Extreme Fitness, Extreme Ripoff?
Extreme Fitness loves their direct mail. Every month or so another one of their flyers shows up in my mailbox. They all say the same thing: No Annual Contract! Only $8 month. Offer ends [insert revolving date here].
Marketing such as this has become a hallmark of the fitness industry. As consumers, we have become so conditioned to assume that there will be hidden fees, contracts we can't get out of and a variety of deceptive practices that the new marketing tactics many clubs now employ are designed specifically to address these concerns.
The catch though is that while the marketing of some fitness clubs might lead us to believe they have a more progressive, honest, straightforward approach, dig a little beneath the surface and you'll realize that like the past, the promises aren't what they appear to be.
In the case of Extreme Fitness, if $8 a month and no annual contract seems too good to be true that's because it probably is. And as we've noticed on our Extreme Fitness page in our Fitness section, there are plenty of people who are not too happy about it.
A mere sampling of the comments added in the last two months gives a sense of the general reaction:
Their strategy is to get as many members as possible to join. Once in, you''ll have to pay monthly for 9 months (I guess that's what they mean by advertising no annual contract) - Dan C
I was suckered not only into the 70 dollar a month membership, but for 300 dollars worth of personal training. - DanforthDistress
At no point did they EVER make it clear that was I agreeing to a ONE YEAR CONTRACT WITH NO CHANCE OF ENDING IT EARLY. After all, everywhere you look you see the words "NO ANNUAL CONTRACT" stated loud and clear, so it didn't even occur to me that I could possibly be locked in for a year. - Anonymous
There are also now at least two anti-Extreme Fitness Facebook Groups set up to try to attract media attention and provide a forum for peeved current and former Extreme Fitness members.
The Warning: Do NOT join Extreme Fitness gyms Facebook group
The Support MTN in his fight against Extreme Fitness Facebook group
This is in addition to the variety of other Extreme Fitness Facebook groups that attract their share of both positive and negative wall posts.
If you're Extreme Fitness and you're being challenged about your promises of no annual contract and $8 a month fees, what do you do? Well, it appears that you rely on your legal team that helped you craft such messaging in the first place.
Like most flyers that come in the mail, there's usually some fine print. In this case the fine print includes the following:
'No annual contract - $8 per month' offer based on two month prepaid membership. 'No annual contract' month to month membership available after the initial two months.
Clear as mud, right? So I thought I'd dig a little deeper to find out what the actual terms of the membership are. Here is what I found out:
1. The first thing I discovered is that it's an exercise in comedy to try to get someone to quote you rates over the phone. Seriously, just for fun, you should call Extreme Fitness and try to get them to tell you how much a monthly rate is and what it means that there is no annual contract. They won't tell you. The representative I spoke to insisted that she couldn't quote me over the phone and that I would need to come in so they could find a rate that's suitable for me.
2. After much prodding, I was finally told that I would pay a monthly rate between $50 and $100 depending on my needs. I explained to her that my needs were to use the one club at Richmond and John, I didn't have a corporate plan and that I simply only wanted to use the facilities and didn't want to sign up for anything extra or get a personal trainer. So given that, what would the rate be? Maybe between $57-$75 is the most she could narrow it down for me.
3. I asked about the No Annual Contract. It doesn't exists. All memberships are based on a 12 month commitment. The ONLY way you can avoid this is if you cancel your membership halfway through the 2 month promotional period (ie. the one with the $8 rate). But even then, she mentioned I would need to pay a $129 penalty to make the cancellation. I wasn't sure I heard right so I asked her to repeat this. At that point, she became extremely agitated and defensive and sought to end the call.
Wow. So, there you have it. Buyer beware. Extreme Fitness' promised low rates and no annual contracts are definitely not what they seem. And, if my experience is any indication, they appear to have built a sales force who makes it as difficult as possible to find out what the rates and terms of the membership actually are.
What to do about it? Two things:
1. Contact the Better Business Bureau and let them know what you think about Extreme's practices.
2. Join a different gym. Check out our list of the Best Fitness Clubs in Toronto for ideas on where to start.
Comments (219)
You only get a flyer once a month? I get 2-3 a WEEK. I'd never join the damn club for that reason alone.
What about that "Free Membership for TTC Metropass Holders" ad that was recently in the Metro newspaper...complete rip off! I went to inquire, and was told that I would still have to pay $70-$100 a month for AT LEAST 5 months after the first "free" month. False advertising...big time!
I fell for the $15/month/no contract offer back in January. While I regret having to pay so much, it hasn't been without its benefits.
I had to pay 3 months up front ($15 x 2, plus one regular month at $96), and was told I could cancel my commitment if I gave written notice 2 weeks in advance and made a big fuss of it.
On the plus side though, they pressured me into getting a personal trainer (initially proposing I pay upward of $400 a month, but I hemmed and hawwed it down to $150). I say 'plus side' because I really had no idea what was going on with my body and he got me using the equipment properly, and I've seen really good results so far.
The nutritionists are a joke though, don't even bother talking to them. Every other sentence is about buying supplements, or asking you rearrange your life around constantly eating the most exact combinations and portions. I'm sure that's fine if you don't have a real job and can spend 3 hours a day preparing food...
I got so sick of all the flyers that I finally did 2 things:
1. http://www.reddotcampaign.ca
Here you simply print-out the one page 'letter', sign it and stick it in your mailslot. Your Canada Post mail carrier will see it and put a 'red dot' whereby you will never again receive any unaddressed junk mail! Free.
2. https://ioptout.ca
This one's a beta project by an Ottawa professor that basically continues where the do-not-call registry legistlation (seriously flawed) drops off. Free.
mishka
Interesting piece, Tim. I think the thing about not quoting you rates over the phone is standard, though? At least, I had the same experience when I looked into Curves. I even stopped by on my lunch hour one day, and they still wouldn't give me a price until I actually booked an info session with one of the trainers. I understand the idea that there can be different ranges of prices depending on what you want, but it still seems super fishy that they're so reluctant to even give you those ranges.
While I totally hate the ads I get every week, I can't get over how many of these people signed up without reading what they were signing. I can't really feel bad for someone who doesn't read a contract.
dave= I know what you mean... its bad enough I get every flyer on earth through my mail slot other than MAIL... to recieve this beautifully crafted POS 2 or 3 times a month is far above from annoying.
I was actually thinking about joining this place because of this amazing deal. But then I thought how the hell would they make up for this. Places like Goodlife charge an arm and a leg to use their facilities. Well here you go. Extreme LIES!
Thats why I joined the gym at my work.. 10$month! no Lies and Deceit!
@aaron - I agree. It'd be interesting to see what the contract actually says, though. It's possible it's still very misleading.
Fitness clubs and gyms are some of the most arbitrarily priced services out there. Good luck ever finding a chain that openly lists the rates for their plans.
I'm about to start a new job, and there's an LA Fitness right beside it...given the convenience, I was thinking of joining, but after reading this, I'm a little skeptical.
Does anybody know how LA FItness is? Same sort of scam?
Thanks for the links mishka!
I heard that there may eventually be a "waste tax" in Toronto. I support the idea so I started to catalog my garbage one day (no seriously) to see what I was throwing out. I realized that more than 70% of all paper products I throw out or recycle are from unsolicited mail. I know Canada Post makes decent coin off of distributing this stuff and I would rather see a postage increase than lay off a great deal of people but this is getting to be absurd. Almost all of my building's mail is junk mail that no one wants and now the city is going to charge us for it?
Excuse the tangent. :)
My girlf checked out the Extreme Fitness next to the Para^WScotiabank Theatre. Apparently, the scammy nature of the membership was pretty obvious the moment they opened their mouths, and not even that, but the women's changing room was still being built. So she'd be paying $70-80 a month for the privilege of changing in the toilets and walking home sweaty. Not a chance.
The best hard sell experience we've had since moving to Canada though, was in that place under the Skyd^WRogers Center, where we got the full used car treatment, including a soul-crushing tour that went on forever, time limited offers that expired if we left the building, and being left alone in an office while the salesman went off to get us a better deal from his nonexistent manager. On the off-chance that they'd miked the room, we had a chat about his body odour issues, it was great fun.
Full Disclosure: I am an Extreme Fitness member and I also working in a marketing job (not with any Fitness club).
There is no scam being run by Extreme Fitness. Sure, their marketing promotions are a little exaggerated, but they do offer you the options they advertise.
Take the $15/mo no contract. You can get 2 months for that price, BUT, if you wish to continue going to the gym you have to pay some extreme price of more than $120 each month. Since no one really wants to go for just 2 months, everyone skips this option.
Next you're given another quote based on how often you want to go, what location and if you want to use their towels (yuck). That price is around $70. But, if you're a schmuck you'll just say yes and sign up for a year. But, if you press the issue you'll pay less. All you do is take control by telling them how much you'll pay. I was a member at a competing gym in university and paid $35/month. They wouldn't match that but I do pay less than $50 taxes in, etc for unlimited use and no nasty towels.
Sure, it's a lot of money each month. But, do I feel duped? No. Was I pressured to get a personal trainer? Of course, that's how they really make their money. Could I say, "NO?" Yes, and I did.
If you're joining a gym they know you're a little down on yourself and are a potential push-over. Don't be. Read some Tony Robbins and get your self-esteem up.
"t no point did they EVER make it clear that was I agreeing to a ONE YEAR CONTRACT WITH NO CHANCE OF ENDING IT EARLY."
A friend of mine is in a legal battle with one of the Extreme Fitness locations. They continued to charge her account for well over a year in excess of $800 and will not drop the charges. It's ridiculous!! I would NEVER join that gym based on her account of their policies.
"You only get a flyer once a month? I get 2-3 a WEEK. I'd never join the damn club for that reason alone."
Ditto. I stuff them (as well as random other flyers and offers) into an envelope and mail them back to locations on a rotational basis.
This is just another reason to avoid gyms altogether. You don't need a gym to be healthy! There are many alternatives to going to a gym that are just as healthy and free (e.g., biking, walking, running, body resistance exercises, sports, hanging out with friends, listening to music, reading a book?all add to good general health and wellbeing). Gyms are big business and unfortunately treat you like most big business treats their customers; like mindless spenders.
This is just another reason to avoid gyms altogether. You don't need a gym to be healthy! There are many alternatives to going to a gym that are just as healthy and free (e.g., biking, walking, running, body resistance exercises, sports, hanging out with friends, listening to music, reading a book....all add to good general health and wellbeing). Gyms are big business and unfortunately treat you like most big business treats their customers; like mindless spenders.
I cannot get the redotcampaign link to work -- anyone have any luck? I googled it, and ever link related to the site seems to be broken.
Reading a book and hanging out with friends isn't going to add inches to your arms or help you shed 20 pounds of fat, Trevor. Being 'healthy' isn't the only reason people go to gyms; changing the shape of your body can mean adding lots of muscle and not just losing lots of weight.
Take the $15/mo no contract. You can get 2 months for that price, BUT, if you wish to continue going to the gym you have to pay some extreme price of more than $120 each month. Since no one really wants to go for just 2 months, everyone skips this option.
If you have a rate like that with conditions so ridiculous that nobody takes you up on it, then it only exists to get them in the door so you can commence the hard sell, that's a scam.
It'd be like me setting up a sign that said "Free Ice Cream!" outside my shop, only agreeing to give people ice cream if they listened to a pitch and looked at the merchandise, and then informing them "Oh, the ice cream is laced with rat poison, do you still want it?"
My personal trainer was great and I actually thought the nutritionist wasn't that bad either. It was far too expensive but I got out when I couldn't afford it anymore so I don't really feel like I got ripped off.
Definitely a hard push but you can say no.
I get at least 1 large, glossy, cardstock admail piece a week from these guys. I'm collecting them to drop in their club's lobby one of these days. I'm sure they'll appreciate it as much as I do.
Their marketing practices do disgust me, though. They recently took over the Dunfield Club at Yonge & Eglinton and while I haven't been there since the takeover, I get the feeling that the place isn't what it used to be. I was a member there when Sports Clubs of Canada ran it and they were always straight-up about the monthly fees and contracts. Their belief was that everyone should pay the same monthly fees to avoid a situation where Member-X gets upset about why Member-Y is paying half of what they're paying. It worked pretty well: everyone paid the same exorbitantly high fee, and everyone got treated the same way. And I'd rather pay more for honesty than deal with cryptic contracts and hassles -- I already have to deal with that for my long distance plan, but that's another rant.
Long-distance plan? Fortunately, there are plenty of opportunities to ditch those now. My latest international calls (each lasted about half and hour) costed me 5 cents a piece. Check out online services.
I have been through hell and back with Extreme Fitness and I didn't even sign up with them! I joined Jump Fitness on the Danforth in 2006 and they disappeared one night, but the payments still kept coming out...turns out it was Extreme Fitness taking out those payments because they "took over" Jump yet never informed me or posted up a sign.
Other complicated details, but I had a pretty solid case and took them to the Ministry of Consumer Services. Eventually, they went away.
