Life Time Fitness review: 30 day bogus cancellation policy 34

i signed up for ltf on aug. 25 with my husband and young child. we did the thing where they automatically debit your checking account (debit card) for the "dues". well, on that day that we signed up, we paid the registration fee, which they only tell you about at the last minute, and a prorated fee for the remainer of aug. we paid a total of $184 and some change. well, then on sept. 1 i was watching my account to see if the quoted $104.90 had come out for our reg. monthly dues. it didn't. it got to be the 10th, still nothing. then i am looking down through my account activity and notice a ltf charge of $289! when i called them to see what this was all about they tell me "oh we're sorry, the salesperson 'accidentally' applied your first payment to someone else's account! it looked like you hadn't paid anything so we charged you again plus the $104 in dues." i was irrate! so they assured me THAT DAY that the credit would be put back into my account. that was charged on sept. 10, i called on the 11th, it is now SEPT. 17 and still no refund. We decided that after this chaos and lack of respect and attention that we would cancel our account and membership. i was made to come to the gym to sign some paperwork, which i did. i dealt with the same person who signed us up. she said that the original reg. fee and the mo. dues would all be refunded within 20 biz. days. i said fine, however the 185 you OVERCHARGED US will be today right? as i had called the previous day and it was supposed to be in there THAT day. she says oh yes of course.

i have since called the salesperson, emailed the sales person, called the accounting person who assured me of my refund FOUR times leaving messages each time, my husband has called and left a msg. with her as well. i am now being ignored and still no refund as of 3:24 p.m. on mon. sept. 17...

DO NOT GO TO THIS GYM...PERIOD!

Be aware that Lifetime Fitness require members to notify submit a written notice 30 day in advance in order to cancel membership. Their position is "we have your credit card number, we have your signature (they obviously did not stress this line in the membership agreement), we will rob you of your next month fees because we can.

I talked with the club manager and a few customer service reps, they were all polite and agreed that "yes, we will charge you because we can, this is our policy". Think about it, they were telling me that they were going to steal my money simply because they had my credit card number and they ddin't even understand that they should be ashamed of themselves.

Listen to the others! Stay away from Lifetime Fitness. I ran into the same issue, but with a different twist! My bro and I are both members. We canceled on the same day at the same Lifetime Fitness gym. He was able to get out of his contract at the end of January and when I went, I was advised that mines would end on February! I called Lifetime Fitness to complain the fact that it looks stupid that two residents in the same household canceled on the same day, but one had preferential treatment over! I know it will get me nowhere, but everyone should now how stupid Lifetime Fitness' policy is on cancellation. Do yourselves a favor and join another gym. I used to be a 24 hours fitness member before joining Lifetime Fitness, and I wish I was smart enough to do it again when I moved. At 24 hours there are NO hassles when you cancel, you don't need to be physically present to be screwed over when you cancel (unlike Lifetime Fitness!), you can use any 24 gym based on your membership, much cheaper per month, and less crowded. Lifetime Fitness is a rip off.

I think the problem is that the contract is clear that you can cancel 30 days out...but you have to do so before the 5th of the month...so really you can cancel as early as 26 days if you cancel on the 4th. After the fifth, it will be the end of the next month...it was told to me when I signed up, and I read the same thing in my contract. I have been to other gyms, and if I had a year contract, I could cancel if I want but I owed the balance of the contract...only when I went month-to-month could I cancel sooner. I think the fact that lifetime has no contract terms is great...I know I can leave without penalty other than the final payment...and I know that's end of month if before the 5th, at the end of the next month if after the 5th (I had a taekwando contract like that actually).

Mark, I think the problem is that the contract is clear that you can cancel 30 days out...but you have to do so before the 5th of the month...so really you can cancel as early as 26 days if you cancel on the 4th. After the fifth, it will be the end of the next month...it was told to me when I signed up, and I read the same thing in my contract. I have been to other gyms, and if I had a year contract, I could cancel if I want but I owed the balance of the contract...only when I went month-to-month could I cancel sooner. I think the fact that lifetime has no contract terms is great...I know I can leave without penalty other than the final payment...and I know that's end of month if before the 5th, at the end of the next month if after the 5th (I had a taekwando contract like that actually).

