Business ProfileforLighthouse Fitness Management

• Is professional,
• addresses all significant issues raised by the complainant,
• includes appropriate evidence and documents supporting the business' position, and
• explains why any relief sought by the complainant cannot or should not be granted.

According to information in BBB files, Lighthouse Fitness Management has a pattern of complaint alleging Contract Issues. 

Specifically, consumers state they signed a contract with Lighthouse Fitness Management for gym membership under the impression that they can cancel anytime. However, when consumers try to cancel their contract, they are told they cannot cancel without paying a cancellation/termination fee. Other consumers allege they gave a notice of cancellation, but Lighthouse Fitness Management states they never received it. 

On December 11, 2023, BBB contacted Lighthouse Fitness Management to request their voluntary cooperation in resolving the unanswered complaints as well as their cooperation in eliminating the pattern of complaint. 

On August 29, 2024, Lighthouse Fitness Management responded with the following information:

     Thanks for reaching out to us and communicating these details and concerns regarding claims of dispute regarding cancellation processes and contact. We are aware of the statements made by members on occasion, whether regarding lack of knowledge of the early termination or relocatioin process or allegations made by members in effort to get out of their contractual obligations. We can assure you that any such claim is investigated and addressed internally, and that Lighthouse Fitness does take all reasonable actions to ensure that this information is transparently available to members. To this end, our physical carbon-copy agreement very clearly details the term of the commitment, the monthly payment due, the total of payments, and all other relevant details. A physical copy of the agreement is available to members prior to entering into the physical agreement, a carbon copy of the document is provided to members immediately upon execution of the agreement, and the legal rescission period is clearly detailed in the signed agreement. All methods of communication are expressly detailed in the signed agreement, all cancellation processes are clearly defined, and all methods of communication ensure that a paper trail is available to be referenced in the case a member claims they were not responded to.

    In no case have we simply informed a member that a request submitted through the defined methods of contact was simply not received or replied to. If sent by certified mail and not received, we honor a certified mail receipt from the member and use the effective date for notice or request. If sent through our website, ALL requests are archived and easily referenced. When members claim they called, texted, or any other undocumented method of contact, we direct them to the proper methods of contact and still use the date if they can provide screenshots or witness statement. The categorical claim that Lighthouse Fitness Management simply tells members their request was not received without a reasonable alternative course of action is simply baseless and false. If members do file a note through their Club Ready member portal, rather through the contact page which they are directed to in the signed agreement, it does note their personal account in their Club Ready member portal, but it does not contact Lighthouse Fitness in the manner that the defined methods of communication defined in the agreement as designed to. The direct URL to send notices or requests is detailed in the signed agreement and is a distinctly separate process from any notation members make through their Club Ready member portal. If a member intends to send an inquiry and believes that is it not being addressed, we do recommend that they ensure they are sending the requested information through the Lighthouse Fitness Management website detailed in the agreement and not through any Club Ready site mechanisms, as this system is for their internal scheduling and club specific profile.

    We understand that members, on occasion, will communicate to their gym or health club staff that they would like to cancel and are not notified by the gym that Lighthouse Fitness accounts are not covered by their own processes- Lighthouse Fitness is a separate entity from the gym, as represented by the separate signed agreement that specifies the difference and identity of Lighthouse Fitness. We do engage in ongoing dialogue with all gym/health club management staff in locations of operation, and are typically informed of a request, pursuant to which the member is directed to contact Lighthouse Fitness. Lastly, we have encountered circumstances in which members contact Lighthouse Fitness through the request methods defined in the agreement, Lighthouse Fitness responds with the appropriate options, but the response to the member’s website inquiry is filed in their spam folder- as a result, the member is under the impression that they are not receiving a reply. This is typically corrected once our staff contacts the member through other means and directs them to check their spam folder. 

     During the evaluation process prior to any purchase, a 12 month minimum timeframe is discussed with members in relation to their goals and a sustainable increase in metabolism to maintain a more permanent change to their body composition. A 12 month timeframe is clearly detailed in the price presentation to members, and the agreement required multiple signatures with each describing the clause of the agreement they are entering into. Of course, an occasional misunderstanding may occur, but these are usually quite easily explained and resolved. We do not have record of any complaint of this nature in which the term of the agreement and payment schedule were not clearly disclosed in writing- this is the intent of a signed agreement and members have all opportunity to review what they are signing prior to entering into the agreement. We do take claims that an agreement was not explained quite seriously and immediately discuss with any staff members that have more than one or two of these claims in a period of time. We make all efforts to ensure the details of the agreement are transparently and clearly communicated, as well as being available to members at any time they should choose to review or refresh their memory. 

       We have made all efforts to mitigate the risk of members and clients from being able to make these types of claims, in good faith. To be sure, there is always room for improvement, and Lighthouse Fitness does take claims of miscommunication or impropriety seriously. The usage of paper agreements remains our practice, as it immediately avails the member to all agreement terms, take the physical document for further review, and ensure that none of the financial terms are ambiguous. It is the right and responsibility of each member to review this document as they see fit and to review and inquire about any details they desire. Again, the three day rescission (or appropriate rescission period based on the state of operation) is directly stated in the signed agreement, including the specific date relevant to any particular agreement, based on the date of execution. Members should not sign agreements which are not fully completed on the master copy and identically on their carbon copy- should this situation ever present itself to a member, we most certainly would like to be informed and provided with their copy to demonstrate any irregularities.  Please let us know what further information would be helpful or beneficial in explaining the steps taken to ensure no such claim can be validly made or what feedback would be requested in order to resolve this matter.

BBB will monitor Lighthouse Fitness Management’s efforts to eliminate the pattern of complaint. This aspect of the Business Profile will be updated once additional information becomes available.