Summary
In early 2020, 24 Hour Fitness temporarily closed their clubs on account of COVID-19, and to their credit, they correctly stopped charging their customers monthly membership fees. Early on during this closure, Adam and I broke up, and I contacted them via email to disentangle our memberships and to make sure that his legacy rate of $8.25/month wouldn't be impacted. I got no response. I attempted to call their customer service number, but their call centers were closed, due to COVID. So my only recourse was to continue emailing. After moving to Denver, with no indication that 24 Hour Fitness would open up anytime soon and having every reason to believe that my membership had been cancelled, I secured gym facilities in the form of my apartment building's gym (a major factor in my selection of residence), which came along with a 17-month lease (through February 2022). Without any proactive communication, 24 Hour Fitness began charging my credit card again, which I only discovered after several months of charges. I immediately contacted them on 2020-11-04 and demanded a refund, explaining the situation and requesting that they freeze my membership. Getting a response from them was like pulling teeth. The first response I got from a human was on 2020-11-27, nearly five months after my first email, and that was my first indication that they didn't cancel my membership. Meanwhile, I attempted to log into my account on their website, but their login system was utterly broken, with no ability to successfully go through the password reset flow. In the very delayed email responses that I finally started getting from them, they advised me to call a customer support number (for both the membership and login issues), except that their call center was still indefinitely closed on account of COVID-19. So I had to continue to interact with them via email. I had to nag them persistently. Every so often, I would notice that they continued to charge my credit card for a monthly membership fee (or some other inscrutable charge), and each time, I would demand a refund. I would occasionally threaten escalating to my credit card company (CitiBank), but until August 2021, they had always managed to refund the charge before I had to do that. In August 2021, after several weeks of no response, I disputed the charges with CitiBank, including the regular $36.74 monthly membership charge, as well as some inscrutable additional $49.99 charge a week later for which there was no justification. (I later found out this was an annual fee they didn't charge in 2020 and didn't notice in 2019, but it was buried in the contract and never mentioned to me orally when I signed up in 2018.) CitiBank refused the dispute for the $49.99, demanding proof of membership cancellation. Uhh... Well, here's the writeup of the whole chronology.
Key Points
- Notice, overall, how I typically respond right away to their emails, but 24 Hour Fitness either ignores my emails or is severely delayed in responding.
- On 2020-11-04 at 16:02 MST, I requested "Place a freeze on my membership, so that I can reactivate it at a later date at the same $36.74/month rate.".
- On 2020-12-03 at 15:41 MST, I again unequivocally requested "I would like the freeze to be in effect until I choose to unfreeze.".
- On 2020-12-09 at 12:05 MST, my freeze request was confirmed: "We have processed your request to place a temporary freeze on your agreement . During the freeze period, you will not be financially responsible for your monthly dues payment and you will not have access to our facilities. When the requested time has expired, your agreed dues rate will adjust and automatically resume its regularly scheduled payment cycle."
Given that this came after my request for "the freeze to be in effect until I choose to unfreeze", this was an implied confirmation of those terms, particularly because my request was not contradicted. Moreover, because my 12:28 MST request for clarification on the same email thread on the same day did not get a response, I had a reasonable expectation that "until I choose to unfreeze" would be honored. - On 2020-12-17 at 14:25 MST, after being advised to call their call center, I told them that I was unable to get through to their call centers because they were closed "until further notice", which meant that I could not communicate with them about either membership management or website bug issues, except by email. It's no surprise that we went through the same ridiculous loop again between 2020-12-23 and 2020-12-24.
- On 2021-04-03 at 05:41 MDT, I had to remind 24 Hour Fitness that my membership was supposed to be frozen. So when I got a confirmation on 2021-04-08 at 12:13 MDT that my membership was frozen again, but had an erroneous end date of 2021-06-01, I immediately corrected them, with an explanation of the reasons at 12:25 MDT, forbidding them from charging me again. And after they did again on 2021-06-01 and 2021-07-01 (while I continued to email them demanding a refund and threatening escalation to my credit card company), they finally refunded me on 2021-07-08, an implicit acknowledgement that they should not have charged me and that my membership was supposed to have been frozen. 24 Hour Fitness never explicitly replied to my emails about those charges, despite my asking for a response or acknowledgement.
- On 2021-09-09 at 14:43 MDT, 24 Hour Fitness again re-froze my membership, but again with the wrong parameters, as I explained 9 minutes later at 14:52 MDT, but never got a reply for.
- On 2021-09-09 at 14:42 MDT, 24 Hour Fitness said that they waived the balance related to the 2021-08-01 charge, but there was no balance, as my credit card had already been charged on 2021-08-01. And I never got a refund, despite their assertion on 2021-09-09 at 15:08 MDT that "we have waived August dues $36.74 for your account". That was one of the charges that I disputed with CitiBank on 2021-08-20.
Charges
To anchor the chronology, I include here the last valid charges from April 2020 of $36.74 and $8.25 for me and Adam, respectively.
