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So, here's the story. I've been working out at this place called FFC (Formula Fitness Clubs). They charge up the ass ($70 a month) and I've stopped going as often, additionally, my brother just got a squat rack in his garage, so I was going to lift with him for free. That being said, I want to cancel my membership. Here lies the problem:


When I first e-mailed the accounts lady I lied and said I wanted to cancel because I was moving. I dunno, I figured I'd just give that excuse because i figured it didn't matter.

Well, she sends me this cancellation request form back and says that I also need to fax proof of relocation (letter from employer, moving company, or something with the new address). Well, I wasn't actually moving, so I thought...shit.

Well, I filled out the cancellation request anyway, and gave my real reason on the form (not using services, working out with brother). So I figured it would be all good.

Well I just got an e-mail from this lady:



Well, I wasn't aware of this 12 month bullshit at all. The membership guy I talked to never made any mention of it. It was obviously in the pages of fine print that I didn't read (another lesson as to why you should read the fine print). So now I'm screwed.

I don't want to keep paying for this expensive club that I'm not using anyway, and these faggots won't let me cancel. I AM DETERMINED TO WIN THIS!


What I Have Done:

I have gone in and updated my billing info with a fake credit card number

http://www.darkcoding.net/credit-card-numbers/

So when they charge me nothing will happen obviously.

I have also changed my phone number to a fake one. I have changed my address to an old office that my company is moving from.

My Questions

Can this hurt my credit rating if they start trying to charge me, and can't so they start billing my ass?

I'm considering asking my employer (I work for a small business, so it's NBD prolly) to draft a fake relocation letter so I can just send it and cancel it.

If I just basically fall off the map, and they are never able to charge me, can they do anything to me?

Should I just e-mail her and be like "yeah I lied about relocating...please let me cancel?"


TLDR: HELP AZELMA WEASEL HIS WAY OUT OF A LAME ASS MEMBERSHIP AGREEMENT

I don't know which is worse, you paying 70$ for a gym membership every month or getting conned into a "1 year contract".

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I'm sure the contract said you'd be locked in for one year. You signed it so use the gym since you're paying for it. Plus, I'm pretty sure the gym has more hunnies than the sausage fest you and your brother have in the garage.

Real answers:

Can this hurt my credit rating if they start trying to charge me, and can't so they start billing my ass? Yes. You're contractually obligated to pay them. Eventually, they'll turn your account over to a collection agency since you're delinquent on payments. They're going to get their money one way or another... so just pay now and save your credit score and whatever late fees exist in the contract you didn't read.

I'm considering asking my employer (I work for a small business, so it's NBD prolly) to draft a fake relocation letter so I can just send it and cancel it. That may work...

If I just basically fall off the map, and they are never able to charge me, can they do anything to me? Yes. They'll turn you over to a collection agency. They will find you.

Should I just e-mail her and be like "yeah I lied about relocating...please let me cancel?" You can try. Chances are they'll not cancel because you're the one that signed the contract. Like I said originally... just pay the remainder of your membership and keep using their service. Might as well since you did sign the contract. Man up and take responsibility for that, k?[/i]

The thing that bothers me, is that it was not mentioned, and if it was written in the contract, it was in tiny print.

The membership guy I talked to when I signed up ONLY mentioned an extra deposit fee that was for

"if you decide to cancel, you have your last month paid. So you'd want to cancel a month ahead"

Also what's shady is that in this e-mail she says I'm eligible to cancel in November 2010.

I signed up for this club in January of 2010...if I signed a so-called 12-month contract, wouldn't I not be able to cancel until January of 2011?

IDK, it was the literally the first time i'd ever heard of this one year contract thing. I see your point about credit rating, so I suppose I will keep paying...my only other option is to see about my employer forging a relocation letter.

set the place on fire, get kicked out.

So just talked to my boss...that option is out because we don't have offices more than 25 miles away....

Le sigh. I think I'm stuck with this expensive bullshit...

If you think that the 12 month thing is bullshit (if the dates you listed were correct, that does seem odd. Thats 2 months off, which is 2 months of fees for them.. they wouldn't make that kind of mistake) then ask to see a copy of the contract you signed, or get somebody else involved.

If there was that much legal mumbo-jumbo in the contract, they should have given you a copy of it. Did they?

Request a copy, and if they give you a run around, tell them if they can't produce documentation, you're not paying.

