I'm writing this to advise people of what can be politely termed unethical business practices or more commonly known as a legal scam. When I went in to Good Life Fitness to cancel my membership on the eve of my 1 year term expiration (actually it turns out to be an automatic renewal) I was hosted to a well orchestrated "membership retention" sales pitch. The Gentlemen was very nice and understanding and offered me another month of membership for only $5.00 to reconsider our cancellation request. I signed the papers - my first mistake. After all, it was only $5.00 for another month right? WRONG!
After 3 months a routine check of my bank account balances found that in the month following our $5.00 reconsideration month Good Life automatically renewed my membership and commenced automatic fund withdrawals of $17.95 every two weeks! Not following up after the %5.00 month was my second mistake.

Subsequently I called our local Good Life rep who (almost in a rehearsed manner) understood my complaint but could not do anything except to pass me along to the Good Life Head office 1-800 number stating that all "paperwork" is passed on to head office for administration -- they would help me. The answering Good Life agent was able to efficiently call up my signed paperwork on the computer. Evidently, despite our very clear wishes to terminate our membership with Good Life it became apparent that since I did not follow-up and re-affirm my strong desire to terminate my membership the membership was automatically renewed. I have no doubt that this is legal of course -- we DID sign the papers! It is also a deceptive and questionable (to say the least) business practice. Good Life took me for about another $100 before I noticed what was happening. Shame on me for not recognizing this legal scam sooner and SHAME on them for their now obvious and deliberate business practices to extract more money using such auto-renewal practices. Just because it is legal it does not make it ethical or proper and both perspective and current members should be aware of this slimy scam. Hopefully by publicized this legal scam I will save numerous others aggravation and money.

03/04/2010<br />
<br />
To Whom It May Concern, <br />
<br />
My name is Mary Quiroz, a member of your prestige company since November 2008, located at square one. My complaints was about this woman who claims she's working in your company for 12 years now and soon to be a manager. But before anything else, Shante your sales rep from that branch was able to talk to her to ask who she really was. So she knows her name and for any information you can contact Shante.<br />
<br />
What really happened:<br />
<br />
That time I was taking a shower in the shower room alone, when I came out and open the shower curtain, I saw this woman still in a complete attire in front of me (meaning she's still wearing her rubber shoes, gyms clothes), going to the shower room next to mine. So before I got out, I turned off the shower, close the curtain and left my stuff and towel in the hook before going to the steam room as what I always do.<br />
When I came back to take a shower again after using the steam room, I was surprised SHE WAS INSIDE !, (when the rest of the shower was empty and not occupied) where I used the same shower room and she saw me face to face that i am already using it. My stuff was still there, meaning if she is in her right senses someones using it. From what I know she is not allowed to touch someone's stuff for the owner may think that she is interested or a thief. So I saw my stuff just laying there in the ground blocking the way, and the stool which I used to put my stuff was in another shower room (disable shower room). I wasn't going to make it a big deal, but I found out my cream was gone and I said how come you used the same shower room when you already saw and knew that I am using it. I was about to come out when you came. So I said I am going to complain you, because what you did is not right. She opened the shower curtain telling me " You know what I've been working here for 12 years, so I responded that I am going to go to the manager, and she said I am going to be the manager soon, then I replied, Okay then I want to talk to the owner. When I went out to ask for help I saw a lady who is a trainer. I asked her for help because I was in my towel attire and still soaking wet, so I can't go out yet. I was just lucky that I ask this lady who is a trainer if she can help me or if she can call someone to help me out. She told me " I am just a trainer here, but I beg her to call anyone or SHANTE, so she did what I asked of her, because I am worried that woman is going to leave without knowing her name or her identity. There is nobody to call inside, no security or police, because for an obvious reason I understand that. Then I asked another person for help who is also a member, if she can help me to call someone from your staff (the response was slow thats why I asked another help from a lady). Shante came and I told her what happened, the woman told Shante that I was pointing my finger at her, (just shocked that she knows I was already using it). When I came out after that talk she accused me of spending 10 minutes in the steam room and leaving the shower on (I can't stay in the steam room for that long). This was just her defense mechanism to cover her faults. She said to Shante that "She's not allowed to leave her stuff inside the shower room". So where do you think shall I leave my stuff then!, when I am going to used the steam room and I am still going to take a shower, she said again to Shante "I thought she's leaving already". Okay let's just say that's my purpose... but if she doesn't have a bad intention then why don't she asked me or remind me that "Oh! sorry you forgot your stuff here". She didn't say anything, so I suspected she used my stuff.<br />
<br />
What led me to these complaints is because, I am scared that this happened to me and knowing that (as what she claimed) she is working or one of the company's staff, its going to be a bad reputation in your company. She is a negative example. Even though she's a member, what she did was wrong. If I was to tell this situation to everyone that I know, how are they gonna react or response. According to that woman, I remember her saying that she is an instructor in teaching "RPM".<br />
<br />
I am very much willing to face her again just to prove the truth. Hoping that you will take action against what she did to me, because this is ruining your reputation. From the point that I saw her in rubber shoes in the shower room, it's already wrong for the obvious reason of hygiene purposes.

After having spent two and-a-half years communicating with employees of Good Life Fitness, I have learned that the company operates in a predatory fashion that demands their employees, including the club managers who allegedly have veto power on the company's restrictive and one-sided contracts, to take advantage of every client to the utmost possible.

I attempted to work with Good Life after my trainer quit, probably because he recognized the bad name he was getting being linked to this outfit. I asked a minimum of six times for further contact from someone who had authority to make a decision regarding my discontent with the contract provisions for my personal training. I also needed clarification regarding the payments they demanded.

Stupidly on part, I left my membership go on, and the company took $30+ out of my bank account twice a month. I should have had the foresight to put a stop payment on the account long before I did, because it was only when they weren't receiving money from my account that I heard from them.

Actually, it was not them I heard from, but their collection officer who works at a law firm in Toronto. It is funny, I asked them numerous times to have someone get back to me so we could work together and they had my phone number all the time, but not one company representative had the courtesy to talk to me.

Apparently, it seems, and is probably true, that Good Life Fitness does not communicate by telephone, only by mail and formal requests. Doing so protects them pursuant to the one-sided contracts they make customers sign.

I am interested in finding others who have had trouble with this company and their bullying style business tactics. They have their employees gagged and harassed and run an autocratic service for themselves, not their customers. Perhaps we can formally complain to someone who can make a difference.

My contact is [email protected].

I had worked at the Good Life Fitness gym in South Calgary for almost a full year when i was suddenly "Let go" because head office had "over-looked", 11mos earlier, that i had a (very minor) criminal record. So basically i was fired for something they knew all about before actually hiring me...i had great friends at the gym that i worked with and really enjoyed my job there, but suddenly at the end of my shift one day they asked me to get my stuff and not return for atleast 3 mos to any Good Life Fitness gym. Unbelieveable.