Email Log
- Membership Emails
- 2020-07-03 12:26 PDT
- 2020-07-07 21:51 PDT
- 2020-11-04 16:02 MST
- 2020-11-09 11:24 MST
- 2020-11-11 14:33 MST
- 2020-11-19 12:41 MST
- 2020-11-27 14:34 MST
- 2020-11-27 14:35 MST
- 2020-11-27 14:40 MST
- 2020-11-27 14:46 MST
- 2020-12-03 12:55 MST
- 2020-12-03 12:59 MST
- 2020-12-03 15:41 MST
- 2020-12-09 12:05 MST
- 2020-12-09 12:28 MST
- 2021-04-03 05:41 MDT
- 2021-04-08 11:23 MDT
- 2021-04-08 12:13 MDT
- 2021-04-08 12:25 MDT
- 2021-04-18 15:12 MDT
- 2021-06-22 10:27 MDT
- 2021-06-29 09:14 MDT
- 2021-07-03 08:31 MDT
- 2021-07-06 12:03 MDT
- 2021-07-08 11:32 MDT
- 2021-07-13 15:58 MDT
- 2021-07-15 12:58 MDT
- 2021-07-29 13:23 MDT
- 2021-08-01 11:47 MDT
- 2021-08-09 06:23 MDT
- 2021-08-20 08:24 MDT
- 2021-08-28 04:07 MDT
- 2021-08-28 06:28 MDT
- 2021-09-09 14:42 MDT
- 2021-09-09 14:43 MDT
- 2021-09-09 14:51 MDT
- 2021-09-09 14:52 MDT
- 2021-09-09 15:08 MDT
- 2021-09-09 15:17 MDT
- 2021-09-14 17:51 MDT
- 2021-09-14 18:05 MDT
- 2021-09-14 18:08 MDT
- 2021-09-16 14:36 MDT
- 2021-09-17 14:37 MDT
- Attempts to Access Online Account
- 2020-06-26 16:48 PDT
- 2020-06-26 16:50 PDT
- 2020-06-26 16:58 PDT
- 2020-11-27 14:30 MST
- 2020-11-27 14:32 MST
- 2020-12-07 11:46 MST
- 2020-12-08 07:22 MST
- 2020-12-08 07:23 MST
- 2020-12-09 10:02 MST
- 2020-12-09 10:08 MST
- 2020-12-09 10:14 MST
- 2020-12-09 12:07 MST
- 2020-12-10 14:35 MST
- 2020-12-10 14:36 MST
- 2020-12-17 14:25 MST
- 2020-12-23 09:36 MST
- 2020-12-24 14:54 MST
- 2020-12-29 10:29 MST
- 2020-12-29 10:30 MST
- 2020-12-29 10:33 MST
- 2020-12-29 10:34 MST
Membership Emails
2020-07-03 12:26 PDT
From me to customerservice@24hourfitness.com; subject "Followup on membership status"
Hello--
I realize that your customer service department is likely operating at diminished capacity in light of both the COVID-19 pandemic and the Chapter 11 restructuring, so please forgive my persistence after filing a few inquiries through your website last week.
Having just gone through a difficult breakup and trying to disentangle accounts, I'm trying to tie up as many loose ends as possible...and I need to make sure that I have my gym situation sorted out for when club locations near me open up again.
For continuity/convenience, here's what I had submitted:
I can't log in because your password reset flow is broken. (I reset the password based on the email, then try to log in with that password, and I'm told it's incorrect.) Also, I put in a fake value for your "Club Location" dropdown on this form because you don't have any San Francisco locations. So I'm instead sending you this message: I'm trying to understand what the situation is with my membership, since my membership was established under Adam Robers's account with a friends and family deal, and he and I have split up, so he was going to disentangle our accounts. Please let me know. Thank you.
Can you tell me why I'm unable to log in? Is it because my account was cancelled already (perhaps because Adam had contacted you)?
Thank you very much.
2020-07-07 21:51 PDT
From donotreply@24hourfit.com to me; subject "Your 24 Hour Fitness Membership"
This is all fine and well, but I was unable to log in to either manage or cancel my membership, and the phone numbers they directed me to went to call centers with automated messages that said that they were unstaffed and that I had to manage my account online... No chance of speaking to a live human...
Dear Member,
Thank you for your incredible patience and loyalty as we’ve worked through unprecedented challenges as a company and community.
If you wish to cancel your membership, you may expedite your request by visiting our website by following this link and follow the instructions to submit your request to cancel. For information regarding our company restructuring, including requests for refunds, please visit https://www.24hourfitness.com/restructure, or call (877) 606-3612 (toll free in the U.S. and Canada) or +1 (949) 635-4482 (international).
We value your membership, and our hope is to keep you as a member, and have provided a “thank you” offer via your My24 Account Online should you choose to stay with us.
In addition to the thank you offers, all active members will have access to any available 24 Hour Fitness club through the end of 2020—regardless of membership level. We will continue to enhance the fitness experience inside and outside our clubs including our Virtual Group Training, 24GO®app and 24GO® LIVE streaming services through the 24 Hour Fitness® YouTube channel and other offerings that contribute to your health and overall wellbeing.
Click here to find out when clubs in your area are opening, plus see all that we're doing to prepare for our members’ return.
We hope you and your family remain safe and healthy through these unique times and we wish you the best with your future fitness goals.
2020-11-04 16:02 MST
From me to customerservice@24hourfitness.com; subject "Followup on membership status"
Hello--
After getting no reply from you via email for 4 months and not being able to get a hold of your customer service call center back in June and July, I noted that you had not been charging my credit card for membership since April 3. This is good, since your gyms have been closed.
However, I noted that you started charging me again in October:
- $19.59 on 2020-10-02
- $36.74 on 2020-11-01
This is after receiving ZERO communication from you about gym openings/closures since my last inquiry. I'm not sure if I was just expected to be checking gym openings manually on some regular cadence, or...?
Meanwhile, I've had to make my own fitness arrangements that didn't depend on your gym.
And I also noted that I still cannot log into your website:
Therefore, I request the following, please:
- Reactivate my online account.
