Fitness 19
Reviews and Complaints

To: appropriate department (Board of directors, ceo, senior management)

I was recently informed by mail that my minor dependent (Which i'm her legal guardian) was being billed and possibly sent to collections for an unpaid membership fee with "fitness 19 natomas". I called your facility and a male manager on duty at 4:00pm stated that there was no form of documents he could provide me of who signed the parental/guardian agreement to

1. Have a minor enroll for a membership
2. Bill a minor
3. Send minor to a collection agency

This is very unacceptable that I was given unexceptional service and having no knowledge that a minor (My dependent) was given a membership. This scares me under "liability" and your facility/company would enroll minors to a membership plan to meet sales quotas etc. I would expect a phone call back and would want to be compensated for liability purposes or legal action would be taken.

Best,

Kyle atalig
[protected]
[protected]@gmail.com

I'm trying to contact the corporate office I Google search the corporate office number for Fitness 19 customer service number when I called the number no one is there to answer. I want to lower my monthly plan and also when I asked for copies of my documents they always telling me that the copy machine is not available. This company is very unprofessional and rude. They are like the invisible company there's no one to talk to

Tried to cancel my families membership and I did everything they told me to do. I even had the manager look over my cancelation paper to make sure I did not miss anything. They continued charging my account and charged the yearly fee even though I had canceled it 2 months prior. When I tried talking to the manger brandon he was extremely rude and was firm that he was correct, even though he clearly was not! They do not return calls and have horrible costumer service etiquette. I recommend you do not use this gym and find somewhere else that appreciates your service

When initially signing up for fitness 19 me and my daughter were under the impression that we were just going to do a 6 week personal trainer session now the owner Matt said he would give me a good deal in which i went ahead and signed up. 2 weeks into our training i can no longer get ahold of my trainer i paid my session in full and even tried to contact her cell in which was no longer available. I contacted the office numerous times and matt the owner is never available then i finally go in and talk to matt and he says i have another 100 dollars or more to pay before he cancels. So i pay it off in full and then he hits me with more charges saying i owe dues. Now mind u my car is broke down and im unable to get up there and sign another agreement in which he will probably say i owe because they wont just cancel my membership that i never really used. I have been trying to reach him and everytime i call he is not there i just want to end my membership and be done.
please help!

Brittney Rivera

We signed up for membership over 2 years ago in 2014. Then I became employed part-time. Then I obtained full time employment elsewhere and informed manager Brian Martin of my schedule and he said "no problem we can work with that." Gym Manager, Brian Martin is a bully to employees. After forcing me out of employment, he said that I could maintain membership. I signed up for a 3 year plan and was told that I could make payments toward the $350. I have been making payment, $150 so far. I go to this gym every single day. Lately he has become increasing hostile to me as a patron of the gym, and harassing me in front of other patrons to pay up or leave. Whenever I remind him of the arrangement that had been made he becomes angry and condescending to me in front of other patrons and employees of the gym. Then he said he would charge my mother's card for the balance, even though he does not have the authorization to do so. I feel that this manager, Brian Martin, is a liability to this location and I'm concerned that he has access to people's personal information that he would use it and abuse it. At this time I want to request that this manager, Brian Martin be investigated for bullying and harassment, and credit card fraud as well and let go from his position of manager. I have witnesses to the the fact.

This is a copy of my Yelp review posted for the San Antonio, TX location off of 1604 and Braun Rd.

"6/30/2016
I'm all about customer service and my husband saved me the time of going in there and checking the place out. He had considered joining there before and received so many sales calls after he gave them his information that this time he declined when he was asked for it by a young salesman. He told him he had been there before, he was on the clock and just wanted to get a feel for the place. So then the manager CONFRONTS him and reprimands him saying that as a Salesman (my husband was wearing his uniform) he should know that they have to make their presentation and he should give his salesman some time. My husband again said he has been through the presentations already, he is on the clock and in a hurry. The manager made another condescending remark so my husband finally said, "forget it! you just answered my question ... I will NEVER set foot in here again." So I guess we will try another gym."

