Complaints

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• Initial Complaint

  Date:02/22/2024

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I am rejecting this response because:   
  My concerns were not addressed adequately. The owner seemed ineffective in handling dates and dismissed my complaint as baseless. Let me elaborate: my friend, who attends classes at the same facility, informed me that ****** (the owner) is waiving cancellation fees for those moving, but my request seems to be overlooked. There appears to be a selective approach in providing assistance. Additionally, I am still awaiting a response from ****** regarding the accommodations he can offer.
  I am not disputing the $1450 charge; I am pointing out that we paid this amount despite attending classes only from October 18, 2023, to January 16, 2024. If our account was on hold, why were we charged on January 18th when no classes were attended? It makes no sense to be charged $500 between January 18th and February 18th if our account was on hold. ****** did not respond to my husband's attempt to confirm if he understood our request, and the lack of effort to reconnect is unprofessional. Accusing someone of baseless complaints when communication is lacking is unjust.
  I did not thoroughly read the entire contract initially, but I did notice that the first one presented to me stated a two-month membership cost for cancellation. ****** claimed it was changed to one month and sent a new invoice. Additionally, I am puzzled as to how my account was placed on hold until March 1st when I requested cancellation in early February. Our billing date has always been on the 18th since signing the contract, and March 1st has not yet arrived, creating confusion in this matter.the dates of the hold placement, insisting that we had to pay regardless of attending classes.He argued that he was helping by allowing the $250 February payment to go towards the cancellation fee, bringing the total to $750, which is unjust and not in line with the family-oriented nature of the contract. Additionally, another family is allowed to drop out early without any cancellation fee, emphasizing the owner's selective enforcement of rules. Despite reaching out respectfully and promptly, I am still awaiting a response from the owner. I kindly request a $250 refund as it has now cost my family $500 to cancel a contract that should have only been $250, especially considering other families face no cancellation fees.Enclosed is a copy of transactions illustrating a lack of communication. Contrary to the understanding conveyed, our account was never genuinely on hold, and charges persisted even though we weren't attending classes. Although approved by the owner on Jan 18th, the charge on that date should not have occurred while the account was supposedly on hold. Furthermore, the payment made on 02/18 was intended for the cancellation of the contract.

  Business Response

  Date: 02/22/2024

  I have attached a copy of the contract for your review. Our standard contract is a 60 day cancellation notification.meaning that the member will be charged 60 days of membership at the time of cancellation notice. I worked with this member at the beginning of the contract to reduce the cancellation time from 60 days to 30 days as a means of trying to work with her. See attachment "********************************* Contract.pdf", second page Terms and Conditions, section 2 - Cancellation.  Per the contract the member agreed to be charged the amount of $250 per month to be drafted on the 18th of each month for the term of the contract. She is disputing $1450 per her complaint, if you reference the attached file named "IMG_B2497931AD61-1.jpeg" provided by the complainant the dates of the charges are as follows:

  1. 10/18/23 contract signed and first monthly draft - $250.   

  2. 10/25/23 member purchsed 2 ea  - uniforms at $100 ea - $200

  3. 11/18/23 - second monthly membership draft - $250

  4. 12/18/13 - third monthly membership draft - $250

  5. 01/18/24 - fourth monthly membership draft - $250

  6. 02/18/24 - 30 day cancellation fee - equal to one month of membership fees - $250.

  The member contact me via email on 01/22/24 requesting to place her membership on hold for 30 days. I messaged ******** back and told her that i would place it on hold and extend it through March 1st, giving her 38 days instead of the 30 days per the contract. ********'s husband then contacted me via voicemail on 02/15/24 stating that they wanted to cancel the membership. Per the contract they should have been charged the month of February since you can not cancel while the membership is on hold, but because they paid 01/18/24 and placed the membership on hold 4 days later, I waived the February payment and only charged them the 30 days cancellation per the contract. ******** called me on 02/19/24 complaining about the cancellation fee and I explained to her that I waived the February payment and used the payment from 01/18/24 and only charged the 30 day payment, she stated that she did not read the contract and understands that I am running a business and if it stated that in the contract then it is what it is. I did mention to her that i would go back and review the timeline and see if I can work something out with her, I feel like I have bent over backwards to try and accommodate her, however I am a small business and can not give my services away and she signed the contract agreeing to the terms of the contract.. 

