LA Fitness Fraudulent Cancellation Policy caught on tape. Encinitas California

Without trying to even figure out why YOU are trying to cancel your SON's membership. If you are complaining that you had to give 20 Day notice I don't think you are going to get anywhere. Especially IF this was in the original contract that was signed. In reality a 20 day notice seems quite reasonable.

As to video taping..You better be 100% sure that it was legal in what you did. Especially if you did not get their concent or notify them that you were doing that. If not, then not only would it not be allowed in court(if you for what ever tried to take it that far) but they could come after you both criminally or in civil court.

As an ex employee of this company, and one who actually worked with "brian" it was hard to explain this "policy" to members.
I know how you feel. Yes it is unfair, yes it feels very wrong, They even try to take money away from their employees. Sad but true.
I had demand letters written and phone calls made to LA fitness on my behalf by a top law CA firm who treated me like a family member. The attorney's found immediate wrong doing that most people like us would have never known. I received apology letters and checks over $3k (penalties and fines LA fit. Had to pay by law) because of this, i went to work for this company, telling others in bad situations how they can fight back.

Actually.. the contract I signed for a personal trainer says I can sent the cancel notice to the main office for cancellations OR to the club I signed up at.. So I did BOTH!

It also says the same thing on my club membership paperwork I signed.

To think for a second that a company as large as LA Fitness does not comply with city, state, and federal laws is ridiculous. Secondly, the cancellation terms covering all reasons for cancellation are clearly stated on the agreement and frankly, sending a cancellation that is effectively supposed to end billing and not sending it return receipt mail so that you have proof it was received only exhibits a momentary lack of common sense. Finally, LA Fitness offers the best facilities on the planet at their price point in a month to month agreement. The terms are simple and easy to understand. People simply don't read them. Often members will spend more time trying to create a problem than just simply following the guidelines. Going in with a recorder is looking for a problem not a solution.

Hello, I am a customer service manager at another LA Fitness location. I apologize that the manager with whom you dealt did not take the time to properly explain the situation to you.

First off, it is not required for you to send the form certified mail. We only recommend that you do for the purpose that if it gets lost in the mail we will honor the postmark date because you get a receipt proving that you sent it. There's a rumor that LA Fitness throws away any forms sent regular mail but I doubt thats true, I don't run into any more cases of lost uncertified mail than certified.

Second, I admit that I too thought that the 20 day notice was a dumb rule until I realized why it exists. LA Fitness's banking is a completely automated system which is necessary due to the number of billings we have every day. When a billing is posted, there's absolutely nothing anyone can do to stop it before it takes money out of the member's account. The length of time between posting and billing varies depending on things like weekends and holidays as well as what type of billing it is. So if there was no 20 day rule Member A goes to cancel 3 days before his next billing and is able to. Member B tries to do the same thing but his billing had been posted and he'll have to pay for another month before he can cancel. So the 20 day rule is enforced in order to keep cancellations fair and equal.

Hopefully this clarifies things for you. I believe that the main problem at hand is the poor quality of the managers some clubs have. After reading a lot of these posts it really hit me that there are quite a few bad apples out there. Just keep in mind that there are also those of us who work hard every day to make your work out experience a great one!

The rebuttal to Laura's report is extremely inaccurate. While it is true that cancellation procedures are written clearly on the consumer's contract; the cancellation terms do not coincide with State law. Legally, the Health Club operator has to inform the member EXACTLY how they are to legally cancel their membership agreement with the Health Club. LA Fitness's membership agreement DOES NOT state that they have to mail their intent to cancel their agreement in writing "BY CERTIFIED MAIL"; which is how the consumer may legally exit their agreement with the club according to California State law.

The good news! Since LA Fitness does not abide by both State & Federal laws with regards to their membership agreements, consumers are automatically released from their contract. The bad news. You, the consumer have to go after these types of clubs through civil legal means which will render you a delay in receiving compensation for your losses.

Writing reports on sites such as ripoffreport.com are great means to help elicit change and help other consumers from being "ripped-off". If consumers are really interested in bringing about change with businesses that act in a fraudulent manner, then they need to contact their local Attorney General's office and report these businesses. The Attorney General's office has an obligation to actually act on behalf of the consumers in preventing businesses (like LA Fitness & 24 Hr. Fitness) from committing fraudulent acts such as these and others listed on this and other sites. NOTHING, prevents the act of fraud as well as the consumer educating themselves and only doing business with companies that behave and operate honestly and with integrity though! Best of luck to all of you.....

First of all, it is illegal for you to tape record anything on private property without the express consent of said property owners. You therefore committed a crime for which you can be persecuted.

Second, the cancellation policy is clearly stated in the contract that you signed. It is not the gym's fault that you do not like this policy or feel that it is unfair. YOU signed it, therefore you AGREED to the terms.

Third, the cancellation policy clearly states, both in the contract and on the website, that cancellation requests must be in writing and submitted via mail. Again, YOU agreed to this at the time you signed your contract.

From what I gather here, this is purely a case of buyer's remorse. Not upholding your end of the agreement in no way constitutes a rip off on the part of the gym!