On December I went to the club in Folsom, CA and found that it was closed for renovations. While I was upset we didn't get any type of advance notice I was somewhat excited about seeing new and improved equipment with the renovations. I found out that it had re-opened in January (again without any type of notice) and when I went back, to my dismay all the same equipment was back. The bikes were cracked and had duct tape holding some of them together. Also the bike I was on didn't work at all as it didn't matter what level you put it on, the resistance was the same. If the club wasn't a mile from my house, I would have cancelled my membership a long time ago. I may not have a choice now.

I went to Fitness 19 Gyms, because it was near my house and the prices for the memberships were low. After two visits, I understood that the gym was dirty and the staff was completely unprofessional and too rude with all the visitors. The floor in bathroom was always wet and the staff didn’t throw the garbage out. It was collected in the dustbin and the smell was awful. I highly advise other people not to waste your time there.

My membership started in the Chicago/Lakeview facility when I was going to school in Chicago. I trained there for almost 2 years and completed my first figure prep there. I really loved the monthly rate and the employees at that location so when I moved back to the suburbs I was happy to learn there was a Fitness 19 in my area so I continued my membership there.
Unfortunately, this facility was not as inviting.
I referred this facility to my father’s girlfriend with the hopes that we could workout together since she needed some help getting started. Almost immediately I was approached by the owner when the male Personal Trainer saw me, being a pretty fit individual, working out with my father’s girlfriend, who is just starting her fitness journey, and told me that personal training is not aloud between members. I assured him there is no personal training going on, no compensation whatsoever, just me helping my friend so that she could get some fundamentals of lifting under her belt. Ever since then, I was watched like a hawk by the said “Personal Trainer”. When I talked to anyone or worked out with anyone he made my workout partners and me extremely uncomfortable. After discussing this with other members I found I was not alone and numerous people have been told that, “correcting form is not allowed”.
After a couple months of not going because of the concern of being uncomfortable and being falsely accused, I finally convinced my friend to come back. The first day back I was showing her some stabilization moves to get her back into the swing of things while I did my leg day with another member. As we were walking out, I was asked into the office where the manager regretfully told me I was BANNED from the facility. In complete shock (and being 8 weeks out from my second show), I fought to keep my membership with no luck. I left the gym quietly but crushed that it came down to this.
As a person who believes spreading the passion of health and fitness, I am utterly appalled that Fitness 19 would ban someone who is trying to motivate a person to change her lifestyle. No one should feel helpless and uncomfortable about going to the gym and if that is the way Fitness 19 Grayslake wants to be portrayed than I do not want to associate myself with them. They have now lost 6 memberships (me and the people I brought there) because of an awful personal trainer whom no one wants to work with and an owner who clearly does not care about the needs and well being of his members.

I have also checked the credentials of the personal trainer of this gym and his ISSA credentials did not check out. He is training people under the assumption that he is a CERTIFIED personal trainer.

I have been a member of this gym since it opens I have seen it have its highs and its lows, numerous managers, young immature workers, cleaning issues, opening issues etc. We are at a new low...no toilet paper for 3 days no paper products for hand drying. When asking the young lady who does the accounting she said someone has gone after it.
Now a sign is on the management door saying dont ask about toilet paper anymore! this girl is rude and a schnit always has been.

Really?

I'm upset that there is a sign on the kids' playroom door that says working out in the playroom is prohibited. Yet, every morning at 5:45, there are 4-5 ladies that workout in there. I have called to express my concern about the room being unsanitary for the kids. I have also spoken in person to a manager. His response was that these ladies made an agreement with the owner when they first signed up. This was a year ago, and nothing has changed. The women still work out til this day, in the playroom. It bothers me because little babies are crawling on the floor. I had to cancel my children's membership because they were allowing this. The sign is very hypocritical. So no one is allowed to workout in the room, except these ladies? Not right at all.