Bottom line - never ever pay for a gym membership with your bank account. Do you want to have to close your account because of these jerks and transfer your payroll, rent, etc?
and don't join Jump Fitness - nothing is far when there is a team of lawyers ready to discount your every ripped off dollar.
I pay 62 bucks a month and have been paying that for the past year and a half over at Eclipse Fitness. I know they're not conveniently 'everywhere' but right at the beginning from my very first tour of the place that's what they quoted me, there were no hidden fees, no extra costs, if I wanted a trainer I was recommended a few according to my goals and their individual hourly rates were discussed after. And they made it abundantly clear that was my rate. It has always been so nice and clear with these guys that I've actually gotten all healthy!
Friendly people in there and always a nice vibe. (Wish they could switch up the music though, I'm one of those non-ipod wearing exercisers. Believe it or not, loud music makes me lose count of my reps!)
Besides, who would want to join a gym for less than a year anyways? Unless you're already super fit and just looking to brush up on parts.. in which case just mooch off your friend's one-guest-per-visit rules. Thats what I did :P
The Y sucks big time! I went to the downtown near College subway for 3 months. Although I got a 50$ a month membership, I ended up leaving to join another gym, the reason overcrowding, and too many people from disadvantage backgrounds so I never felt safe.
"...and too many people from disadvantage backgrounds so I never felt safe."
Somebody call a waaaambulance.
I have been a member there for over 10 yrs until I canceled my membership recently.. I used to pay 25 bucks per month..i have to say that extreme is an incredible gym.. so when i find out they are opening one at yonge and dundas, i am thinking of joining again.. we get a corporate rate of 53 bucks per month(i am a memeber at goodlife now, but they are so dirty and smelly).. so there you go, at least you have a bench mark for your negotiation.. never sign up for personal trainer sessions.. i am sure tim can give you some tips on working out.. just look at his biceps
As someone who has been burned several times by gyms suddenly up and closing, I greatly appreciate this article. Does anyone have any comments about Goodlife? They are allegedly putting one in at Coxwell and Gerrard, and I am considering joining.
Ive been going to Fitness One for the last 6 months, and while bare bones basic, Im only paying $20/month and the personal trainers are free. No pressure, no nonsense, no glossy flyers.
Extreme Fitness has made me more angry than any other business. Apparently I "won" a free month's membership and went into the location at Richmond/John. In order to get the free month I had to sign for the year with the understanding that I could cancel at any time.
Well...I did't end up using the membership and called to cancel. I was told I had to do this in person. When I came in they had lost my paperwork, but gave me something to sign and assured me I wouldn't be charged.
My next credit card statement showed charges for 2 months worth of fees and it took months of arguing with the sales rep (Leslie Jones) to get the charge removed from my statement.
She was the most awful person I have ever had to deal with I urge all of you to stay clear of their pitches.
Total RIP OFF!
I went to a local fast food, and saw the extreme fitness "contest". I signed up. Got a call from them saying that I "won" 4 months for free. I was like "yeh!". The catch was that you had to stay with them at least 12 months. Thus I had to throw away $70 every freaking month until last month - which was finally the end of a nightmare.
Plus, they try really hard to make you purchase a personal training.
I too, won the crappy 4 month free offer. I actually had the hindsight to do an internet search on this 'offer' from Brent at the Yonge & Dundas branch. When I realised it was a load of crap, I called him and challenged him on it. His response was "fine" in a stupid tone and he hung up.
Knew it was too good to be true..
Also, with regards to LA Fitness, I was a member in the UK. They were ok there. I got a decent couples plan. The gym was in a nice area though for England ... so I cannot comment on other UK locations or North America based locations.
I was pleased with my membership for 1 yr - until I had to move cities and part with my car... good luck cancelling my Extreme Fitness membership - they refused to allow me to cancel unless I came in personally, despite living 2 hours away. I had to call repeatedly to speak with a manager on the issue - who finally, hesitantly, compromised and accepted notice via fax.
I was actually with Extreme Fitness for a year at the location of Richmond and John location. When they first started, they give you 6 months free , and then you have to pay the rest of the 6 month with the price of $89 bucks after tax per month.
And then once I am done with my one year contract, i will still be charged with $89 a month!! So I talked to the manager to say that I am quitting. The manager said he will give me the same deal again but i have to sign another year of contract.
People are really getting rip off by Extreme because everyone can pay different pricing. from $40 a month to $100 a month. Who knows.
So I decided to quit qym completely. Gym is just as evil as cellphone company in Canada.
What a bunch of assholes.
I get a 10 day pass from them to work out at their new location at Yonge-Dundas(Which is not even completed yet), the guy has the nerve to take it away, because I did not have the time to talk to him right there! Now, I am glad I did not talk to him after reading this post. Are there are good gyms left?? It's sad. The price of gyms is getting out of control.
Sales people at Interchange Extreme fitness are bunch of crooks. They behave like used car sales people and force you to sign the contract. I was very much interested in joining but walked away due to bad customer service and let everyone know in my organization to keep away from this club
I totally agree with the comments concerning the Extreme Fitness ripoff. I've belonged to Goodlife for years, but out of curiosity, went to check out the new Extreme at Yonge and Dundas. Yes, they were offering 3 months free, but only if I signed a contract for a year. Then they required an "assessment" to pinpoint my "weaknesses" after which they wanted me to sign for personal training and nutrition counseling to the tune of $3000! To add insult to injury, this club isn't even ready yet - the showers won't be installed until September, and it's operating on a very limited floor-space. And for this they want $96 per month after the "free" period is over. My advice - stay away from this place - it's bad news all around!
Biggest scammers out there. They won't qoute you a rate over the phone. They insist you have to come in and talk to them, where they'll trap you in a room and pressure you into signing up.
I was a member of Sports Clubs of Canada at Dunfield. The gym was nice, clean, not too busy, and they were honest. Now it is dirty, over crowded, and have a bunch of crooks working for them. Couple of things: - they keep lying on how long the showers are going to take to fix. I haven't been to the gym there for 3 months due to this fact. The next closest gym to my work is the Dundas one. They touted this to be as the new flashy gym. My butt it is. You walk in there. It is a hole in the ground. No showers and it is tiny.
Just say NO!I've been a member at Extreme for about 4 years. When I first went in to the Yonge/Sheppard location, they tried to sell everything!"you should get a nutritionist.." "NO""you could really benefit from a trainer" "NO""but we offer..." "NO""don't you want to.. "NO!"I've been paying $65.00 per month including the towel service which I find fair considering what I've seen some other gyms charge. The only time I've had a problem with them was when I needed to freeze my membership - which they offer - due to a busted rib. They told me over the phone that it had to be done in person.. I'm not sure which part of "I busted my rib" they didn't understand.They may seem shady and their customer service is a joke (girls, how about you stop chatting with your b/f on the phone and hand me my fcking towel?) but they ARE convenient with all the locations so close to TTC stations and the hours are great.BTW, the link with the "best fitness clubs in Toronto".You're kidding right??
FYI: You can put a stop payment on your bank or credit card accounts. You do not need to close your old and open a new one.
hey!
yes they send a gazillion flyers and yes that sucks! but when i signed up he made it very clear that there is a one year contract option, as well as a no contract option (of course was lil more expensive)
the moral of the story is: ask the right questions, and dont be a pushover and give in to the extra crap they try to sell you!
be in charge! and if you dont like the offer walk away! no ones holding a gun to your head people...
Does anybody know how to cancell the one year contract for my teen old daughter. They do not allow me. I have to transfer it onto somebody. Other way I stuck with a payment of 69.30 for 8 months. She didnt' show up for assesment ever.
I told them I didnt' know that I will not be allowed to cancell during that time. I was told ..well..no one forced me to sign it.
Extreme Fitness is an EXTREME RIPOFF! They do not offer cheap memberships as their advertisements say and they trick you into signing a one year contract even though they say they have "NO CONTRACTS." They then make you attend an "evaluation" to pressure you into signing up for personal training.
They are very rude and you will be stuck with terms you were not aware if you sign up with them. I also found that the facilities were crappy and there were tons of people with no room to work out and machines were broken.
some motherfxxker broke my lock and stole my $600 smartphone, credit card and cash, nobody care, manager only care my 69.30 monthly payment tried keep me there, just say NO! in front of their begger, you may tell them to stop pushing you when you feel uncomfortable.
$8 on flyer is for 1 month only, no contract/hidden fee is a fake, they will say something to make you feel bad to refuse, after you joined, they'll force you to meet a trainer, trainer will try his best to force you to sign him.... you'll be regret after you sign, cos extreme fitness is a scam!
I'm unfortunately a member of Extreme Fitness only because they bought out Sports Clubs. I loved Sports Clubs, but I cannot say enough negative things about Extreme Fitness. It's like the Sports Clubs turned into the tacky, red-neck cousin who won the lottery... unsophisticated, money but no taste. Management ignores customer service/client needs... Can't wait until I can afford the Granite Club..
I was a member at Danforth for a year and a half. It wasn't bad when I joined- sure, there was the "mandatory fitness test for insurance purposes" when I joined, followed by the high-pressure personal training sales talk. Which I declined. They promised me I could freeze my membership for medical reasons, but what that really meant was that they would still take my money, and "add the time to the end of my membership".
Then they started the renovations. Almost ten months of substandard conditions, a crappy attic changing room, dust in the air, noise, and cramped workout spaces. The new, improved gym finally opened... no new exercise area to speak of, but tons of new sales offices and fancy tv lounges.
They lied to me about the reno, they lied about the equipment, the staff is rude, and you'll feel both invisible and unwelcome unless you're a spandex-wearing young hottie.
Forget the scam chain gyms, join the Y. They're not there to rip you off. It's a gorgeous facility and you'll pay a fraction of the fees.
Okay, aside from annoying cards in the mail, which Pizza Pizza sends every week as well,(not to mention a million other companies that you don't want) They are a biz, they want to make money. However, I have been a member twice at the Pickering Location. I said no to personal training, because I have a BACKBONE and a good knowledge of fitnes and nutrition. Anyone who claims they were duped, is a idiot pushover, who probably needs a trainer so they don't kill themselves in the gym. Most people aren't seeing results at the gym, because they slack and don't perform a proper workout often enough. Let's say you spend $1000 dollars a year on a membership and a trainer. You lose weight, put on some muscle, start living a healthier life. All of these things will improve every aspect of your life. You will have better focus, self esteem, more enegy and save HUNDREDS of dollars not eating crappy food and boozing your life away. It's not a waste of money, it's an investment in yourself. So, don't blame a company, because you were too weak and stupid to say no or read a contract throughly, blame yourself. Or you could make the most of the "awful" situtaion you are in and put in a little effort and change your life.
I entered an Extreme Fitness contest and won the 4-month free membership. She froze the account for me, because I wouldn't be in Toronto for most of the summer, and said that I could return in the fall to pay $80 per month. I wasn't sure if I wanted to join, but the manager told me that I could leave if I gave two weeks notice. I quit in early May, after having joined at the end of April. I even filled out a quitting form and returned my membership card. Today, August 4th, I received a phone call about beginning my payments. I explained to her that I had quit and she responded "You cannot cancel a one-year membership". I have no idea what I am supposed to do. If anyone has found themselves in a similar situation, could you please give me some feedback?
After cancelling my training and fully paying off my fees...they are still withdrawing money from my account. Would it be possible to redeem the extra money they withdrew?
VP of Operations
Taso Pappas- 647-274-3709
CEO- jsolomon@falconheadcapital.com
Email The Boss of Falconhead
Look on there web site, the evil empire is all there.
Hello Guys,
I am gather a list of people who wants to cancel. Anyone who wants to cancel can e-mail me their membership ID along with their birthday and I will pass them on to Marcus, director for marketing...
I told him if he doesn't cancel everyone on the list, I will show up with some of you guys to their new grand opening of their Wellington location in downtown with our video camera, a big bull horn and make a scene on the opening day.
Hope I won't need to do this!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56ArAqck74A
My e-mail address is:
charles@torontocomfort.com
or you can call me at 416.837.4965
Best wishes!
Charles Huang
Director/Producer
Spicy Editions
&
Owner of Toronto Comfort Rentals & Executive Comfort Canada
I cancelled my club membership subscription with Extreme Fitness The Dunfield Club, 110 Eglinton Avenue East, Canada, in July 2008; I advised Extreme Fitness in a letter dated 3rd July 2008, to no longer debit my credit card account because I was leaving Canada.
Despite my notification of club membership termination to Extreme Fitness, they continue to debit my credit card monthly since then. On August 2, 2008, they debited ?64.90 from my credit card account. I wrote to them on August 4, 2008, asking them to return the funds to my credit card account and not to debit my credit card account again in the future.
On September 2, 2008, they have again debited ?66.50 from my credit card account. I have written again to them today asking them to return the funds to my credit card account and not to debit my credit card account again in the future.
I need help......please.....anybody!!
Abel
I cancelled my club membership subscription with Extreme Fitness The Dunfield Club, 110 Eglinton Avenue East, Toronto, Canada, in July 2008; I advised Extreme Fitness in a letter dated 3rd July 2008, to no longer debit my credit card account because I was leaving Canada.