- Refund me $19.59 + $36.74 = $56.33.
- Place a freeze on my membership, so that I can reactivate it at a later date at the same $36.74/month rate.
Thank you.
2020-11-09 11:24 MST
From donotreply@24hourfit.com to me; subject "Your 24 Hour Fitness Membership Inquiry"
Again, this doesn't address my inquiries, and it directs me to manage my membership through an online portal I cannot log into or to call a phone number that does not connect me with a human.
Dear Member,
Thank you for your email. We are working diligently through our queue and we greatly apologize for any delayed response times. We appreciate your patience and understanding.
Please review the below information to assist with your billing inquiry:
- Monthly dues billing:
- After April 15th, monthly dues billing was placed on hold while clubs were closed. Upon reopening clubs in your area, your membership was reactivated and your monthly dues billing resumed.
- When dues billing resumed, there was a pro-rated invoice generated which covered the period between your reactivation date and your next regular monthly dues billing date. Following that prorated invoice, your first full-monthly dues billing resumed on your regular billing date.
- For example: If your membership was reactivated on June 1 and your normal billing date was June 15, you were billed a prorated amount on June 1st for June 1-14*.
*Note: If you had a credit for the one (1) month dues credit “thank you” offer (as applicable) that credit would be applied toward your first dues (prorated) invoice, and any remaining credit will be applied toward your first full-monthly dues billing. Visit the Covid-19 section in our FAQ’s for more information on thank you offers.
- For example: If your membership was reactivated on June 1 and your normal billing date was June 15, you were billed a prorated amount on June 1st for June 1-14*.
- In a small number of cases, due to reopening dates and system timing, the first reactivation invoice and the subsequent 1 or 2 months of full-monthly dues were combined into one billing.
- As a reminder, 60 days of time will be added to the end of your membership to provide you with access to the clubs for the March and April 2020 billings while our clubs were closed.
- Prepaid/Limited memberships:
- Prepaid, annual renewal memberships were given credit for paid time clubs were closed in your area. The credit will be applied toward an upcoming membership balance.
- Limited membership expiration dates were extended to reflect the amount of time clubs were closed in your area.
For information regarding our company restructuring, including requests for refunds for billing prior to June 15, 2020, please visit https://www.24hourfitness.com/restructure, or call (877) 606-3612 (toll free in the U.S. and Canada) or +1 (949) 635-4482 (international).
Once your membership has been reactivated, you will have the option to log into MyAccount Online to place your membership on an additional one-month freeze with no fees. If you wish to cancel your membership, you may expedite your request by visiting our website by following this link and follow the instructions to submit your request to cancel.
We hope that this information has been helpful. If you have additional questions that have not been answered, are requesting a refund, or if you feel that additional time is needed following the one-month freeze, please speak with a team member at your local club.
We hope you and your family remain safe and healthy through these unique times and look forward to continuing to service your fitness needs.
2020-11-11 14:33 MST
From me to customerservice@24hourfitness.com; subject "Followup on membership status"
Hello. I'm following up on this again, since I still have not heard back about this matter.
I do not wish to have to contact my credit card company about these charges.
2020-11-19 12:41 MST
From me to customerservice@24hourfitness.com; subject "Followup on membership status"
Hello. It's been over a week since the last time I inquired about this.
To remind you: I have no way of managing my membership, since I'm unable to log in, there's no phone number I can call to speak to a representative, and you haven't responded to my emails for over 4 months, despite the autoresponses promising that you'll get to them as soon as possible.
2020-11-27 14:34 MST
From me to customerservice@24hourfitness.com; subject "Followup on membership status"
I randomly got a password reset email. I went through the flow to establish a new password. But I still couldn't log in, which is consistent with my previous experience. I suspect the problem is not that there is a wrong password, but that you have deactivated my account.
I've attached a few relevant screenshots.
I still have not heard a reply to my other inquiries, and it's been weeks. Well, months.
2020-11-27 14:35 MST
From no_reply@24hourfitness.com to me; subject "24 Hour Fitness Refund Confirmation"
Automated email issuing refund for 2020-11-13 charge of $25.06, ironically, a charge I hadn't asked them about yet.
2020-11-27 14:40 MST
From customerservice@24hourfitness.com to me; subject "24 Hour Fitness"
Dear Arthur,
Membership Number: RY62280
Thank you for your email. We value you as a member and appreciate the opportunity to service your fitness needs.
We apologize for the inconvenience caused regarding accessing your My24 online account.
We have sent you a reset password email, so you may access your My24 account via website. Please be advised that the My24 app is no longer in service and our new app is 24GO. You may access your My24 account online through our website: https://www.24hourfitness.com/registration.html#/.
My24 is available 7 days a week and gives you the ability to review your account details and payments, contact your preferred club via email, and update personal information anytime.
Here is what you can do online.
- Address, phone number, email address update
- Make a payment
- View and print usage history
- Change EFT information
- View billing history
- Print a receipt for payments
- Request a copy of an agreement
- View PT sessions used and available
- Freeze membership
Also, as a courtesy, we have refunded $25.06 to MasterCard ending 9879 .Please allow 3-5 business days.
Please let us know if you have any other questions.
Once again, we apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused and thank you for your valued business.
In good health,
Tamara R.,
24 Hour Fitness Member Service Team
2020-11-27 14:46 MST
From me to customerservice@24hourfitness.com; subject "24 Hour Fitness"
Hi there. Thank you for getting back to me.
The correct refund is $56.33, as I documented in my November 4 email, assuming you haven't also charged me again since then.
