LA Fitness International review: contract impossible to cancel! 14

Anyone considering doing business with Body of Change, beware. They are a very dishonest company and promote a cult-like following within. Their goal is to deceive the consumer into signing a long term training agreement. This has been going on ever since they were known as Pro Results. They changed their name due to alot of complaints from consumers and numerous lawsuits. They are beyond corrupt and the owners, Mr. Welch and his partner, should be ashamed of themselves. The only concern within this company is profit, profit and more profit. They will sign you up to a long term agreement and make it very difficult to cancel. Even if you are successful in cancelling, make sure to cancel your credit card that you have on file with them. They WILL continue to bill your credit card even after your agreement is terminated. Don't stop here. Read the [redacted] and google Body of Change. You will be surprised by the complaints. Actually, you probably won't.

OMG! i AM GOING THROUGH THE SAME BULL RIGHT NOW! I have a doctor's letter stating I have TB and the manager denied I ever sent her the letter, now I sent it again and she is telling me that I have to pay half of the dues or I can't cancel. my whole balance for the contract was 1100.00 but it has been three months into the contract and she is telling me the amount due is 884.72, DOESN"T MAKE ANY SENSE what do I do? I am sick of dealing with these people for the past 3 months! NOT TO MENTION - they had an employee that signed up an account - A fake account - that I was unaware of . The charges started back in July 07, till now! I just noticed! I still haven't gotten my refund and the manager is telling me that its weird but she doesn't know why I havent recieved it "Thats really weird" is all I get from that [censored]!

Yes Body of Change is a rip-off its all over the internet just do a search you will find thousands of similar complaints money scamed out of checking and credit card accounts why the State or Federal government is not stopping these practices. People are signing contracts they have no idea what they are getting into. If these sevices were so good why are people trying to get out of there contracts. Trainers have no training or skills they come and go every month there are new ones. Its a sales scam why its not ilegal I don't know but beware of Body of CHANGE.

I am also in a similar situation! Unlike you guys, unfortunately I do not have any medical problems nor do I have any proof as to why i want to cancel. What I do have is TERRIBLE service! Unlike most people who decide to work with trainers, they get lots of attention and their scheduled sessions are carried out on time and in a professional manner. in my case, my trainer absolutely cared less about my sessions nor did he even show up on some of the days we scheduled. In my opinion, it should be the trainer who contacts ME to make sure I AM coming? But it was always me having to touch base with him... There was 2 weeks that I didn't even hear back from him? His best excuses was, "somethings wrong with my phone." I would have asked for another trainer, but since i was going on vacation for a month and a half, i demanded a cancellation of my contract. My trainer told me that he could do it? When i returned at the end of the month of JUNE i was charged FULL PRICE for both May and June. When I raised all hell for telling him that I canceled due to his nonchalant attitude and poor service, also since he gave me the OKAY that I could cancel, to save his a** from trouble, he responded, "i thought you wanted to freeze it?" as if he knew nothing that I was talking about? EVEN SO? if i froze it, there would have been a mere charge of $15 a month taken from my account, not the FULL price of the sessions. I call the corporate office to complain, they tell me that i have signed up for a YEAR contract which was not true. becuase not only do I graduate this semester, I also leave this country to study abroad... So there is no way POSSIBLE i would have signed for that long... I do admit I am at fault for signing a contract that i had not read fully, but to me this proves how they deceive their customers. When i signed up, I mentioned that the prices were steep and that I wanted change my mind to sign up or maybe try another time. But he insisted on giving me a break and only have me pay a much smaller fee instead. but what he didnt tell me, was that he had binded me to the company for an entire year... I am doing everything I can to battle for my rights, but my voice is still unheard. The company continues to offer me free sessions, but they have still yet to guarantee me my money back.