Despite my notification of club membership termination to Extreme Fitness, they continue to debit my credit card monthly since then. On August 2, 2008, they debited ?64.90 from my credit card account. I wrote to them on August 4, 2008, asking them to return the funds to my credit card account and not to debit my credit card account again in the future.
On September 2, 2008, they have again debited ?66.50 from my credit card account. I have written again to them today asking them to return the funds to my credit card account and not to debit my credit card account again in the future.
I need help......please.....anybody!!
Abel
Dublin
Ireland
Cancel your credit card, and dispute the charge with your credit card company to have it reversed.
Fax them the letter.
Also email the GM at Dunfield andreww@extremefitness.info
i worked there for one month in sales, what a joke.Easily the worst sales job I ever had.
The prices changed daily, I was so bored, the managers take all the leads
Here is a newly updated video with Extreme Fitness:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0p0uerkQtFo&feature=related
Police Update:
Steve DaCosta lives in huge mansion and his sister boasts that he and his wife have built a $2 million cottage in Muskoka. All with stolen money from members like us. Is there no lawyer out there who would file a class action suit to stop this ass****??
Everything about them is fishy. And the prices are silly.
I had a membership to a gym at my work and when I stopped working there I went in to find out about a pay as you go kind of thing cause I was moving in a month and a half but didn't want to be without a gym and had seen the ads about no contract. This is true. You can pay $129/month and have no contract. $129? Yikes. And I'm in Scarborough so it's not like it's an amazing gym. If I had a pool, maybe at least I'd -think- about it.
So. I say I'm moving, so he does a little dance about only having to pay $54 for the two months.. for the two months? It's Sept 22nd, why is Sept even playing into this? And to cancel when you move you have to come in with a piece of mail or something with your new address on it to cancel... Uhm.. if you haven't moved yet how would you have mail with your new address? And if you're moving more than 40kms away what are the odds you're going to drive back just to show your gym your new address? I'm not moving until the end of Oct but they want proof of the new address by mid-october. Why would I be having mail sent to an address I don't occupy?
They do everything they can to make sure you keep paying.
They don't quote over the phone cause the membership people get commission so they want to get you in to pressure you.
I got screwed by these guys too. It amazes me how little they care about customer satisfaction or business practices. I went in because I wanted to try out the gym, and the guy spins some story about how as long as if I cancel before the 10 day trial I'm under no further obligation. He also said all I have to do is call. Me being an idiot, I believe him. I cancelled on the phone before the 10 days were up and thought it was all over. Then a few months later (this month) a charge from them is on my credit card (as my "free" months are now over). I got the run around from a million people there and finally got the manager on the phone who said "there's nothing you can do, it's a legally binding contract". I said I was refuse the charges with my credit card company and he said they will send a collections agency after me. I don't want to ruin my credit because of these jerks. I'd love to take them to court but that will end up costing me more than what the membership fees are. They said I could transfer my membership but who the hell wants to pay so much for a lousy gym. Any advice?
Cancel your credit card.
Extreme fitness does not send people to collections.
There contracts will not hold up in court, they just try to scare you into paying them.
From an ex employee
What's the lowest monthly rate you can negotiate with a Extreme Fitness salesperson? What can you say to them to get them to give you a low rate?
Bob: are you sure that you can cancel the credit card?
My friend got into this trouble and it's even worse. She got stuck into a 2005 dollars personal training contract.
Urgent help needed... Thank you guys...
my contact is yinan_8888@hotmail.com
Yes, Gym service contracts are not legally binding.
Also, If you cancel your credit card they do not have your number to bill.
Extreme does not send to collections because they know if they did, thousands of people would be all over them.
They prey on people fears.
I wrote a letter...
TO whom it may concern,
My name is XXXXX XXXX. I signed up for what I believe was a three month term and was then later told I signed up for a year contract. I want to cancel but I am told that is not possible. I see that your company has several tie-ins with the BBB (not a surprise). I was completely misled and it appears that I am not the first.
http://www.blogto.com/sports_play/2008/05/extreme_fitness_extreme_ripoff/
I went into Extreme Fitness this morning to dispute the charge that showed up on my statement and was basically told that I was out of luck and have no hopes of canceling, even despite the fact that I'm going back to VANCOUVER this coming January. My only chance is to transfer my membership to someone else. How am I supposed to do that however when the REPUTATION of Extreme Fitness is so poor??? I will be out $640 with no hope of obtaining those funds back. I never even used the membership in the three months time I thought I was limited to. I am very upset as I am a student and cannot afford this right now. I was manipulated into agreeing to a contract which I think is absolutely ridiculous. I will owe $640 by the time the membership has expired, but have read reports that even AFTER that period there is a chance that my account could still be debited. The person I spoke with at the RICHMOND location in Toronto was anything but understanding and sympathetic and gave little regard to anything I was saying. I don't usually worry myself with frivolous matters such as this but this is a matter of principal and what I believe is misrepresentation.
PLEASE GET BACK TO ME and note this letter. I will be making a formal complaint to the BBB if I am not given any options.
Regards,
XXXXXX XXXX
I only heard of these horror stories before and however sympathetic I did not feel it would happen to me, well not until today... I have decided to try out a fitness club (Extreme Fitness Dunfield Club at Yonge and Eglinton to be exact) last January. I walked in just to ask a few questions but got talked into signing up for a trial membership and only agreed after being assured over and over again that I could cancel it at any point in the next month or so. I wasn't convinced it was a good idea but thought, well, there is no risk, I guess I could give it a try. Just as I expected my work schedule and frequent work related travel left not much time for anything else. I didn't have time to make it to the club even once so I decided to cancel my membership after all. I went there in person and handled all the paper work. A few dayss later I started getting phone calls asking for me to make appointments at the club for some fitness assessments. I called back astounded and found out that my membership was not cancelled. The matter this time was handled over the phone and I was assured that it was as good as gone. A few days later I received another phone call - same reason and this time I went in person to talk to the GM at this club and in front of me he found "the problem" in the computer and cancelled it while I was watching. From that moment on I thought nothing of it, in my mind this was done and over with. This morning (almost 10 months later) I received a phone call from them claiming that I owe them money for however many months after they billed me 3 times (I missed it, I admit, I don't always examine all my bills - no time, however this will change), they weren't able to continue (thank God, I happened to change my credit card) billing me(!?!) I talked to 2 people at this club. they both saying different things, no one wants to help me. I feel like my money was stolen and now they are trying to extort more. Unfortunately I do not have any papers anymore from that club as it was almost a year ago and I threw them out. I had no reason to suspect that after cancelling my membership 3 times (sic!) I would still have any problem! I tend to believe people when they say that something was delt with especially if it happens in front of my eyes!! They say they believe me (there is a record of me never using the club- not once have I been there!!!) but they still want my money.
I don't know what to do especially since I heard from a lot of people having similar problems - their memberships cancellations not being handled correctly and clubs trying to get money out of them. this theme was even used in one of the sitcoms, I happen to remember. so, I guess, they have a reputation for it. Are they in the fitness or money extortion business!?!
please help!!!
I'm signed up at the extreme in nasty whitby. When I first went in, they had the $8 per 2 weeks or some bs no obligation but then after that it was $92 a month. I then said I didn't want the towl service or multi gym thing, $72 a month...I had a friend who payed $50, so I was like wtf?!? He gives me this bs about how she could put me on a student plan, so I'm at $46. Honest to god, the gym isn't worth that....mainly for the sole fact that 96% of the douche bags walk around the change room naked with a towel on their shoulder, or just sit directly on the benchs, fn discusting. What is with these fn members? I also walked in towards the sinks and honest to god, looked like fat bastard from austin powers shaving naked in the mirror...almost killed myself due to discust.
but anyways, other than that...it's not too bad. The equipment is decent. Just don't get sucked into $92 or the trainers who they basically train off the street.
so here it is.
$8/month for the first 2 months. After that it'll be $129/month on a month-to-month basis with NO annual contract. The catch is this:
1. you have to pay the $16 upfront
2. provide bank info (to protect the gym)
3. you need to come in person to cancel 14 days before the
1st of the third month or you'll be charged $129/month
for the next month. Good news is that you could use the
gym till the end of that month.
Example:
- you start today (nov 7th)
- pay $16 (Nov & Dec)
- you have to provide bank information in case
you don't cancel before the third month so it
apparently protects the gym. That's the catch
for providing bank info.
- you have to come in person 14 days before the
1st of the third month
All that is for the no obligation membership.
If you want something longer then, you can get a 1 year membership anywhere from $50-96/month
How do you get "suckered" into buying anything? Don't you read the contract that you sign? I don't see anything wrong with advertising the way they do, they are trying to get people into the door, what happens next is all written down. If you cancel before the specified time you pay a grand total of 16 dollars...
Was this whole article based simply on the fact that Extreme has an aggressive marketing campaign? They aren't the only company that does it.. but they are one of the few that is actually selling something beneficial (i.e. the lady who said she was pressured to get a trainer.. and is now getting good results) I'm happy for her, and anyone else who is "suckered" into doing something good for their health.
It's a business, yes, and many other clubs don't market as aggressively, true.. but that also means that a lot of people are not getting to those gyms... also, writing negatively about anything to do with fitness only furthers the major problem with society right now of inactivity and (sometimes) a complete disregard for health. You should seriously think about the underlying issues before writing something negative about a health club or lifestyle.
I understand your intentions, but at the same time, you're indirectly reinforcing inactivity.. and that, in no way, shape, or form is beneficial to anyone reading this.
I had been a member at the bally's for 10 years at the bloor/bay location before "extreme fitness" took over the club. I was always paying my fees annually, so who would remember year after year, when their membership would expire??? Bally's would always send notice to their members explaining to them that their membership was about to expire. Once I had my membership expire for about 4 months, before I realized and they re-instated my membership at my old rate, no questions asked. They provided a number for head office if there were any disputes that could not be settled at the club level. Extreme fitness does not even have any corporate contact number on their website. Anyways, my membership expired about 4 months ago, and I was told that I was a member of extreme fitness for 1 month when the change over had occured. When asked why I didn't get a notice that my membership was expiring they mentioned that they did not have acccess to my profile. What *BS. I know that they did not contact me to renew my membership, because my membership was not profitable to them.
From the sounds of it from this blog, they contact people all the time to hard sell them into memberships, or to harrass people on why they did not pay their membership, or if they were coming back to the gym ..so why did they not contact me?
I went to the bay/bloor location to try to resolve the situation, they would not budge whatsoever. The GM there "Stephanie" is very unprofessional. She has no empathy skills whatsoever. When asked whether or not I can speak to someone at the corporate office, she said no there wasn't, and that she would make the final decision. She welcomed, me to write a complaint on their web page, and said that ultimately the complaint would be handled by her anyways, so for me to try to escalate my case would be fruitless and a waste of time. My advice is unless you are extremely well off, or can tolerate an organization that really does not care about it's members then go ahead and join extreme fitness.
If there are another former Bally's member who is in the same situation as me. I would like to hear from you.
I can be contacted at alcatraz1998@hotmail.com
Kevin,
People do get suckered into buying things all the time. The reason why it happens is because there is not always full disclosure, or hidden clauses that are not explained. A lot of contracts are very verbose, and people have implied trust as to what the sales person is telling them, after all they are supposed to know more about a certain product then we do. So to say that the people who got suckered in because they don't read a contract is wrong.
I'm having a heck of a time with Extreme right now and I'm thinking I may have to just cancel my card.
Has anyone had Extreme come after them after canceling a card?
Does anyone know how your credit is affected if Extreme continues to try and charge your old card #?
They have no way of getting money from you if you cancl your card.
Its the best way to go, they will just send you nasty letters.
you are right.. they are bunch of liars.. they did thesame thing to me, the have false advertising
Extreme is up to their old tricks again. This time its going to cost them. The new promo of winning a free cruise is illegal.
You cannot advertise that somebody won a free cruise, but then require them to join in order to get the prize.
Please forward your complaints to the link below
www.competitionbureau.gc.ca/eic/site/cb-bc.nsf/frm-eng/PJSH-6X9KQY
The fine for this kind of false advertising is big
lets get these guys
Hello, For those of you who are locked into a contract part of the contract is to have the right to be there and obviously you still have your free speech! start conversation with club members and new arrivals and let them know your story let them know about this site. tell them to see if there is anything on rip off report inform them of the better business bureau ratings. speak loudly. Sit in the waiting room and start conversation let the truth be known to those who are considering and are members! This will most likely prompt a response when you are costing them more money than they are getting from you! i made a shirt that says CAUTION HIGH PRESSURE SALES TACTICS and plan to wear it during a workout session there. if they remove me then they have broken the contract
You have the right to peaceful assembly! stand near the location in which you were scammed at and make a sign saying as such! i know it sounds crazy but if you start creating a fuss people will ask questions and you can spread the word just be sure to check your rights before you do this and do not trespass
Also everyone submit your reviews to google maps when people look for directions your reviews will post on the map! also the map post in google will have your reviews. expose their dirty tricks. we should all team together to let the cat out of the bag on these guys.
