Retro Fitness
Reviews and Complaints

Re: Personal Training Session

I am writing to your company about a problem with my personal training sessions that I've paid for over a year ago, that I'm not able to use now unless I pay for a yearly personal training session again.

On March 31, 2018 I spoke with your District Manager Kelian and Personal Trainer Jessica at your Park Slope location about the contract of personal training sessions that I did not authorize. I was charged for 8 sessions already without given consent for a yearly contract. When I spoke with Kelian, we agreed the personal training contract would be cancelled and I would be able to use my paid personal training sessions (total of 10, two additional for free) when I'm ready to use them.

On April 18, 2019 I had an assessment with a personal trainer to use my personal training sessions. After our assessment, I was informed that I would have to pay for a year of personal training sessions in order to use my 10 already paid sessions. The personal trainer stated Kelian informed her I'm not able to use it unless I pay for a year of personal training sessions.

The agreement Kelian and I made at our meeting was to use my 10 paid sessions to my discretion without additionally charges. Now our agreement is not being met. I like your gym and I like the convenient location of the gym to me. All I am asking for is your company to honor our agreement of me using my 10 paid personal training classes without having to sign up for a year of personal training sessions. I hope your company doesn't take the client's money without proving a service.

If you would like to hear the conversation of our meeting held on March 31, 2018, I would happy to send it you.

Thank you for taking the time to read my letter.

Sincerely,

Tangela Johnson
[protected]@gmail.com

I cancelled my membership on a third day I signed a contract (May 29h 2018). Just came to the gym on Y avenue (325 Ave Y
Brooklyn NY 11223 )and told manager (don't recall his exact name James/Jason- gingerish guy with a beard) that I am done with them. I asked do I have to sign anything, he responded no, it s ok. I just need to give my name and my retro card, so I did. After a month I noticed that card was charged about $63. I called to the gym/to ABC they responded it was just some maintenance fee that I had to pay anyway. WTF?! Moreover, I figured out that my membership was not cancelled but frozen I WAS NEVER TOLD BOUT IT! to finish my membership they offered me to pay more $250! $250 for 2 days of straining in a dirty gym! None of these terms were stated before I signed a contract which was on their tablet! I realized that they don't deserve fair treatment, so just cancelled my card. I am still getting emails with demands to pay. But they cannot force you. If somebody ever had the same experience as I did, please let's gather in group and make a petition to end their fraudulent business. Companies like this shouldn't exist in US. They know that their business is illegal, otherwise they would sue everyone who stops monthly robbery of the card like I did. Let's get in touch and file official complaint on them, their business is rotten and easily can get destroyed if more than 100 people gather together and go to the court.

My daughter is attempting to cancel a membership and is being told it is non-cancellable.

She joined a gym in Staten Island NY and recently moved to Brooklyn. While there is a Retro location within 25 miles of her home, she no longer has a car and the cost and hardship of getting to the gym makes it an unreasonable choice for her.

she is being told that she must continue to pay through 2019 - even if she no longer is able to attend

How do we get retro to approve this cancellation

It takes 5 minutes to sign up but impossible to cancel. Called ABC financial to cancel said I need a certified letter or go in the gym, I went into the gym & because my annual fee was due 2 weeks after I wanted to cancel they wanted me to play that plus the monthly fee. I refused so the gym employee who was very rude refused to cancel it, now a month later got letter from financial company about my credit card. I refuse to pay especially since when I started I paid the full annual fee & I was only a member for 3 months. Very disappointing, will never join a gym again.

Hi i am complaining and asking help from you people to know how to get out of a 2 year contract with this gym, i can't stand this place its like im working out in someone's crowded basement all the time i want to leave as soon as possible but i don't know how i can get out of this contract, it's becoming a waste of my money. Please give me suggestions to help me.

