Matrix Acceptance, NFFS Member Services, National Financial Systems, Texas Lady Spa, Living Well Lady, The Body Shop Gym, Ladies Workout Express possibly guilty of deceptive trade practices. Rip-off! Layton Utah

I have done a search on this company through the BBB and have been surprised to see that the BBB of Utah considers this company under all of its names has a satisfactory record. I have also discovered that under some of its names regarding the BBB in other states, there is quite a different story. I have also found many complaints on the internet other than the BBB (such as this web page) where there are many, many, many complaints either regarding this company directly or a complaint with another workout facility which uses this company for billing purposes.

My complaint or history with this company (found below) appears to be very minimal compared to others I have read but there does appear to be a consistent history here which leaves this company and its business practices in serous question. As I will mention toward the end, the Attorney General of Texas appears to be very interested in my simple situation.

Those of you who are currently dealing with this company in one form or another, under one name or another (please make sure you study the list of names I've provided or you may look them up under the BBB of Utah.they give you all the names this company is doing business under) please register your complaint not only with the BBB of your local area (or the facility you are directly involved with) but also the BBB of Utah for which this company is located. Also check with your Attorney General and see if you have a situation which may be of interest to them.

Keep copies of letters you've written and letters you've received from them. It is a good idea to send all corispondence by certified mail (this insures they received your letter and is a wonderful tool should things get dirty). Also keep copies of any and all complaints you've made to anyone including this web page. Try to insure everything is done in writing and avoid any communication by phone or in person. Document everything!

MY COMPLAINT:

I signed on for a membership with Tomball Fitness in the late spring/early summer of 2003. The contract they had us (both me and my husband) sign was actually with a company called National Fitness Financial Systems.

In October 2003 my husband lost his job of over 10 years with HP. We attempted to try and wiggle our way out of our contract with NFFS pleading with Tomball Fitness as well as NFFS regarding our financial situation (new house, no bread winner, and a very bleak look on the job market regarding comp. tech). Apparently this simply was to be our fate, to be locked into a contract we suddenly could not afford.

We were advised to close our bank account and suffer a blow to our credit history by the owner of Tomball Fitness who apparently couldn't or wouldn't help us. Not that we liked it but lesson learned, we continued to pay or allow our account to be drafted considering we were unable to honorably withdraw from our contractual obligation.

My husband obtained a job just in the nick of time and blessing upon blessing we were moving to another town. According to our contract we are allowed to dissolve our contractual obligation if the workout facility closes, moves more than 30 minutes away, or if we move more than 30 minutes away. With this wonderful news I made contact with NFFS to attempt to find out what we needed to send to their attention to finally and honorably close both memberships.

I mailed these items to their attention and they even called me to confirm they received my letter and notified me (orally and over the phone) that both our accounts were closed and everything in good order. At the time I didn't even pay much attention to the closing amount they claimed I owed. I was simply relieved to have this horrible mistake far behind me.

One month later we received a phone call from NFFS informing us that they in fact would not accept my husband's mortgage bill as proof of his residency and that they had hit our bank account once again for yet another monthly payment. Needless to say I was very upset. They told me that everything was in good working order originally but now they waited a full month and didn't think to notify me of any problems until they had obtain even more money from us.

I made a request that they no longer communicate with me by phone but that they send me in writing any and all forms of proof of residency that would be acceptable. They agreed to do this several times over the phone. I provided them with a fax number as well as our mailing address. Nothing ever came but yet they continued to promise me the item I requested.

Finally when I made my request yet again, they told me it would cost me $5 for a one page letter listing items acceptable as proof of residency. I felt this very wrong considering apparently I needed such a list to insure my memberships closure finalized. I had no desire to play around with this any longer and it would be very difficult for them to do this a second time if I had the ability to send them a copy of their own list should such a dispute arise yet again.

I then made a complaint to the BBB of Utah regarding this matter. I also gave all my information to my bank which then credited my account the money they drafted and barred them from further activity. Instead of obtaining the list I requested I received collection letters and yet another attempt to draft from my account on both memberships. Finally after repeated complaints to the BBB I obtained my list and with that, items NFFS needed within the body of these documents to insure proper treatment of our memberships.

We then studied our contract and came to the conclusion that NFFS had obtained money above the amount owed as specified in our contract under these conditions. We made our dispute known to this company.

As of this date we receive numerous collection calls daily despite our request that any and all contact be conducted in writing. Our dispute toward our bill has only been responded to by collection letters which never address our issue. I have been informed that any documentation they might provide me in regard to their claim (beyond their routine collection letters) I would actually have to pay a fee to obtain.

Considering NFFS/Matrix Acceptance wants to try and eek out a profit using any and all means with no true desire to actually resolve this situation (no true acknowledgement of oral or written communication) I have decided to contact the Attorney General's office who apparently is very interested. They feel (based on our phone conversation) that NFFS might be guilty of what they call Deceptive Trade Practices. We intend to pursue this line of attack and see what may come of it. In addition we are mailing (by certified letter) NFFS/Matrix Acceptance notifying them once again of our dispute and informing them of the actions we intend to take. Also we have informed them in writing that any further attempt to contact us by phone discontinue.

If anyone else has any ideas we are open to them. I am a strong believer that a business should conduct itself ethically and honestly. Should a company make a mistake, it should be willing to do all it is able to resolve the matter in a timely fashion without cost or sacrifice on the part of the customer. It appears this is not a policy this company practices after viewing BBB reports from other states and complaint web pages such as this one.


Thank you,

Amanda
Georgetown, Texas
U.S.A.



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