I still cannot log in, despite following the instructions.
I still haven't gotten a confirmation that you have frozen my account, as I requested in the November 4 email.
Can you issue the remaining $31.27 refund, fix my account access, and confirm the rest of in order?
Thank you again.
2020-12-03 12:55 MST
From no_reply@24hourfitness.com to me; subject "24 Hour Fitness Refund Confirmation"
Automated email issuing refund for 2020-11-01 charge of $36.74.
2020-12-03 12:59 MST
From customerservice@24hourfitness.com to me; subject "24 Hour Fitness"
Hi Arthur,
Thank you for your email.
We have refunded an additional $36.74 on your membership RY62280. Your membership is currently on a freeze and will remain on a freeze until clubs in your area allowed to reopen. To get updates on when clubs will open in your area, please download the 24GO app from the Google Play or Apple app store and turn on notifications.
As for your My24 account, we have reset your password. You will receive a separate email accordingly. You will need your membership number, RY62280, or our check-in code, [REDACTED], to log-in.
Thanks,
24 Hour Fitness
2020-12-03 15:41 MST
From me to customerservice@24hourfitness.com; subject "24 Hour Fitness"
Thank you. I appreciate that.
I would like the freeze to be in effect until I choose to unfreeze. Also, what area are you considering me in?
And also, I didn't get a password reset email, but the password reset flow is what didn't work before.
I can also try to trigger it myself again.
Thank you again.
2020-12-09 12:05 MST
From customerservice@24hourfitness.com to me; subject "24 Hour Fitness"
Dear Arthur,
Thank you for your email. We value you as a member and appreciate the opportunity to service your fitness needs.
We have processed your request to place a temporary freeze on your agreement . During the freeze period, you will not be financially responsible for your monthly dues payment and you will not have access to our facilities.
When the requested time has expired, your agreed dues rate will adjust and automatically resume its regularly scheduled payment cycle.
We have sent a password reset link to your email on file, you can check your spam or your junk mail for the link.
Thank you for your patience while resolving this matter, and I wish you continued success with your fitness goals.
In good health,
Shenise C.
24 Hour Fitness Member Service Team
2020-12-09 12:28 MST
From me to customerservice@24hourfitness.com; subject "24 Hour Fitness"
As I keep emailing, the password reset flow isn't working. Please see the other email about that.
What do you mean by "agreed dues rate will adjust"? How does that work? I thought I get the same rate that I originally agreed to.
What is "the requested time"? How long is the freeze period?
2021-04-03 05:41 MDT
From me to customerservice@24hourfitness.com; subject "Unauthorized charge"
Hello. I saw a charge on my credit card for $57.99 posted on April 1, which I did not authorize, and without getting any notification from you in advance.
Please refund it immediately.
My account is on pause, and I don't know where the $57.99 number came from, since my monthly fee (when not paused) is ~$35.
If I do not have it refunded by April 15, I will report the transaction as fraudulent with my credit card company, which I really do not want to have to go through.
Thank you.
2021-04-08 11:23 MDT
From no_reply@24hourfitness.com to me; subject "24 Hour Fitness Refund Confirmation"
Automated email issuing refund for 2021-04-01 charge of $57.99.
2021-04-08 12:13 MDT
From crmwebmail@24hourfit.com to me; subject "General Billing Inquiry"
Dear Arthur,
Thank you for your email. I apologize for any inconvenience.
However, I see that your Monthly Membership was reactivated from Freeze on 03/21/2021 since the Clubs have reopened during those time, hence your Monthly Billing resumed.
Your regular Monthly Dues is $36.74. However, as a Freeze Adjustment, you were also charged a fee of $23.70. This additional charge was a pro-rated dues intending to cover for the period of 03/12/2021 through 03/31/2021. No worries though! I have gone ahead and refunded the $57.99 to your Credit Card ending in [REDACTED] and you should receive a Confirmation Email to "[REDACTED]".
As this is not a "Pay-as-you-go" membership and our method of payment is automatic, you will continue to be billed for membership fees whether or not you use the Club. Once a membership is "Active", automatic withdrawal will occur on the designated Monthly Dues dates.
On that premise, we have taken your request into consideration and I have gone ahead and placed your membership on a 1 month freeze. The freeze will be lifted on 05/08/2021, and the Amount Due on Reactivation Date is $28.44. Monthly Dues Resumes On: 06/01/2021.
In good health,
Jomeo F.
24 Hour Fitness Member Service Team
From no_reply@24hourfitness.com to me; subject "24 Hour Fitness Freeze Membership Confirmation"
Attached PDF reads as follows:
Re: 24 Hour Member # RY62280
Dear ARTHUR,
Per your request on April 8, 2021, your 24 Hour Fitness membership has been placed on a freeze effective April 8, 2021, together with any upgrade, personal training or service agreements.
If you have a monthly recurring personal training agreement, future monthly debits will be cancelled, and a new agreement will need to be purchased when you resume your membership. When you are ready to resume your workouts, please speak with a club team member about using any remaining sessions on your current agreement.
Please see details in the grid below:
| Agreement Number | Name | Agreement |
|---|---|---|
| RY62280 | ARTHUR ZEY | Membership |
Reactivation Date: 05/08/2021
Monthly Dues Resumes On: 06/01/2021
Prorated Amount Due on Reactivation Date: $28.44
(Excluding any available credits)
Please note that you will not have access to the club facilities, and will not be billed for your dues during your freeze period. You will continue to have access to the club for any paid time prior to the effective freeze date. For monthly agreements, your dues billing will resume automatically, at the end of your freeze, as indicated in the grid above*.
