Synergy Fitness

Review: I called Synergy fitness on [redacted] Manhattan between 10am and 11am on Thursday, Feb * 2014, to gather information on personal training and gym membership. During the phone call, I encountered aggressive sales tactics, and after agreeing on the price per session but before agreeing on the number of personal training sessions, I was charged $3000 after giving my card number, expecting to be setting up a consultation and membership, and based on my goals, establishing a number of sessions to achieve my goals. Disgusted with the experience and after reading on [redacted] that this behavior is commonplace for them, I called back within 3 hours to cancel my membership and the personal training. I had not signed any authorization forms, did not sign a membership agreement and did not sign a personal training agreement, nor did I receive any services (or even step into the gym for that matter). They told me the cancellation would need to go through accounting which had left for the day at 2:30 PM and would not be coming in Friday. For the rest of the day I received multiple calls from Synergy trying to convince me not to cancel. Finally I spoke with someone who said they would take care of if for me.

Friday through Monday, I hear nothing and the charge posts to my card. I call on the phone, and as soon as I mention my name I'm put on hold for 10 minutes. Then I am told the computer system is down, that they'd take my information and call me back. Seven hours later, I do not receive a call, so I call back. Their systems are fine, and the person I speak to on the phone tells me there is no record of my request to cancel on my account. Wednesday, I go into the gym, tell them the situation, and there is STILL no note on my account and then they try to tell me that personal training is non refundable. This does not apply to me. I did not sign an agreement and was not told this before purchasing and requested to cancel within hours of the order. I set up a meeting with a [redacted] that evening, and they tell me that they are pretty sure they can take care of this (I find out later that this [redacted] is the employee who personally takes care of cancellations). He tells me that I should get a call Thursday Feb ** by 5PM. Consistent with the other times they said they'd give me a call, Thursday I don't receive a call and decide to call them. They tell me the [redacted] did not come in (due to snow), and I did not receive as much as a courtesy call. Friday rolls around and I look at my card statement and I get charged for another month's membership from Synergy because they haven't cancelled my account.

They said the [redacted] would be in today, Sunday Feb **, so I call. The [redacted] is busy and the person on the phone said they would call me back in 10 minutes. I did not receive the call for a half hour, so I called back and was told that I would be getting a call in 5 minutes. It's now been an hour.

They can charge me instantly over the phone for a package I didn't want, but are now working into the second week after this cancellation request without them as much as saying they will do it. I now have $3060 sitting on my credit card that should have been taken off two Thursdays ago, and I fear they will continue to charge me because of their complete disregard for customers. They have been causing me an enormous amount of grief over the past week and a half for what should have been an open and shut case. Just simply refund my money.Desired Settlement: I currently have 3 charges to my credit card that should not be there. One charge for $3000 for the personal training, one charge for $14.83 for a prorated month's membership and one charge for $43.89 for the full month's membership that was charged to me more than a week after I cancelled. These are to be fully refunded to my account in a timely fashion.

Consumer

Response:

At this time, I have not been contacted by Synergy Fitness regarding complaint ID [redacted].

Sincerely,

Review: From September 2012 to now, Synergy Fitness has fraudulently retained my membership and continued to charge me dues beyond my initial one year commitment. This is all despite my three separate attempts to cancel my membership over the phone.

I was never told over the phone, nor in person that I needed a certified letter to formally cancel my membership.

I originally canceled my membership over the phone in mid September, 2012. I have never stepped foot into the gym since the day I signed up.

I called Synergy Fitness in July of 2013 after seeing statements of their charges on my mother's credit card. I sought clarity regarding the charges and reminded them I canceled my membership in September 2012. The employee I spoke to over the phone confirmed my membership was canceled and the extra charges would be removed.

The same call took place again in July 2014, once my mother canceled that credit card.

Now three years later, they have sought the assistance of a third-party debt collection agency in order to continue to pursue money I do not owe them.

My situation is not unique, this is a habitual practice for Synergy Fitness. The negative reviews on their [redacted] page speak for themselves:

[redacted]Desired Settlement: In addition to a end to the fraudulent billing, I want to make sure the debt is removed, my membership is officially canceled, and any negative impact on my credit is resolved.