I worked at Extreme Fitness for 4 long painful months and believe me they treat their staff just as bad as they treat members. Staff are forced to sell people extra services (personal training) that cost a fortune. Staff also knowingly mislead clients and thrieve off over weight members. Personal training cost $75 per hour and trainers are paid only $17/ hr! The gym also just recently implemented a staff sexual harrassment policy! There are multiple cases of sexual harrassment between employees and management does not take it seriously AT ALL!!! The gym scams people, degrades members and employees and staff will lie to anyone and everyone just to get a sale.
My mom and me were just over at the Cedarbrae location. She scratched off a "winning" ad for the cruise, and tried to call in for more info. She was coerced into coming in for the information, and our "tour guide" treated us exactly as it was described in the article. Clearly the ads are there to get people in, and I don't doubt that probably all their ads are "winning" scratches.
To Kevin's comment,
I don't think the problem is aggressive advertising, it's FALSE advertising. I work in retail and if you put something in your flyer you better have that product or service as stated when the customer gets there. Now if there is a misunderstanding with fine print (as is almost always the case), a staff member should properly explain, or if that is still unsatisfactory, then a head office phone number is warranted.
From the comments here, there is neither a head office to contact, nor are the staff members willing to help the people who come in. I personally saw about five "staff" standing around and chitchatting, and the guy we got kept beating around the bush about membership fees.
Hi, I have seen the Ads and I get mad at it, because I use to work out at the gym (extreme fitness), and yes I had a trainer. I went to every appointment and some days we did not even work out we talk and have fun and he told me that I will not get charge for this and of course that was a lie I did. I was a 150 pounds and I lost 25 pounds and I got sick and had to quit. I did give them my two weeks notice and for the next few months they were still going into my account and trying to take out money. I call them and they said that they will give me back my money and they never give it back. Now its a new year and I have gone back to another gym and I hope to see the new me by the end of the year. DON'T LET EXTREME FITNESS TAKE YOUR MONEY. Go to another gym where they care about you and your health.
Hello everyone i just recently got out of the contract by calling the public relations representative and asking her to allow me to contact bill sautner by email i contacted bill and he set me up with the general manager where i persistently explained my reasons for not wanting to attend the gym it took an hour of not budgeing and saying i refuse until they canceled both my membership and my training sessions
X-treme took over The Dunfield a few years ago and 90% of the staff quit.
I switched to Goodlife and am very glad. X-treme DID quote me over the phone. Lowest they'd go was 66$. I'm pretty bull headed so it only took about 10 mins to get that. I didn't switch because of the shady sales techniques. If you need to bait someone to provide a solid service then it can't be the solid service you've purported.
forget x-treme. Join Goodlife or anywhere else.
Yes, what about the Royal Caribbean Cruise?
I got as well a flyer, I scratched it and it tells me "Congratulations! You won a Royal Caribbean Cruise for two! Call now! 1-866-723-5183" I called and an "Extreme Fitness" employee told me to book an appointment to get the fitness plan started and I will get my certificate for the cruise. With that certificate she told me I would have to call Royal Caribbean Cruise and just book my cruise.
I'm sure there has to be a dirty trick somewhere, but where? For the time being, about the cruise, on the flyer I see only in small print: "Air fare, taxes and processes fee not included. Some conditions apply." So, first I believe there might be some high air fare, taxes and processing fees. Second, those "some conditions apply" might mean anything, including conditioning the cruise with some other money grabbing terms.
What do you think? How many of you have scratched the flyer and saw that you won a cruise?
^i scratched a ticket last night and appartently won a all-enclusive trip for 2 to jamaica. I have an appointment in an hour to claim the prize. I will come back on here tonight and post the results.
It seems a little too good to be true cause when i called i asked if i had to sign up or pay anything and i was told a distictive "no" not some "beat around the bush" answer.
I will let you guys know what happens tonight, and if im off to Jamaica
Hey Craig
I got a phone call too. Mine was for 2nd prize apparently. my appointment is on Sat. could you post what your thoughts about the authenticity of the prize is? Thanks
i went in and waited an hour to talk to someone. She told me that al i had to do was sign up for 2 months ($16 total) and that i could cancel after at anytime. This doesnt seem like it could be true. $16 for a trip to jamaica. the other thing is, i'd have to pay taxes, airfare and extra expenses. I gonna find a couple other flyers and see if they are winners too, then i kno its not true
I also got the "Winning" ticket. Called the 1-800 number and they put me through to Extreme Fitness. They wanted me to come in, said i would call them back later. I asked straight question.
Q-So i noticed on the back of the ticket it says"chances of winning are 1/1, so every ticket is a winner?
A- Well yes, but each location only has 100 free vacations to give away.
Q-it also says that you have to pay for fees, airfare and taxes, how much is that.
A- You have to book your own airfare, (flight plus transportation) plus $160 per person in fees, plus taxes.
Q-So if i join for 2 months for $16 i do not have any conditions to pay for the 3rd month or continued membership.
A-Right, but most of our members prefer to go on a plan, we have lots of plans to choose from.
So i might go in for the appointment, and join only if i am 100% sure that i will not have to continue membership after 2 months. But you have to join in order to get the vacation. Honestly though, $320 in fees PLUS Taxes, PLUS Flight for 2 to Jamacia (which isn't cheap), you're better off with 1Travel200.com or that kind of company and get a Real 1 week All Inclusive vacation for a lot less hassle.
Hope this helps
So here's the deal. I signed up at Extreme today. They don't quote over the phone because they're pretty damn flexible when it comes down to it. And because they're offering different packages to different people on the spot, the receptionist is in no position to tell you what you can haggle out of them.
The free trips are not bad. For Jamaica they pay for the all inclusive resort. You just have to get there. For the cruise you have to get to the point of departure yourself, and pay for alcohol yourself. So if you're still moaning about it get real because you won't find anything better.
they are a bunch of scammers.. I called in about that $8/month deal. They told me to come in for an "open house". Now I know what they're about i'll just join the Y
I am quite shocked to see how many people are falling for this cruise/vacation promotion. The odds of winning are 1/1!!! read the back it's "1/1. 100,000 pieces printed" hahaha. The travel industry is hurting for business and will give cruises away for $300 already (ie: the processing fee you'll get charged). Don't be so stupid, what kind of a place gives free trips away for $16?? Especially this bunch of scammers.
Ive been a member at the dunfield club for two years and have personally seen their tricks. The equipment is nice but have fun trying to use it since the place is 10 times as packed now (soon to be more with this new promo). All they do is hustle people in the door and make them pay pay pay.
Also keep in mind you will have to sign up for a full year to claim this so called free vacation. And if the cost isn't included into your processing fee, im sure it will be split out into the remaining 10 months (minimum $120.00 a month). Not to mention your gonna need $75 an hour personal training for that vacation to look good.
So have a good trip suckers, better keep that wallet handy though cause your really gonna need it.
Well, apparently, I just won a trip for 2 to jamaica from the flyer for extreme fitness - I'm no dummy, and I thought all of this 2 months for 8.00 etc, no annual contract was too good to be true. Then I thought - well - a 3 night, 4 day trip to Jamaica may be worth it - well, the airfare is not covered, they would not tell me where in Jamaica - just that it would be a 4 or 5 star hotel. I'm glad I read all of this stuff before getting suckered in. But, I suspected it was too good to be true anyway. I have a great gym at work - it's just always busy.
Do not join this Gym, they have the most deceptive marketing strategy in Canada. They are a bunch of liars and all they do is waste your time thinking you could get a good deal. The goverment should step up and do something with their MISLEADING FALSE ADVERTISEMENT.
The type on the back on the caribbean vacation is deliberately misleading. The spacing between 1/1. and 100, 000 is so close, it makes the period look like a typo. Just compare the space after the period to any other sentence in the fine print and you will know what I mean.
Thank you, Dana, for sharing with us the answer to the questions I also had. It saved me a trip to the club! $300 alone as 'processing fees' to get the prize gives me the distinct feeling that this prize isn't really 'free' after all.
They have some messed up marketing executives who think that by treating your customers like idiots who will fall for any trick you will get your profit margin. I can see many of the Extreme Fitness locations closing down during or shortly after 2009, while they continue to milk as much income as they can from making their accounting department play stupid.
Stay healthy by participating by learning a new winter sport like skating! Skates are on sale for $30-$50, and entry fees to skate is either free or your pocket change for indoor rinks!
Hi,
I just scratched a similar coupon for a free Las Vegas Vacation: Accommodations for two for 3 days and 2 nights in Las vegas..small prints: Airfare, processing fees and taxes not included.
I called to ask more details about the free trip and they would not give any details over the phone, they want to book me for a tour and discuss packages options. When I asked again about the "catch" for the prize, of course they are saying no catch and invite you again to tour the facilities. They seem very pushy ! I am suppose to meet at Yonge and Dundas location tomorrow, bur after reading all this, I am not sure anymore. Anyone thoughts on this free Las vegas vacation? Thanks everyone
We received one of their "Scratch and win a cruise" fliers. The odds of winning were "1:1/100 000" which means every one winns and 100 000 were sent. Therefore, no one wins. I scanned the flier and sent it with a complaint to Competition Canada with a complaint that they are expecting you to pay taxes and fees and airfare. I told CC that there in so guarantee that they are not covering the COMPLETE cost of the cruise by inflating the fees etc and actually giving away a "prize" that you end up paying for, possibly including profit for them. Also, the rules were only available if you went down in person. I bet they would have had a hard time producing them. CC thanked me for the complaint and said they would be investigating. That was 2 weeks ago. Today I received another flyer COMPLETELY CHANGED!!!!! No more "win" but "scratch to reveal a vacation". No more odds and noe the rules are available online and have a stated value of $349 and 20 of these so called "bonuses" are available. So if you scream hard enough to Competition Canada which is part of Industry Canada, things will happen. Maybe they had them on their radar. Also, now that they changed the flier, with coercion, if that's what happened, they are admitting to deceptive practice and open themselves up to a law suit for the original prize from....everyone who received one and called and got a confirmation number???!!!
FUCK EXTREME FITNESS
i never knew how much they were charging me.. my mom always yelled at me to go to gym more often because we were apparently getting charged more than $120 a month.. i thought she was exaggerating/lying just to pressure me into going, but today i saw the bill and i was charged BOTH for personal trainer AND the gym membership... i signed up for 12 sessions, and i have been charged $67.36 each month JUST for 1 session.
how the FUCK does that make FUCKING SENSE. i just wish i read what everyone wrote before i went to get my membership.
FUCKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK
@Kevin on November 10, 2008 11:11 AM:
Say, Kevin...you don't happen to be the same Kevin that is a Personal Trainer at Extreme, do you?? Hahahahaha!
EXTREME ARE SCAMMERS.
I never went to the gym once. They tried to get money from me, I cancelled my credit card, and thye started charging my other cards!!!
WTF!!!
I just got a extreme fitness fryer from my mail box. I looked at it and i thought is going to be worth it.I went to one at Yonge and Dundas. I saw two pretty girls hanging out a 10 days pass card or something near the exculator. I walked up to them and they gave me the pass and asked me to sign up my name and so on. After that the assist manager came to me. Lead me on the way to the office. He then asked me to sign up a form. I had to sign up my name and interest and history, and so on.... When i finished signing up he showed me the place. I was amazed of what i saw. When we went back to the office he asked me if i have a credit card or a debit. I told him that i have none of those because i don't have a job yet. I asked him if i can use cash. Not only that i can't use cash but he was frustrated and told me to bring my dad next time. I was shocked because i thought i can try out for 10 days and see if i like it or not. But he forced me join and to use a credit card and now i am worry that they gonna stalk me. Because i just gave them my info. PEOPLE PLZ HELP!!!!
I am writing to you to just warn everybody out there.Extreme Fitness is a rip -off.Just two months in to my contract,I regretted ever signing a contract in the first place.The staff is very rude and unhelpful.All they care about is taking membership fees from your credit card but choose to ignore you after.
Machines breakdown,even showers too,they take months to fix it while you go home stinking with sweat.Also ,the receptionists who tell you to wait while she chats with her boyfriend.Man,did I get tired of that! I got out of a contract with these crooks over a year ago and they kept withdrawing money from my account.I had to get my contact them month after month,until my credit card company started reversing all the charges they made after I complained.The so-called GM was sitting in front of me telling me he had nothing to say to me,can you believe that?When I tried to cancel my contract,I walked into the office and all of a sudden,they had 'lost' my paperwork.Until I produced a copy of my original contract in the lier`s face,he was telling me I had extended my contract even though this never happened,until I demanded a meeting with whoever was claiming that,then he backed down.No apology and they were so unhelpful,no shame whatsoever. They always make it a point to mislead and everyday,contract terms change or they make it up as they go along giving you a thousand excuses for their behaviour.Another thing,gym members pay different membership fees from $40 to $100.