Beware of Body of Change or Pro Results, whatever they are calling themselves now! It's the most horrible experience I have every had and I have waisted more money than I can think of. Service is terrible, and it's a sales trap. They work y0u over really hard convincing you to sign up by literaly slicing the original amount they wanted in half...so you feel like it's a real deal! Trainers have no education and don't care. I am in the process of breaking my contract and it has been going on for well over two months. I have recently moved out of my apartment back to my parents house and there is no club within 25 miles. So, as instructed by Body of Change I wrote a letter and included a copy of my driver's licence with my address and a letter from the DMV that the latest plate sticker is being sent to my new address. The rep didn't tell me that there was a 30 day cancelation period and ensured me that I wouldn't be charged again. I was charged this month and I called to follow up. I was told that a new driver's licence is not a valid proof of address change and the guy said "Well really, I have changed my licence address before to get a better insurance rate! you need something like a utility bill" Well...explain this to me...how in the world a driver's licence not a proof of address anymore?...if I'm moving in back with my parents...do you think I will have any UTILITY bills in my name?
It's a complete scam...PLEASE don't fall for it...TRUST ME...their trainers will not tell you anything different than what you can read in SHAPE or Women's Health magazine! Don't fall for their sales tactics of ..."We provide service...and you WILL see results" ...the only way you will see results from this program is by loosing weight because Body of Change is taking every last dime from you and you have no money for food or you are so stressed out that you simpy don't want to eat!

I completely agree and wished I would of read this before now they are pro results and I have just found out I have breast cancer and still they will not cancel my training sessions until they get $900.00 which I do not have. I really dont need this headache now I have enough to worry about and I am shocked that they are doing this to me but after reading these I see I am not the only one. as for the one with no medical I agree with that because while I was going and meeting with my trainer he was awful and not helpful one bit and acted like he could not wait to get away from me, answering his phone leaving for a min after he put me on a machine. It is not worth that much or any amount of money. I would want to cancel just because of this.

This is the biggest rip-off ever. I joined and then wanted to cancel and it was like an act from God to do but I did it in 2005, This is 2008 almost 2009 and they are still calling me reporting me to credit bureau's and trying to collect something that I do not owe. I even filed a chapter 7 and included them in it and they are still calling me.
It is like a disease you can't get rid of.

To cancel your La Fitness Pro Results personal training simply write a letter to the Better Business Bureau, and wait. Having an attorney send a letter to their corporate office also helps. These are almost always guaranteed to work if your problems are legitimately concerning (and referencing) trainer no shows, being switched trainers numerous time, harassment, stolen sessions, or misrepresentation at the point of sale (the time of signing up), such as being told you can cancel your contract at any time with no penalty or not being told effectively and directly that your contract will automatically convert to a month to month program upon completion, both of which I'll discuss next.

Very often La Fitness Pro Results sales reps will mislead you by telling you that you may cancel your personal training contract at any time with no penalty, which is completely false, (in some states) such cancellation usually requires a buy-out fee/penalty of 50% of the remaining balance and can total many hundreds of dollars. Some are in excess of a thousand. Also La Fitness Pro Results sales reps will mislead you about your contract automatically renewing. One of their 'gimmicks' in this regard is to use 'fast talk' and refer to this as your "Rate for Life Guarantee", when in effect all of their personal training contracts are set to automatically renew after their initial term (month to month).

In April 2008 (or approximate to that time) La Fitness mysteriously cancelled numerous contracts (and stopped billing) those which had entered automatic renewal, in which members checking and credit cards accounts were being billed for MANY months after their initial term, some for over a year, with payments ranging $100-$400 monthly. These contracts (payments/drafts) were mysteriously cancelled yet to my knowledge none of the funds were ever returned to the clients. This was done company wide, and was not mentioned to upper management or club management. This was a onetime thing. They did not cancel all auto-new contracts. It appears they only cancelled those who had been in auto renew for quite some time, as they let many in auto-renew at that time continue, and they still continue to automatically renew contracts on a daily basis. It may also be possible they've decided to let all contracts auto-renew, yet set a pre-determined amount of time they would allow such contracts to continue to be billed (for example an additional 12 months), then cancel future drafts at such a pre-set time.