Retro fitness (billed through abc financial) has a horrible cancellation policy. You cannot do it over the phone. You cannot do it in person. You must send a certified letter to the manager, wait for it to be acknowledged, and then the cancellation process will begin. They will continue billing for two more months. I was told, "well, you'll be able to use the gym in those two months." really? Wow. Thanks. I paid for it. It just so happened that my annual renewal fee was in the second month of cancellation. Did they charge me? You bet! Another forty bucks. They received my cancellation letter june 26th, scanned it into the system on july 3rd. I was charged for july. I was charged again on august 25th for both the membership fee and the annual fee. And this "less costly" version of getting out of this place was only possible because my contract was expired! If it was not expired, I would also have to pay for the entire year (or whatever was left on the contract). Do yourself a favor-go somewhere else. They have nothing special to offer and they will continue to charge your credit card. If you cancel your credit card you will end up with bills from a collection agency. This is going to smash your credit score to bits.

Oh, but hey, you can sell your membership to some other poor slob. Oh, but then you must pay a twenty-five dollar fee to sell your membership!

I am going to "join" a gym that doesn't hold my money hostage. For example, planet fitness allows you to pay month to month - no contract.

Compared with many gyms, Retro Fitness does not give their consumers physical copies of their contracts. It was emailed to them. There is not even a place where the consumer was asked to put an X to say I accept in the computer. They were not also counseled about their ABSOLUTELY NO-CANCELLATION (which should have stipulated that the contract is for life) terms. NOTE: this is also contradictory because if you cannot cancel, then why are they fining you a hefty fee when you want to cancel. If you take a look at other gym contracts, they put the actual amount on the page with the client's signature. RETRO FITNESS must not have asked a good lawyer to draft their contract. They probably thought they can get away with it.
Here are places who will welcome your complains to fine them and sent to prison: 1. Department of Law and Public Safety
Division of Consumer Affairs in YOUR STATE
2. Office of The Attorney General in your state
3. your local news
.
4. Federal Trade Commission
Bureau of Consumer Protection
600 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20580

If you have the chance there are more agencies where you can report them. Good luck.

Do Not join Retro Fitness. They will NOT allow you to cancel your membership and will charge you an extra two months - if they do not receive your certified letter 60 days before your membership is to renew.

That's right... every contract Automatically Renews. Plus you must send the certified letter 60 days before your renewal date, to cancel according to ABC Financial Services, Inc.

I sent my certified letter in weeks before the renewal, received the certified letter receipt before the renewal date, and they gladly allowed the account to go past due and into collections. Even though I stated in the letter NOT TO RENEW.

This is their way to get 2 more months out of you - DO NOT JOIN RetroFitness ANYWHERE. OH AND THEY ARE CALLING ME 3-5 TIMES A DAY, NOW THAT THEY PUT ME IN COLLECTIONS!

The billing company is ABC Financial, Inc. They will over charge you 2 months when you want to cancel your 1 year membership. Of course you must send them a certified letter (which I did, with return receipt) 60 days before your contract ends. I did what the contract called for and now they refuse to cancel my contract without paying the extra 2 months. This club is a scam for the extra 2 months they charge people after the 1 year contract is satisfied.

I joined la fitness in 2006 and I was able to cancel the membership anytime (which I did by sending a letter 6 months after).

DO NOT JOIN RETRO FITNESS - DO NOT PAY BY CHECK - DO NOT JOIN THIS SCAM - THE OWNER TRAINS THE WORKERS TO BE NICE ONLY WHEN YOU JOIN - AFTER YOU SIGN-UP THE COMPUTER SAYS HELLO TO YOU WHEN YOU SCAN YOUR KEY, AND THE OWNER JUST STAIRS YOU DOWN - PLUS THE MENS LOCKER ROOM WAS ALWAYS SLOPPY AND ARE VERY SMALL - THERE ARE 2 LOCATIONS WHERE I LIVE IN NJ THAT I WORKED OUT AT, BOTH POORLY MAINTAINED. THEY SOLD US ON THE MOVIE THEATER WHICH DID NOT WORK 4 DAYS OUT OF THE MONTH.

Do Not join RetroFitness.net. They will NOT allow you to cancel your membership and will charge you an extra two months - if they do not receive your certified letter 60 days before your membership is to renew.
That's right... every contract automatically renews. Plus you must send the certified letter 60 days before your renewal date, to cancel according to ABC Financial Services, Inc.
I sent my certified letter in weeks before the renewal, received the certified letter receipt before the renewal date, and they gladly allowed the account to go past due and collections. Even though I stated in the letter NOT TO RENEW.

