Club Fitness impossible cancellation policy and overcharged for several months Florissant Missouri

Wow, where do I begin... first, their cancellation policy is impossible. You sign-up for the club by walking in and joining, so one would imagine you could cancel the same way.

Wrong.

The only way to cancel your gym membership is by mailing a letter to them stating your name, address, gym membership ID and the reason you want to cancel. They said this makes sure no one stole your identity and canceled your membership, but I'm not sure how a letter does that. Wouldn't meeting the member in-person at the gym and confirming their drivers license be a better way to confirm who they are? Also, I can cancel my cable, gas and electric service all over the phone. If I can disconnect my electric and gas service in the dead of winter with a simple phone call, why can't I cancel something so mundane as a gym membership? I can cancel homeowners, health or car insurance over fax too, but club fitness wouldn't even accept a fax.

The only reason I can imagine they would only allow cancellation by mail is because so few people use the mail now. I pay for all my bills either online or over the phone. I didn't even have envelopes or stamps, I had to go purchase those items just to mail Club Fitness a letter to cancel my membership.

Even after they acknowledged receiving my letter they charged me for an additional two months. I called and complained, and they said they'll deduct the second month but not the first month because apparently memberships still stay in effect for one additional month after receiving the cancellation notice.

Other than that I loved being a member of club fitness. I had my membership for over 2 years and they were great, prices are reasonable and the gym's clean and well maintained. It's sad that such a stellar record has to be tarnished by something as simple as "stop charging me".

They also have 22 complaints to the BBB in the past 3 years, 14 in the past year alone, so I am not the only one having serious problems with Club Fitness.

Anonymous
Saint Louis, Missouri
U.S.A.