If that doesn't work...I may other ideas.

Your Pal,
Jubber

AKA "The Gun"
AKA "ROFeraL"

World Renowned Mexican Forklift Artiste

That gym is in business to make money and it's not the reps responsibility to read you the fine print nor do they need to disclose the gotchas of the contact. They give you the words for you to read. The adage, 'Buyer Beware' applies here.

The TB bro has a good idea though - Get someone else involved or ask to see the contract and the terms and conditions. The worst that happens is everyone denies your request to cancel the contract.

I've come up with an alternative solution that might work.

They need "proof of relocation"

I have printed off a generic Pennsylvania Residential Lease Agreement. My sister lives in PA, I was thinking I could just fill out the agreement (obviously, I'd make sure she was cool with it) and list her current apartment as the address. Basically, fill out an entire fake lease. I fax this shit to them, if they call her and ask, she can be like "yeah blah blah blah"

They'd have to let me out of the contract then, right?

Also, they can't pursue legal action or anything for a forged lease or something...could they?

Ask to see the contract, then snatch it from them and rip it up.

I don't know exactly what could happen if you forged it.
How official are those forged documents? Could you get in trouble at all for doing that?

I would suspect that, if they discovered that they were forged somehow, they could hit you for unlawfully breaching the contract. I really don't know though..

But seriously, if you are sure you signed up in January, and they say you are free from teh contract in November... something might be up. They might just be saying that to get you to pay a few more months, just to make money. If it was a year long contract, no way would a place like that be cool with just leaving out two months of payments.. they'd keep you on until january. So if you're sure of the dates, look into that, because they could just be talking out of their ass, hoping you wont look into it and just pay them until november

You need to request a copy of the actual contract they say you signed. They can claim out the ass that you agreed to something, but they need to prove to you that you're legally responsible for a 12 month membership. If they cannot give you proof, and refuse to show you the agreement you signed, then you can tell them to get fucked.

It won't be pretty though. I was in a similar situation about 10 years ago with a gym that kept charging me after I had cancelled. I went to my bank, put a stop payment on that account, told them I would not authorize any activity from that company through my bank.

They referred it to a collection agency, and I had to spend about 6 months sending crap to these people telling them this was not my debt and that it was being collected unlawfully. It showed up on my credit report as "contested", and never really had an effect on my score. I bought a house with that still on my report and it didn't seem to matter. I can't promise a similar outcome for you, but you never know.

I'd hold off on creating false documents until you can get them to give you a copy of your signed agreement.

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Alright, I've written back to this woman requesting her to fax me a copy of the agreement. We'll see where this goes.

I'm going to head home and see if I can find a copy.

I feel like this could get ugly....

12 month contract is 12 month contract. Read the small print.

First, call them, call them, keep calling them. Email them time and again. Be as civil as possible and - like me - ask reasonable-sounding questions that force them to reply and engage you, weakening their position. Do not be rude, merely obnoxiously persistent.

If that does not work, write a demand letter threatening to sue for fraud and breach of contract in small claims court if they don't cancel your membership. While you would never win because your contract is binding, you could potentially inconvenience them enough that they will cut their losses and give you what you want. Small claims courts do not require an attorney and plantiff is owed damages up to a certain amount if the defendant is a no-show.

Also write a draft letter about your experience and address it to your local representative, mayor, and BBB. Don't mail them, but prepare these letters, attach them to the demand letter, and say something like. "I feel I am being treated unfairly. I would hope you are interested in arriving at a mutually fair and satisfactory resolution; it is not my wish to escalate this issue."

If they still do not give in, do all that - carry through - wait a bit for them to get more annoyed, then call them again, apologize for making so much trouble, and again ask for your membership to be cancelled, saying "I don't want to escalate further, please, I hope we can come to a fair agreement." If that still doesn't work, start making complaints to other civil authorities, even specious ones, to health and safety and utilities and such.

Eventually, they'll get sick of you and give you what you want.

Remember three rules:
1. Read the small print.
2. Document everything.
3. Put them in a position where they believe it is the best option to give you what you want.

EDIT: It is a crime to attempt to collect an illegitimate debt. Through correspondence and NOT in person, ask for a copy of the contract with your sig; if they can't provide it threaten to pursue legal action for racketeering and fraud. Businesses are legally compelled to retain physical contracts on file for ten years. If they don't produce it, go to the court. If they do, proceed as I described.

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