My husband went to the club and signed our family up for a membership. He explained to the woman that this would only be for 3 months and he will pay ahead. She said that would be fine and proceeded to take his credit card information. He made it very clear that this would only be for 3 months. Again she said that was fine and he would be charged for that time. The sales woman never said anything to him about the cancellation policy. Well after that 3 months was up there was a charge on his card. He called and complained with no avail and told them he no longer wanted this membership. He will eat the charge just cancel. Again he was not told about the cancellation policy. A month later another charge. After calling every name he could get someone finally told him about the cancellation policy. Now I fully understand that my husband should have read the contract better but does that mean bad business ethics are okay? There was enough opportunity for someone to disclose this policy to him and they didn't. The only work out we got from this club was in our wallets. Stay away from Lifetime Fitness. They aren't interested in good business. They aren't interested in you. All Lifetime fitness is interested in is your money. Whether they should get it or not. As long as they have your credit card number you will be charged!

In today’s day and age with gas prices on the rise and people running into unexpected financial situation, Lifetime Fitness shows no remorse or understanding to its customers and member. This policy is a complete fraud! God forbid something should happen in your life that you need to open up some free cash and cancel a luxury such as a fitness center, Life Time does not care AT ALL! I am currently going through the ridiculous procedures required to cancel a gym membership at Lifetime fitness. It is currently June 13th, and they have just openly admitted on the phone at their executive offices that it does not take 30 days to cancel a membership, but that they are going to take my money anyway. I will be calling me Credit Card Company and possibly canceling my credit card or not allowing them to charge it.

When I signed up for Lifetime 8 years ago, they stood on a policy that they would not be another Ballys fitness who locks you into contracts and makes you pay extra money after your wishes to cancel your membership...but it Appears that they have in fact BECOME Ballys part 2 in the Chicago land area.

This is how Lifetime treats members who signed up and paid them before the put up the first brick for the building, they are UN sympathetic to their member’s life situations and all they care about is YOUR MONEY!

A difficult cancellation is a common gym rip off. Before you quit the gym, make sure you close any auto-payment account.

Try this on for size. Had a contract that expired may1, 2008. Yes its writted in there. Imagine my suprise when after the 1st of may they try to bill me. I was smart enough to change banks. They want me to prove I do not owe them money. Funny that is not how court works. I informed them I will be sending thei bills to the attorney generaL because they have committed mail fraud.

I have had exactly the same experience. I have tried to cancel my membership for 2 months now and they still keep charging my card. When I signed up I told them I would be using the membership for several months while commuting to San Antonio and that I would need to cancel after the commute period was over. There is no lifetime fitness center in the area where I reside. No problem-- just give me a call and I will take care of it was the reply from the sales person. Well... not so. I was told I needed to send a Certified letter. I did. After tracking the letter (3 weeks later) it is being returned to me as unclaimed. My emails and calls remain unanswered. I percieve this place as no better than the other fitness clubs in the way they conduct business. I will never sign another contract with any fitness club. The sales rep at the San Antonio location misrepresented the exit policy when I was very clear that this was a temporary arrangement. Beware!

Greed is good at Nickel'n'dime Fitness (Warrenville)! The management at Lifetime Fitness are masters at ripoffs and runarounds.

Do not give these idiots a debit card number or checking account number! Use a credit card so you can request a chargeback.

The first problem I encountered was when I worked with a personal trainer. I renewed with him after completing the initial round of sessions. He was fired shortly after I renewed and there were no other trainers that had suitable schedules.

I made many calls to the "club manager", who would do nothing but transfer me to the "training manager". All calls ostensibly transferred to that phone went to voicemail. I made multiple calls to the "training manager", again all calls went to voicemail. I made multiple calls to the "customer service" department, equally unsuccessful.Your calls will not be returned, nor will your voicemails be answered.

I called my credit card company and requested a chargeback for non-delivery of services, which resulted in a refund in full.

The 30-day cancellation policy (either by certified mail return receipt requested, or by visiting a club prior to the 5th of the month) is a real ripoff. These jokers will not take a cancellation by phone, and make it as inconvenient as possible for members to cancel.

I have the same experience with Lifetime Fitness at Orland Park, IL location. Not only had the bad experience with the cancellation, but also encoutered the worst unprofessional service attitude too! I have to cancel my membership cause I move to a different working location which does not have a Lifetime center in the area. But I kept my wife and kids' membership since they still be able to use for now. First they do no allow a phone call to cancel the membership. Second, when my wife was going to pick up the written cancellation form from the front desk, they came up another policy no form is allowed to take out of the building. You will have to fill up the form right at the front desk. Third, my membership was cancelled by the end of April cause this 30 days cancellation policy. But in April, I was stopped by the front desk cause it is showing that I am not paying for the month! When I showed them my copy of the cancellation form, which they should have their copy of the cancellation form too at the first place, the manager on duty did not say a single word of applogy! They only did their job to charge me 30 more days, but did not do their job right to keep the membership straight. What a harrsement!

