Consumer Alert: Bally's Fitness Lawsuit; Popcorn Prices Up; Hoo...

You are liars. I am a member at Bally for 17 years and I have never heard about this. NBC 10 sucks and I cant believe you back up other peoples story without having any facts. Keep it going and you might become last in the larger networks...oohh, hold on? NBC is last.

I believe it. Bally's is a rip-off. I signed up for a three year contract because a year contract would have been more expensive than it is now. However, I have not gone to the gym (due to a foot injury) in over a year and called to opt out of contract...offering to pay an early termination fee. I was told that they do not offer early term fees and the only way to opt out of contract was to pay the remaining balance of the contract or have my doctor send a statement saying that I can no longer workout due to the injury. Why would I pay it all at once if it is charged to my credit card monthly? 3/09 is when my contract expires and I will NOT be returning as a member - no matter what they offer.

i was just reading on another sight how ballys tricks everyone including myself my 3 best friends and my brother. There nothing but scammers and someone needs to do something about it. Ballyys needs to close down or pay the money back to the people who they have scammed which is probably about 99.9% of there customers.

Ballys in Mt Laurel is a rip off. They employ ex cons and other street vermin. the place is filthy and lockers get broken in to all the time. I cancelled my one year membership and they actually had someone call me and threaten to come to my house if I did not renew. I had cancel the credit card that I used so that they would not keep charging me.
Crooks they are.

I signed up with ballys about a year ago. I was injured in a car accident. I called up bally's and told them what happend. I told them that I would pay a cancellation fee but they said sorry we cant...you would have to pay the full $3000.00 to cancel. I dont have that kind of money. They told me that there is no cancelling. Now they want to send it to collections...can some one help? How much longer are they going to rip good people off...

they suck....the one at 15th street is a pigsty....when i joined they were all over me smiling...once i was a member, they ignored me....i wish id never bothered with them...

Well I was really considering joining last month. They were running a $19 sign up fee and $19 a month I believe. Reading your posts, I'm glad I didn't. I know that Royal Fitness is also in the middle of one of these lawsuits.

James S wrote:

I signed up with ballys about a year ago. I was injured in a car accident. I called up bally's and told them what happend. I told them that I would pay a cancellation fee but they said sorry we cant...you would have to pay the full $3000.00 to cancel. I dont have that kind of money. They told me that there is no cancelling. Now they want to send it to collections...can some one help? How much longer are they going to rip good people off...

you would get a doctors note and by law they have to let you cancel!?

I believe it, long story short, i got flat out lied to by bally's and after being lied to and was cheated out of $500, was lied to once more and then got slammed for $3,200, basically they cannot be trusted. Go anywhere but there, if you think this is all BS and bally's doesn't do this, go on google and type in "Bally's contract termination", there are tousands.. not ten or twenty or even hundreds of people... thousands of people that were lied to or cheated or messed over one way or another by bally's my experiences was from the Bloomfield, MI club. The people I delt with was: Kyle, John(General Manager), Chris(General Manager). So people beware.

I went to the Center City one time for a tour and possible free week (which I didn't wind up using) and the high pressure sales tactics told me to get the hell away and stay away. I expect Bally's Fitness will be shutting most facilities or going the way of Circuit City in this economy. Not enough people need them or love them....

Two and three year contracts are for the birds, though, so this is partly a problem of consumers not being savvy.

There are better, if still not perfect, gym options in Center City, and I assume elsewhere.

Been at Bally's (Woodlyn, before South Philadelphia, too many street kids working and hanging out like it was their own personal gathering spot, It's Philly folks). I like Bally's 24+ years), but you must read the fine print in any contract.

I joined on my girlfriends membership Nov '08. Her three year contract ended and she got a new special rate, they charged her $100.00 for a whole year and I was added for only $20.00 extra a month. We were never charged more then this. We just got a offer to renew at the same rate this year. That comes to only $320.00 for two people for a whole year. I guess I came along at the right time. No hidden fees, awesome lap pool, working equipment, warm and friendly staff(I actually saw two of them at a dance club and partied with them). My experience is so different then what I've read. The YMCA by my house charges double that and is always too crowded, plus too many kids. I think Bally has scared off too many people in the past because mine is never really crowded.

Warning: Warning: Warning

I would not sign a contract with Bally again. My Wife and I renewed our membership for three (3) years the end of January 2009 with the assurance of Bally that if the Facility closed, we would receive a refund equal to the unused portion of our contract. The facility closed at the end of August 2009. As we were walking out the door on the last day we were handed a form on Bally letter head that outlined 'Rights of Bally Members'. This listed the steps to be taken to get a refund. We followed the directions to a Tee. Bally has refused to refund our monies. The form we received stated that the monies would be refunded within 30 days. Never happened.$700.00-$800. down the drain. So much for keeping their word both verbally and in writing. Bally realizes that to hire an Attorney would cost more than what the refund would recover so..........

I am a victim of identity theft with ballys. I never signed a contract with them nor have never seen such a contract until I received a copy from them then later from a collection agency verifying the debt. I reported it to the credit bureaus and currently it remains in dispute. The collection agency is threatening to garnish my wages using this forged document. However my attorney says not to worry because that requires court action. He says all I have to do if they take me to court is I just need to sign a paper in front of the Judge stating under the penalties of perjury the contract was not signed by me. Now I'm relieved and am waiting for them to take me to court to get it over with.