May 2, 2008: Got an invoice today stating I owe $27 and change for dues plus $27 and change for (one monthe) past dues. My membership expired April 7, 2008. I called to speak to a rep. after being put on hold for 10+ minutes (due to high volume) I talked to a young lady who ATTEMPTED to explain that I have a lifetime membership with Bally's even though my contract was up 4-7-08 and that is why I owe dues.

I stated to her how can I owe when there is no contract. She said cuz Bally's says I have a lifetime membership. Then I said then why does all wrrtten correspondence and my account online state that my membership expired 4-7-08 (paid in full I might add). SILENCE from the ill-equipped and naive rep.

Then, I said, so let me get this straight, according to BALLY LOGIC, I CAN'T go to the gym until I sign a new contract and pay current and past dues for a contract I don't have. So, if I wait a year to go to the gym and then sign up for a NEW (required) contract I will still owe the past dues for that previous year even though I had no contract and OBVIOUSLY did not go to the gym. SILENCE broken only by "UH's".

Furthermore, I asked her to explain how I could have an "expired membership" and a so-called "lifetime membership" BOTH AT THE SAME TIME...no answer.

Finally, I asked her, am I required to pay the so-called current and past dues (per this invoice) for a contract I DON'T have and she said "of course not". Which brought me back to my original question, then how could I owe money for "current dues" and "past dues"? NO ANSWER!

Then, I stated to her that perhaps if Bally's would stop playing shell games with words, interpretations and smoke-and-mirrors marketing, then perhaps their (ex)customers wouldn't experience the long hold times due to high call volume. And, I hung up.

WOW, new ownership, same ole' bull$hit games from Bally's...may they rot in h#ll!

I signed up for a 3 year membership that ENDED on Sept. 9th 2007. I DID NOT renew my membership, but because I didn't call on Sept. 9th and cancel it they've been taking money out of my account for the past 7 months. This is a rip off! This is a scam! This should be against the law! My contract ended as of Sept. 9th but they automatically renewed my contract WITHOUT my authorization because it states that in the contract; the contract ENDED! How can they get away with this? Anything in the contract should be voided once it ends. They won't refund my money they've taken from my account. I've filed complaints against them with the bank and the BBB. I don't want to spend money to take them to court.

I Caryn R. Kershaw Morris have been a upstanding member of Bally Total Fitness since 1994. My husband has been in the military for 14 years. He was recently deployed to war in Iraq for 15 months and came home Jan 19th. We have PCS orders for Fort Benning, which is located in Columbus, GA. I moved to Columbus GA Dec 28, 2008.

My sons and I were engaged in the three year black belt program Bally's offers. I signed a contract for each of us. I did not want to sign a contract but the Bally's rep said I could get out of my contract by providing a lease or military orders, if they do not have a program or have a Bally's with-in 25 miles of driving. Well, the closest Bally's is in Atlanta, GA which is over an hour away from me. And they don't offer the black belt karate program either. My membership is paid in full.

So I called the rep and she told me after waiting to get through for 45 mins that I had to write a letter via fax and send a copy of my lease. I did just that. In fact I not only sent two fax letters I sent 3 and they said they never got any of them. So I sent a certified letter which Bally's had to sign for. I received confirmation they got my lease and letter, and all the documentation for cancellation.

I was written a letter at my new place of residence in Georgia that they could not verify my new address because the signature on my lease was not included. in fact it was. I have complete copies of everything I sent. All Bally's had to do if they were uncertian was call the number on the lease. How much sense does it make to say "hey we can't verify your residence, and then send me a letter to the very place you can't verify?" Which means Bally's updated my information and gave an excuse not to cancel the contracts.

So I faxed the information again and sent another certified letter March 17th. Now they are saying that my name has changed and they need all types of verification it's me. But yet, my sons names are the exact same on the contract as on the lease, and they never canceled their contracts. They told me over the phone they needed verification that they are minors. So I faxed Bally's a copy of their birth certificates, when it states clearly on their memberships their ages and birthday. I sent all of this information certified mail which my lawyer advised me to do.

I find that faxing does nothing, they just say they never received it, however I have all the fax confirmations that they did receive it. Which can stand up in a lawsuit against Bally's. I also asked for the full refunds of our contracts back dated from the dated they signed the the certified piece of mail, with all the documentation. I really believe Bally's doesn't bank on people to file law suits against them, however I will be filing a lawsuit if they do not stop the bank drafts and refund the money they took to pay themselves.

I have given written notification and proof of re- location from Houston to Georgia as required by the contract. As the contract states in paragraph #7, member may cancel if "more than 25 DRIVING miles from either the club of enrollment OR any other club 'which Member is ENTITLED to UNDER THE MEMBERSHIP PLAN CHOSEN'".

My interpretation is that if I cannot use ANY other club, as stated on this agreement, that I qualify for cancellation. However, Bally WILL NOT, after repeated phone calls release my contract. Additionally they maintain that they can "transfer" the contract at will to any participating club. This however is not the case and is not WRITTEN under this paragraph or any other paragraph.
The customer service rep. maintains that ALL contracts fall under this broad clause and they determine driving distance by www.mapquest.com. which is also not stated in the contract. It seems to me that they have VERY substantial latitude in their analysis of what is or is not permissible in their contract. I have had NO choice but to close the direct withdrawal account.

Inasmuch, all of the customer service reps that I have been in contact with prior to today in hopes of gaining consistent clarification (which has never been the same) as to my rights, have been completely unwilling to accept this written and supported assessment of their own contract. It is clear that my ONLY course of action is LEGAL as they continue to maintain their position. It leads me to believe that they hope you will not have the interest in a protrated legal battle and will succumb to this abhorrent treatment because of the absence of drive to bring the dispute to a just conclusion. I cannot negotiate with a customer service rep who is TOTALLY unqualified to provide legal interpretations of this contract, nor should they be allowed to do so.

I feel I have been cheated. I feel that in good faith I cancelled this contract using the procedures they set forth. I signed the Bally contract after reading it in its entirety. In good faith, I believed that abiding by the procedures set forth in the cancellation clause that I would be free of this contract. This company never attempted to make good on their customer service promise.

Furthermore, when asked to speak with a manager who might be somewhat educated about their practices the cust. service rep disconnects and does not have any intentions of giving his/her name.

My advise to be to others who are going through this would be to send everything certified mail, keep copies of everything. If you call be patient and wait for 45 mins document everyone you speak to at the time and date. Write down exactly what was said and go after them legally through class action lawsuit or small claims court. And make sure you bring all your documents with you when you go to court.

There were four of us signed up on a special corporate 1 year contract when the year was up we were informed we were on a three year contract none of us was aware of this for some reason when we canceled our contracts they reported us to the credit bureau we have written to corporate with no response where do we go from here? I am going to try once more to contact corporate if anyone has any ideas to help please let me know. Beware of this company they do not put people first. Watch for contract fraud as i said it was four of us not just me.

Several times now I have appraoched a heavy set female manager @ this gym about the bathroom conditions. And every time she is rude and nothing is ever done about it. Why does a public locker room have to look and be as dirty as it is?? This supposed manager who does not look like she has worked out a day in her life should not be in this postion-Her name is DIANA!!! I plan to report her to everyone possible.