It was suggested to the owners of the company and their corporate brass to provide a list of ALL clients not using their personal training. This was suggested as a way of increasing customer service. This was rejected. Why? They feared that if 'non using clients' (but who were still being billed/drafted) were contacted, they would immediately become aware they were still being drafted for a contract they thought was completed and not using, resulting in people contacting their banks in order to stop electronic billing, and this could cost the company millions! As a result, the only list provide to the club is a much shorter (safe) list of members whose accounts were active recently, but who have not used their personal training in the past 30 days. Anyone outside of that time frame is not put on that list due to the reasons I just explained.

I've been told directly by the owner and "La Fitness Top Brass" their fear is having an attorney/attorney general shut down their ability to auto-renew contracts which would cost the company millions of dollars yearly.

Also their clients have had thousands upon thousands of sessions stolen by trainers, resulting in trainers fraudulently getting paid at the loss of sessions to the clients, very often with neither the client nor La Fitness even being made aware, and sessions never being restored. La Fitness is aware of the loopholes which allow their clients sessions to be stolen, but have done little to correct the problem due to cost and inconvenience. Such solutions could include a finger print system, or a signature verification system, or simply locking down accounts which are not being used.

Also all La Fitness gym members need to be made aware that their billing information (while safely hidden) has the potential to used by the personal training department to bill ongoing services for personal training without the main members knowledge/authorized signature. This has also happened numerous times, to unwitting spouses and often by underage children, using their parents accounts even with the sales reps knowledge the child is underage and doesn’t have their parents approval. Sales reps have also fraudulently and intentionally charged accounts of members for personal training services without the members’ knowledge.

If you have had problems in these areas above, you may choose to contact an attorney, the Better Business Bureau and your State Attorney General.

The owner of the company is Louis Welch (LouisW@LaFitness.com)
The owners personal 'right hand person' is Suzzie Horton cell [protected] (suzzieh@lafitness.com)
The head of human resources is Mindy Stokesberry [protected] (mindys@lafitness.com)

Rob Bryant heads the legal department. (I'm not sure but his email may be robb@lafitness.com, robertb@lafitness.com)

Some other top brass contact info:

Mike Ulliberry 'Super Duper' Regional VP
cell [protected] (mikeu@lafitness.com)

Todd McSeveny 'Super Duper' Regional VP cell [protected]

OK, I just signed a 6month contract yesterday and I am seriously reconsidering. I had the feeling yesterday like I was getting roped into something but I really wanted to do something for my health. Now I am worried that I will be the only one worried about my health...! Can I cancel today if I just signed the thing yesterday?

I currently am an employee at LA Fitness and completely agree with what has been said. I am currently studying exercise science and was a member of the gym to begin with. As i spoke to the trainer GM over the course of a few months he convinced me that this would be a great opportunity for me. Being that i had completed my training certification shortly before i decided to try the job out. It started off on a pretty good note as in the fact that they just hand you clients. What most people do not know is that the sales associates, now in the black shirts, simply work off a commision of the packages they sell. Due to this they say whatever they can, in most cases, to sell you that package. The trainers themselves (for example) $40 sessions, only recieve less than %20 of that amount which is now where near what the general payscale in the industry is. They are not payed an hourly salary, and do not get payed for overtime because they do not have to work a designated amount of hours per week. I am not trying t defend them in any way im simply stating that it is hard to care about a company that does not care about you. The salesmen dont care about the cliental, but trust me when i say that i, as well as many other trainers there, have received nothing but complaints about the business practices at this establishment. It puts one in an awkward position to motivate people when they know at the same time that they got ripped off. They training mgt also pushes their sales people with promises of fast promotions. This is not necessarily a lie due to the fact they theytend to juggle eployees around quite a bit. If one club is doing bad they will actually take a manager from a better club and send him in to fix things. This usually results in one of the sales associates being premoted to asst manager. What happens in many cases is that these kids with no mgt experience are then put in a position in which they are not ready for. This tends to throw a wrench in the whole training staff. They main point is that if you are truly interesed in fitness as far as losing weight, feeling better, or simply for health reasons it will take deication and time. Just because your buying personal training doesnt mean it will work, if you truly want results you have to do it for yourself and movtivate yourself. Now i am not saying dont seek out the care of a professional just that when you do make sure that you have some type of information as far as credentials (good certification) and is repuatable. i agree that its terrible how they manipulate people to buy overpriced training simply by making it a point to tell people that this is the only way they will reach their goals. Simply enough, do not join this pyramid scheme-esk of a business. Soon to be former LA Fitness emplyee

