LA Fitness International
Reviews and Complaints

This club lacks basic customer service skills. We prepaid for two years before the club even opened. Our membership expired on a weekend and I came in the following monday to workout and explained that my husband would be in to pay for our renewal that evening. They were rude and tried to demand that I pay $15 to work out that day. I finally had to speak to the manager about it and she tried to say the same thing. After a long explanation about how I felt I was being treated unfairly I got to work out. Then when my husband came in to pay they back dated our renewal to the original date so technically Im out 5 days. Also they are supposed to give a free month for renewing but we didnt get that because we went past the renewal date yet they have no problem back dating our renwal and stealing five days from us! I also referred four people to that gym! All of this could have been avoided with some basic customer service skills. I will not go back to this gym after our next renewal unless new management is brought in and things drastically improve including the check in staff member in the morning who is very rude most of the time and when he does smile it is half hearted. The corporate office needs a serious makeover as well which is another story in itself!

As of this week all of the Televisions didn't have FOX NEWS on them and only displayed ESPN along with CNN and MSNBC. I asked if I could get one channel changed to FNC and was told that Corporate had blocked the station in all the clubs. I don't care what people watch or don't watch but why would you create a political issue in a business? Two members have cancelled at this gym today and as soon as I find a similarly priced gym I will be doing the same.

I went over the head of the operations manager, Sarah Kraft at my LA Fitness in Seattle and complained to corporate. She took me to court to try to get an antiharrassment order against me. She thought going over her head was harrassment. The company actually paid money to hire an attorney to help her. The judge dismissed the case and told her that customer complaints were part of her customer service job and "deal with it".

I joined LA fitness specifically to have access to a pool. After one week into my membership, the pool heater broke. Apparently, the pool heater at the Gresham and Pearl location are also broken. I was told that it was going to be repaired last week and nothing happened. Today I was given the "we have no idea when it's going to be repaired. Corporate needs to buy a new heater and we have no control over when they do that. It may be weeks before it's repaired." This is completely unaccaptable. Corporate should not hesitate to buy new heaters for its paying customers.

The facility is great, but customer service is bad. Dealing with billing is a nightmare!

I have been a member for 1 year, spending over $2, 000 in a year. At the end of the year I inquired about personal training contract renewal. The manager called me within a few days and informed me that they can offer to me personal training membership for $20 (the original rate was $30). I specifically asked if there are any additional fees associated with it. He informed me that since I am already a customer, there will be no additional fees or account set up fees. I also asked if I need to do anything else, e.g. sign contract, and he assured me that all I needed to do is to authorize transaction over the phone.

February comes and I look at my credit card statement and I see multiple charges. I called the LA Norwalk office and it turns out here how transactions break down:

1. $150: $92 dollars for training membership (new discounted rate) + 50 dollars processing fee (which I was not informed about)

2. $31 and S31 - monthly membership for 2 people (no complaints here)

2. $127 - training membership fee at original rate

Person informed me that charges are correct because I have two training accounts set up, one for me and one for my husband. I responded that it is impossible since my husband rarely goes to the gym and if he needs proof, he can check attendance records. I told him how my training membership was renewed and he repeated multiple times that these charges are my fault because I never cancelled my first training membership. I emphasized that I was told my account was being “renewed” and I never agreed to establish a second training membership. I asked to resolve this issue and provide a reimbursement. He replied that I have to cancel my membership to not incur further charges, but he cannot do anything about reimbursement since this is my fault. I asked to speak with the owner and was told that someone will give me a call back.

Is this how a person should be treated when I pay over $2, 000 a year? I understand errors occur, but I am totally taken aback that they are reluctant to address the issue and imply taht the issue is my fault.

I am a member of LA Fitness South Elgin and enjoy working out there...when the club is actually open during its business hours. Today, February 15th, the club failed to open at opening time for the second business day in a row. I, along with many other patrons, waited in the parking lot from shortly after 5am until after 6am, but no LA Fitness staff member with the ability to open the club showed up during that time. On Friday, February 12th, I waited until approximately 5:50am and, again, the club failed to open before I left. I personally experienced the club opening significantly late twice around Christmas time and once in late October/early November.