Friends do not let friends join Extreme Fitness.I was shocked to hear the same horror stories from people who have joined before.I wish they had told me as soon as I walked in there,what a big mistake I was making.If you are getting out of a contract with these people,do it now and if you just signed up,walk in there and get your refund back,rescind your contract now.If you are thinking of signing a membership with these people,stop,please,you will kiss my soles of shoes later if you take my advice.Save yourself some stress.If there is anyone out there,please let your stories be known,these people have to stopped ASAP.For evil to prevail,it takes enough good men to do nothing.
Robert Manley
To Bob or anyone with similar experience:
My member ship ends in 2 months; If i send a registered letter to notify my membership termination. Do i have to address a specific person( i.e manager) or do i just address the club i registered in?
PLEASE help. ASAP
To Jane. Its a good idea but to be sure just show up to the office and do not leave until they cancel the contract in front of you. You might loose an hour of your time but it is worth it; just so those slime bastards at extreme don't get any more of your money
I ALSO JUST TERMINATED MY MEMBERSHIP.MY START DATE WAS MARCH 5 2008 AND ENDS MARCH 5TH 2009.I READ MY CONTRACT AND IT SAID I HAD TO GIVE THEM 14 DAY'S WRITTEN NOTICE.SO I WENT IN YESTERDAY WITCH WAS TWO WEEKS BEFORE MY MEMBERSHIP ENDS.I HAVE NOT BEEN TO THE GYM SINCE AUGUST.DO NOT GO THERE ANYMORE AND THE GIRL TELLS ME I HAVE TO PAY ANOTHER MONTH'S FEE BECUASE I WAS THREE DAY'S LATE CANCELLING.FOR ME IT IS ONLY 66.00 DOLLARS BUT IT IS THE FACT THEY ARE TRYING TO SCAM ME FOR ANOTHER MONTH WHEN I DO NOT GO THERE ANYMORE.I THEY HURTING THAT BAD TO DO THIS.WITH ALL THESE COMPLAINTS WHY DOESN'T ANYONE GO TO THE PAPERS TO EXPOSE THESE GUY'S ? OH AND WHAT COMPANY HAVE U EVER HEARD OF THAT IS NOT ALLOWED TO GIVE THE HEAD OFFICE PHONE NUMBER THAT ISN'T CROOKED.SOMEONE HAS TO DO SOMETHING.
Jnae,I agree with Andre,go in there and stand your ground,be a total asshole to them if you have to,do not back down,ever.Do not leave until they cancel the contract,I repeat,do not leave without a cancellation receipt in your hand.Guys lets spread the message,let`s stop these scumbags.
I had vlad from extreme fitness tell me they "lost" my direct deposit info for my bank when i noticed that the money wasn't being taken out. So he told me he'd call me back and never did.
When i called back the next few days, i talked to some "accounts" guy there. He apparently told me that they needed my account info for my bank. I told him i wanted to talk to the manager and he directs me to the manager. When he picks up. I said "hey vlad, what's up?" hahahaha he pretended to be the manager.
anyways, i realized they said all that crap so they can let a couple of months go by and charge me nsf's i guess. but i took care of them by getting a hold of the real manager and making sure he took care of the problems. he basically had my info right there.
these guys are whack
I have had a good experience overall with gym. I find most of the staff friendly, and like my places in this world there is the occasional grouch or the singular sales person who is not following company policy.
I came in after a long stay in the hospital and was a physical mess. I looked so bad that someone had the police come in and run a record check on me. I showed them my operation scar, and that settled it with a sincere apology from the manager. After a year and half I am in great shape and healthy.
Because I use the gym constantly I find the fee reasonable. And once a month I have an interview with one of trainers and we go over my body fat print out and my progress. Then she gives me a few tips and I am happy. By the way you have to ask for a free consultation. I have never had a sales pitch after the consult. I only had it when I first joined and politely said no thank you.
Most of the complaints above are just regular service complaints that happen in any business, and are usually the result of an individual not following company policy.
Nice to see there are some exceptions but you can't argue the facts.
Do your research (ie. Better Business Bureau) and you'll see that Extreme Fitness has racked up an unusually high number of complaints in the short time they've been in business.
These guys will NOT last long and I suspect the few guys making big policy decisions don't care if they don't. The marketing/sales policies are designed to take money from your pocket as fast as possible. They stand behind smart lawyers, the fine print and the reassurance that most ppl won't fight too hard for getting swindled out of a few hundred bucks.
The culture at extreme is downright SLIMEY.
Can someone please tell me if i can cancel my membership with extreme? I just singed almost a month ago, and all of the horror stories are true. I know it's passed 10 days ( as on their contract) but i am sure there is something that can be done. If anyone have some kind of info can you please let me know, i really appreciate it!!!
ANNA, my advice is to break the rules of your contract. Read your contract and find out what YOU have to do to get kicked out of the club, but first find out whether that means that you are still obliged to pay. I'm sure there are some conduct rules...
ATTENTION: DELISLE MEMBERS.
YOU ARE INVITED TO anonymously contact a group of fellow members who are cannot stand watching our club go downhill. Members regularly complain about their concerns never being addressed or answered. We watch as our club goes downhill, services are slowly eliminated and membership numbers increase. Head office NEVER responds, nor does management. No one has a problem with the prices - we're happy to pay them as long as the service and club are properly maintained; however, we have a problem with the slow and steady decline in service and amenities and management practices.
Ever notice there are no Comments boxes at Extreme Fitness facilities?
NO ONE LIKES TO BE IGNORED.
We will gather member's complaints and concerns, and keep members up to date on our progress. Since the people who are supposed to be concerned about the satisfaction of their clients, do not, we need to take this into our own hands.
Should Extreme ignore REASONABLE requests, and continue to break the promises they made when they first transitioned and were signing up Sports Club and new members (oh yes, we'll be doing this and that...), we shall take our concerns to a more more public forum. This isn't a threat, just a group of members taking charge.
PLEASE SEND YOUR CONCERNS TO
EXTREME FITNESS DOES NOT CARE @ HOTMAIL . COM
that's
EXTREMEFITNESSDOESNOTCARE@HOTMAIL.COM
(we're serious)
I work in the sales at extreme fitness, and I would love to share some insight into this $8 promotion.
the'$8/month no long term obligation no excuses' membership is a 2 month membership. no obligation to continue on past the 2 months, and no excuses to cancel providing you sign up for only the 2 months.
at the time of signing up you can choose to either take the 2 month promotion, or sign up for a full 12 months. IF you take the 2 month promotion you only pay $8 per month and you are more than welcome to carry out the terms as highlighted on the flyer. and of course, the no obligation rate is HIGHER than the long term rate. that is self explanatory. the no obligation rate also varies in between $129 and $149 per month depending on the club.
I also urge everyone to simply read what they sign. these agreements do not lie to you. anyone who has had an agreement can confirm that in very plain font it does say "in addition to any downpayments, the buyer/member is obligated to make X monthly payments"
if you just want the 2 month trial and that number is anything but 0, then simply put you didnt get the 2 month trial. i dont realistically see how anyone can 'trick' you, when you have to sign everything for it to be valid.
as for cancelling the membership...under the 'automatic monthly renewal' category of the agreement it says if you want to cancel at the end of the term of your membership you must do it 14 days before the BILLING DATE. not 14 days before your term ends. this also applies for the no obligation membership as well. dont believe me? take a read for yourself. it continues on a month to month basis after the original term of the membership unless you renew it. that is also very plainly stated as well. no hidden messages or misleading phrases.
i think thats enough 'insight' for now. let me know if you guys have anymore questions and id love to answer :)
- one honest extreme fitness employee
The Extreme Employees turn over like crazy, they get commission up front, so they just tell you anything to get your signature on their contracts.Extreme treats their employees, and members like shi**, dont give your money to these monsters.
To this Davis Johns
My husband and I WON a free 3 month membership from your scam artists and we're both willing to go. WIthin a week or two of signing up we were both laid off and had no income but welfare for the time being since we had not paid enough into EI. Whne we tried to cancel we were told we were not allowed. BUT i WAS told when I activated my membership that i could cancel anytime during that 3 months. Well tell me why I went to your POS (piece of shit) gym in Whitby and was told that I was never told I could cancel. They called my husband and I into the new customers office and pulled my husband into a little office to stop the customers from hearing how upset he was. Extreme then started taking $81.25, $78.96, so on and so forth out of my account at least 3 times a week for each of us. The bank could not apply a stop payment since they would change their amounts every time. TD bank in no innocent one here either. My account had ZERO!!!!! overrdraft protection and between extreme fitness GETTTING their money from my account and the nearly 50 NSF charges I had on my account totalled more than $3500!!!!! I had perfect credit, now I am screwed. I was turned down for a mortgage and hell even a credit card from my own bank. Thanks extreme for screwing my future. NO ONE I know goes to Extreme. Bowflex has made a lot of money off of my referalls and that's the only way i will work out until the day I die. How the scammers are still open beats me. Oh by the way I forgot to mention, I NEVER recieved our membership cards. We never had a chance to even use the gym facilities. That a shitty business if you ask me. But hey if you're dumb enough to fall for that crap BY ALL MEANS, keeps these f&#kers open.
Did you read the agreement before you signed? I get the feeling you didnt...there are no REAL 3 month free memberships. Only free 1 month memberships to 'prize' winners. They let you exchange the 1 month free into 3 free months if you sign up for the other 9 months (full year membership).
Again, I can't stress how vital it is to just read something before you sign, despite the fact it seems to be a 'skill' lacking for so many people here.
wow i must say , way to stick to whats left of your morals and ethics employee ...or should i say PR department for flacon head inc ?
lol actually im in sales but that isnt relevant.
my point is that if you take 30 seconds to read what you sign, before you sign, then it saves a TON of potential problems later on.
should the staff be lying to or misleading you? of course not. so, just take the time to ensure you are getting what you agreed to and there will be no problems later on.
Here's an idea. Why don't you give your customers a chance to read what they are signing. Myself and each person I know that has signed with extreme has not had the opportunity to know there was anything on the back of what they were signing. On my contract there is much small writing on the front bottom. However they neglect to tell you the ENTIRE back of the page is all fine printed. When I was signing my life away they put the white paper over the yellow contract paper and there was about 2 inches above the signature line that were visible to me as well as the bottom blurb of jargon. Yeah I guess I should've taken the time to peruse this shit before I signed but does that mean every person should have to ASK to be told there is a lengthy contract on the back? A good business will inform you of everything you are signing and everything that comes with you putting your signature down on paper. And in response to your Only One month free memberships, that's bulls$*#! I was told I had 3 months free straight up. I was able to cancel at ANYTIME in those 3 months.I was told this by the actual person who signed me up! And you'd think without me actually obtaining our membership cards and therefore NEVER USING the gym facilities would give me a break when trying to cancel within weeks of joining. You lose your job and tell me you can afford a gym membership budey. Oh wait, that's right you have a job, ripping off innocent people. If you can sleep at night knowing how many people are being screwed over to pay your salary, then by all means enjoy the Karma you've got coming bud.
See your rights when it comes to Fitness Club memberships
http://www.gov.on.ca/mgs/en/ConsProt/STEL02_167897.html
See also the Consumer Protection Act, 2002
http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/statutes/english/elaws_statutes_02c30_e.htm
I have no problem sleeping at night. I make my living honestly as I only make 'salary' off of people who I assist.
Dear Employee,
Please explain why Extreme Fitness continues to charge ex-members the monthly dues of, say, $76 plus GST from their credit cards even if they have already provided written notice of cancellation according to the contract?
Extreme Fitness is just a greedy American corporation that will do anything to get money.
Buy Canadian
Boycott Extreme Fitness
Terrible Terrible Terrible! You can't win. We wasted thousands of dollars before we found Home Health Canada, and now we have the "gym at home!" They put a great treadmill in our house and their personal trainers gave us programs that got us fit fast. We work out whenever we want and the monthly fee we pay is still less than the gym fees!
Best thing we ever did. Save yourself the trouble and do the same.
It's hard to say with the info you have told me. When was it cancelled? How much notice did you give? How did you deliver your written notice? Did you go into the club or did you mail a letter?
Dear Employee,
Membership was for a year, paid fully by credit card on the day contract was signed (at the starting date of membership). Written cancellation notice was sent by registered mail 2.5 months before the membership expired, with the membership ID enclosed in the envelope. Did not use the club 3 months prior to expiry date.
Ann with the information you have told me I have no idea why this would have happened. Have you spoken to a representative at the club level already? If you have not done this already, or you did and were given resistance for whatever reason, let me know and I will help you in whatever way that I can.
Since you sent the notice through registered mail it should not be a problem for yourself to receive a refund for whatever the amount is that was billed to you afterwards.
