in. Finally, proof arrived and was faxed to ABC who says that I need to pay for yet another month because it takes 30 days to cancel. This is a surprise to me because every other service (Netflix, Comcast, etc) can be canceled immediately. By the way, I am already paying $50 to cancel because I moved and could not physically get to a Gold's in less than five hours driving time. I said I would either pay the $50 fee or the $30 additional billing charge but not both. When I asked to speak with a manager about this matter, no one was available. In fact the original woman I spoke to (Susan) did not identify herself when she returned to the phone after she said she would get a manager. I had to ask, are you a manager or is this the same person I was talking to earlier. I left my number and we'll see if any sort of manager calls me back. I would certainly think twice about ever joining Gold's again if I should move somewhere with one. Gold's should strongly consider their ties with ABC Financial as they lack basic customer service skills and protocal.

Welcome to the dog eat dog world of Worlds Gym. I just quit and will consider my own equipment or a competitor of their's. Fuse is one I may try next.

World Gym has crawled in bed with the unscrupulous business men. Good luck to them...Word is getting out.

Go to the websites and post comments on their sites. I just did. Remember keep it clean and it will not be removed. Just state the facts and rate them low.

wtf! Golds gym really sucks i wish i could go back on time and never enroll in this crap!
now i want to cancell my membership and i have to send letters to abc proven my new adress im so pissed!

I'm in the same situation. My contract with Gold's Gym ran out several months ago, and I'm still getting charged. I called the gym to make sure I was canceled. They told me I was. Apparently, their word isn't good for anything. When I saw that I was still being charged, I was furious. It took me several weeks just to get an ABC financial rep on the phone. I don't even want to know what being on hold for over an hour a day did to my cell phone bill. I signed an agreement for 1 year w/ Gold's. It stated very clearly that in the contract that the agreement was for 1 year, and if I canceled earlier than that, I would still have to pay for the year. No problem. Apparently there was an additional part of the contract detailing that I would keep being charged even after the contract expired unless I gave them something authorized in writing. I think that must have been in small print or a different section.
It's companies like this that give the private sector a bad name. I think it says something profound about Gold's Gym that they're affiliated with rip-off artists like these. It says even more about Gold's that they make considerably more money off memberships than a place like Planet Fitness, yet their facilities seem more run down and dirtier. If anyone knows of a petition I can sign or some way to get justice from this company, I'd love to hear it. I'm tired of getting screwed by people who are in the business of making money without offering a decent service in exchange.

I have just done the same thing here in Edgewater, MD. I signed (according to them) a 36 month contract (which I need to look at) and wanted to cancel because they have not built the facility they painted a picture of when I signed up. The pool was suppose to be finished a year ago and is just sitting unfinished. The ladies room has only one light on in the shower room and is very dark and the whole facility is cold and nasty with very little warmth to it. I have one year left on my contract (according to them) and informed them that I have cancelled by automatic payments. I am going to send them a certified letter requesting immediate cancellation with these reasons stated clearly in it.
I have been going to gyms for over 20 years and Golds is the worse. I would not recommend them to anyone.

I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who feels screwed by GOLDS GYM,
I knew they were not going to build a new facility soon after I rejoined
based on the news that they were building a new club. This organization is a
bunch of crooks!, dishonest, scam artists. Bottom line... I'm canceling my auto
payment, and prepared to take them to court, in this economy and people losing jobs, we as citizens can not let crooks like these guys exist and
continue screwing and misleading people, and if anyone want's to call me a loser, you are no better than these a-------!

I have to agree with all of the comments. I spent over 10 minutes on hold with the corp office to cancel my account. They won't let me cancel anything. I had a paid in full membership, which, if I cancel I still apparently have to pay for the personal trainer until May 2010 because I'm locked in a contract. Now, personally I don't think that makes any sense whatsoever.
After reading all the comments online, I probably should have done a little bit more research first. All I wanted was to get in shape so that I can live a longer life and spend quality time with my kids without being out of breath all the time. Now, it goes to show I should have just bought a bowflex or something. This is without a doubt the worst decision ever made.

I totally agree. The BBB they do not care about! It is most important to contact the state attorney general, it is easy to do just go to their web site and fill out a form. They say that gym memberships are their biggest complaint.

I advise you to get everything in writing, send certifed letters, and don't trust a word they tell you on the phone. They will lie about not receiving cancellation notice, and continue to charge you month after month. File complaints with the BBB, state attorney general's consumer affairs division, or contact an attorney. This company has very deceptive business practices.