On Friday, I called LA Fitness Corporate to inform them of this situation. It obviously didn't do much good if the club failed to open the following Monday on time. I plan to call again today to report this situation.

As mentioned, I generally enjoy my local LA Fitness and feel that the group class instructors are excellent. However, management seems to have some difficulties...managing. Besides the early morning staffing issues, there seems to be a lot of facilities issues (broken equipment, horrible heating/cooling issues) that the local management blames "corporate" for. Whatever the situation is, local management needs to get there act together, particularly regarding staffing issues, before members start leaving in droves to the many other health club options we have in our area.

I signed up for a membership and was talked to by a trainer/manager/salesmen/?-too many titles but no scruples. I verbally agreed to Training with him-he gave me a few sessions then asked what price i would want to pay-I said, "no more than 120$ a month for training-he said he could train me with four One hour sessions a month for that price-he also told me he had credentials for physical therapy as i have a disability-I never signed any agreement for the training-When Mr? left that location several months later I asked if any other trainers were available with physical therapy credentials and no one could step forward but I was told I have a 12 month agreement-so another manager (I think everyone there is!) looked up my training contract-one i had never seen or signed and i had him print it out-The signature is so different then mine a 10 year kid could forge their parents report card signature better!
I am now awaiting credit card dispute process-thanks to all the people who complained about LA FITNESS corporate I went straight to my credit card with it-oh not to mention -it's fraud!
This company should get their act together and fly straight

there is an employee at the la fitness in grand prairie on I 20 that is rude to people. he yelled at a ladie for no reason.someone else wanted to know the cost for membership and he acted rude about it at the end he didn't even give him the cost for membership. so later on he got fired but now he is back working again. i don't think they should have hired him back for rude behavior and attitude torward the costumers.
the employees name is JOHN . i think he should be fire and not let him go back again.
that is my complaint.

I think that LA Fitness is a relatively good place to work out. They have good equipment and lots of fitness programs.

I joined there in October of 2008. This has nothing to do with anything, but my wallet was stolen on my very first visit. Then they tried to get me in on their "coaching" which would have added up to an additional $160 to my monthly bill. I did see the light and refused that.

ANYWAY...I wasn't using my membership enough, so I decided to cancel it in July of 2009. I went in to cancel and they said you can't cancel here, you have to send in written cancellation and it will take a couple of months. That should have been my first clue.

I got the form, and sent it off. I also learned this, keep a copy and send registered mail!

Everything I do is electronic. I don't get paper copies of any bills to try and be more green. I rarely use my credit card anymore, so when I logged on to check it the other day, I noticed that LA Fitness was on there and had been all of the previous bills.

I called immediately...and gee, guess what they said? Oh, it looks like we never received it.

I hate dealing with dishonest people. I played their game and did as I was told. They are the ones who got my letter and pitched it in the garbage. Why not? It wasn't registered, so I can't prove that I sent it.

Sometimes it is really embarassing, or maybe just depressing to know that companies like this exist.

I know I have no way to get back my fees for the past seven months. What I am really hoping is that someone will read this and realize they are dealing with a dishonest company and take their business to someone who is trying to do a service rather than steal money from their customers. The people that run the individual clubs were great. It is just the people who call the shots that I am so disappointed with.

A friend and I went into LA Fitness with a free 7 day pass. I wanted to try it out cause I am not a gym person but my friend is. She dragged me along with her and she plans on joining the LA Fitness at another location, but she wanted to try out this location to see if she wanted to pay the extra fees to use other locations for when she comes home from school. Well the first night we went in we had no problems with any of the workers and were able to work out with no problem. The second day we went in with our free 7 day pass, we were told me had to talk to the manager. Well, we already got a weird feeling from the lady at the front desk cause she was kinda rude to us about asking for our proof of GA residency. So we went over and talked to the manager. Well, he started talking to us and was trying to force us to sign up then, wasn't going to happen. My friend said she is signing up at another location and the manager became very rude towards us. He started harassing us about not signing up and about the prices of the gym. It kept going on and on. He even looked up other information about my friend to see if she was telling the truth. He called the guy sitting in the cubicle next to him to come confirm the information we had been telling him. If the was any intent of me signing up for a gym membership there, all chance was gone. I have never been into a business that a manager has harassed me so much that i felt completely unwelcome and embarrassed and I didn't even want to be there. I am completely appalled by the professionalism of LA Fitness. For this guy to be a manager, he is a disgrace to the company. Great way for the company to lose business.