  Regarding ********'s statement of "Additionally, another family is allowed to drop out early without any cancellation fee, emphasizing the owner's selective enforcement of rules"', that is a baseless statement. 

   

   

  Business Response

  Date: 02/26/2024

  I have attached a copy of the contract for your review. Our standard contract is a 60 day cancellation notification.meaning that the member will be charged 60 days of membership at the time of cancellation notice. I worked with this member at the beginning of the contract to reduce the cancellation time from 60 days to 30 days as a means of trying to work with her. See attachment "********************************* Contract.pdf", second page Terms and Conditions, section 2 - Cancellation.  Per the contract the member agreed to be charged the amount of $250 per month to be drafted on the 18th of each month for the term of the contract. She is disputing $1450 per her complaint, if you reference the attached file named "IMG_B2497931AD61-1.jpeg" provided by the complainant the dates of the charges are as follows:

  1. 10/18/23 contract signed and first monthly draft - $250.   

  2. 10/25/23 member purchsed 2 ea  - uniforms at $100 ea - $200

  3. 11/18/23 - second monthly membership draft - $250

  4. 12/18/13 - third monthly membership draft - $250

  5. 01/18/24 - fourth monthly membership draft - $250

  6. 02/18/24 - 30 day cancellation fee - equal to one month of membership fees - $250.

  The member contact me via email on 01/22/24 requesting to place her membership on hold for 30 days. I messaged ******** back and told her that i would place it on hold and extend it through March 1st, giving her 38 days instead of the 30 days per the contract. ********'s husband then contacted me via voicemail on 02/15/24 stating that they wanted to cancel the membership. Per the contract they should have been charged the month of February since you can not cancel while the membership is on hold, but because they paid 01/18/24 and placed the membership on hold 4 days later, I waived the February payment and only charged them the 30 days cancellation per the contract. ******** called me on 02/19/24 complaining about the cancellation fee and I explained to her that I waived the February payment and used the payment from 01/18/24 and only charged the 30 day payment, she stated that she did not read the contract and understands that I am running a business and if it stated that in the contract then it is what it is. I did mention to her that i would go back and review the timeline and see if I can work something out with her, I feel like I have bent over backwards to try and accommodate her, however I am a small business and can not give my services away and she signed the contract agreeing to the terms of the contract.. 

  Regarding ********'s statement of "Additionally, another family is allowed to drop out early without any cancellation fee, emphasizing the owner's selective enforcement of rules"', that is a baseless statement. 

   

   

   

  Attachments:

  ********************************* Contract.pdf Email from ******** dated 01-22-24.pdf

  
  

  Business Response

  Date: 02/26/2024

  I have attached a copy of the contract for your review. Our standard contract is a 60 day cancellation notification.meaning that the member will be charged 60 days of membership at the time of cancellation notice. I worked with this member at the beginning of the contract to reduce the cancellation time from 60 days to 30 days as a means of trying to work with her. See attachment "********************************* Contract.pdf", second page Terms and Conditions, section 2 - Cancellation.  Per the contract the member agreed to be charged the amount of $250 per month to be drafted on the 18th of each month for the term of the contract. She is disputing $1450 per her complaint, if you reference the attached file named "IMG_B2497931AD61-1.jpeg" provided by the complainant the dates of the charges are as follows:
  
  1. 10/18/23 contract signed and first monthly draft - $250.   
  
