Orange Theory Fitness - Bobbe Ariano Buyer Beware! Bad Billing Practices! Scottsdale, Arizona

Just an FYI that the unfriendly billing practices are company-wide.  

In the location I attended in Florida, as a cancer survivor, the coaches, program and location were excellent.  

However, I encountered extremely problematic billing practices.  The contract was difficult to follow and the billing practices had no checks and balances.  They also can be aribirtary.  For example, when I first signed up, they told me I could borrow a monitor since I couldn't afford one; a week after I signed the contract, they put out a sign on the fron desk, saying that monitors had to be "rented" or purchased in order to be used.  No grandfathering in on pre-existing contracts.

Then, except for one time when I called them to let them know I had missed a class (I'm honest), I never missed a class but they kept dinging me $10 surcharges once or twice a month, every month, without telling me because their desk person "forgot" to check me in, didn't see me or thought I was someone else when I checked in.  Considering that I kept my class appointments, it was burdensonme to have to check my credit card statement every month, call them up, dispute the charge which was never on the date they claimed I missed a class.  A simple courtesy, like calling to check before charging would have been nice and avoided a lot of issues since I developed the habit of writing down the names of the coach and desk person every day so I could prove I had been there!

In the end, for medical reasons, I had to cancel the membership.  I needed to downgrade my package for financial reasons, first, and asked them to help me work out a proper calendar based on my membership pattern to schedule the 8 classes.  They overscheduled me by three classes and then charged me the extra class rate which is high--without telling me, when they knew I was on disability and could not afford extra--that's why I had them help me schedule.  In other words, there is a lack of personal interest on the billing side.

Then, when I let them know that I could no longer afford the class by phone (I called within the 30-day period), they told me I had to come in and cancel which I was able to do two days later, only to be told that I had now missed the 30-day mark!

I was dedicated enough to overlook the billing in the beginning but the effort to monitor them caused a great deal of aggravation.  The credit card monitoring was just ridiculous, and I wasn't the onyl one struggling with this thoughtless/uncaring practice.

OT has a great concept and well-trained coaches = A+!  Billing practices and lack of customer empathy on the contract side = a total F.

CLEB

This is not really a rebuttal, but more just a comment for anyone that might be looking into OTF. 

To the writer of the complaint, I feel badly that you did not have a good experience.  I know nothing about Bobby Ariano, but I can say that immediately when I signed up in the Tempe location, two things were made very clear to me.  One, that it takes 30 days to cancel a membership (knowing a little about accounting and paperwork processing time, I am ok with this time frame) and secondly, that any class that is signed up for and not cancelled within 12 hours before the class will be charged a $10 fee. 

I know the $10 fee sounds a little harsh, but I feel that the psychological motivation is a good one for me.  I would much rather keep the $10 in my pocket and get my rear end out of bed to exercise, even when I don't want to.  For me, it works.  For anyone else, ask yourself if your schedule is such that you would need more flexibility than this plan offers.

As for who I am, I am just a 48 year old mom that has found herself 50 pounds overweight, no energy, and no motivation.  This is only my second week at OTF (5th session was today) and I am already finding that things are changing for the better.  This gym is small, and the people are like family.  Some people may need to work out in a more autonomous environment.  I, personally, am thrilled with all of the personal attention, support, and motivation that I get from the trainers, the other patrons, and even the owner whom I see in his Tempe OTF every single day. 

I hope this helps anyone that might have concerns.  As for the writer of the previous complaint, please try Tempe if it is not too far and if not, I hope you have found a place that is everything you need and want!

Thanks for the opportunity to let me express my thoughts~

 

 

 

Just wanted to respond to the complaint...  in my experience with any type of health club/gym, all require a 30 day notice to terminate membership and ALL charge for that last month.  This is a common practice in this industry and not unique to OrangeTheory.

Buyer Beware Note that the person that responded to my

nefarious and unethical billing practices alert did not clarify who they are.

Furthermore, if the author is Bobbe Ariano, I am sure you are going to bed

tonight with your pockets stuffed with all your members cash.    You are no better than the 1,000s of

internet scammers that try to sneak in as many charges as they can before

someone catches them or takes the time and calls their bank for a charge back.  



 



All you did was edify what I posted about your locations at

Orange Theory Fitness in Scottsdale owned by Bobbe Ariano.  Just because you write something in an

agreement does not mean that it is compliant with consumer rights law.  In any event, I am not going to discuss this

topic any further with the scammer that responded to my post.  Go ahead, continue your lame billing

practices.  You wont be stealing from me

anymore, and I am sure that there are intelligent savvy consumers that this

will protect as well.



 



Fellow Fitness enthusiasts Keep youe are earned dollars and

go to a health club that sis respectful. 

There are plenty out there. 

Patrick, we are sorry for your cancelation frustrations. At Orangetheory Fitness, our memberships are month to month contracts. We do not require a six month, year or any set contract term. However, we do require that the member notifies us in person with a 30-day cancelation notice when they would like to end their membership with us. We have implemented the in person requirement to protect our members from fraudulent practices.

At Orangetheory Fitness we are open and honest with all of our members and we take pride in thoroughly explaining the details of our membership with every customer. We do not have "fine print" in our contracts. In fact, all of our cancelation terms are in bold and require a customer initial. Our contract policies are not "shady" or misleading, every term is explained to the future member and the signature, as with any contract, allows us (as a business) to verify that our customers understand the safety regulations and payment terms. We have hundreds of happy members and we are very sorry for your misunderstanding of the membership.