Planet Fitness — Attraction in Columbus

Here's my BBB complaint...

I came into the gym (Planet Fitness) today, April 13, 2023 and was told I could not go in. I was told that I was informed two times previous to update my credit card information and I had not so I could not go in. I said that I had paid for the month as they had my bank account information and I was paid up through April 17, 2023. My complaint is that I was denied a paid for service in order to extort financial information. This should be illegal. I also was not told when I was reminded (twice) to update my card information that I would be paying to be punished in this way, nor that these reminders were being logged. I was also not told I would have to cancel in person while I was there. I went home to log in online and found this out later. I went back to the gym to cancel, told the representative my story and she only wrote "billing" as the reason for cancellation. My cancellation was processed. I asked how many days I would be allowed to use the gym still and was told a date in May. I asked if I was being charged for an additional month and was told that my direct withdrawal was "drafting" (four days from the end date?) I was not offered a refund. I had told her that I was not comfortable with the company having direct access to my account information if they had a flagrant disregard for the law and would punish a paid up customer. When I signed up I was suspicious of this kind of thing happening but for $10.75 a month I decided to ignore that they had no way to pay ahead of time nor any way to pay as I go or with a credit card. I was further suspicious of a back up credit card needing to be on file. In the past I have found these to be red flags for coercive practices and, months later, I see I should have trusted my instincts yet again. I could not find an account number online but my carbon copy of the cancellation has membership#

I would like to see a change in policy. If someone is paid up, Planet Fitness should not be able to deny paid for services extort from members

Refund

An apology. and if there are consequences attached to something or interactions are being logged then members should be notified of such.

And your response attempts to mischaracterize the event as a cancellation instead of acknowledging the reason for my cancellation and complaint which is another red flag. I don't trust Planet Fittness with my bank information nor do I trust giving them access to my bank account. It is being...

I'm having major back surgery tomorrow and you know since I don't go to the gym that I pay the membership for $24 a month every single year $45 a year just to renew my membership. If it makes a money off of me without me using their services my own fault of course. My surgery was scheduled for last week thank goodness it didn't happen because I was able to go in and try to put my membership on hold or cancel it. The young lady behind the desk was very kind and trying to help me but the gentleman he wasn't rude or anything but never turned around once while she was asking him questions and as we were about to start then he says but we have to have a note from your Doctor. I mean 2° I get it people be putting their memberships on hold but who cares put it on hold you can even have a clause to wear if they don't re do it within so many months that they say they're going to tsend cancel it. Tell me that he needed a note for my Doctor blew my mind away again part of me does understand that they would rather lose me as a customer a customer that doesn't even use their gym but pays the fee every single month faithfully. Oh well if they'd rather lose me as a customer then put my membership on hold for a couple months then that's how it is I guess but it just floors me especially with all the negative publicity they've had here lately and as many people as they lost just floors me that they would rather lose a customer that pays every single month then put me on hold for a couple months I just don't get it oh well they probably just save me another $24 a month for the next 10 years LOL good riddance to that bill that I don't want to pay...

Very upset about this franchise. I get my workouts done in the morning before my workday. With COVID the hours no longer work for me plus having to wear a mask. I planned to call this week to cancel my memebership, but as of last week my yearly fee came out of my account (which should have came out in april) I call to cancel my memebership and they tell me they cannot refund my yearly fee that just came out even tho i will never use their gym and they are unwilling to do that! In a normal situation i would conpletely understand, but 1)it is a pandemic, 2) i was never even told that the yearly fee was coming out as it should have came out in april not August! To me this is gym is more concerned about money then their clients. And in a result they have lost us for good. We planned on returning after the pandemic, but i would never be a member in a gym, to which the owners of the franchise wont even talk to their clients. And let alone who act like the whole world isnt going thru a pandemic!

Also i see a lot of the responses to other ratings as please follow up with a manager, but you cannot follow up with anyone higher then front desk. I have asked to get a number in upper management to speak about this, and poor front desk girl told me. They told us we are not allowed to give out their number.. great franchise huh?!?! Cant even talk to some above the highschool/college kids that work...