Timothy Ranow
August 20, 2018 22:18
I signed up for a membership here after my previous gym shut down unexpectedly. I was sent here by recommendation of my personal trainer. One month later I lost my car, my house, and my job shortly after. This all took place five months after I separated with my wife and became a single father.
I had to cancel my subscription with my personal trainer and moved away. I had at one point intended to send in proof of my change of address so I could get out of my membership, but I forgot. I was going through a lot at this time, but that's still my mistake - and I owned it.
For whatever reason, every piece of correspondence that Ignite Fitnez sent me VIA email went straight to my spam folder. So I wasn't reminded of my membership or my debt to the gym until late April of this year, 9 full months after I stopped going, when I received a call from the manager. I told him that while I did not have $400 on hand, I'd be happy to pay them in 2 payments with my next 2 paychecks.
All I asked for was an itemized invoice VIA email. Something that broke down monthly membership fees, late fees, and any other fees to validate the debt. The manager had asked if he could give me a follow-up call a week later so I could make the first payment over the phone, which I obliged.
* Note that he refused to accept my change of address because I had an outstanding balance, and told me that I would be stuck in my contract and would continue to incur fees until I paid said balance.
In anticipation of the invoice, and now knowing that they had sent emails to me this whole time, I went to my inbox and added Ignite Fitnez to my approved list of senders.
A full week went by. No invoice, no follow-up call, pure silence from Ignite Fitnez.
Until May 15th, when I received a bill alert notifying me that my bill was late. I ignored them and continued to ignore them because they neglected to provide me what I was asking for - which is a validation of debt and an opportunity to resolve that debt.
Then I received this email from the GM, at 11pm on Tuesday, June 19th. I didn't alter this grammar nightmare to discredit the sender, this is exactly what I received.
"It appears that teh payment information we had on file has changed. Can you please contact Ignite Fitnez to update your card and pay your past due balance. Please contact us as quickly as possible in order to avoid any additional collection fee's.
Than you,
Machelle
GM"
I later reminded them that I had requested an invoice as a condition of paying my debt. It's not too much to ask. They didn't allow me to exit my contract until I paid my balance, and they continued to add to my balance knowing that I wouldn't pay them without an invoice.
I was apologetic and ready to resolve this issue with Ignite Fitnez when they called me. However, they seem to have ceased this opportunity to take advantage of a single parent.
If the team at Ignite Fitnez really cared about settling this debt they would have called me sooner than April. My number has always been the same. They have always been able to reach me by phone. But this gym didn't have many members when I was there, which is probably why they charge so much for membership and explains why they're behaving this way.
Two days ago I received a call from a debt "collection" agency that caters to the health and fitness industry. They wouldn't tell me who had hired them to collect this balance (which is always a bad sign) but I don't have any other outstanding balances. The irony here is that they're not real creditors and can't post to my credit report, so it's hot air. This company is, however, known for selling people's information to other companies and is a lead-gen firm for credit scams.
The team here is absolutely despicable judging by my interactions with them, and I won't be paying them a dime until we can negotiate like adults.
One last note - members are encouraged to leave positive reviews when signing up for a membership. Most of these reviews are likely from people who had only been members for a few days.