I became member of LA fitness in Lake Grove. Personal trainers immediatly contact me to enrol for their traing sessions.

their offer actually was not fair as they were asking extra amount of money for enrollment for personal training. However, I just wanted to try for a month and see if it would fit to my busy schedule. I expressed that I would like to try it for a month. The mananger asked me to sign a contract. I signed it without reading, paying attention. However, I asked him if this is only for a month and his reply was positive. I stated that I do not want to continue more than a month. He said that would be fine.

6 days later I recieved a call informing me that certain amount of money would be charged from my credit card monthly for a year for personal training sessions. I called them immediatly and of course there was answering mcahine and left a massage stating that that was not the deal I accepted and I was told.

I called the personal trainer manager and explained him my concern, he stated that it will be fine, dont worry.
Meanwhile I got that severe cold so I could not go to gym for a while . Next month I went to gym when I saw another charge to my credit card. I went to gym to talk in person. The manager stated that I would be able to cancel my personal training contract in 3 days, but I called them in 6 days. Since I signed the contract, there is no way to cancel it. I asked them that I was misinformed, that was not what I was told. He stated that he did not remember.

TO make the story short, I lost all my trust to this company, they lie and make you pay money that you do not want based on misleading information. DO not sign anything with them without discussing it with your lawyer.
They are rude, their personal training sessions sucks.

I donot recommend anyone to join this fittness anywhere on the world.

The heater at the Johns Creek location was on "overdrive"- people were getting overheated after ten minutes on the treadmill as it is like a sauna...The manager was informed and stated that she was "aware" of the problem but that she could do nothing about it. Wow. Not only was she not empathetic with members who were unable to fully use their membership due to the heat...She was rude and had such a bad attitude; she should definitely not be doing front desk duty or possibly even be a manager as she has no people skills and evidently is unable to address member concerns. Managers, one would think, would be concerned about making members happy and would speak respectfully and politely when addressing member concerns rather than have a bad attitude...The heater has been on overdrive for over ten days; not being able to use my membership for that long a period warrants a refund of this months dues.

Summary: Phone call hell, rude staff.

I have never belonged to a gym so I do not know if this is common practice or not. I have my account with LA Fitness and 2 other friends on my account. I pay for all of them. I have no other connection besides they are my friends and I pay for their memberships to work out with me.

Well after several times I've asked then demanded to be put on their "do not call" list, sure enough I received calls after. I have been added to their do not call list a total of 4 times now. 1 was the guy who signed me up who eventually quit, 1 was this random girl trying to solicit me to give them give them more of my friends numbers so they could sign up, the last 2 were done by the manager/supervisor himself (Mike).

They call you at all hours, I receive a majority of the calls while I'm at work. After receiving a call the DAY AFTER I was put on their "do not call" list I called and ask to speak to their supervisor, they transferred me to Mike. I told him I was tired of these calls, I've been on the list twice and still receive them. I told him I want my number removed from their system, in which he replied with "we cant do that" so I said "what if I close my accounts there that will get me off the system right?" obviously I was very mad, he quickly replied with yes. I was given no option, I either receive calls at all periods about making appointments for my friends even though they signed up and listed their own phone numbers or I close my account. Well this was a really easy decision.

I went in there the next morning to close my accounts and Mike the guy I spoke with over the phone that told me I had to close my account in order for my to be free from the calls was there. I spoke with him and then his excuse for what he told me was "because I wanted to meet with you face to face". I went over there on my day off just because he wanted to speak with me face to face?