I am experiencing the very same problem! I cancelled in November and I am currently still being billed! Worst Gym in the world!

GOLD'S GYM WARNING! THINK TWICE BEFORE SIGNING UP
I am currently going through the same thing. I have been unable to cancel my membership with Gold's. WARNING: READ THE FINE PRINT ABOUT AUTO RENEWAL! I fulfilled my 12 month obligation in June of '08 and I am still getting billed, even though I have sent them a cancellation letter months ago.

I have tried for 4 months to cancell a gym membership and each time I am told I must complete yet another step. First I went directly into the gym and explained to them why I would be leaving they were very understanding and told me to contact abc directly. I did I called them and spoke to a rude tech who said there was nothing she could do I must send a letter in writting to close the membership. This is just what I did sent a letter. Only on my next months statement there was yet another withdrawl on the account. So I called again and to my surprise I spoke to yet another rude tech who said oh well we did not recieve your letter so if you want to cancel you should e-mail us. IF I WANT TO CANCEL I HAVE BEEN TRYING TO NOW FOR 2 MONTH! So I sent the e-mail and to my surprise yet again I recieve in the mail a letter saying I still owe another month and my account is still active and will continue to be billed every month until this payment is made. WHAT PAYMENT 2 LETTERS 2CALLS AND I STILL CANNOT CLOSE THIS ACCOUNT. On top of thius my debit card which was originally used for this account expired I did not give the company the new card info due to this account should have been already closed but they somehow got the info and are still withdrawing from my account. This has left me with overdraft fees and other issues. I intend to see the bank as my next move to shut down my account completely so these people can not continue to take advantage of individuals who did the right thing over and over again but still am being taken for a ride. I would not trust this company and I am telling everyone that I know NOT TO ASSOCIATE WITH THEM! Also I will be turning info over to a lawyer maybe then they will get the message that I DONT WANT THE CONTRACT AND FEEL THAT AT LEAST $130.00 SHOULD BE RETURNED TO ME!

Paul Slottke

#[protected]

Reason Leaving Schedule change at work.

Please discontinue my membership at Blast/ Ballys efective imediately

My name is Sandra Melendez i would like to cancel my member ship at wow gym my email is sandramelendez28@gmail.com my account number is 8522, 20930 pkease cancel my membership as soon as pissible.

It's shady club owners that give this business industry a bad name! Sorry to those who have had issues!
If you sign a contract stating you will pay 12 months, then that is what you will be responsible to pay. To get out early you sometimes have to pay a fee like with any other contract.
If you freeze your membership, then the time and payments are added to the end of the agreement. THIS IS A COURTESY! You don't have to pay for months you don't get to use the gym. You still agreed to pay for 12 months, or whatever your term was.
AUTO-RENEWAL program is in ALL CAPS bold font size 18. It is on the first page. Most gyms have you initial next to it.
The late fees and service charges are printed on the first page of all of the hundreds of agreements I have seen.
Cancellation and freeze procedures are located on the second page. Is a 30-60 day notice really such a bad thing? You signed it.
BEFORE YOU PUT YOUR SIGNATURE ON SOMETHING... READ IT!

It is clear from these comments/complaints that ABC is a morally and ethically challenged company. Yes, contracts need to be honored. But, so does honesty.

To all the "Data Research Analysts" (what a bs title, BTW) representing ABC, a few questions:

-Is there any functional or rational purpose to the requirement that members must send hard copies of their request to cancel to ABC? In this day and age, there are no services or utilities I can think of that have such an archaic requirement. I can cancel a credit card, my cable service, electric service, country club membership, yacht club membership, (reputable) gym membership, etc. all with either phone call or through their web-site.

-Do you expect people to believe that you fail to receive as many hard-copies of cancellation requests as you claim? By the time a member realizes that you (conveniently) haven't received their request (when they inevitably discover another month charged to their account on their banking statement), you've got them on the hook for another month's fee - and by that point, they have no recourse to dispute, except to re-submit, and put their faith that the request finds its way to you. You cannot deny that any reasonable person would conclude that this is by design - and is an essential part of your sh**ty business model. My only hope is that enough people eventually raise their voices and your fraud is exposed - and you are forced to experience the misery you cause to your members.