If you wish to reactivate your membership prior to the end of your freeze period, please visit your local club or contact us at 1.800.432.6348 and we will be happy to assist you.
To view your billing details or manage your membership online, please visit 24hourfitness.com/my24.
Helping you reach your fitness goals is important to us, and we look forward to seeing you in the club again soon. Thank you for being a 24 Hour Fitness member.
Your friends at 24 Hour Fitness
* A prorated dues amount may be due on your reactivation date to cover any billing period between your reactivation date and your next scheduled monthly dues debit.
2021-04-08 12:25 MDT
From me to crmwebmail@24hourfit.com; subject "General Billing Inquiry"
Hi, Jomeo--
Thank you for getting back to me explicitly and for explaining the amounts.
When I corresponded with your customer service in late 2020, my membership was placed on an indefinite freeze, not until "the Clubs have reopened". Because of the closures, I have had to find an alternative gym solution. I did not authorize (nor was I even apprised in advance) resuming my membership as of March 12. How was I even supposed to know that you had intended to charge me for that or that I could even start using the clubs? If you unfreeze my membership, I should be apprised in advance.
Regardless, a 1-month freeze is insufficient, as I am already under contract with a gym for many more months, so double-paying for a membership I won't use doesn't make sense. Please do not lift the freeze on May 8.
Thank you again.
2021-04-18 15:12 MDT
From me to crmwebmail@24hourfit.com; subject "General Billing Inquiry"
Hi there-- Checking in on this again.
Thank you.
2021-06-22 10:27 MDT
From me to crmwebmail@24hourfit.com; subject "General Billing Inquiry"
Hello again. I have not heard from you in over 2 months now.
However, I noticed that you charged me $37.01 on June 1, which I did not authorize (and explicitly forbade!). I still have not been to any club., nor do I anticipate returning in the near future until my alternative membership contract runs out.
Can you please refund that and prevent me from getting charged again until I'm ready to unfreeze?
I hope you'll forgive my frustration, but this is getting seriously tiresome.
Thank you.
2021-06-29 09:14 MDT
From me to crmwebmail@24hourfit.com; subject "General Billing Inquiry"
Hello, again. It's been a week since my last email. I'm concerned that you will erroneously charge me again on Thursday (July 1), and we're going to be wrestling with yet another refund.
Can you please attend to this matter as soon as possible?
Thank you.
2021-07-03 08:31 MDT
From me to crmwebmail@24hourfit.com; subject "General Billing Inquiry"
Now please also refund the July 1 charge of $36.74.
I'm hoping I don't need to escalate this to my credit card company.
Thank you.
2021-07-06 12:03 MDT
From me to crmwebmail@24hourfit.com and customerservice@24hourfitness.com; subject "General Billing Inquiry"
Hello there. I will be requesting that my credit card company reverse these erroneous charges on Monday, July 12, if I don't hear back from you before then that you are refunding me $37.01 + $36.74 = $73.75.
Thank you.
2021-07-08 11:32 MDT
From no_reply@24hourfitness.com to me; subject "24 Hour Fitness Refund Confirmation"
Automated email issuing refund for 2021-06-01 charge of $37.01 and 2021-07-01 charge of $36.74, totaling $73.75.
2021-07-13 15:58 MDT
From me to crmwebmail@24hourfit.com and customerservice@24hourfitness.com; subject "General Billing Inquiry"
Hello. I received the refunds; thank you. However, I haven't heard back from anybody explicitly.
Are we going to go through the same dance in August?
Thanks again.
2021-07-15 12:58 MDT
From crmwebmail@24hourfit.com to me; subject "24Hour Fitness"
Dear Arthur,
Thank you for your email. We value you as a member and appreciate the opportunity to service your fitness needs.
We do apologize for the inconvenience you are facing with your membership. Please contact us at 1-800-432-6348 (M-F, 10am-8pm Eastern Standard Time) for further assistance with your membership.
We wish you and your family continued success with your fitness goals.
In good health,
Shanae B.
24 Hour Fitness Member Service Team
2021-07-29 13:23 MDT
From me to crmwebmail@24hourfit.com; subject "24Hour Fitness"
Hi there--
I received the appropriate refunds and validated that they cleared. However, I'm still concerned about the setup and situation, that I keep getting charged when I'm supposed to be on a freeze. Is there a reason we need to invest time in a phone call?
Thanks so much.
2021-08-01 11:47 MDT
From me to crmwebmail@24hourfit.com; subject "24Hour Fitness"
I just noticed that y'all have charged me another $36.74 inappropriately.
Please reverse it immediately.
Thank you.
2021-08-09 06:23 MDT
From me to crmwebmail@24hourfit.com; subject "24Hour Fitness"
So after charging me $36.74 on 2021-08-01. I now see a pending charge for $49.99 on 2021-08-08. That doesn't make sense, even if you didn't honor the freeze.
Please immediately refund me $86.73.
If I don't hear back by 2021-08-16 that you have refunded me that amount and prevented me from getting charged again in the future (so we don't have to go through this game every month), I will take this up with my bank.
2021-08-20 08:24 MDT
From me to crmwebmail@24hourfit.com; subject "24Hour Fitness"
Please be aware that I have disputed the following charges with my bank:
- 2021-08-01: $36.74
- 2021-08-08: $49.99
2021-08-28 04:07 MDT
From customerservice@24hourfitness.com to me; subject "Account Update - Chargeback"
Dear ARTHUR,
Your action is required in order to keep your membership current.
