Fitness Repair Parts, Fitness Parts Plus, Fitness Plus Equipment Services, Inc. FitnessRepairParts.com Sent a replacement walking belt that didn't fit my treadmill and wanted me to pay the return shipping plus a 20% re-stocking fee. When I refused because it was their mistake, they created unrealistic requirements to credit my credit card and to pre-pay shipping for return of the item. St. Charles Missouri

I ordered a walking belt replacement for my wife’s Endurance 5K treadmill from this company in July. The belt ordered was the one shown on the company’s website for that specific treadmill. Although I was pleasantly surprised to receive the order sooner than expected, I was unable to try to install it immediately due to other commitments. When I did get to it about a week after it arrived, I was disappointed to discover that the belt was too short for the treadmill. I explained the situation to one of the company's customer service reps and was first told that I would have to pay for the return freight and that I would be charged a 20% re-stocking fee. When I pointed out that the problem was the fault of the company for sending me the wrong size belt, I was politely told that I should send the company pictures illustrating the problem and would get the information on how to return the belt without incurring shipping costs and re-stocking charges within several days. I was specifically told not to return the belt without receiving that information.That day I then sent a number of pictures including one of the treadmill’s plate showing the model number, rating & mfg date, another showing the serial number, another showing numbers stamped on the belt received and many others clearly illustrating that the belt was too short.

After five or so days with no response I called customer service again and was told that the pictures didn’t come through. I ended up having to install a gmail app in my iPhone before I could get the pictures to them. This involved several phone calls (each involving long holding times) to verify that they were being received, followed by a number of emails received from their customer support team stating that the pictures have been added to my Return Authorization Number. I called the company again after several more days without receiving any more information about returning the belt and was told they would follow-up with the research team and get back to me. Up to this point, I had no problem, but I was getting concerned. Hearing nothing after several more days, I called again, but was unable to get through. I left a message requesting a callback from Gracie to whom I had last spoken. I called her back the following day (8/28) and she promised to get to the research team and get back to me before close of business. That didn’t happen, but on 8/29 I got a voicemail from her saying she was returning my 8/27 phone call (go figure). I finally reached her after two phone calls and spending an inordinate amount of time on hold. She transferred me to Susan M. who said she was the Team Manager for Online Support. That’s when the real problem began.

From the start, Susan M. was aggressive and rude, suggesting that it was my fault that this hadn’t been resolved because I didn’t send a picture showing them the length of the original belt. Never was I asked for such a picture or any more pictures than I sent, which included shots of the new belt on top of the old one, clearly showing that the new one was too short. I explained to Susan M. that I had done all that had been requested in an effort to follow their policies and that my next step would be to be to dispute the credit card charges. Her response was that the company would add some charge against me for the dispute and would turn it over to a collection agency. I actually couldn’t believe that someone supposedly in charge of customer support would ever be so rude to a customer. However, after ending our conversation, I did measure the old belt (107.75”) and the replacement belt (105”), documented those measurements with pictures and forwarded them to the support team. Surprisingly, Susan M. was in a meeting when I tried to call her and as of 10/9 has not yet returned my call. I have disputed the charge, but wanted to wartn others of this despicable company.