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OT -- Planet Fitness is so wonderful and easy to deal with

dailybuck777

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Jan 2, 2018
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Apparently, Planet Fitness had an ad on the Super Bowl. Reminded me of my recent experience with them. Visiting Hawaii over Christmas for about 10 days and signed up with them in Hawaii. Told them I was happy to pay $10 per day or whatever. People there said I could sign up for membership and just quit later and not pay anything. Let one month go by and charged $10. OK with that.

Try to quit and virtually impossible. Ohio PF says they are franchise and don't have access to Hawaii. 2. Call Hawaii and they say I can't cancel over the phone. 3. Try to switch membership to Ohio online. No can do. Have to be a member 90 days to switch. 4. Call back to Hawaii again, they tell me I have to send certified letter to cancel. Also, tell me that will be charged for 2 months even if letter reaches before date payment owed. [Something about their rules]

I got thinking and realized I had checks from an old checking account that I had cancelled. Went to PF and substituted dead account for previous live checking account. Am curious what stupid reaction I will get from PF for this.
 
Apparently, Planet Fitness had an ad on the Super Bowl. Reminded me of my recent experience with them. Visiting Hawaii over Christmas for about 10 days and signed up with them in Hawaii. Told them I was happy to pay $10 per day or whatever. People there said I could sign up for membership and just quit later and not pay anything. Let one month go by and charged $10. OK with that.

Try to quit and virtually impossible. Ohio PF says they are franchise and don't have access to Hawaii. 2. Call Hawaii and they say I can't cancel over the phone. 3. Try to switch membership to Ohio online. No can do. Have to be a member 90 days to switch. 4. Call back to Hawaii again, they tell me I have to send certified letter to cancel. Also, tell me that will be charged for 2 months even if letter reaches before date payment owed. [Something about their rules]

I got thinking and realized I had checks from an old checking account that I had cancelled. Went to PF and substituted dead account for previous live checking account. Am curious what stupid reaction I will get from PF for this.

They will charge you 50 dollars for each late payment and then send you to collections.

They are not actually in the gym business. They are in the collections business. Same as Retro.

LdN
 
They will charge you 50 dollars for each late payment and then send you to collections.

They are not actually in the gym business. They are in the collections business. Same as Retro.

LdN
Thanks for your information. Part of my business is private lending, so I could care less about my credit rating. Will be happy to hang up and have fun with their collections people and happy to report them to FTC and Ohio and Hawaii departments of consumer affairs. Also, Better Business Bureau. Know none of them will do anything to help me, but my little part in making a record of their scam is enough for me.
 
Thanks for your information. Part of my business is private lending, so I could care less about my credit rating. Will be happy to hang up and have fun with their collections people and happy to report them to FTC and Ohio and Hawaii departments of consumer affairs. Also, Better Business Bureau. Know none of them will do anything to help me, but my little part in making a record of their scam is enough for me.
Many of these outlets are designed like this. I usually have a good way to find the way out. But I haven't dealt with PF yet.
 
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Thanks for your information. Part of my business is private lending, so I could care less about my credit rating. Will be happy to hang up and have fun with their collections people and happy to report them to FTC and Ohio and Hawaii departments of consumer affairs. Also, Better Business Bureau. Know none of them will do anything to help me, but my little part in making a record of their scam is enough for me.

Oh I agree with you. But this is what they do.

At Retro once I got a collections letter for $149 ish.

I went into my gym and pointed out that I worked out there 4 days a week and noone bothered to tell me my cc had expired.

That's besides the fact that cc's still let gyms charge.

Didn't matter. They still sent me to collections when I didnt pay. Ended up settling simply becayse I liked my local franchise owner.

You must send a certified letter.

LdN
 
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Apparently, Planet Fitness had an ad on the Super Bowl. Reminded me of my recent experience with them. Visiting Hawaii over Christmas for about 10 days and signed up with them in Hawaii. Told them I was happy to pay $10 per day or whatever. People there said I could sign up for membership and just quit later and not pay anything. Let one month go by and charged $10. OK with that.

Try to quit and virtually impossible. Ohio PF says they are franchise and don't have access to Hawaii. 2. Call Hawaii and they say I can't cancel over the phone. 3. Try to switch membership to Ohio online. No can do. Have to be a member 90 days to switch. 4. Call back to Hawaii again, they tell me I have to send certified letter to cancel. Also, tell me that will be charged for 2 months even if letter reaches before date payment owed. [Something about their rules]

I got thinking and realized I had checks from an old checking account that I had cancelled. Went to PF and substituted dead account for previous live checking account. Am curious what stupid reaction I will get from PF for this.
Just call the bank or card company and put a hold on your payment. Easy.
 
^^^^^
Agree with Obliviax. I have put a hold/stop on card payments on at least 3 occasions in the past 30 years when I was getting screwed over. Has worked fine each time. No repercussions, no collections.
 