At your earliest convenience, please update your membership account online at My24 or call us at 888.900.3194.
Helping you reach your fitness goals is important to us, and we look forward to continuing to help you achieve them.
Together in fitness,
Your 24 Hour Fitness team
2021-08-28 06:28 MDT
From me to customerservice@24hourfitness.com; subject "Account Update - Chargeback"
I've already emailed you about the erroneous charges, and requested that you both refund me for them and stop charging me when my account is supposed to be frozen. I warned you that if I didn't hear back within several weeks, I would take up the issue with my bank, and so I did.
You won't fix the problem with my ability to log in, and every time I have called, I've been put on indefinite hold and been unable to get a human being. I don't have time for this nonsense anymore.
Feel free to look through all the numerous emails we've exchanged, oftentimes with your replies coming many weeks, and in some cases months, after I email you.
2021-09-09 14:42 MDT
From no_reply@24hourfitness.com to me; subject "24 Hour Fitness Waive Balance Confirmation"
Attached PDF reads as follows:
Re: 24 Hour Member # RY62280
Dear ARTHUR,
Thank you for your continued loyalty, we appreciate the opportunity to serve you.
Details of the balance(s) waived on your account is below. To view your billing details or manage your membership online, please visit 24hourfitness.com/my24.
| Member | Invoice Number | Due Date | Invoice Amount | Balance Due | Amount Waived |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ARTHUR ZEY (Add-On) |
INV66599466 | 08/01/2021 | $36.74 | $36.74 | $36.74 |
Helping you reach your fitness goals is important to us, and we look forward to seeing you in the club again soon.
Your 24 Hour Fitness Team
2021-09-09 14:43 MDT
From no_reply@24hourfitness.com to me; subject "24 Hour Fitness Freeze Membership Confirmation"
Attached PDF reads as follows:
Re: 24 Hour Member # RY62280
Dear ARTHUR,
Per your request on September 9, 2021, your 24 Hour Fitness membership has been placed on a freeze effective September 9, 2021, together with any upgrade, personal training or service agreements.
If you have a monthly recurring personal training agreement, future monthly debits will be cancelled, and a new agreement will need to be purchased when you resume your membership. When you are ready to resume your workouts, please speak with a club team member about using any remaining sessions on your current agreement.
Please see details in the grid below:
| Agreement Number | Name | Agreement |
|---|---|---|
| RY62280 | ARTHUR ZEY | Membership |
Reactivation Date: 12/09/2021
Monthly Dues Resumes On: 01/01/2022
Prorated Amount Due on Reactivation Date: $27.26
(Excluding any available credits)
Please note that you will not have access to the club facilities, and will not be billed for your dues during your freeze period. You will continue to have access to the club for any paid time prior to the effective freeze date. For monthly agreements, your dues billing will resume automatically, at the end of your freeze, as indicated in the grid above*.
If you wish to reactivate your membership prior to the end of your freeze period, please visit your local club or contact us at 1.800.432.6348 and we will be happy to assist you.
To view your billing details or manage your membership online, please visit 24hourfitness.com/my24.
Helping you reach your fitness goals is important to us, and we look forward to seeing you in the club again soon. Thank you for being a 24 Hour Fitness member.
Your friends at 24 Hour Fitness
* A prorated dues amount may be due on your reactivation date to cover any billing period between your reactivation date and your next scheduled monthly dues debit.
2021-09-09 14:51 MDT
From me to customerservice@24hourfitness.com; subject "24 Hour Fitness Waive Balance Confirmation", replying on the 2021-09-09 14:42 MDT thread
Aside from this, you have also charged me $49.99 on 2021-08-08 without explanation, which does not line up with any regular charge amounts, and it was in addition to the incorrect September membership fee (while I was supposed to be frozen).
Please also reverse that and the erroneous $36.74 from September 1.
2021-09-09 14:52 MDT
From me to customerservice@24hourfitness.com; subject "24 Hour Fitness Freeze Membership Confirmation", replying on the 2021-09-09 14:43 MDT thread
Thank you for this, but I requested the freeze over a year ago and explained the context. To be clear, I didn't make the request on September 9, 2021, and I didn't send you any emails. As you can see from the email history, the very last time of the numerous times I've been insisting that I was supposed to be frozen was 2021-08-09. So while I do expect the freeze to be in effect, you should know that your attached PDF is inaccurate about the stated dates.
2021-09-09 15:08 MDT
From customerserv@24hourfit.com to me; subject "Account Update - Chargeback", replying on the 2021-08-28 06:28 MDT thread
HI Arthur,
Thanks for the email, your account was placed on a ONE MONTH Free freeze on 4/8/21 and automatically reactivated on 5/7/21, (There are no indefinite time freezes) therefore all charges after reactivation are valid, never the less you received a complimentary refund for 2 month dues on 7/9/21 as a one-time customer service gesture.
Our records indicate your bank charged back August dues $36.74 and your annual fee $49.99
As an additional customer service gesture we have waived August dues $36.74 for your account to become current and this way we were able to process another complimentary freeze on your account for 3 months, reactivating on 12/9/21.
Also note annual fee $49.99 is non-waivable, non-refundable and it is paid even when memberships remain on a freeze.
Your payment for September dues has created a Credit on your account, which will be used in your payment for the first invoice after reactivation on 12/9/21 and first charge to be made on 1/1/2022, unless you cancel your membership before that date.
Please note any additional freeze after reactivation on 12/9/21 will have a fee of $12 per month.
