Fitness First Terminated access to all 17 of its locations--including my home gym--with NO NOTICE and won't give refund Bethesda Maryland

If you are considering joining this gym, stay far away! When I signed a contract with Fitness First, I had access to ALL of its DC area locations (I believe 18 total). My home gym became the Rockville gym when I moved from downtown Bethesda to Rockville, and I used the Rockville Fitness First an average of 5 days a week. It is extremely difficult and expensive for me to use the Bethesda gym due to traffic and parking issues (It was fine when I could walk to the gym for free, but $3 to park? No thanks!). 

Fitness First changed the terms of our agreement when it suddenly terminated access to my home gym in Rockville as well as all other FF locations with NO NOTICE whatsoever when Gold's purchased the locations. Even though they did not give members 30 days notice of this MAJOR change, they refuse to give me a refund for the last month's membership fee because I must give 30 days notice. 

Other information to consider:

--Fitness First charged my credit card the day before the announcement of the sale to Gold's was made. I consider this HIGHLY UNETHICAL, considering they knew what was about to happen.

--Fitness First members were not informed of what would happen to their memberships as many of us have home gyms that are different than the gym we happened to sign up at. I made a good faith effort to find out what would happen with my membership, but neither Fitness First or Gold's were able to give me answers for about 2 weeks. It was impossible for me to give 30 days notice because I was unable to predict future events. 

--Fitness First members were not given a 30 day reciprocity period or the opportunity to move their memberships over to another Fitness First (now Gold's) gym. 

--I was able to access the Rockville Fitness First (now Gold's) for about 2 weeks before I walked in one day and a staff member told me my card was no longer valid. My record was completely erased from the computer and I had to sign a new agreement with Gold's to continue using my regular gym! I canceled my membership that day, but was told they need 30 days notice. I was unable to give 30 days notice because they did not give me or its other members 30 days notice that they would cut off access to all Fitness First locations that were purchased by Gold's Gym.

Fitness First has behaved highly unethically in this situation and has shown no concern for other members in this situation. Many members rely on using multiple locations or have moved and no longer use the gym they originally signed up at. Given the circumstances, I am owed a refund of the $19.95 for the last month's membership.

If you are in a similar situation and feel you were also unfairly taken advantage of by Fitness First, I URGE you to:

1. Dispute the charge with your credit card company (if your membership fee is paid by credit card).

2. File a complaint with the Better Business Bureau.

3. File a complaint with the Maryland Attorney General's office.

4. File a complaint here at Ripoff Report.