The funny thing I found out about them is for that one extra month they charge me, I was stopped at the front desk and not allowed to enter the building cause their system showing that I was not paying! So they want charge you more money and expect you not using the membership during the extra charging period! I just had this terrible experience with Lifetime Fitness at Orland Park, IL location. Not only had the bad experience with the cancellation, but also encountered the worst unprofessional service attitude too!

Im going through something with them now. My membership was suspended after two months non payment. im ok with paying that back even though i used it only 2 times that period. when i cancelled the next month they charged me for that month and tried to charge me for the following month. i called up the head office to tell them im willing to pay off the whole balance of the 2 months but i need 3 months to do it since im in college and times are hard now. they said no and that the whole balance has to be paid off by the end of next month. this after they made me an offer to wave 90% of the whole balance if i signed back up. Thats wrong to do this to former customer even when im agreeing to pay off the 2 months i used it. i could of just said F U and catch me if u can but i am trying to do the right thing. they can at least work with me. just because im not going to be at the gym anymore doent mean customer service goes out the window. i just paid $50 this week on it. Hopefully they dont use the card i gave them to take out more money later without permission.

This is a completely bogus policy designed to bilk consumers out of their money. Lifetime is well aware that people are not likely to read the fine print and have no idea that their gym membership must be canceled by a certain date. Typical deceptive business practices. See also: FreeCreditReport.com.

There's no problem with the contract. It's legal, it's given to you, and through no fault but your own you failed to read it or remember it. HOWEVER, the same can be said about predatory lending that has a store on every corner in poor areas and gets poor people to borrow money on their next pay check in order to keep the freaking heat on or get their kids a new winter jacket. That loan comes at a nice interest rate of like 50% or god knows maybe even higher. At what point do you admit to yourself and others that not everything that is legal is just or right. People have a right to complain. It's a BS tactic used to raise profits. What % of people go home and read the contract? I'm a freaking lawyer and I'm not gonna go over every consumer contract I sign.

I do know this much. There are lots of people who join gyms for impulsive reasons like new years resolutions or whatever. These people workout for a month and then get self conscious looking at all the people in shape. They get depressed and avoid the gym since their brain associates negative feelings with that environment. Or like me, they grow to hate working out and realize that they already live a healthy lifestyle and all that time spent working out isn't necessarily increasing your life expectancy. Now they have two options. Either they go waste money on a certified letter or go to the gym and cancel. At home it seems silly to go to the post office when in the same amount of time they can avoid paying for the postage and go to Lifetime. Then the brain kicks in and they don't want to go to the gym. The cycle repeats itself and lifetime profits.

The one Fairfax, VIRGINIA, I have to agree with everything here, I sign to the WLT(weight loss team) and sucks, you do the same exercise 3 times a week and they charge you 156 per months and if you want additional training they just charge you, make you buy a heart monitor and have so many additional test and at the end, you do not see any results. It is only business and when I want to cancel they gave me such a hard time, I gave them 30 days noticed at the end on November and still went to my checking account and charge the 156 plus the gym fee, STAY AWAY FROM THIS GYM, THIS IS JUST BUSINESS AND EXPENSIVE.They make promises that will never work and lack of management.
Find a better gym where they don't see you as a ATM machine.
And if you try to call the main office, they send you back to the location where you sign...this have been the worse experience of my life.
DO NOT SIGN WITH LIFE TIME FITNESS!

I'm moving to a city where they don't have Lifetime. I had the same problem. I had to go in person and cancel it. Not only they were rude I went on June 5th and I had to pay till the end of July. "But I won't be here in July. And you guys don't have Lifetime in Waco." And the staff just stared at me and said that was the policy and that I should have read it. I'm $88 a month and I'll be paying two month when I can't even work out. Years ago I moved out of the country and by showing the airplane ticket I was able to break the contract. Legally if I was moving to a city that doesn't have their facility they had to let me cancel it with no obligation. What happened to that law now? Lifetime is making SOOOO much money stealing people's money with their RIDICULOUS policies. We need to do something about this seriously!