This is their way to get 2 more months out of you - DO NOT JOIN RetroFitness ANYWHERE. OH AND THEY ARE CALLING ME 3-5 TIMES A DAY, NOW THAT THEY PUT ME IN COLLECTIONS!

Do not join retrofitness.net. They will not allow you to cancel your membership and will charge you an extra two months - if they do not receive your certified letter 60 days before your membership is to renew.

That's right... Every contract automatically renews. Plus you must send the certified letter 60 days before your renewal date, to cancel according to abc financial services, inc. P. O. Box6800 sherwood ar, [protected]

I sent my certified letter in weeks before the renewal, received the certified letter receipt before the renewal date, and they gladly allowed the account to go to past due collections. Even though I stated in the letter not to renew. They will pull every trick so they misplace your letter (even though I received the certified letter receipt two weeks before the renewal date), or lose communication between the fitness club and abc financial services.

So my fiance signed up for a membership to RetroFitness gym and also a trainer. He wasn't all that thrilled with the trainer, and not to mention that she cut their training session time short and never offered to provide him with that loss of time at any other session! Since he joined, his father passed away leaving him penniless and homeless since where he resided was his father's estate and all assets were frozen until the state could resolve who receives money. Also, you would think when something like this happens the gym would have some kind of empathy on him due to his circumstances but no, they simply shut the door on his face! The trainer never contacted him, and no one from the gym even bothered to help him. So I had to step in and help. The credit card he used to sign up for the membership was in his father's name so therefore the account was frozen making his membership account delinquent! He has to pay the cancellation fee or find another means to pay for the membership. The have been giving him nothing but stress and aggrivation in an already difficult time for him. Thankful he has a sister and myself to help him live and survive now that his father has passed on.

If you go on the RetroFitness website in their policy if you choose to join, clearly states:

NOTICE: RETROFITNESS® urges all members to obtain a physical examination from their physicians prior to the use of any exercise equipment or attendance in any exercise class.

However, when you ask the gym if this is true their response is No you do not have to get a physical because they make you sign a health waiver in order to use their facility. So you waive all rights to any medical conditions you may have that could be affected from the use of their equipment! According to the gym it says this in the policy strictly for "INSURANCE PURPOSES" which is awful! My understanding is that if you put something in writing and chose not to agree or adhere to it, doesn't that make the contract null and void? Someone please help me with this? Any suggestions would be grateful. Thank you.

My husband and I decided it would be a good idea to join a fitness club, and get back into shape, after having our children. So we did some research and found a RetroFitness that was very close to our home and decided to join. Once we joined, we got one free personal session with a trainer, so we decided to try it out! BIG MISTAKE!

Once we had our session, the trainer asked us if we would like to continue and we were told it would be $90 a month and there would be absolutely no penalties to end, just “Come talk to me” is what he said. So we decided to try it! ANOTHER BIG MISTAKE! Once they took my debit card number, they had me sign a white piece of paper with no total on it, I WILL NEVER MAKE THAT MISTAKE AGAIN! And I realize now why there was no total….they took 219 instead of the 90!

After I realized they took $219 from my bank account instead of $90, I decided we were not going to continue, it seemed like too much of a hassel! (But my hassel didn’t even begin yet) I looked for the guy we signed up with at the gym but unfortunately was never there at the same time as him.

So I called RetroFitness and asked if they could look at my account and see which trainer I signed up with and how I go about canceling. I was told I signed up with Ryan and I just needed to mail a letter to 333 East Six Forks Road Suite 140 Raleigh, NC 27609. I didn’t hear anything back so I got online and looked up EFT GROUP (EFFECTIVE FITNESS TRAINING) and found Brian Berman Customer Service Director, so I e-mailed him and asked about canceling and he responed 7 days later…great customer service huh?!? He responded by telling me I needed to mail it certified so I re sent the letter certified.

