24 Hour Fitness "freeze account" loophole used to take our money. Chino Hills California

Several months ago when my wife was having health issues I called 24 hour fitness to have her membership cancelled. The customer service rep talked me into letting them freeze the account in case my wife got better and wanted to go back. It would be frozen for several months. I asked if they would notify me before they started charging us again in case my wife was not well so I could cancel. They told me yes.

But that was misleading. What they really meant was they would notify us via email that same day I called. And that the email would have language in it that stated they would automatically start charging us again in the future until we cancelled and then they would refuse to refund the charges.

They use the loophole of sending an email that could easily go into a spam folder and never be seen, as their entire point to stand behind and take your money until you catch them.

I recently got charged again for the membership that we wanted to cancel several months ago. Apparently the "freeze" on the account expired and we were not notified they would start charging us again.

I called 24 hour fitness on 4/8/16 and spoke to customer dis-service about the charges and had to speak to a supervisor. The supervisor didn't care and just worked to get me off the phone after finally cancelling our membership.

I went to the actual 24 hour fitness center in chino hills ca and asked for a manager to tell them what happened. The local manager should know why they lose current and any future business from an unhappy client.

I asked for a manager and got someone who said they were a manager but didn't have a manager tag on. I went through everything with him. Then an assistant manager named wayne stepped in and he just tried to reinforce the loophole they use with the email.

They really don't care at all and you can tell they've been prepped on how to handle an unhappy customer who is complaining about getting charged when they shouldn't. They stand behind the loophole of sending an email months ago and said they could prove they sent it. That makes me think this is a strategy to grab extra fees later. I asked why there is no mechanism in place to ensure their clients see it, like clicking an authorization link. They just reply they sent it.

Their point is they sent a notice via email several months ago so they could start charging me now. My point is I specifically asked if I would be notified before they started charging us again so I could make a decision and they gave a misleading answer.

My opinion is all they care about is your money. When you walk in to the chino hills 24 hour fitness center the left side looks like a mini infomercial area pushing all of their products and supplements.

Their attitude about caring more for my immediate fee than doing what is right made me wonder how much care they actually put into keeping their machines clean for you. It made me wonder if the people in the kids room are  qualified to make sure another kid doesn't come in who is sick, putting your kids at risk.

I wonder how many people lose a month or two's membership fees like we did and don't complain, and how much money 24 hour fitness is taking from them.

Since they refused to refund the charges, including one that happened in the last few days, I'm filing complaints with the BBB and several consumer sites. Anytime a health related conversation comes up with friends, family, or at our local church (which is a mile away from the chino hills 24 hour fitness center), I will bring up how we got ripped off by a 24 hour fitness loophole where they misled us.

I will recommend to everyone from now on they choose any other gym except for 24 hour fitness. This is not how customers should be treated.

Would you want to be treated this way?

Companies will continue to prey on people if we let them. Speak up and go online what you aren't treated fairly or are taken advantage of. I'd recommend staying away from 24 hour fitness. Our family will.