He changed the numbers and showed me the screen with my friends having their numbers listed. I thought it was done, I was wrong. I kept my membership open.

That was Saturday, today is Monday. at 3:29 PM I received a missed call (see photo). I call it back and I hear "Thank you for calling LA Fitness this is " . So I go in today in with my friend Mike is there, he see's me and obviously doesn't want to deal with me. I sit on the chair, he signs up 2 members with his sales pitch the "this is our last day for this promotion" and talks to an employee and completely ignores me, so I ask the guy at the counter if I have to schedule an appointment to speak with him. The coworker says I would like to speak with him. He then ignores me and goes and talks to the guy at the counter and while they talk and laugh.

He finally speaks with me, I told him I thought this issue has been addressed and he made his joke about "you must be famous, LA Fitness loves you". He told me to have my friend come speak with him about getting my number off his account, which seemed strange because that's what he said he did on Saturday.

Anyway he then started saying "Just as a tip for future reference don't let your friends put your number down" so not only does he lie to me he starts blaming my friends which was a lie because I was there with both of them when they filled out their membership stuff since its being charged to my account. Then tries to buy me off with their LA Fitness promotional bag.

After we were done working out I told my friend to go have my number removed as instructed by Mike. He ignored me and my friend while he was having casual conversation with some other guy. He finally decides to help us.

He then asks for my cell phone and asks me does this have a sim card in it because "I might have to buy a brand new sim card and have my cell phone number changed" and I replied with "or I can just close my account instead".

He then asks my friend how long hes been a member and he can upgrade his account which will get my phone number off his account. I then ask how much longer is this going to take and he tells me I dont have to be here and can go work out. I assume its so he can sell my friend who obviously wouldn't survive walking down the Vegas strip a more expensive package.

This is about 10 minutes of me standing there waiting for him to change the phone number. Then one of the employees is mad because someone closed their account and both him and Mike (again hes the manager/supervisor) are saying mean things about this former member. My coworkers daughter closed her membership when she moved and my coworker said they were very rude to her as well.

He changed the number and showed me both of my friends accounts and how my cell phone isnt on their accounts anymore AGAIN.

I am still a member of LA Fitness (My name is Jason and I wear a headband, wrist bands, and a gray Nike tshirt. Should you not believe me), but for how much longer? Until the next phone call is a definite cancellation, which from what I've read is a headache in itself.

Save yourself if you are thinking about becoming a member to LA Fitness at least the one by Walmart.

The salesperson lied point blank to me as he went through each section of the contract with me as I read. Anything I did not understand in the contract, he "explained" in a way that would work for his sales record. I asked for a 3 month membership for personal training. He handed me a "regular" contract and said that I could cancel anytime I wanted with no fees. Not only is there a fee, but it is only a "freeze" which means that it is temporary and I can't even use the sessions I have already payed for! in addition to this, He promised me free session and did NOT follow through. Now I am locked into a year contract!

I am so disgusted with LA Fitness. They gave me the run around about cancellation and I think their actions are borderline illegal. When I joined I was told I could manage everything about my account online, including cancellation, but when I went to do that after letting them charge me for 1.5 years for a membership I wasn't using, I found I could not. I called them and was told they can't cancel online OR on the phone, but I should write a letter. I don't know why I assumed that it would be taken care of within a month or why I didn't assume they were scammers and get it certified, but I wrote the letter and mailed it on October 27, yet on November 27, they charged me again and on 11/30 claimed they never received it. What a bunch of liars! I believe it must be standard practice to say they did not receive it if it is not certified. I had the same problem when I cancelled my personal training services they also lied to me about. So I called them today and complained and lo and behold, they were able to cancel on the phone. Why exactly couldn't the person I talked to on the phone six weeks before done that? The reason is they PURPOSEFULLY make it impossible to cancel so that they can keep gauging you for money.