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^^^^^
Agree with Obliviax. I have put a hold/stop on card payments on at least 3 occasions in the past 30 years when I was getting screwed over. Has worked fine each time. No repercussions, no collections.
I joined a fitness outfit associated with a hospital in Akron years ago. I played ball with a bunch of the Cavs there, at the time. (I stunk but it was fun) I moved and notified them I was terminating. They told me that I had a one year renewable contract and that I was two months in. So I had to pay ten months at $80/month. I just laughed at them. I called the bank, put a hold on their direct xfer and never heard a thing from them to this day.

I never do any direct debits from my bank account. I do charges to the CREDIT card (not debit card). Why? You get to choose what you pay on your credit card where as with a debit card the money is taken out of your account as soon as it is charged.

I am working on technology that will put all of your invoices into your bank account so that you can consolidate bills no matter how they get delivered to you. So you can see the bill next to your checking account(s). It gives you context. It will also monitor your bills so it will notify you of price increases for fixed amounts (netflix or other subscriptions) or an amount over x% of average (insurance, cable, credit card).
 
I’ve never owned or touched a debit card in my life. Have two credit cards, one tied to United Airlines and Costco, one to American Airlines.
 
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I’ve never owned or touched a debit card in my life. Have two credit cards, one tied to United Airlines and Costco, one to American Airlines.
possession is 9 tenths of the law. I think of this when I think about debit and credit cards.

I have a friend who's debit card ID was stolen and they wracked up $10k + before it was caught. The poor gal spent six months having to prove each of the transactions weren't her's. With my CC, I just tell them I am not paying it and it is they who have to prove I made the transaction. (helps to be platinum too)
 
Apparently, Planet Fitness had an ad on the Super Bowl. Reminded me of my recent experience with them. Visiting Hawaii over Christmas for about 10 days and signed up with them in Hawaii. Told them I was happy to pay $10 per day or whatever. People there said I could sign up for membership and just quit later and not pay anything. Let one month go by and charged $10. OK with that.

Try to quit and virtually impossible. Ohio PF says they are franchise and don't have access to Hawaii. 2. Call Hawaii and they say I can't cancel over the phone. 3. Try to switch membership to Ohio online. No can do. Have to be a member 90 days to switch. 4. Call back to Hawaii again, they tell me I have to send certified letter to cancel. Also, tell me that will be charged for 2 months even if letter reaches before date payment owed. [Something about their rules]

I got thinking and realized I had checks from an old checking account that I had cancelled. Went to PF and substituted dead account for previous live checking account. Am curious what stupid reaction I will get from PF for this.
I have done the exact same thing that Obli recommended with disputing the charge. This was on my debit card though. Twice I have had my debit card number stolen. I’m not sure how, perhaps through skimming on an ATM machine.
 
Apparently, Planet Fitness had an ad on the Super Bowl. Reminded me of my recent experience with them. Visiting Hawaii over Christmas for about 10 days and signed up with them in Hawaii. Told them I was happy to pay $10 per day or whatever. People there said I could sign up for membership and just quit later and not pay anything. Let one month go by and charged $10. OK with that.

Try to quit and virtually impossible. Ohio PF says they are franchise and don't have access to Hawaii. 2. Call Hawaii and they say I can't cancel over the phone. 3. Try to switch membership to Ohio online. No can do. Have to be a member 90 days to switch. 4. Call back to Hawaii again, they tell me I have to send certified letter to cancel. Also, tell me that will be charged for 2 months even if letter reaches before date payment owed. [Something about their rules]

I got thinking and realized I had checks from an old checking account that I had cancelled. Went to PF and substituted dead account for previous live checking account. Am curious what stupid reaction I will get from PF for this.
If you switched account numbers to a ‘dead account’.....one that is closed and no longer active.....wouldn’t that be fraud? And doing so over the internet to an account in Hawaii wouldn’t that be interstate fraud with an electronic device....aka known as a felony?
 
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I have done the exact same thing that Obli recommended with disputing the charge. This was on my debit card though. Twice I have had my debit card number stolen. I’m not sure how, perhaps through skimming on an ATM machine.
that's right....and with credit cards, the onus is on the card company to validate the user and the transaction isn't fraudulent. If they failed, and someone is using your card, it is there fault and not yours. They actually get something called "interchange fees". They get around 7% of the transaction. So for a $100 fee, they get $7. Add in that they charge, sometimes, up to 29% interest on carried over amounts are all there to cover their profit, but also their LOSS from fraud. Put another way, it is cheaper for them to be impacted by loss via Fraud than it is to introduce more "friction" (fraud protection) which may restrict users to using their card.

the bottom line is that any fraudulent transactions on your credit card are the responsibility of the bank card company.
 