  2. 10/25/23 member purchsed 2 ea  - uniforms at $100 ea - $200
  
  3. 11/18/23 - second monthly membership draft - $250
  
  4. 12/18/13 - third monthly membership draft - $250
  
  5. 01/18/24 - fourth monthly membership draft - $250
  
  6. 02/18/24 - 30 day cancellation fee - equal to one month of membership fees - $250.
  
  The member contact me via email on 01/22/24 requesting to place her membership on hold for 30 days. I messaged ******** back and told her that i would place it on hold and extend it through March 1st, giving her 38 days instead of the 30 days per the contract. ********'s husband then contacted me via voicemail on 02/15/24 stating that they wanted to cancel the membership. Per the contract they should have been charged the month of February since you can not cancel while the membership is on hold, but because they paid 01/18/24 and placed the membership on hold 4 days later, I waived the February payment and only charged them the 30 days cancellation per the contract. ******** called me on 02/19/24 complaining about the cancellation fee and I explained to her that I waived the February payment and used the payment from 01/18/24 and only charged the 30 day payment, she stated that she did not read the contract and understands that I am running a business and if it stated that in the contract then it is what it is. I did mention to her that i would go back and review the timeline and see if I can work something out with her, I feel like I have bent over backwards to try and accommodate her, however I am a small business and can not give my services away and she signed the contract agreeing to the terms of the contract.. 
  
  Regarding ********'s statement of "Additionally, another family is allowed to drop out early without any cancellation fee, emphasizing the owner's selective enforcement of rules"', that is a baseless statement.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 02/26/2024

  I am simply seeking a reasonable refund of $250, considering that ******* should serve as the cancellation, a resolution that the owner typically extends to other families as well. The last conversation we had involved him promising to get back to me, but it seems that unless I raised a complaint, I would not have received any further communication from him.
  

  Business Response

  Date: 03/02/2024

  We have not been unprofessional nor have I ignored her requests.  We are enforcing the contract that she agreed to and signed.  I have waived one month of charges already but she will be responsible for the 30 day cancellation.   In the contract it clearly states that a contract on hold cannot be cancelled and must be brought current prior to cancellation.  It also states that a cancellation must be in writing via email and will not be accepted via a phone call.   
  

  I have tried to work with this customer, however she opted to file a complaint to attempt circumvent her legal obligation of the contract. 
  

  We love our customers and our community and it is a shame that this happens to small businesses as people believe that they dont have to be held accountable and can just get away with not covering their responsibilities.  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 03/07/2024

  I just want to mention that my account was put on hold, and my monthly billing cycle starts on the 18th of each month. We requested cancellation in early February, but the owner neither confirmed nor denied our request. Nevertheless, we were still charged on February 18th, and the owner claims this charge was used as a cancellation fee. However, he also mentioned that he extended our hold request until March 1st, which hadn't even arrived yet. I'm confused about how an account can be put on hold yet still incur charges. In January, despite not attending any classes, we were charged on the 18th. Interestingly, another family was allowed to cancel their contract without any cancellation fee because they were relocating. It seems like the owner is trying to portray his actions as helpful, but from my perspective, we paid $500 without attending any classes for a month before the contract was canceled. We only participated in this program from October 18th to January 16th, and the total cost amounted to $1250. The owner also mentioned that he cannot provide his services for free, but likewise, I cannot pay for services I did not receive. We believe it's only fair to request a refund of $250. When we last communicated, he said he would get back to me, but he never did. It feels like he was just telling me what I wanted to hear so I would stop contacting him.

   

  Attached are the payment were you can see there was never a hold placed on my account at all.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 02/26/2024

  I am rejecting this response because:   
  we spoke Monday, February 21, and I am awaiting in exact words for a shout back to see what he could do about the charge. I dont understand how you can state you cannot give your services away for free. However, you are expecting me to pay $500 for services I did not receive. if youre willing to bend over backwards to help your members, you would clearly be willing to refund a portion.