I simply walked in to find out the cost of membership. Was told by female at front desk that she needed my name and number before I could talk with someone. Whats up with that? They dont need personal information for a potential client to find out the cost. No flyers or information posted. I got into argument with the female and asked for manager. She finally went got someone and then whispered to him what was going on right in front of me. he was as rude as she was. Very poor customer service. Needless to say I will not joining.

I was actually fortunate to successfully cancel my membership without a problem. However, this company is full of people without common sense. Just to give you a little background of myself. I am a single mother with a 4 year old son, currently attending college. One day I walked into the La Fitness that I usually go to and told one of the staff that I need to cancel my membership because I can no longer afford paying for it. I specifically said " What do I need to do to cancel everything?". Then he printed out the membership cancellation letter and told me to mail it in and I am all set he said. I did as he said and I was happy that they didn't charge me for the following month. To my surprise, I was charged for daycare. So I called the operation manager and asked him if this was a mistake because my son can't be there if i no longer have a membership. He said I didn't cancel it so they charge me. It wasn't a lot of money but he said he can't do anything about the charges but AS A COURTESY, he said he would cancel the day care membership over the phone for me. I even asked him, " does it make sense to you to charge me for daycare when I no longer go to your gym? I asked your staff specifically what steps I need to take in order to cancel everything and he never mentioned the day care". Oh he was soooo stubborn. He even put me on speaker phone because he was probably tired of talking to me about this. Anyway, these people are snakes and all they want is to keep whatever money they can get out of you. Cold-blooded thieves.

A new LA Fitness opened November 9, 2009 at Settlers Ridge shopping complex in Pittsburgh. In July, there was a promotion to sign up members. The rate was good. I swim exclusively in a 25 yard pool. The representative signing me up said the new location would have a 25 yard pool also, have a 83 degree temperature. After I signed, the representative said I could check out the Bridgeville, Pa. location (also in Pittsburgh, where the shooting murders took place). The pool there was long. But, I don't think it was 25 yards. I swim backstroke exclusively because of a disability. I noted there were no warning flags for backstroke swimmers to warn of the lane ending. Since then, July 2009, I have been asking whether there would be flags at Settlers Ridge. I called the Los Angeles corporate office in August. The customer manager there said it was up to the local club as to whether to have flags. Since then, Ihave talked to Settlers Ridge representatives about the flags. They took my questions. Said they would get back. Never did. At least 6 times.
Yesterday (November 9, 2009), I talked to the general manager of the Settlers Ridge location. He said that warning flags would not be added because LA Fitness wanted a uniform appearance in all locations. When I mentioned I talked to thecorporate office, he took my name etc, said he would talk to someone higher up, but would not make it his priority. And if they installed them, it would take a month or two to install. At the same time, if I wanted to cancel my membership, I have until tommorrow, November 11, 2009 to do it.

I swim exclusively 2 mile a day because of my disability. I can't use the equipment etc. I also noted the Settlers Ridge pool is a lot smaller in length than the Bridgeville LA Fitness location, and the picture of the Irvine location that is on the LA Fitness website. I have been swimming in a 25 yard pool for over 20 years, and know how long that is. I think the Settlers Ridge pool is 18 to 20 yards at the most. But, the general manager insists it is A Junior Olympic Size pool, and that it is 25 yards. I need to know the accurate length for lap count.

The lack of warning flags is the main problem. The safety of swimmers should take priority over the decor of the pool. And LA Fitness should have them in every location. If they are concerned about decor, they could incorporate tasteful prints or something into the ceiling near both ends of the pool so backstroke swimmers don't ram their necks.

I am very satisfied with the Y where I am now swimming. The reason I was changing to LA Fitness was it is 6 miles from where I live, whereas the Y is 24 miles. But, given the back and forth from corporate to local (I feel like a ping-pong ball, not getting back to me as promised (3 months plus since started asking about the flags, the lack of interest of the general manager (not a top priority), I have decided to re-up with the Y, even though LA Fitness is less costly, and it would save me a great deal of gas and travelling.

LA Fitness has been a very disappointing experience, and I have not worked out once at the location I signed for.