ComplaintsforThe Longevity Club

• Initial Complaint

  26/01/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  My boyfriend and I joined this gym on December 1st. The prices seemed fair for what we were getting, however, it was out of our budget and we had told them that. I had recently signed up to ******** down the street and they said that since it was within a 10 day margin I could just cancel it and they would give me a better deal if I signed up that same day and only that day. They made it seem like they truly cared, mentioning "transparency" a lot. They cut us a deal, however we still paid for the enrolment which was still expensive. We attended this gym for a week straight. Then on December 10 we were surprised with a notice on the door that said the gym was closed (*** *****). After contacting *****, she said they were blindsided by the landlord *** ******** **** ** *** ***** *********** in debt upfront. Not sure how accurate my research was, but notice for termination of contract or eviction must be given prior to eviction. I have messages going back and forth with ***** about when they would reopen but all I got was excuses. She then shared my number with the other manager without my consent and had him speak with me, but all I got was more excuses. They are still closed to this day and are no longer responding, so I took it upon myself to contact ******** ******** ***. (the number was provided on the termination notice). They told me to contact my bank for a refund, with certainty in their voice. * **** ******* ****** ** ***** ********* ** ********* ******** * **** *** ** ********* ****** ** ******** ****** ** ** ***** ** ** *** I do not want to be charged from this gym, I do not want to attend this gym. They could care less about my health or wellbeing. ***** ****** ****** *** ** ******* ** *** * ********* **** ******* ****** *********

  Business response

  08/02/2023

  Dear Better Business Bureau,

  In response to the complaint submitted by ***** ****, there was ongoing communication with all club members after the club landlord shut us out on Dec 10, 2022. The reason for the shutdown was for unpaid deferred rent during the COVID period which we had an agreement for with the landlord. Common during the period was reduced rent during full shutdown with an expectation that post the crisis, arrangements would be made between tenant/landlord to settle outstanding payments. We never received communication on any payment or schedule plan from them.

  We had never had any issues with the landlord in the +2 years we were in the building except for ongoing roof repair problems that were never fixed (at least 6-7 times issues were brought to their attention). Still no animosity we always worked with them. Regarding the deferred rent owing we had been given no notice from the landlord before being locked out. We were blindsided. Despite that within 3 days we had agreed in writing to arrangement in principle that we would get funding to try to cover the full payment as quickly as possible.

  We were in weekly communication with members with full transparency letting them know this was a temporary disruption and we had full confidence we would be back reopened based on our funding arrangements that were ongoing over the Christmas into new year period. Without informing us as we were actively arranging funding, they found a replacement tenant which took over the space on Feb 1 - we actually found out from the new tenant themselves.

  The club has been reopened under new ownership effective Feb 3rd and as such he has purchased all membership agreements and personal training services. He has agreed to honour member requests including enrolment services and has extended free membership access to all members for the month of Feb to welcome them back and help them get re-established back into the club.

  All the services that were offered to ***** at the time of her purchase are available and accessible to her. Any questions she has should be answered and managed by the new ownership team. We have tried our best to ease the transition and gone so far as to help the new operator to keep all of the staff that once worked for us. All in an attempt to help members and staff through the transition.

  In a challenging situation such as this we have done the best we can operating with transparency and integrity in dealing with members, staff and new ownership.

  Thanks - it there are further questions I am happy to be of service ***-***-****.

  *****

• Initial Complaint

  29/11/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I purchased a gym membership at Longevity Club. They have a so-called "8 week experience" that they require you to pay and sign up for $150 plus tax on top of the gym membership. They claim that if you're not satisfied with the "8 week experience" then they will refund the $150 "no questions asked". I did not find it beneficial, so I asked for the refund, but they refuse to give it to me. The owner ************ yelled at me when I tried to politely bring up the "no questions asked" policy. *** **** *** * **** **** ****** *** *** * ***** **** **** ***** ***** ******* ** *** ***** ***** ** ********** *** ************ ******* ** **** *** **

  Business response

  03/12/2022

  In response to the complaint submitted on Nov 28th by **** ****** regarding not receiving a refund for his gym membership at The Longevity Club, here are the facts supporting the rationale for our decision.
  Gym Membership Fee
  - $149 Enrolment fee (includes 4 services) + biweekly payments
  - Personal training is a separate contract – fee dependent on # of sessions

  As part of the above, The Longevity Club (TLC) offers the following with conditions:
  1) $149 Enrolment/Initiation Fee (“8 week Member Experience”)  
  - standard practice in the fitness industry is charging an enrolment or initiation fee for each membership in addition to the regular monthly/biweekly subscription fee. Normally, this initiation fee is a fixed sum which does not include any benefits or services and in almost all cases is a cash infusion for the business with no cost associated.