My family and I have been a member about 6 months now. Never really checked their charges til now. I noticed that the past 2 months the charges went up over 20 cents and now it's close to a dollar. No biggie but this is starting to look shady. If they keep doing this to members, it adds up to a big amount. Watch your statements. Look like they're nickel and diming customers. This is Lifetime @ The Rim in SA, TX

Watch for charges

My family and I have been a member about 6 months now. Never really checked their charges til now. I noticed that the past 2 months the charges went up over 20 cents and now it's close to a dollar. No biggie but this is starting to look shady. If they keep doing this to members, it adds up to a big amount. Watch your statements. Look like they're nickel and diming customers. This is Lifetime @ The Rim in SA, TX

Wow. You guys are really not capable of reading a contract are you? Yes it's expensive. However, you have to think how much everything costs for them. Utilities alone are extremely expensive to keep the gym 24 hours. On top of that its a billion dollar facility. You guys walked in willing to pay the amount and then complain about how much it costs, but fail to ask questions and read the contract. People really need to become smarter ad think before you make such a big complaint when it simply states the policy in the contract. Then you proceed to be dumbfounded by this. Have you ever thought of putting your account on freeze? Next time read before acting.

So I guess lifetime can increase dues when they feel. I was paying $112.00, actually $113.25 with tax. Ok, that is fine with me. I recieved and email on the 10th stating my dues are going to be increased. Sorry but the gym has become over crowded now. So I know there are more members. Heck you can barely find a parking spot now and I am not one of those people who drive through the lot to find the nearest spot. I am going to cancel my membership when I go in today. If I have to pay for next month then whatever so be it but I better be allowed to actually use the facility next month and I bette not be charged in December.

The 30 day policy and the fact that they make it difficult to cancel (going there in person or sending certified mail) is a scam. Many companies apply the 30 day policy, which they double (I cancelled today June 2 an they will get money till July 31st), but an email should suffice. I would be so happy to sue this company, and a class action suit would be appropriate. Don't have much experience about that though...Will investigate, but if someone can take this over it would be fantastic. Bad business should be suppressed.

Had the WORST experience terminating - changed jobs and needed to be closer to home. Notified them via email sept 30, paid October bill and then closed debit card because they were INSISTING that I had to COME IN THERE to sign some stupid form - and I can't, I work! I told them legally my email should suffice (and it should) and now they are HOUNDING me for payment and sending me threatening letters! PLUS legally the contract was breached when they raised my rates 3 times in the year I joined!

Lifetime Fitness is an awful company. I'm currently dealing with a similar situation in trying to cancel and being strong-armed into paying for another month...seriously, it takes 7 weeks for my cancellation to go into effect?!?! They just want to squeeze every last dime out of you and bank on the fact that 99% of their members forget the cancellation policy and then are forced to pay another exorbitant monthly fee. I've been a member for 5 years and this is how they treat me. Not good business. Do a quick search of "Lifetime Fitness cancellation policy" and you'll see hundreds of complaints. I understand there are contracts in place for a reason, but the world isn't black and white and they should have the flexibility to help a customer out when the situation calls for it. There are too many gyms out there to waste your time with one that cares so little about their customers.

Such shameful business practices.

#LifetimefitnessFAIL

I was aware of the 30 day cancellation policy and also of all the issues other members have had when canceling their membership. In order to avoid additional charges past the 30 days, I went ahead and requested a new debit card. Despite this, they made several failed attempts to charge my previous card (I know because each time they attempted they sent me an email telling me there was a problem with my billing), but eventually managed to get my new debit card number and charge my account anyway. I called my bank, who advised that as a "courtesy" VISA had provided them with my new debit card number because they were able to prove this had been a recurring charge. Of course I filed a dispute, but it's disturbing to know that a business can provide another business my private billing information (as a "courtesy") without my consent or even attempting to contact me to verify this.

Im on the same problem, I moved from New Jersey to Austin and did not pay the extra month they wanted me to pay, I cancelled my debit card, and they are emailing me about the charges, now my question is, if we dont pay, does this go to our credit report? This would suck if it did...

Does this go on our credit report if we dont pay them? no right?

everyone in here are so lame, wow you signed a contract and have to pay to cancel ...how awful...one person said its so hard because you have to go there to cancel it?!? don't you go there everyday anyway? and I just cancelled and it was exactly what I thought - one more month of dues...as was explained to me when I signed up...
you are the same people that complain your coffee was too hot too I am guessing...
babies

I also was just scammed into paying for a month I won’t use. I told them my heart is enlarged to please pause the membership. They charged me the month instead of the 15 pause. They told me that they had no notice of my pause. I told them to go ahead and cancel my membership. I’m having a health issue. I sent in documentation of that and they still wanted to charge me for the month I wouldn’t be able to use the gym. I’ve have been using the gym for over five years. I will never go back to them. They could’ve shown courtesy, instead they lost a family membership.