Viva Fit — Local services in Yucca Valley

I hate writing negative review of a small woman owned business, but the owner has pulled some pretty sketchy stuff and I think it’s only fair to warn others looking to improve themselves and find a community.

First off, the late fees seem to have pretty sketchy things going on. I recognize a business needs to protect itself, but I have seen and heard from others that card declines seem to be a regular issue for this business even if you have a valid card and the money in your account. When I cancelled my membership in June of 2023 I paid the fees amounting to $132 I received a receipt and a charge on my account and went on my way. Today February 9th 2025 (almost two years later) the owner texted me in a group chat with a “collection” agent stating that I still owed $132.50. Not only was the “collection agents” number not attached to a valid agency, but I am also pretty sure thats not how collection agencies work. If my debt had been sold to a collection agency I should be dealing with this through them and not the owner herself.

NOW HERES THE GOOD STUFF. This text comes after my brother left a negative review. Him and his girlfriend had a membership and cancelled around the same time as me. Our names are incredibly similar and have been mixed up from time to time, but because he wrote a review she came after me thinking I had left the review. FUNNY how her immediate response to someone writing a review was to bring up an “owed charge” from two years ago. Mind you, not once did she reach out before this situation to get a payment.

This whole situation is a testament to the owners disorganization and tendency to be vindictive. I am happy to pay anything I owe, but I did demand proof that my transaction never went through on their end.

I really loved going to this gym. I appreciated the quiet atmosphere and simple machines. I actually hoped to return because the hours had been extended and fit better with my inconsistent schedule. However, I will never return, will not recommend this gym to those who can afford as I previously had, and will be encouraging everyone I talk to to find another option.

EDIT: The owner has since replied to my review providing personal information about my account. Not only is your privacy not respected, but her response to negative reviews is overdone. She has since threatened to sue me for defamation for my review. She also contacted my job for some reason?? Absolutely beyond her rights and borderline harassment. She will not provide my the collection agencies information and has continued to contact me after I requested she stop, so that I can deal directly with...

I was here for about not even 2 months and then needed to cancel my membership due to moving, I canceled it on may 15 and then was charged again on June 15 for another month I had already stopped going way before that. I then called the owner and she said she would get my refund back. 3 days later passed and I still hadn’t got my refund nor any text message regarding it. so I proceeded to text her, she replied telling me that “ Hello you it’s a 30 day notice that is required so you are charged your last month you should’ve been charged at the time of cancellation. But they let it roll over into the last month so that’s your 30 day notice but you have 60 days to use the gym.” , I replied saying “ I had already stopped going before my last month and I did call you the 15 but no pick up till I called the 16 again . So I don’t get a refund ? I am moving and don’t have time to be going is why I canceled and I think I did let you know about that “ . My message never delivered meaning she had either blocked me or was ignoring me so I decided to call her off my boyfriends number and she answered right away so I asked her why exactly I wasn’t getting my refund back and she explained on the contract it says I have to give a “30 day notice “ which I understood but then told me I only have 45 days to work out when I first had 60..? I have it on text) , it just sucks I was charged again in middle of moving situation and then the fact she didn’t let me know what was even going on or why I wasn’t even going to get my refund back. Especially blocking my number or not even getting a reply is very...

I did not allow anonymous negative reviews, of this gym, to discourage me. I regret this and later learned why. If you cancel your membership you will be punished and/or harassed by the owner. The punishment is financial extortion or worse. Owner does not respond to negative reviews like an adult. She reacts with vengeance for canceling, joining 5 star, and negative reviews. The owner of viva demonstrates obsessive desperation to compete with 5 star despite 5 star leaving her alone entirely. It is not possible for this gym to compete with 5 star. Instead of developing and promoting markets where she has the advantage, she harasses people who belong to her gym and escalates after they understandably leave. Owner is also inconsistent developing the strength of her environment. Example; she had? has? a VERY popular & successful boot camp program that has an advantage of a small gym over 5 Star. The time viva gym owner spends on her replies to bad reviews could make boot camp a big success. The time she spends harassing former members could make boot camp a huge success. The other advantage viva gym owner squanders is child care & classes. Last I heard, the play area was ripped out for duplicate equipment. Btw, changes to the gym are as unpredictable as she. Smsh! My informed prediction is that Viva Gym will fail soon. Owner will have no one to blame but herself; her responses to bad reviews illustrate a complete lack of...