I wanted to cancel my membership after I had paid two months ahead of time with promise they'd be open by the end of the month and they had even taking money out when their gym wasn't even open. When they did open no notice or anything was sent out notifying me either. It has now been over a year of them refusing to cancel me out unless I take time off of work to go in during the time their manager that does cancels is there. Which is about a four hour time period. In January of 2014 I enough was enough. They had triple charged quite a few customers accounts that month, they also refused to compensate me for the insufficient funds fee for each charge they had taken out. I took of work and went in and the desk boy asked how I was doing and I explained the situation. He then rudely picked up his work phone and began talking to a friend he was signing up for about thirty minutes. He got off the phone, ask what I needed again I told him and he said "Sorry the manager that can cancel you out just left".

It's now been over a year and I am closing out my bank account because they keep messing my billing account and everything up. Horrible rip off of a gym. Poor customer service. With all the money I have lost I am considering filing in small claims court. I have documentation of all the times they took charges out after I went in to cancel and after all my phone calls, as well the insufficient fees which then caused other bills to be late etc. I have a billing account for bills only, it doesn't allow room for other funds to be taken out because it's not my primary account.

It's not the 20$ a month is a lot. I do phone sales for a living and make more than that in one phone call. It's the printable and poor customer service that they have provided. They have lost me quite a bit of money, and to think.. I never even received a membership card yet!

I wish I would have done some consumer research on Fitness 19 prior to joining the new location in Chino Ca in 2014 because apparently Al Garcia has been ripping customers off for years. This so called manager "Al Garcia" is just horrible. I wonder what his motivation is? Just to make people’s lives miserable because he's miserable? I added my husband on to my membership. He paid the sign up fees from his own debit card, then we agreed that the billing would come from my account combined monthly. They charged my husband twice for the sign up fees and gave my husband the run around for 2 weeks to get the money back. A month later we discovered that they were charging my debit card and his debit card for the monthly fee. When I called to take care of it, again I was given the run around. I think the manager trains his staff to play dumb and give customers the run around, either that or he really is that stupid. I feel sorry for the employees that work there. This Al guy is a real [censored]. So turns out that they had my husband open on 2 accounts. Al had the nerve to tell my husband it was not their fault. That any ONE person can have 2 memberships at the same gym and he was not getting his money back. AMAZING. A real piece of work this man is. I'm trying to make light of this, I'm really upset beyond words, but in the end I feel sorry for this man. He must live such a miserable life to gain pleasure treating customers this way. And the final slap in the face was a third unauthorized charge over $60 that nobody can explain. 3 times within a 3 month period for a grand total of over $130! I have never felt so much anger towards a business.

I signed up september 2013 at the fitness 19 gym in victorville... To workout at the hesperia location which was opening in december 2013. The 3rd week of january 2014 I signed up for a personal trainer to begin on february 7, 2014... As it turns out I informed fitness 19 (Hesperia) by letter (Per their request) that I will not be using a personal trainer and I asked that the money that was deducted from my account be credited back. I personally took the letter into the store and gave it to ryan who in return gave me a receipt of cancellation, leading me to believe the money would be credited back within 30 days. That was not the case I just spoke to alan (3/17/14) and he said he could not see any justification to return my money even though I didn't use the personal trainer. Alan stated it will just stay on the books for whenever I decide to use it. I explained I will be having surgery on my right foot and it will be months before I am able to get around to the point of working out again. Alan said that it wasn't justified in his opinion (Maybe if your dying a refund might be justified). This is $100 of my money and I don't have any right to receiving a refund according to alan & ryan. This is my first time joining a fitness gym and I will never do it again. Be very careful and make sure you fully understand what is happening when your signing papers and giving your account information, be sure and get names times and dates because this is what will and can happen especially to first timers. This is a valuable lesson. Remember when you start with good intentions and a situation arises medically or otherwise and you need your money back for services that you never used this company fitness 19 won't give it back they just keep it on the books which means they have you by your britches so to speak. But I am still filing a complaint with the better business bureau. I will let my friends know don't join. I have 2 friends that just joined and I am emailing them to tell them not to sign up for personal trainers because they will be on the losing end I am letting them know what just happened to me. But I am not giving up I am still going to fight for my money $100 is not $5 or $10.