B~Risque Fitness Studio Terrible & questionable bookkeeping...Directly lied to by staff members... Raleigh, North Carolina

Don't get me wrong...the Raleigh B~Risque Fitness Studio started off great, the classes were awesome and you got a GREAT workout all while having fun.  The instructors were creative with their routines and guaranteed a fun and enjoyable class.  There were certain instructors that were more creative and better than others and they keep up our enthuasiam for the classes they taught until the very end.  However, there were not so great times, especially when the studio wasn't open when PAYING and DEPENDABLE members arrived for classes.  We were left to sit in the parking lot wondering if we were going to receive a workout that evening or not.  This was TERRIBLE business practice on B~Risque's part.  There could have been a phone call to members or even an mass email informing members of the issue before we even arrived, afterall they had all members contact information.  The situation should have been handled in a more professional manner.

My reason for this Ripoff report deals with my membership fees.  At contract renewal, we were given the options to cancel if we had given a 30-day notice or renew with little perks for members that signed up at grand opening.  Either we could pay monthly at a slight rate increase or pay your membership fees in advance for the year at a more reasonable rate than the monthly fee if you averaged it out.  I took advantage of the more affordable rate and chose to pay my membership fees in advance for the year, renewing my contract until April 2009.  I received an email December 2008 informing members of the closing Raleigh studio December 13, 2008.  After receiving the email, I called Lee and inquired about the remainder of my contract since I had paid my membership fees in advance for an entire year.  I was told that Corporate would mail a refund check for all members that paid in advance,to be expected by January 13, 2009, one month after the closing of the studio.  I called the studio at the end of January or the beginning of February 2009 to find the number was disconnected and neither the website nor the email address for B~Risque were operating.  So I decided to drove by the studio to see if they at least left forwarding information on the door, since we did not receive an email or phone call with their forwarding information, (that would have been to easy).  There was a notice on the door stating the studio had closed with an email address to send all inquiries and questions.  Of course I tried the email address to have my email returned as "delivery failed" (Big surprise!...NOT).  It is now December 2009 and I have yet to receive a refund check for the remainder of my membership contract.  This is VERY upsetting, especially since I really enjoyed B~Risque and benefited from the workouts...loosing a total of 60lbs.  I just want a refund for the remainder of my contract.