  - At The Longevity Club our philosophy is to encourage education, coaching and support for new members to help them be safe and successful in their fitness journey.

  - For us, this $149 enrolment fee INCLUDES 4 services: 2 fitness assessments + 2 personal training sessions spread over an 8 week period. A package valued at $306. We GIVE it as part of each membership. Members are not obligated to participate but the fee is charged and they use the services at any time during their membership with us.
  

  - We are 100% certain of the value we provide in the fitness clinical assessment, the coaching and the education given to each individual.  In fact, we offer a full refund to anyone that has completed all 4 services and upon completion if they received no benefits/value we will refund the $149. Since our opening October 2020, with +500 memberships sold we have not received 1 request for a refund.

  2) Personal Training No Refund Policy
  - Personal training packages offered to clients include a clause that clearly states and requires a client initials “The client understands that as part of their contract, any payments made are non-refundable. However, the club does have the ability to transfer any paid and unused sessions to a friend or family member’s TLC account”
  - Second, we adhere to a consumer 10 day cancellation clause
  - **** and his wife ****** purchased partner personal training package with a deposit of $545/each, a total of $1090 (+taxes) on October 12, 2022. On October 31, 2022, we refunded the full amount of $1090 (+taxes)
  

  Situation Timeline
  1) **** and ****** purchased TLC gym memberships on Sept 29, 2022 – at our “never to be repeated special offer” because of our re-branding launch (25% discount)
  2) 1st fitness consultations were completed Oct 5, 2022
  3) 1st personal training sessions completed Oct 11, 2022
  4) Purchased Partner Personal Training pkg (24 sessions) Oct 12, 2022
  - A deposit of $545/pp + tax was given at that time
  - Total $1090 + tax
  5) 2nd personal training session completed Oct 13, 2022
  6) Due to personal financial hardship a phone request to cancel PT package purchased was made on Oct 31, 2022 (19 days after purchase)
  7) Refund request approved and completed Oct 31, 2022
  - Out of compassion for situation, we went against our policy of no refunds and made a decision to reimburse his deposit for him and his wife in its entirety.
  - This approval was given by the same individual that **** mentions in his email, the CEO of the company
  8) Initial Email sent by **** requesting to cancel memberships received November 15, 2022
  - Our response explained the cancellation policy for membership in the contract and the steps required to complete the process
  - Further 7 email exchange ensued explaining our rationale for why we would not refund the enrolment fee of $149/pp (email exchange available upon request)

  In summary
  TLC has an excellent reputation for integrity and customer service. *** *** ****** ******* **** ** * *** ****** ******. Our interactions with members and visitors to our establishment rave about the culture, the customer service and the unique consultation assessments we provide. It is our point of differentiation from our competitors and a true source of pride in our team.
  

  We have been respectful and more than fair in our dealings with **** ****** and his wife. The individual referenced in his email is the CEO of the company. He has an outstanding reputation in dealing with members, suppliers and the community. He is firm and obviously compassionate but the request for further refund over and above the personal training after having used all the membership services provided was deemed unreasonable.
  

  With the membership, **** fully understood the services he was provided as part of his $149 enrolment and utilized those services fully. In fact, he and his wife were so impressed with the results of the assessment and the 1st personal training session that they purchased the personal training package with us. It is clear they did find it beneficial and without question saw the value because it prompted them to purchase a personal training package. They then further completed their 2nd personal training session without complaint or change of mind.
  

  Regarding the personal training itself, not only did we waive our policy, we saved him the extra stress of trying to find a friend or family member to transfer the $1100 investment to and we fully reimbursed his deposit for compassionate reasons due to his financial circumstances. 

  From our perspective, this issue has now been clarified and the resolution to the customer has been managed with respect, fairness and with the greatest amount of integrity not only to the individuals but in alignment with our principles and values as a business. This complaint should be wiped from the record and considered resolved.

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