-Are you honestly proud of where you work, and what you do? Companies find success when they offer something that people WANT to pay for. You, on the other hand, make money by taking it from people who have few options of preventing you from doing so.

I have now spent 2 hours on the phone with "Cherish" very rude and should not be talking with consumers who pay good money for services expected. I CAN AND WILL GO TO ANOTHER GYM. My medical insurance provider has yet to recieve any information that I have a membership here. Thus they can not give me my discount. I talked with Cherish a supervisor by the way and no knowledge of how customer service works. I was informed, at firtst thay ABC has nothing to do with this, then I pointed out the fact that ABC bills me and when my medical provider reimbuses me ABC get the money and deposits it back into my account. She seemed flabergasted that I had done enough reseach to knoew I knew more than she did. She then informed me that I must talk to the manager of the gym, I said " No that would be your responsability I don't haqve the time due to the managers limited hours and I have a job". I was then informend that ABC was not responsible for the billing from the club, I informend her that the club uses ABC software and is ABC trained and that they are directly responsible. Anyway, has been the worst company I have ever dealt with with no customer servec training and ignorant about how their system works. Would not recommend to my enimies.

I moved to another state and was aware of the cancellation fees, which were $50 + 10% of unused services. I only had 2 months left, so calculating 10% of those fees was not too difficult, but when I called to check on my last charge, it took a long time to settle on the correct price. They originally tried to overcharge me by $40, and after waiting for about 10 minutes, they acknowledged that they were incorrect and gave me a new price, which was still $12 over. When I asked them to explain the charge, they would only say that that was the price that their supervisor came up with. I explained to them the math ($50 + 10% of $70 = $57), and had to be put on hold for another 10 minutes so that this could be discussed with the supervisor. They finally came down to my price.

Why should I have to call and not only do the math for them, but argue with them about why their arbitrary number is not correct? If I had not been so on top of things, I would have seen a $100 charge a couple days later with no explanation. I'm not sure if they are just really bad at math, or are trying to pull some sort of a scam, but either way, this should not happen with a company like this.

I sat in Anytime fitness with the Owner, the week of Thanksgiving, and said "im moving in two days, we don't know where, just the area and I must cancel my membership because I do not know where I am moving to and if there is an Anytime fitness where we are moving to" I handed in my key card to get into the gym to the Owner and said i would pay the last month or whatever crazy thing they ask for when you cancel. and I was told that because I did not know my future residence that my account was cancelled and that if he needed any other information from me he would contact me. ok, well now it's 6 months later and luckily someone stole my credit card last month. Because someone stole my credit card last month, this past week ABC finical called me to say "oh we can't take money out of your account for your gym membership" and I said "I canceled my membership in November" and they said, "oh no you didn't and you owe us 68 dollars." So after I spoke to 4 different people including a manager I've been told I won't be charged anything else as long as the Owner who told me in November that my membership was cancelled faxes them some kind of letter saying that my membership is cancelled. My problem, with aaaaaaaaaallll of this is that this should have been done in November when i sat in the office with the Owner and handed him my keys and he told me that my member ship was in fact cancelled. so this is some fun stuff. Right now I'm trying to contact the owner and have him email me the fax he is sending to ABC finical to tell them i have cancelled my membership. Now I've lost at least 160 dollars not to mention my overdraft fees i didn't know why i was going into because I didn't know ABC was taking money out of my account every month. So be weary of this SCAM, because this is what it is, it's all a he said she said stupid thing that is beyond ridiculous. Yes, i should have checked my drafts every month and thought "what the hay is ABC and why are they taking 40 dollars every month" but In moving and starting a new job and trying to live life i didn't think that I would be scammed out of so much money by a fitness place, somewhere that is suppose to help people live healthy lives. Be weary.

I finally canceled my bank account because of ABC Financial and Idaho Athletic Club for similar unethical conduct.

Some idiot stated above they keep charging you even after canceled. Well duh, you most not have canceled properly or you still have a payment due in order to cancel. Sure you absolutely have the right to block payments from your bank, after so long if your payment is past due with ABC Financial we ARE going to refer you for collections. Have fun getting an even bigger mess straightened out then. You people need to stop complaining to us about things YOU signed! The people who signed you up aren't there to hold your hand and walk you through reading the agreement and making sure they told you everything, put your big boy adult pants on now and read what you sign, idiots. People like that give consumers a bad name. And NO, the customer is not always right :)