After that I get another e-mailing stating that I need to pay a $250 cancelation fee. REMEMBER I WAS TOLD, CANCEL WHENEVER, NO FEES LIKE THE GYM!

So I called Brian Berman (I am not sure why he is the customer service director) and I tell him what was going on, he then tell me that I signed up with a Nick, not a Ryan. But calls Ryan anways to find out if my story checks out and guess what? Ryan doesn’t have a clue about anything. So then I have Brian Berman on the phone with me for 30 minutes, the rudest man I have ever spoken to. Yes, he did say ma’am and hold please, but he spoke to me with the most belittling tone. When I asked him to stop speaking to me that way…how did he respond? “I have not been rude to you at all ma’am” Well if I am customer and I feel you are being rude, there is a reason.

He said he didn’t believe my story and that I owe them $250 to end my training session, or they would continue to charge me monthly.

I hope no one else gets sucked in to this…And I cannot believe RetroFitness would allow these scam artists into their gyms!

My contract was up and decided to cancel and what a hassle to cancel a $20 a month membership! You need to give 60 days notice and sent the cancellation letter to ABC Finance in order to terminate the membership. I end up paying 3 additional months for gym membership that I didn't used! For those that considering joining this gym, make sure you read all the fine print. They are so eager to take your money but make it really difficult to cancel!

I signed up for a membership at Retro fitness in Freehold, NJ. At the time I was signing the contract with Susan she told me it was a 1 year membership and I asked if i could get out of it prior to the 1 year. She said all I had to do was give a 90 day notice and I was able to cancel my membership any time during that year. I went and tried to cancel my membership this week and they told me I was bound to a 1 year contract. I asked to speak with the women that had signed me up and what do you know she does not work there any more . The are a bunch of liars and will say anythign to get you to join Retro Fitness.

So, for the past couple of weeks my club has been having problems with keeping staff and/or staff coming into work. There were a few days of staff showing up late to open up and a few days of no one ever showing up all day. May I remind you that I wake up at 4:30 am to get to the gym by 5am because this is the only time I have to workout. It's a little frustrating when you pretty much wake up that early and find out it was for no reason...couldn't get into the gym!
Well, I go to my gym this Sunday for my workout and find a huge chain with 2 gigantic locks wrapped around the door. There is also a couple of "Sorry, we're closed" signs with the number for Retro Corp and ABC finace. WTF?!?!
I'm calling today to see what is going on...hopefully I don't have to post a complaint aboout this ABC because it seems like alot of people have issues with them.

Me and my husband have been members since before this gym actually opened. We signed up together, still have the original agreement but yet they still continue to screw up our account.

First time: Both accounts were under me. My husband didn't exist. Supposedly they corrected this. Fine.

Second Time: Call in to cancel tanning packages on both the accounts on June 30th. The girl said it was taken care of. No worries. Wasen't told at that time I was not even in the system. Great employee. I should have been told there was an issue with my account at this time.

Checked most recent bank statement- billed for tanning and for 2 accounts.

Called and spoke to Christina who said she would have the Manager call me when she gets in at 5. 8 PM rolls around and no call. I call in, she knew about the situation yet didn't lift a finger to even call and let me know the situation. Got into an argument with her and she says I dont exist and that the tanning was never cancelled? Well I have 2 years bank statements showing otherwise.

Blamed ABC Financial and said I need to take it up with them. They make those changes blah blah

Call ABC... They told me that the changes to my account were in fact made at the Gym. They had found my account labeled as my husbands... AGAIN! I guess Santa Clause did this? Maybe the Tooth Fairy? So they keep changing the names around on our account and then act like they don't know whats going on or who did it?

ABC has the account change history and notes. I asked for a copy for my records. She said I can do it on some website. She had me on a 2 hour wild goose chase and in the end...no notes. She said they changed their system last week and she wasent aware... UM HELLO YOU WORK THERE.

I am out money on the tanning. I am out of my time dealing with this BS that I pay for on time monthly... and I am angry that the Gym pointed the finger at someone else when the computer system shows who did what at what time... BIG SCAM AND LIARS. For someone who doesen't exist you sure dont mind taking money out of my account for 2 memberships? Rude and Poor Customer Service.