I've been going to Goodlife for a while and I don't really have that much problms with them. I only have a problem with the location at the Manulife centre. It's so dirty there and the manager Excel does absolutely nothing to improve the place. They renovated which was great but the renovation now seem like some of the plans were just stupid. They use to have 2 toilets in there and now they have one and they increased the lockers. How stupid is that! Also they have a Pool but the change rooms are carpeted and they sell moldy and nasty from all the water that has gotten into them. The towels are brown (they are suppose to be white) and nasty and the service just seems to suck. The soap dispencers don't work properly and it's just nasty. Also some of the equipment is old and need to be replaced. Also if you go during a busy period you will have to wait on equipment because the place is small and pinched. I've made a decision to go down the road to the Goodlife at Bloor and Church because it's so much better there. It used to be a Sports Club of Canada before Goodlife took it over.
They are holding me with the contract that look like my signature which is fake and telling me that I had 2 accounts for the reason for being charged after the cancellation. What do I do???
I just cancelled my membership with this ripoff gym with an insanely pretentious staff. I signed up for a $15 deal which turned out to be more like $80 for 7 months and 5 free. Needless to say I got January and February free and had begun being charged again (without warning) for March. After being called ignorant and being insulted by an indifferent 'representative' (who hung up on me) I've had it.
I chose extreme because I had no problem paying more than most gyms because I was looking for quality (and on the surface this seemed to be what they offered). They need to realize that people pay for service and with prices like that, they ought to invest in a better staff.
I am completely flabberghasted at the number of complains and negative comments everyone has for Extreme Fitness... I have been a member at their bay & bloor location for a year now and have absolutely no complaints. No one tried anything to get me to buy anything or sign up for extras, the staff was knowledgeable and my nutritionist gave me her personal email so that i could talk to her after our sessions expired so I wouldn't have to pay any extra money since at the time I was a student. I had a few sessions with a trainer who was very talented and kind and even helped me out by being a model for an exam I had to take.
everyones experience will obviously be different but i have never had a problem with extreme. i only have 2 months left to my contract ( i was paying $60 a month for the one location with no towel service) and decided i would spring the extra $30 a month and go all out for all the locations for the remainder of my contract. when i did this the woman who helped me informed me that if i was interested in renewing my contract after it expired instead of going month to month at $90 for all locations, she could lower the price to $70 for all locations. while that's not bad i'd rather have the option of canceling my membership at any time but still.. i haven't seen any of these negative problems. :( i guess that's good for me, but hey there are no cookie cutter solutions to any issue as there are no cookie cutter people.
FRAUD!!!!!!
JENNI is clearly another Extreme Fitness employee and plant...
People who are typically happy with a service do not LOOK for a forum where people complain.
We all know that people generally won't take the time to look for a public forum to share their love of a product or service.
It's only AFTER a customer has been angered and is beyond frustrated with a lack of customer service or satisfaction that they seek some kind of affirmation by looking for forums. It's the old, "Is it just me??" syndrome.
Not that I'm a member of the Yorkville Club, but just for fun I looked at their description and if you compare the level of satisfaction with their service with Extreme, you've got to wonder.... other clubs have positive praise or no comments at all. I was a former Sports Clubs member for over ten years and never once complained about the service, and never once looked for a forum on the club. No need to... They were a good company and I was a satisfied customer.
I joined the Gym and stayed there for some time and when I was ready to leave they have shown their real face. Money is the only thing they care about. Their customer service is the worst. They have few locations and most of the time the gym is over crowded. You have to wait in line to user some of the facilities. I wanted to complain about their facilities, the Manager Elliot at 3495 Lawrence avenue location states: “I am the main person of the gym there is nobody else you can talk to or complain to”. Later I found out he is too scared to give other numbers. I will not join this gym ever again and will not recommend anybody to join.
This list is amazing, how can this company still be in business. My experience is the same as so many of you. I have a question if anyone can answer. I have discovered that Extreme Fitness is taking different fees out of my account then the contract says! They have never taken out the amount on the contract, it has always been a little bit more, no 2 months have been the same. Can this be legal? Has anyone else experienced this? Does anyone know what happens to the extra amount? Who's pocket does it got into?
Thanks
Thank you sooooo much for writing this article. My roommate and I were going to go and sign up for the two month promotion..then decide if we'd like to join later. I will not be going there!! I even had a friend that's a trainer there tell me to sign up...SCARY!!!
Wow! I had no idea my facebook group was featured in this article! haha. I'm MTN! But anyways, I'm so glad that there is a large number of people who agree with this situation. You guys sit tight, I'm cooking up a counter attack that I'm sure you'll all love. Don't worry it's nothing illegal haha.
Do a search of "Extreme Fitness" in www.ripoffreport.com.
Check out another forum: http://www.extremefitnessforum.s4.bizhat.com/
And check out the BBB rating of Extreme Fitness. It is "F":
http://mwco.app.bbb.org/report/1036564
And my favorite is the youtube video of Charles Huang (as posted above):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0p0uerkQtFo&feature=related
They all say the same thing. People are not happy. Don't go to Extreme Fitness. Go somewhere else.
My Brother is mentally ill and on a disability pension. Extreme Fitness sent him a flyer guaranteeing him a free trip to Florida and a free membership at their clubs. My brother was interested so he went in to find out more. We (his family) told him many times not to do anything and against our wishes he still went to the club. That much I will give them. After that, it seems they convinced my brother that everything would be free and that he was not liable for any costs. They did ask for a blank check (but at no time did they make it clear that he would be paying for anything). Naively, he gave them the blank check and today they have debited $200 from his account (took his disability $$s). My brother is on a disability pension and does not get enough money to support himself (I routinely give him money so he doesn't starve... NOT an exaggeration!!). This is completely unfair and the sales person who dealt with him must have realized this was the case. At any rate, multiple calls to the company have resulted in the run around and no so-called Manager will return my call.
What a joke... at the moment I am so mad I am not sure what to do. Please don't join this gym!!!!
Dear Phil Jones:
If you haven't doen so already make sure that there is a stop payment towards the entire company placed on your brothers bank account so they can't keep getting anymore money. Then definatley call the Better buisness bureau and the head of Extreme. The managers in store are trained to give you the run around and basically show a heartless side to you at all times. I feel it is horrible what has happened here. Some things you would think would hit people harder knowing someone doesn't have the same comprehension as you or I and would be easily manipulated.
I am not a fraud, and I was not searching for this purposely. I heard of the website and decided to research all the places I frequent. That is all. Sorry to disappoint you and your opinions.
the problem with all these chain clubs Extreme,Goodlife,Premier they have massive overhead,so it's constant gouching I belong to a small friendly club in the Beach System Fitness they quoted me over the phone and I know exactly what I had to pay
I am sure that the owners (Steve DaCosta and FalconHead Capital) are laughing all the way to the bank.
Remember the revised Golden Rule, "As long as they get the gold (money), who cares about anything else."
And whoever said anything about Customer Service?
Hello everyone!! Allow me to xpress myself please. Thank you!! I have joined several clubs since I came to Ontario, all over the province, some have given me headaches, some have given me what I was looking for and what I signed for. I have been in the same spot some of you are now, or have been as well, but let's consider this, there is probably an average of (light guessing here fellows) 1500 to 3000 members per gym, I'm sure a lot more in the bigger ones, and just not that much complains, so there must be something good about the clubs (or somebody doing something good) right? Lets face it, probably 1 out of 50 members complain, not saying that whats wrong should be overlooked or silenced, not at all, but dont judge the tree for its bad apple, you might miss the good ones then. One more thing, whoever join a fitness club for a couple of months doesnt really want to improve him/herself. Fitness goals, achivements, results, can take more than couple of months, gee I have been working out for a decade and still have a long way to go lol. It's been a pleasure people, you guys have fun!!! Cheers!!!
I just joined the Extreme Fitness, Pickering location. Then I looked them up on the net and found this blog! And the BBB rap sheet. And other stuff ... Yikes!! I guess I should have done the research first.
Anyways, these are my first impressions.
The sales guy was nice, no pressure. He did mention there was a personal trainer available beyond and above what was included in the membership, for additional fee. But he was not pushing it or trying to coerce me, he was simply being informative of everything they have available.
He walked me around, the place looked very clean and well kept. I noticed there was a person constantly walking around and wiping or disinfecting the equipment.
Girl at the reception also said goodnight when I left. I think that was nice, it just felt good. Contrary to what I am reading here, I have to say that my experience when signing up was quite positive. Then again, this is MY experience, and yours may be different (and for the folks who commented on this blog, it obviously was different ... sorry you had to go through that).
Okay, about the contract stuff. I glanced over it before I signed it and read it again when I came home. And again, after I saw this blog. Folks, I am not sure how you got yourself into pickle, but the contract is very clear and easy to understand, unless you are a total moron.
According to the Ontario Consumers Protection Act that came into effect in 2002, you have 10 days cooling period during which you can cancel these kind of contracts. And Extreme tells up front you have that option and how to cancel it.
I noticed that many of you are complaining of being suckered into signing it. Granted, it is quite possible to be sweet talked into what may be a bad deal. I can also understand that some people will sign stuff without reading it first. But you had 10 days to read it and re-read it and if you wanted, to consult with your friends, or lawyer or whoever! If you have not bothered to read it, don't blame Extreme ... on the contract they are very clear about what you are signing and they spell it out that you have 10 days to cancel, no question asked, under the provision of the Ontario Consumers Act. Even if you missed the fine print on the back, you could not have possibly missed that part. But if you did miss it, too bad for you.
If you're serious about a complaint, you should not complain on just blogs - to make your case stronger, or even to at least try to get some form of justice, complain to the Better Business Bureau. Best case scenario - your issue is resolved as you wanted. Worst case scenario - you're in the same boat as now, but at least you tried. I'm filing my complaint against Extreme Fitness today for their dishonest sales practices (and no, I'm not the first one to do so). The more complaints there are, the more proof that the Better Business Bureau has against Extreme Fitness.
Check out Extreme's Rating on the Better Business Bureau
http://mwco.bbb.org/WWWRoot/Report.aspx?site=160&bbb=0107&firm=1036564#ratingdetails
Here's the link to file a complaint(make it against Extreme Fitness Inc):
https://odr.bbb.org/odrweb/public/getstarted.aspx
A friend of mine at work had signed up with Extreme over a year ago at the Yonge/Sheppard location for the 2 week trial. She didn't like it so she cancelled it and started at the company that we work for now. We get a corporate deal so she decided to sign up at the Yonge/Delisle location and was there for 7 months when she got a call from her mom saying she got a collection letter in the mail. Extreme Fitness did not cancel her out of the system and charged her for the membership and it never clicked in that she was signed up at another location!
She called Extreme and demanded that they call the collection agency and have it cancelled. She also requested that they send a letter stating their mistake and ensuring that the problem was cleared up. Two weeks she let pass and nobody contacted her back. She called, spoke to the manager and they insisted that yes, she will get her letter by the end of the day. End of the day came and nothing. She went in the next day and had to physically stand there until they gave her the letter. Obviously this leaves a horrible taste in your mouth so she cancelled the membership entirely.
With the letter from Extreme stating that they had called the collection agency and cleared her name/account, just two weeks ago she got a call from the collection agency asking where her money is! She was flabergasted, as if this is still an issue. FINALLY she just got it cleared a year and a half later...
I signed up for the $8 flyer special for two months ($16) and am a few days late to cancel before the two months - has to be 14 days prior notice - or else i am charged $129.00. Has anyone been able to get out of this charge?
I signed up for the $8/month for two months special. I forgot to notify them 14 days prior to the special ending on May 31st and will not let me cancel now without charging me the $129 charge. Is there anyone who has been able to get this levied?
Why doesn't the government do anything about these "grey area" criminals? Search for Afarin Maleki and you'll see these criminals in Canada have it great. I was ripped off by her husband Reza Behroozian. They literally ripped off millions. Extreme does what? 10's of millions? Ridiculous.
Well, I didn't think it would happen to me, but alas, I've been hoodwinked by Extreme Fitness!
I was working with a personal trainer, which was costing me 180$ a month (steep, but somewhat manageable). Anyways, my personal trainer told me my sessions would be coming to an end, and I should renew to ensure a smooth transition. I sit down with a manager, scrutinize the contract, it looked fine, so I decide to continue.
15 days later when I get billed, direct deposit style, my account it virtually raped. Checking my account statements, I see Extreme Fitness has charged me a bunch of times, over 600$ worth of fees!
So I rush into the Extreme office thinking they've made a mistake... nope, apparently when I signed, they are still charging me 180$ a month for the first 5 months a session, and now an additional 300$ for the next sessions, essentially shouldering 600$ a month with gym fees tossed in there.
I'm flabbergasted, told them they didn't tell me I'd be double-billed if I renew services, thought I'd be billed in the same manner as before. The manager had assured me they could break up the costs into smaller installments before I has signed, so I ask him to do that. He tells me no, tough shit, go to your bank, get a credit card and start paying off your dues ASAP.
SIX HUNDRED DOLLARS a month? I barely make 400$ a week as a fledgling freelance designer, who can support costs like that?
I spent 4 hours of my time trying to quit Extreme Fitness yesterday, (as well as most of the weekend playing phone tag with managers, or dealing with people who didn't have any authority to cancel my account) Spent the Monday chasing runaway managers and trying to jump through hoops.