We apologize if the response times have been long, please note you can self-mange your account online for expedited processing, view and manage your account including billing, payments, freezes, cancellation and more online using My24 account online, If you haven't enrolled you can do it at:
https://www.24hourfitness.com/registration.html#/
Sincerely,
Fernando A.
Member care specialist.
2021-09-09 15:17 MDT
From me to customerserv@24hourfit.com; subject "Account Update - Chargeback"
If all that is the case about freeze durations, then your customer service should have advised me of that fact when I described the freeze I was looking for and when I was requesting, month after month, to get refunds for what I legitimately believed were erroneous charges. I never requested a one-month-only freeze, and I explained that because of your closures, I had to secure an alternative gym membership for which I had a contract through February 2022. Because your customer service team failed to apprise me of any problems with that, I should not have had any charges between when you closed your gyms in 2020 to present.
You have confirmed that my freeze is valid through December 2021. We will need to renew it again then.
But meanwhile, I need all charges reversed, please. Please forgive my stern tone, but it's been very frustrating to not get timely, accurate communication from your customer support for over a year, either by email or by phone.
As for this:
you can self-mange your account online for expedited processing, view and manage your account including billing, payments, freezes, cancellation and more online using My24 account online, If you haven't enrolled you can do it at:
I have been trying to sign in for over a year, with no luck (please see numerous emails about that), and your customer service advised me to call in, when your call centers were indefinitely closed.
2021-09-14 17:51 MDT
From customerserv@24hourfit.com to me; subject "Account Update - Chargeback"
Hi Arthur,
I confirm your membership RY62280 is on a Complimentary free freeze until 12/8/21, additional freezes will have a $12 monthly fee.
We cannot provide you with any additional refund or credit.
You already received a complimentary refund for 2 month dues on 7/9/21 as a one-time customer service gesture.
Your bank charged back August dues $36.74 and your annual fee $49.99 As an additional customer service gesture we have waived August dues $36.74 for your account to become current and then processed another complimentary freeze on your account for 3 months, reactivating on 12/9/21.
An annual fee $49.99 is non-waivable, non-refundable and it is paid even when memberships remain on a freeze.
Your payment for September dues created a Credit on your account, which will be used in your payment for the first invoice after reactivation on 12/9/21 and first charge to be made on 1/1/2022, unless you cancel your membership before that date.
Note processing times are expedited when self processing is made thru My24 account online, but we'll be happy to assist if you request via our website if you request it.
Sincerely,
Fernando A.
Member care specialist.
2021-09-14 18:05 MDT
From me to customerserv@24hourfit.com; subject "Account Update - Chargeback"
Please review the entire correspondence thread. I have been asking for freezes with no contradiction (and only getting ignored) many times. Indeed, I have gotten many refunds without comment, implicitly acknowledging that I was supposed to be frozen.
If you couldn't freeze my account until February 2022, your customer service representatives should have apprised me of that fact when I mentioned that many, many months ago.
Please also show me where in my contract it shows the $49.99 annual fee, which I was not charged in 2020, to my knowledge. I may also have to request its reversal from 2019-08-09.
2021-09-14 18:08 MDT
From me to customerserv@24hourfit.com; subject "Account Update - Chargeback"
I managed to find the contract. I don't see where it says that the $49.99 fee is active during a freeze. Moreover, if you were unable to process a freeze until February 2022 when I first asked, you should have apprised me of the fact, and then I would have cancelled my membership altogether. So in any event, I would not have paid the $49.99 fee if I weren't misled. I'll leave the 2019-08-09 fee of $49.99 alone. That one was justified.
2021-09-16 14:36 MDT
From customerserv@24hourfit.com to me; subject "Account Update - Chargeback"
HI Arthur,
Copy of your original agreement is being forwarded in a separate email.
I highlighted the clause related to annual fees payment during freeze, for your records,
Sincerely,
Fernando A.
Member care specialist
2021-09-17 14:37 MDT
From donotreply@24hourfit.com to me; subject "24 Hour fitness"
Attached PDF confirmed what I had already discovered by myself on 2021-09-14.
Hi Arthur,
Attached is copy of your original agreement.
Please review Page 2, / Membership freeze policy / Dues during Freeze, for your records.
Regards,
Fernando A.
Member Care Specialist | Member Relations
24 Hour Fitness USA, LLC
24hourfitness.com | 24life.com
Attempts to Access Online Account
This isn't really that interesting, and it's somewhat tangential to the main issue here, but it illustrates my attempt to manage my own account and that 24 Hour Fitness was unwilling or unable to enable me to do that.
2020-06-26 16:48 PDT
I attempted to reset my password to get access to my account. 24 Hour Fitness (no_reply@24hourfit.com) sent me an email ("Online Password Request") to allow me to complete the password reset flow.
2020-06-26 16:50 PDT
24 Hour Fitness (no_reply@24hourfit.com) sent me an email ("Your My24 Account password has been reset") to inform me that I can now log in with my new password.
2020-06-26 16:58 PDT
After I was still unable to log in, I submitted an inquiry through their website, and I got a stock email from customerservice@24hourfitness.com with some FAQs ("Automatic reply: Forgot User Name/Password"). I referenced my inability to log in in my followup email on 2020-07-03.
2020-11-27 14:30 MST
I again attempted to reset my password to get access to my account. 24 Hour Fitness (no_reply@24hourfit.com) sent me an email ("Online Password Request") to allow me to complete the password reset flow.
2020-11-27 14:32 MST
24 Hour Fitness (no_reply@24hourfit.com) sent me an email ("Your My24 Account password has been reset") to inform me that I can now log in with my new password. I was still unable to log in, which I reported in my followup email a few minutes later.