To those who suggest a credit card is better, I agree. I have a Capital One card that pays me 2% and on everything I buy and I try to use that as much as possible. Apparently, planet fitness required me to use my checking account. In the past, where a contractor screwed up a major sewer connection job, I paid the guy thousands on my credit card to get rid of him (he was majorly pissed) and then put a hold on it.

I too hate debit cards and rarely use them. However, they are useful when traveling internationally. Also, I have several tenants for whom payment with the cash app is easier than checks. I just set up a new account at a different bank without that much money in it to receive cash app payments. To use the cash app you effectively have to have an ATM card and I have one coming in the mail.
 
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To those who suggest a credit card is better, I agree. I have a Capital One card that pays me 2% and on everything I buy and I try to use that as much as possible. Apparently, planet fitness required me to use my checking account. In the past, where a contractor screwed up a major sewer connection job, I paid the guy thousands on my credit card to get rid of him (he was majorly pissed) and then put a hold on it.

I too hate debit cards and rarely use them. However, they are useful when traveling internationally. Also, I have several tenants for whom payment with the cash app is easier than checks. I just set up a new account at a different bank without that much money in it to receive cash app payments. To use the cash app you effectively have to have an ATM card and I have one coming in the mail.

Your best bet is to send the certified letter.

They are used to dealing with people like you.

LdN
 
Your best bet is to send the certified letter.

They are used to dealing with people like you.

LdN
I sent the certified letter about four or five days ago. Along with the letter, I sent a screenshot of my account so they can't claim that they are missing some information.
 
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If you switched account numbers to a ‘dead account’.....one that is closed and no longer active.....wouldn’t that be fraud? And doing so over the internet to an account in Hawaii wouldn’t that be interstate fraud with an electronic device....aka known as a felony?
I wouldn't recommend it, but I doubt that he would be prosecuted for providing an old account in his name in this case. It's not like he's trying to obtain something of value for free. He'll be hit with fees by PF when the payment doesn't go through and his membership will remain active until he cancels.
 
If you switched account numbers to a ‘dead account’.....one that is closed and no longer active.....wouldn’t that be fraud? And doing so over the internet to an account in Hawaii wouldn’t that be interstate fraud with an electronic device....aka known as a felony?
It's not fraud if I don't owe the money.
 
Then it depends on the contract you signed. Did it say you could cancel at any time? Or within a certain time frame like 30 days? Or could cancel when you returned home?
I was told that I could cancel and owe nothing. I wonder what was in the computer contract but I didn't read it and oral fraudulent representations can void written contracts. No mention that I had to be in Hawaii to cancel and they knew my address was in Ohio. All sorts of dishonesty on their part.
 
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Surprisingly, this ended reasonably well. Apparently, the manager took mercy on me and cancelled the contract over the phone. On the other hand, I sent a certified letter to the address on PF's website and they didn't accept it. (Shows the many ways they can harass people)
 
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Surprisingly, this ended reasonably well. Apparently, the manager took mercy on me and cancelled the contract over the phone. On the other hand, I sent a certified letter to the address on PF's website and they didn't accept it. (Shows the many ways they can harass people)
These places are all rip off dens.

Avoid them.
 
Interesting. Thx for humoring me

Hey, you asked a civil Q, you deserved a civil answer. 🙂

The one thing I’m considering now is actually stashing a bundle of cash in my basement in case of a cybersecurity attack on our banking system. I’m fortunately at age 71 financially secure and set for life…..but if bank accounts and investments somehow were frozen cash would be better than gold.

I know I am probably paranoid and the chance of this happening is less than the chance of getting hit by lightning or getting eaten by a land shark…..but I had a hole-in-one years ago so anything can happen in today’s hi-tech world.
 
Hey, you asked a civil Q, you deserved a civil answer. 🙂

The one thing I’m considering now is actually stashing a bundle of cash in my basement in case of a cybersecurity attack on our banking system. I’m fortunately at age 71 financially secure and set for life…..but if bank accounts and investments somehow were frozen cash would be better than gold.

I know I am probably paranoid and the chance of this happening is less than the chance of getting hit by lightning or getting eaten by a land shark…..but I had a hole-in-one years ago so anything can happen in today’s hi-tech world.

I think maintaining a weeks cash is normal. More than that is not needed.

If our banking system is down longer than 4 days the military will be out distributing necessary items.

If they aren't then cash is useless.

LdN
 
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I think maintaining a weeks cash is normal. More than that is not needed.

If our banking system is down longer than 4 days the military will be out distributing necessary items.

If they aren't then cash is useless.

LdN

I suspect very few people / families have enough cash in-house today to survive more than 48-72 hours.

And we’d need the military to be out in force if the banking system ever went down, it would be 1/6/21 everywhere pretty darn quickly.
 
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