A drop in the bucket

Okay, I know that many out there have dealt with this nightmare in some form or another at some point in their tax-paying, bill-collecting life as an adult. I have been dealing with a fitness corporate giant and getting nothing but the runaround. I'll spare the nitty-gritty details, but the bottom line is that my meager $90 claim is a drop in the bucket to this million dollar company. They don't care about the regular joes and janes that frequent their clubs except to collect their money. I've learned this past week from various friends, family, and professionals that fitness clubs are among the worst offenders when it comes to dealing with auto withdrawal claims. It reminds me of when you call a company and need to talk to a live person, but all you get is transferred to 10 different automated options, only to get disconnected in the end and have to start all over.

Okay, changed my mind since I'm on a rant n roll here. The fitness club withdrew funds earlier than they were supposed to, therefore causing us to overdraw our account. Well, I called to speak to the manager, but was told she was at another club, but that they would give her my urgent message. To save time, I called the other club and was told she had left an hour earlier to return to the my club. Well, after waiting a couple of hours, I decided the only way I was gonna get anything accomplished was to go in person to deal with the matter. Supposedly, the manager was MIA yet again and was back at the other club. Well, I canceled my membership (couldn't afford it anyway) and proceeded to talk in circles with the club staff. I explained to them that they took payment too early and I just wanted the funds credited back to my account since I cancled membership. In a nutshell, they basically said no can do and too bad so sad.

So I haggle with my bank about the overdraft charges and they at least worked with me and compromised. My bank is made of money and they were willing to bend, the fitness club could care less. There are several minor details that I'm not filling in here because it would be too tedious to explain in writing. My advice to everyone out there would be to get everything in writing, keep important papers, and never use autopay as a payment option with fitness clubs or internet providers. I have a tendency to learn everything the hard way. It's like I have to get screwed over before I take things seriously and then I learn my lesson. It sucks the big one and hopefully I'll be smarter the next time around.