2020-12-07 11:46 MST
I attempted to reset my password to get access to my account. 24 Hour Fitness (no_reply@24hourfit.com) sent me an email ("Online Password Request") to allow me to complete the password reset flow.
2020-12-08 07:22 MST
From me to customerservice@24hourfitness.com; subject "Online Password Reset", forwarding their 2020-12-07 automated email
Nope. Doesn't work.
2020-12-08 07:23 MST
From me to customerservice@24hourfitness.com; subject "24 Hour Fitness", replying on the 2020-12-03 15:41 MST thread
I got the password reset email yesterday. Within the 24-hour limit before its expiration (19 hours, actually), I used the link, but I got this error message:
2020-12-09 10:02 MST
I attempted to reset my password to get access to my account. 24 Hour Fitness (no_reply@24hourfit.com) sent me an email ("Online Password Request") to allow me to complete the password reset flow.
2020-12-09 10:08 MST
24 Hour Fitness (no_reply@24hourfit.com) sent me an email ("Your My24 Account password has been reset") to inform me that I can now log in with my new password. I was still unable to log in, which I reported in my followup email a few minutes later.
2020-12-09 10:14 MST
From me to customerservice@24hourfitness.com; subject "24 Hour Fitness", replying on the 2020-12-08 07:23 MST thread
This is getting rather tiresome. We keep going around in circles.
This time, I was able to reset the password and got a confirmation, both on the web and via email. But I still cannot log in with the new credentials. (And I work in technology, so I'm not just being dense about this.)
Here are two different pages offering me error messages:
What's the next step? I think continuously trying to reset my password through the normal flow is unlikely to work. This is now, what, the third time we've tried?
As I speculated before, I think this has something to do with my account status.
2020-12-09 12:07 MST
From customerservice@24hourfitness.com to me; subject "24 Hour Fitness"
I replied at 12:28 MST about the password reset flow. That email is in the other section because there are substantive membership issues discussed in it, too.
Dear Arthur ,
Thank you for your email. We value you as a member and appreciate the opportunity to service your fitness needs.
With regard to your email we have reset your password on our side please try to log in to your online account using your username which is ArthurZey if you are having any other issues please send us another email.
Thank you for being a member of 24 Hour Fitness. We wish you good health and continued success with your fitness goals.
In good health,
Kenisha W.
24 Hour Fitness Member Service Team
2020-12-10 14:35 MST
From customerservice@24hourfitness.com to me; subject "24Hour Fitness"
Dear Arthur,
Thank you for your email. We value you as a member and appreciate the opportunity to service your fitness needs.
We apologize for the inconvenience your facing with our online portal to have your password reset. Please call us at 1-800-432-6348 (M-F, 10am-8pm Standard Time) for further assistance.
We wish you and your family continued success with your fitness goals.
In good health,
Shanae B.
24 Hour Fitness Member Service Team
2020-12-10 14:36 MST
From me to customerservice@24hourfitness.com; subject "24Hour Fitness"
What is "Standard Time"?
2020-12-17 14:25 MST
From me to customerservice@24hourfitness.com; subject "24Hour Fitness"
Hi, Shanae or whoever can help here--
I'm following up again, another week later.
I don't understand why I'm being instructed to call a phone number for a call center that's closed "until further notice". It's been closed for many months now. Here, I thought maybe you had reopened your call centers, maybe to help with the website bugs. I guess not. So what are we going to do about this? I can't access my account online. And I hasten to reiterate that I'm a technology professional, so I'm not exactly doing something stupid with the password reset flow.
2020-12-23 09:36 MST
From crmwebmail@24hourfit.com to me; subject "24 hour fitness"
Dear Arthur,
Thank you for your email. We value you as a member and appreciate the opportunity to service your fitness needs. We apologize for the inconvenience your facing with our online portal to have your password reset. Please call us at 833-636-0003 (M-F, 10am-8pm Standard Time) for further assistance.
Thank you for being a member of 24 Hour Fitness. I wish you good health and continued success with your fitness goals.
In good health,
Sabrina.S
24 Hour Fitness Member Service Team
2020-12-24 14:54 MST
From me to crmwebmail@24hourfit.com and customerservice@24hourfitness.com; subject "24 hour fitness"
Again, I don't know what "Standard Time" is, but I called within the hours that the automated voice recording said were the hours...and yet it also said they were closed.
To be clear, I'm not asking for my password to be reset. I'm asking for you to reactivate my online account (NOT reactivate my membership), since no amount of password resets and going through that flow seems to work, as I've now documented numerous times. (I remind you that I'm a technology professional, so this is not user error.)
2020-12-29 10:29 MST
Presumably because a 24 Hour Fitness employee triggered the reset flow, 24 Hour Fitness (no_reply@24hourfit.com) sent me an email ("Online Password Request") to allow me to complete the password reset flow.
2020-12-29 10:30 MST
4 Hour Fitness (no_reply@24hourfit.com) sent me an email ("Online Password Request") to allow me to complete the password reset flow, presumably a duplicate email, but I used this newer one's reset link.
2020-12-29 10:33 MST
24 Hour Fitness (no_reply@24hourfit.com) sent me an email ("Your My24 Account password has been reset") to inform me that I can now log in with my new password. I was still unable to log in.
2020-12-29 10:34 MST
From me to customerservice@24hourfitness.com; subject "Online Password Request", replying on the 2020-12-29 10:30 MST thread
What made you think that it was going to work this time?
