I have my FitCity membership set up on a an automatic credit card payment like most members. In mid-February, I noticed on my credit card bill that they had not adjusted for the reduced tax change that began in 2008 and had overcharged me my membership fee. I brought it up to a staff member since I thought everyone probably got overcharged. She agreed with me that this needed to be addressed and said the manager would be in touch with me.
No one got in touch with me, (and the error was only for the month of January) so yesterday, I spoke to the manager, Sabrina Cohen at the club. I informed her of the error and she said it was no big deal; (she underestimated the amount of my refund, it was 35x what she said it was).
I asked her if she was going to let members know they were overcharged and she said no, like I was crazy to even suggest it. I said at least they should put up a notice on the changeroom bulletin board so members can be aware that the error had occurred and could ask for a refund if they wanted, she said no. I asked if she was going to do anything about this and she said no.
I asked if I could put up a notice on the community bulletin board to inform members and she said absolutely not. Basically, FitCity is taking money out of the pockets of their members. I know it's not a large amount individually, but collectively, for all the members across all the locations, that adds up to a lot of money in FitCity's pocket that rightfully belongs to the members. This is a class action lawsuit waiting to happen. I could not believe how she handled this.
I have made a complaint to the Better Business Bureau. I think the conduct of Ms. Cohen in not taking any steps to address this matter is egregious.By not doing anything about this, they are, in effect, stealing from their members.
Since I am precluded from advising members at the club, I thought I would post here so hopefully, some members could at least know what happened. In my opinion, whether it's 50 cents or $50, keeping money that doesn't belong to you is wrong. You can bet that if they accidentally undercharged members, even a small amount, they wouldn't be saying it's not a big deal!
Consumer Advocate
Vancouver, British Columbia
Canada
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