I am going through the same problem right now. They made us believe they were doing us a favor. So now we have changed our phone number, address, and we are closing our bank account so they can no longer bill us for service we arent using. I recommend that everyone do this. I used to work for LA Fitness. They made us lie and scam to customers. If they did not have the money they would make us tell them to call parents aunts uncles friends anyone who could give us a credit card number so we can sign them up. We were told to prey upon elderly and " dumb " young people. I quit after 2 weeks i couldnt do this to people. So that is my plan of action for these a holes.

I found out that i was scamed after a few days and have been trying to get out of the contract every since. They all stand around and talk to each other all day long. They all tell you different things one loves classes one thinks there a bandade. one loves wights one thinks cardeo only... Whenever you ask a questin they ack as if you are a both to them. I havent seeen any results following there plain and i go the the gym 5 days a week for 2 hoours a day. They told me i should sign up for more training. When i signed up. me and a friend did it together and they told us we could split the traing and they could train us at the same time. They never told us the traing only last 20 min. we never had time enof for any thing. im going to be telling everyone who will listen that the training is a scam i might put flyers in the bathrooms ate the gym.

hahaha ur all fat losers who r all too cheap to pay to be a member of the gym. ur just complaining cause when u look in the mirror u still see ur same fat ### face looking back at it...i guess that would be depressing to me as well. for whomever called "working out a cult" wow ur a ###ing fat ### loser whos too lazy to get off ur coach with ur potatoe chips to make a change. if u spent half the time in the gym as u do on the computor typing up midless comments that NO LA FITNESS REP will read of give a ### about then u would be looking great! ur just sad u didnt think of it first! wow making money off of people who are fat and need to loose weight! it makes sense to me! obvviously there are enough of u out there! i love how the person who works for them is complaining! u loser get a diff job everyone now know ur a spineless losseeeerr! and i LOVEEE the guy whos name dropping all the"SUPER VP" hahahaahahahahahhaahahahahahha wow u sound like someone trying to drop celeb names to make urself look cooler...god knows u dont know those people and they DEFINITELY dont know u! im sure if u tried dialing the number they would laugh in ur face and hang up! its sad but none of u will ever be better than what u r right now...a LOSER!

In response to the comment above...aka LOOOOOOOSSSSSSER,

I have to agree that sitting on the "coach" is absolutely correct when they are being persauded and ripped off for [censor] services.Unqualified trainers. When these so called loosers go to the gym (which is the reason u have a job) they go to see these "once over weight meat heads that have only one thing on there mind (which is being a major CREEP and try to pick up girls) WHICH IS THE REASON WHY I LOVE LADIES ONLY! Not only is what your doing is illeagal and u will loose your job. But these people are expected to get what they pay for...in result they get a TOOL that acts like he''s gods gift

SWEETHEART THE ONLY LOOOOOOOOOOSER HERE IS YOU...u show absolutely no respect or remorse for litterally STEALING FROM other people ...THE SCAM AT LA WILL NOT BE ON FOR LONG SO U BETTER START SENDING IN APPLICATIONS FOR MCDONALDS with your qualifications, IM SURE U WILL DO REAL WELL...IN THE MEAN WHILE U REALLY NEED TO FRESHEN UP ON UR VOCAB TRY TAKING A FIFTH GRADE REFRESHER COURSE U [censor]ING TOOL . I'm also really sure that you can pay the $400 a month that these people are talking about being scamed for. That's enough to lease a 2009 BMW. So think about that next time you hop into your [censor] car. Or just take a second to think, for once, before you open your idiotic meathead mouth and make fun of people who wanted to better themselves and found nothing but a bunch of underqualified scam artists.

SIGNED THE NEVER FAT ALWAYS 105 LBS GIRL oh and hot