Lifestyle Family Fitness LFF,LFF.com Member Services - Cancellation SCAM!!! - Saint Petersburg , Florida

I had been a long time customer of LFF, however found myself in a position where my wife and I were no longer using the club or services and could not afford to continue paying for an unused service. We were on what is called a month to month program. Which in and of itself is a misnomer, as cancellation is not immediate, and apparently - even when you do cancel, they simply keep charging you until you confirm over and over again (through email, through phone, its insane!)

I called several times to cancel, and then submitted written email request, which requires that they then email you, and then you reply, and then they reply when they have acknowledged your request, and then it is up to you to monitor that they have stopped charging you.

My written request to cancel is detailed below:

"This serves as a my formal request to cancel my membership.

I am quite appalled at the amount of time it has taken to get ahold of someone and with the treatment I have received through this process.

After leaving SEVERAL messages (where the LFF greeting assured me that I would be called back in 1 business day- more like 4 business days ) I finally called in and had someone email a person in member services in order to get a call back. I assume this is the typical methodology when someone calls to state they are cancelling- direct them to a line where they can only leave a message and then ignore those messages, hoping they forget to call back and you can charge them more money.

When I did get a call back - the person I spoke with was indeed pleasant and helpful, however after the call ended I received the email annexed below - I was not happy with the disclosures listed in the cancellation notice and called back to clarify. George - the person who I finally ended up speaking with (after an additional 10 minutes of holding) was unpleasant and abrupt. He provided no help, and when I questioned him about the credit card on file for billing, he took on an abrasive tone and sarcastically stated, "have a nice day" and simply hung up on me.  His rude disconnection of our call made it so that I ONCE AGAIN had to call back and sit through 5-15 min of hold music and information to finally get someone on the phone. In all I have spent over an hour in the last week trying to address this issue. I know that the failure to call back after numerous messages and the inexplicably discourteous treatment rendered by a representative would not be allowed by any reputable organization.

I have not used my membership in months. My wife has not used her membership in months, and though we have paid hundreds over the last few months (and thousands over the last few years) all I wanted was to not be charged additional money for services I am going to continue not using. My wife is injured, we have a new child and money is tight. I feel that being extorted by an organization that I have diligently sent thousands of dollars to is simply appalling.

This process has been highly suspect in my opinion, and if I am unable to achieve a prompt amicable resolution, I will make it my mission to convey to as many other people as possible my cancellation experience with LFF. Please do what is right here and simply cancel my membership without additional charges. I do not need to access the gym for an additional 60 days, I don't need to access it at all.

Thank you"

I finally spoke with a representative who stated that I would not be billed past the 9/7/11 billing. I assumed the issue was closed and moved on. Only to find out 2 months later that they have been continuing to charge my credit card. They apparently only canceled my account and not my wife's. (though their confirmation email clearly states both our accounts as cancelled).

When I called back to complain and get the credits issued to my account - I was informed that they would only be refunding the current months errant billing and not the previous months.

Brooke at member services was abrupt and unwilling to accept that they had made an error, even after conferring with her supervisor Teresa. Regardless of what I was told when I cancelled they were not willing to stick with their word, and have taken taken additional funds.

They seem genuinely disinterested in the fact that there error has caused household financial problem and inconvenience. I understand that LFF is a large organization and seem uninterested in providing even the most basic form of customer service.  This is a simple and easily rectifiable issue. Until resolved I intend to continue to present the facts of my circumstance to online outlets so that others can know what type of organization they are dealing with before they sign up with LFF.

On a side note, our local gym is nice, but the corporate structure is clearly based on nickel and dime-ing thousands of consumers.