While waiting for an hour for a manager to emerge from his office, I poke my head in to realize he'd slipped out! Pissed, I sat in his office, and on his desk there was a giant stack of letters, all dated from June, essentially saying, "I canceled my account and you're still billing me; You're double billing me, cease and desist!", etc...
I finally managed to corner the manager while roaming the building and we went to see the head honcho together. My paperwork to "move" looked fine, and I could quit, IF, I pay them 171$ to cover my "free" three months that were on gym membership. They also told me, there was no guarantee my account will actually be canceled, it was the discretion of head office to approve or deny, they were simply sending my request to them...
Anyways, I was frustrated, yelled at them, called their scam, told them I was closing my bank account, and dared them to bring their collection agency after me...
STAY AWAY!!THEY SCAM EVERYBODY, WHEN YOU MAKE YOUR MEMBERSHIP THEY TELL THAT YOU CAN FREEZE IT IF YOU CAN'T GO, NOT TRUE, THEY KEEP CHANGING YOU, WHEN YOU ASK THEY'RE GONNA TELL YOU IT WAS A MISUNDERSTANDING, HAPPENED TO ME AND 2 FRIENDS, THEY ARE TERRIBLE, EVEN WHEN YOU CANCEL THE MEMBERSHIP THEY KEEP CHARGING TO YOUR CREDIT CARD, I HAD TO CALL MILLION TIMES TO MAKE THEM STOP
scam!!!!they also didn't tell me the truth about the freezing!!! they are a bunch of thief and liars
I also got riped off and I really want to get away from them!!
please save me!! my 1yr contract with extreme fitness has finally ended!! but im stuck with 35 personal training sessions!!
i'll transfer my 35P.T. sessions+1 nutrition session for only $1500! the price is negotiable and i'll even give discount if you are willing to take it before this friday(june 19th) so please email me if anyones interested!
What I find most distressing is the fact that they will lie to you in your face. I don't know whether they are stupid or really smart (thus convincingly tell you what is not true). Today, I was greeted with "Hey Lady, do you want to renew your membership? I was hesitant at first as I was running a little late for a class. But, I did give in and went and saw the guy named Gordon. This is my current contract or what it is supposed to be (Three months free+ one month membership transferred from the YMCA) then I pay for 9 months at 76 dollars. I froze two of those nine months because I was away. However, the payment continues even during the time freeze. So..MR. SMARTASS GORDEN offered me this deal. If I were to renew my membership I will get one month free+three months free from my previous membership and monthly rate of $64 (He adds, this is a steal). Of course, right there I got really mad. So, I told him that "you are only offering me one month free yet you are claiming to be offering four months free in total". He protested my claims and finally gave in five months free in total. Then, without asking for my permission, he went ahead and printed out the contract and forced me to sign right on the spot even after I mentioned that I want to think about it. He then told me that it would only take 20s for me to sign so I should sign. He claimed if I change my mind, I have 10 days to do so. (the story continues) I went and told him after my workout that I do not want to sign the contract. He then asked me if I want to cancel the membership now. I told him that I do wish to do so as I have three more months free. He then claimed that he does not have the proof of my gym membership from the other gym so technically I only have two months free. More emailing continued followed by my refusal to sign another year.
It's not like I hate this gym. I like the facility and I like classes. But, I loathe this guy Gorden and the likes of him. The customer service is one of the worst I have seen in my life.
Anybody have a similar situation? please read.
Toward the end of February, I received a letter (dated February 19, 2009) from D&A (R) Collection Corp requesting a balance of $519.87 due to Extreme Fitness (Danforth) Inc. Upon receiving the letter, I contacted D&A Collection and spoke to a Ms. Nelia Pacheco and explained my situation, as I am not and never have been a member of Extreme Fitness. I requested a copy of any signed contract or documentation as proof of my “questioned” membership. As the proof wasn’t available (as I never just any contract with the fitness centre), I was told by D&A Collection that it will contact Extreme Fitness on my behalf to arrange for the copy of the signed contract.
As of today, I still haven’t received any documentation as promised by D&A Collection. Instead, all I received is simply a letter dated June 08, 2009 reminding me of balance due. In the meantime, I’ve contacted D&A Collection Corp again and spoke to Nelia. However, D&A Collection is now deferring my situation and advised me to instead contact Extreme Fitness directly. I spoke to a Mr. Joe White from Extreme Fitness. I was told that I owed money because Extreme Fitness is the successor of XFit Jump Fitness Ltd. which I joined back in March of 2007. But, what happened is that the owner of XFit closed the business and run around July of 2007. Shortly after, this same owner opened Frog's Gym Inc, at the very same location, and I applied a new membership at this gym in August 2007.
D&A Collection has kept calling and harassed me about the whole collection issue. But when I made a simple request of having any signed contract sent to be to me, the proof is never delivered.
Anybody can help me where and how to resolve this issue is much appreciated email @ nvfuente@htomail.com
You should call the police... i had a similar situation before with Sprint Canada(that I was never a customer)... it is a harrassment..
Like most marketing promises, there is a trick. But I have signed up for Extreme Fitness twice, for very cheap rates (the first time I think it was $40 for 3 months, and the second time maybe $20 for 2 months?), and was not "tricked" into an annual contract, or into paying more, or into receiving personal training.
The tricks are:
1 - ask to see a manager. They're less pushy - I think maybe they're not on commission
2 - be up front about what you want, which is to take advantage of the deal. Confirm the price before you sign the contract. Confirm how to get out of the contract, and write that down on the contract so you don't forget
3 - cancel your membership when the time is up. That's the big trick - you can't sign up for $8/month indefinitely. You can probably sign up for $8/month for 2 months, and then after that it will jump to $115/month on a month-to-month contract. So you can pay only $8/month, but only during that 2 month period. And if you cancel when you're supposed to (usually 2 weeks before the end of the month) you will not be charged extra.
Trust me, I've done it - you just have to cancel on time.
We need to do something about their behavior. I am thinking to write a letter to the Government of Ontario for investigation. If any body want to join please send e-mail sjd1@bskyline.com
Check out www.ontario.ca/consumerprotection
Click on the Consumer Protection Box (shown in red).
- How to complain.
- Information about your rights.
- Cancelling a contract.
- Better Business Bureaus in Ontario.
Around Christmas, I "won" a contest and went in to get my 3 months free... after an hour of saying no to getting a yearly contract, I all but ran out of the Bloor St. location ready to cry about my body image - a pushy sell is only the tip of the iceberg.
Now, more than 6 months later, and at a new job, I'm being offered a corporate rate - payroll deducted. I'm very nervous about this, having read many of these comments before, and obviously my bad experience from before still stings. I am, however, being offered a rate of $53/month, towels in, for a year. My current Goodlife rate is about the same, but I only have one location access, no towels, etc. Basically, I'd love to have access to all the other classes, the equipment etc. Has anyone got a corporate rate? Any thoughts? I'd have to buy out my goodlife membership - $99. Would love some thoughts...
These people pushed me into joining their Mixed martial arts classes which i was told would cost me $150.00 for 3month.
when i saw a double charge of 150.00 i went to see them n they told me i had agreed to a 12year contract of 150.00 on top of my 60.00 membership fee.
No way was this clarified...terrible customer service on them helping me out with this situation
Hi Lore,
Here is my two cents.
If I were you, I will not touch Extreme Fitness with a ten foot pole. I will stay away from Extreme Fitness as far as I can.
These people are dishonest. They will take advantage of you, either now or in the future. In case you sign up with them now, you would have difficult time to cancel your membership in the future, in case you move or decide to discontinue your membership.
There had been many cases where they continued to debit the member's bank account (or credit card) despite having repeatedly requested them to cancel their memberships. They even debited accounts twice in one month, and never refunding the amounts back.
Also, their customer service is HORRIBLE. They are nice to you only if you are new and signing up for membership. Once they have your bank account number or credit card number, they will treat you like s..t.
Just read the previous postings in this blog. It is just unbelievable how dishonest and abusive these people are.
We need good gyms run by professional and honest people. And Extreme Fitness is NOT one of them.
Just my two cents.
I signed up for a membership 3 weeks ago. on the second week i had my assessment... after all the talking she showed me a budget for 100 training sections and nutritionist. todal of 750 dolar a month i told her i didint think i could affor and she asked me to signed it.... i then asked if i was commiting to something, she said that i was just signing a insurance form saying that i was aware that they offered me a trial professional trainer and nutritionist section...( she lied ) i then went back to the gym same then to cancel it all saying i didint want the trial section either she then made the situation so awkard that i had to say i was going to the trial but i could not commit yet and she gave me a cheaper budget.... either way i got a phone call 5 days ltr( new 8th day of my 10 day period that i can cancel the contract without needing a reason) and the this one guys tells me why i haven't been to my sections and i tell him i had told them i did not want it anymore and that the contract should have been canceled. He then told me that the contract was not canceled and i had to go in and cancel with on of the managers, that is what i did i went in right there and then and spoke with the head manager. He then told me that he could not cancel it only the director could and he wasn't in and told me to come back on Monday.
i told him that Monday would be after the 10 day period( unless its 10 business days) so i told him to gimme a written note saying that i was there within the 10 days to cancel but he could not help me because the Director wasn't there and sign it. so lets see if tomorrow he will be there and ican talk to him. hopefully they don't make me chase a wild goose... altho one of my coo workers went to school with the Gyms director and if i have any problem i can just call him up. otherwise im stuck with a 9000 dollars contract for the year... and i will have to change my credit card number and have collection agency's after me.
They must be trained in manipulation techniques, they completely lie in your face and scam you, they all have the same speech,if you have a complain,they all make you call several times until you get tired, they give you half of the information to get your credit card number, the worst is the manager at the extreme on yonge and sheppard,it seems that you are dealing with the mafia, didn't even look at you or listen to you,he just tells you "you signed the contract" they lied to me about get frozen my membership, they always alleged misunderstandings.They kept charging me for a year
I guess Extreme Fitness is run by a group of scheming and lying bastards.
One way to deal with them or get their attention is to raise hell just like what Charles Huang did.
Check out his video on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0p0uerkQtFo&feature=related
I hope more people will stand up against this bunch of lowlife.
I experienced a little bit of the same experience as written by the commentators in this forum. I, too, had the same experience w/ them. One day last month, I went into one of their locations in downtown TO, just wanting to know about their price ratings and that was all. Before I knew it, I was greeted w/ a clipboard, asking my name and address info, well, I thought, not that much harm, fine, I filled out the clipboard. Then, I was told by one of the receptionist to sit down and wait for one of their salespeople. So, I did and was greeted by one of their managers and was told how much the charges would be every month. So, as I was about to leave, the sales manager asked me if I wanted a tour of the facility, sure, I thought, so I went, I must admit the facility was BRAND NEW! After the tour, the following happened, as we were talking about the facility, the manager was busy fiddling with his computer, like he was drafting something, I thought, that is strange, but, I did not bother looking, b/c it was simply rude on my side. Before I knew it, he got up and went to the printer and handed me a contract. HUH????? I thought, I NEVER ASKED FOR A CONTRACT, these were the things that I did, upon repeated requests by the manager for my bank info/cc info, I REPEATEDLY REFUSED, the second thing was that I made the manager wrote on the contract that it was only 10 day trial NO OBLIGATION and his signature. On the 4th day, I got a phone call from one of their trainers reminding me of my appointment for the following week, anyway, at that moment, it dawned on me that I HAD TO GO BACK IMMEDIATELY AS SOON AS I COULD TO THE SAME LOCATION AND CANCEL THE CONTRACT. I READ the consumer protection law, etc, anyway, to shorten this, I went back and had to wait for 2-2.5 hrs for that same manager to give me the cancellation receipt, and that very same manager ALMOST DID NOT GIVE ME THE CANCELLATION RECEIPT, I TOLD HIM THAT I WOULD NOT LEAVE UNTIL I HAVE THAT PAPER SIGNED ON BOTH OF THEIR AND MY COPIES, SIGNED BY ME AND THAT MANAGER! He did finally! Elated, I felt, on the way out, NOT EVEN A SINGLE SMILE I SAW FROM THE STAFF, OH WELL, BUT, THIS WOULD BE THE FINAL EXPERIENCE I WILL HAVE FROM any fitness clubs, the only fitness club is the gym at my campus, that is the ONLY ONE I WILL BE USING AND ATTEND!
A LESSON OUT OF THIS: DO NOT SIGN, DO NOT FILL OUT ANYTHING, DO NOT GIVE OUT YOUR PERSONAL INFO, ESP. YOUR CC & BANK INFO, & YOUR IDS!
I just recently joined Extreme Fitness, and I have actually been really enjoying it.
I mostly decided to make the jump because where I work has a discount with them that knocked their membership to be $30 less then what I was paying at another gym with far less facilities.
I did the consultation and they moved into the high-pressure sales pitch. While on one hand I can see the benefits of a trainer - I /hate/ their marketing tactics.
They even tried the "Sign up for one now, go to the session - if you don't want to continue you have 10 days to cancel". I wasn't falling for that - and they seemed very unimpressed when I refused to sign anything in their office that day.
