Gold's Gym — Local services in Oak Ridge

Do not, and I mean do NOT, sign a “Month to Month Cancel Anytime” plan or promotion. I had an issue with the Farragut location about the same issue ( THE REASON I STARTED GOING TO OAK RIDGE )

I specifically asked for a MONTH TO MONTH cancel anytime and for the second time I get a bill in the mail for $350. I went in person and said I would be moving far away, and would like to cancel my membership. Everything went well, I thought, and they told me they’ll get everything updated and to have a great move.

I got a $350 collections mailed to me from Golds once again saying hat I have to pay in FULL. Not even a payment plan or a notice. They put this on me to pay in full and that I STILL have to go in person AGAIN to cancel. I tried calling daily for the past 2 weeks and the calls go to an Unavailable voicemail where you can’t even leave a message. This is a pathetic scam. There is no doubt in my mind if they just did honest work with honest people they wouldn’t have so many poor reviews. It’s discouraging because I left Farragut for screwing me out of a month to month, and it happened again here. This weekend I pray that the manager is available because I am going to be livid i. They’re not. I can’t even get an answer over the phone to verify management’s availability.

UPDATE - Luke is currently working to resolve the issue with management. I will change the review rating and update this message if this is resolved. Today is 2/11/21 let’s see how long this process is to resolve. Luke told me the member that did this to me with no warning is actually terminated for this being an ongoing issue. He also specifically advised me not to pay the collections because this will be resolved and that I will be called with the updates.

Update - Luke was able to speak with Billing Manager and the have since removed my account from collections, no payments are owed, and the staff greatly apologized for the prior Golds Staff Members actions. I am happy to know I didn’t need anything additional it appears the new staff and management is really working to resolve many prior issues. The reason I am updating to 3 stars - neutral is only due to this awesome service Luke specifically has helped me with....

If I could give this business a ZERO star, I would. I have been a member for about 5 years. I joined because I was training for triathlons and you all have a swimming pool. I went back in today after having been out for over a year and this place was absolutely disgusting! I was so dissapointed in a place that once held itself to very high standards. I wouldn't recommend this gym to anyone! It was so bad that after working out I immediately went to a competitor down the street, toured their facility and joined, went back to Gold's Gym and stopped being a member. I went to work out for the first time in eons at the Gold’s Gym in Oak Ridge. I know they take a yearly fee of $49 for maintenence but what the heck are they doing with it??? What is this fee they take out every year to maintain equipment actually going for? This place was so nasty. This is uncalled for and I probably will contact corporate about their facility. There is mold and mildew all in the shower, a lot of hair all over the shower. The restrooms nor the shower room looks like it has been cleaned in ages! One showerhead was spewing water all over the place, there was mold and mildew on the ceiling, on the tiles beside you, below you and above you. Ther was so much mold and meldew on the floor where you dry your hair. NASTY!! Multiple light were out. Trash cans were over flowing No paper towels. I never count on the soap there, but they had put gallon jugs all along the counters and in the showers. Good luck in getting it out! The equipment was ripped as you can see in the pictures on the padding. There was rust everywhere on the machines. What is my maintenance fee going to every year?!  I also always always always take flip-flops to take a shower. I don’t want to get warts and I don’t wanna get athletes foot. You’re going to get that here or worse!! I will say their swimming pool actually looked half decent that was the only thing. But they have went WAY WAY WAY down hill! I cannot recommend this gym to anyone and will tell them to run the other way! I am tempted to contact the Anderson County Health Department as well because of all the mold and mildew in the bathroom and...

Do NOT trust this gym with your card, your signature, or your time.

When I first signed up, a trainer sat me down for what I thought was a standard intro session. I agreed to do the free personal training session that came with my membership. I signed a form to confirm that—but what I didn’t realize is that the trainer later doctored that very document to claim I’d agreed to $1800 worth of personal training sessions.

I never received a single session, not even the free one. The trainer bailed on our appointment and ghosted me entirely. Yet despite my repeated attempts to talk to someone in charge—multiple visits asking to speak with management—I was brushed off every time with, “no one here can help” or “the manager’s not in.” Meanwhile, I kept my card info off file on purpose to avoid being charged for services I never agreed to. Staff at the front desk even warned me that if I updated my payment method, the system might automatically charge me the full personal training amount.

Eventually I got a hold of the trainer—he promised to “take care of it.” Spoiler: he didn’t.

Fast-forward to now: after months of being harassed over “overdue” payments, I finally reach a new manager. She tells me that the trainer has since been fired (shocking), and that my account only shows $25 in unpaid dues—but now also includes $85 in late fees. She says she’ll try to help. I show up in person again. Suddenly, “there’s nothing we can do.”

On top of that, they try to bill me for a 30-minute personal training session. Again—never happened. Not once.

I canceled my membership on the spot.

Here’s the bottom line: This gym allowed fraudulent charges to sit on my account for months, ignored every opportunity to correct it, and showed zero accountability. I’ve never written a negative review like this in my life, but this one earned it.

If you value transparency, professionalism, and basic customer service—look elsewhere. This place failed on...