I found their sales tactic to almost be funny - I've taken a few sales courses at University, and some of their stuff was soo bang on to things I learned in the course. Few times I almost laughed out loud during the entire pitch (Even during the consultation which is just a ramp up to the pitch)
I have one co-worker that is doing the training and so far he highly recommends it - but I just cant justify the cost of at trainer right now.
But, so far - I'm using the hell out of the Gym, going 5x a week in the mornings + 2-3x a week at night for classes and getting my moneys worth.
Just seems like: Don't buy into their promotions, don't believe their contests, do not sign anything until you are willing to commit and don't believe the "no obligation" crap.
I have had my hate-on for the gym for awhile based on their marketing tactics - I'd read their fine print for shits and giggles, and I find it purposefully misleading.
Going in with a critical mind, reading the fine print and pushing back on anything they try to get you to sign - and you'll be fine.
Having tried out a number of other gyms in Toronto the past few years - bullshit aside, I'm enjoying Extreme so far.
***ATHELETE's FOOT*** AT RICHMOND LOCATION:
Please note that due to shared yoga mats at the Richmond St location, I was diagnosed with Athelete's Foot - a communicable fungal infection. The mats are not adequately cleaned.
When I requested to break my contract (with only 2 months to go) the management at this location refused - they would prefer to collect my last two payments than let me spread this disease to you.
If you or someone you know has contracted this disease at Extreme Fitness, please contact me.
Becareful and avoid these people at North York Location: Al Emadian, Greg Samuel, Sia Venet
It happened to me too. They made me sign a one-year contract with 3 months for free. Now that I think about it, the 3- month- free wasn’t really free. I tell you what hey do. The trick is that they break the cost of that 3months period and added to the rest of the months. But when you are signing the contract hey say you are getting free months,, which is totally BS. Now that I’ve terminated my membership within 7 months of my contract, they have voided my freezed months and charged me for those, plus charged me for the first supposedly free 3 months period as well, because I am moving and terminating my contract early. But still I was one of the lucky ones who didn’t fall into their tricks of trainers and towels and multiple gym access, nutrition advisor BS. … Who do they think we are…. I am putting a STOP on my credit card immediately after writing this comment for you. It feels nice to be free at last….
yep, be careful with those individuals, I had to deal w/ one of them, the person was a smoothtalker. Your wallet, beware!
Anyone coming down on Steve daCosta should probably stop. Steve sold the business years ago to Falconhead Capitol at a time that his 4 original clubs were doing well...both with happy members and little issues like the ones discussed here. Steve should not be blasted for owning a nice home or cottage...he WAS the owner of a good business, both good to his employees AND his clientelle. Things have gone downhill since.
Steve daCosta did not sell ALL his shares in Extreme Fitness to Falconhead Capital. He retained some shares after selling some / most of his original holdings. Check out the article from Financial Post, excerpt below. You can also check with Steve daCosta personally, if you know him.
Falconhead Capital buys stake in Extreme Fitness
Lori McLeod, Financial Post
June 20, 2006
New York-based private-equity firm Falconhead Capital LLC has purchased a majority stake in Extreme Fitness Holding Corp., and is planning to expand the Toronto-area fitness club chain from four locations to up to 20 within the next five years.
...
Extreme founder Steve daCosta will also maintain a stake in the company.
...
And guess who is running the show. Based on the information available on the internet, they are:
Steve daCosta is the President of Extreme Fitness, and
Jim Solomon is the Chief Executive Officer.
These guys are the ones calling the shots.
Free summermembership=a BIG CRATER FROM EF!
EXERCISE EXTREME CAUTIONS WHEN DEALING WITH THESE PEOPLE.
The male trainers at the richmond Extreme location has too much attitude like they're high and mighty...
"remember guys the professionals who signed up for those expensive $70 hourly session is paying for your salary"
so chill with your "i got the body so why gives a damn about anyone else here, and don't force me to smile" attitude
To all the people who said "complain to the BBB"...
The Better Business Bureau is a private organization. They have no legal or enforcement powers. They can't do anything about fraud and rip-offs. Scammy exercise companies are not afraid of them. The BBB collects fees from businesses, and in exchange they help their members look honest and trustworthy. Occassionally, they might spank a business for breaking the rules, but ultimately the BBB knows that the businesses feed them, not regular people.
NEVER SIGN A MEMBERSHIP CONTRACT WITH THIS GUY NAMED AMIR EMADIAN, HE IS THE MEMBERSHIP MANAGER IN RICHMOND HILL GYM. HE IS A VERY SWEET TALKER HE WILL CHEAT YOU AND SCREW YOUR WALLET. HE CAN BE VERY RUDE LATER ON. DONOT BELIEVE A SINGLE WORD THAT COMES OUT OF HIS MOUTH. HE IS A SCAM ARTIST
I can't believe this. Is it possible? How can they get info on other credit cards? If so - is it legal?
>>They tried to get money from me, I cancelled my credit card, and thye started charging my other cards!!!
I am in a similiar position - can you tell me if your friend was successful in her legal battle?
J
I recently started working at extreme fitness, and as much as it is a very nice gym, great to work at, and also as a member i find it is a great place to work out
HOWEVER,
All of the concers brought up by the 200 or so comments are completly just. I have just spent a week on how to try to avoid giving quotes over the phone. Although this may be policy in the fitness industry, i personally do not agree. Members have ever right to know exactly what they are signing up for.
If i wasnt so dedicated to my fitness plan, and satisfied by the workout i recieve from my personal trainer, i would no doubt be annoyed if i could not cancel my membership. As an employee i can personally vouche that the lowest price they will ever throw at you is either $66 with 3 months free or $54 with one month free. (if you do the math, they both add to $596 and are the exact same deal) You can sign up for $129 month by month no obligation, cancel anytime membership, and this is the only "not gunna get screwed" option, but as you can see, in order to make sure your not getting suckered, you must pay a lot more than what they advertise.
After you do agree to sign the contract, from the unlta trained salesman that has just spent 100+ hours in intense training and 30 days of a critical training period that sculpts you to be the best leech possible, you come to the second salesman on your fitness test who is solely paid by commision on the personal training he or she sells. Motivation to sell the maximum $9000 (nine thousand!!!) a year full time personal training/nutrition contract is a lot higher than the 75$ one time only personal training session.
The ferrari, BMW, mercades filled parking lots that are mostly driven by the VP's, GM's, CEO's and COO's of the extreme fitness. Maybe that can answer for the regular, fair, no obligation, month by month $129 that they never seem to advertise. Or the fact that the salesman is taking 10% of whatever you pay :)
I've been there slightly over a month and they've already managed get me for $468 in personal training fees. They're very sneaky when it comes to masking the real cost. I probably should have been more careful, but who would expect such behaviour from a gym?!?!
Check their rating at the BBB
I agree with what you are saying here, all I can say is to know where your boundaries are when
It comes to signing agreements of any kind, I have read most of the comments here, there is just
One pattern which is the euphora of getting someone to coach
and envisioning our worn out bodies to be renewed and back
to the beach body or to have one; gym membership of any kind
will NOT work the way anyone anticipate, look at your wallets and
be a SMART shopper DO NOT give your wallet AWAY!
I'm a young, single mother and quite overweight I must admit. Have been all my life. I joined the gym to try to do better for my baby and was thrilled with the $400 a year plan I got.
Then came the sneaky "free consultation". Let's just say I was tricked, yes tricked into a $7,000 personal trainers agreement.$7,000! Am I crazy enough to sign up for something that pricey when I could just barely afford to take care of me and my babe? The $400 I was going to spend was my tax return!
It's a long story about all that happened but let's just say I was lied to and then basically ignored when I made an effort to cancel this "agreement." They are charging my visa TWICE a month and it's almost to it's limit. I called the visa company who is basically unable to do anything.
I have no idea what to do at this point but I sure wished I had seen this site before I stepped foot in that place.Every complaint here is so true. They are deceptive, arrogant, liars and heartless people. You get smiles when they want you to sign up and after that it's like "I don't care what your situation is and what you said my "consultant" said, we want our money and we will take it no matter what you say"
Beware of Extreme Fitness and if anyone has any advice for me on how to get through this, please let me know.Thanks.
Cancel your credit card temporally , and get a new one. With a new account # they will no longer be able to withdraw funds.
or call visa and tell them they are withdrawing funds after you have canceled the contract. If you are lucky and persistent with visa they might even reimburse the money they took
good luck
I think it's funny how many of you are stating that you were pushed into either buying a membership or training. Life is about choice. If you say no to something then what someone else says shouldn't change your mind. For example..... You go to a car dealership and a man is pushing u to get a really expensive car, u say no because 1.. it's to expensive, and 2. u don't want that car. Exreme is the same thing, if yu buy training or get a membership it's up to you. Everything u need to know about how to cancel it in the contract. READ THE CONTRACT BEFORE YOU SIGN IT AND STOP COMPLAINING!!!!
mrs.extreme here is obviously one of their ididotic, pig-headed employees.There's no comparison to a car dealership.You could work with a car dealer to make arrangements and stuff if something is wrong.Extreme senseless doesnt allow you to do that.They just hound you for money,no matter what.They don't listen.I know this from experience with these monsters.So kick rocks mrs.extreme! You're either in denial or excusing the evil you all engage in.
I joined Extreme at Shepppard and Yonge location in January this year with 2 months free and the rest of 10 months at $56/month. I froze 4 months due to personal reasons and the 4-month coupon cannot be activated before mid-December. I am not going to renewal my contract, so can I still use the 4-month coupon that I already paid for after I terminate my contract? Can I give this coupon to someone else? If anyone knows the answer, please let me know. Thank you so much!
I am interested in organizing a street level protest with placards and megaphones and plan to demonstate outside of the Richmond St. Club in the coming days.
I too was suckered by Extreme Fitness with the lure of a 10 day pass. I signed for a year membership which is fine, however the next meeting - to sell me a personal trainer package was the offensive meeting. What should have been a quick 20 minute free assessment and pitch from them, turned into being held captive for 2 hours and 20 min by Extreme Fitness reps with guerrilla style agressive marketing techniques. I signed under duress.
One 10 day pass and several months later - they have taken 650 CDN from my credit card and I have not once used their facility - because I was so put off by their marketers.
I cannot even afford to take the bus at the moment to get my medication refilled because Extreme has taken all my cash.
They did not earn this contract fairly and their management today didn't seem to care that I cannot even afford to take the bus to get meds! I cannot wait to negotiate with terse middle managers and need to take it to the street this weekend. IF you want to support me - or join in becaue they have dealt with you unfairly too - contact me. A public display will speak volumes and I hope end agressive marketing from gyms, so they can get back to the bussiness of helping people with their fitness rather than draining their bank accounts. thanks Peter
Their (Extreme Fitness) practices are not very honest. They are not very helpful nor service-oriented. They are only after one thing ... $$$$
Maybe online protests could work as well. Maybe through Facebook, Youtube, other blogs, etc. Other people should know, so that they would not be victimized too. We should spread the word.
I heard that these managers were specifically trained to bully members to sign up or sign the personal training contracts during "fitness assessment" sessions. Because once members sign the contracts, they are "locked" into it. They make it virtually impossible to let you out of these contracts. They do not care if you can really afford it or not. They do not care if it ruins your credit status. They do not care if your bank account goes on overdraft. They only care that they get their hands on your money.
These "fitness assessment" sessions are a joke. They just do very simple routine exercises that really do not measure anything at all. It is simply a bully session to sign you up in a personal training contract.
This piece of shit fitness club ripped me off entirely of my savings account. This place is not recommended and should be put out of business soon before it is too late that they deceptively take all of your money!
They do indeedly try to daunt you into signing these contracts that have hidden fine print information that will affect you in the long run! Stay very far away from the unethical business!
They know all the tricks of the trade. They are making so much money. And so it means that they will keep on doing it. I told everyone I know to stay away from Extreme Fitness.
It seems like there are alot of folks providing excuses why they signed up for a membership or training. We are all adults, hopefully some of us intelligent, did you not learn to read documents before signing, or ask questions with more confidence. It sounds like everyone needs to pick their balls up off the floor or grow a set and walk away if you arent interested, dont blame sales reps who are only doing their job for you inability to say no. We all have a choice, you chose to sign.
Everything would have been perfect, if only Extreme Fitness is honest and professional and not deceiptful and unscrupulous. Unfortunately, Extreme Fitness appears to be misleading new members, particularly the young and trusting people. It appears that Extreme Fitness is actually targeting this segment of the population. And anytime one honest and one dishonest person deal with each other, only the dishonest one comes out of it as a winner. It is no wonder there are VERY many disatisfied members of Extreme Fitness. It sure looks like a very consistent pattern of dishonest and deceiptful practices (being done by Extreme Fitness). I agree with Luc - "They know all the tricks of the trade". And they are laughing all the way to the bank, to the disadvantage of many innocent and trusting members. This is a case where "crime" pays handsomely. And nice guys finish last.
View More Events
Suggest an Event
Join the blogTO Flickr group
Join the blogTO YouTube Group
RSS