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Date Posted: 08:47:58 02/24/06 Fri
(posted on, www.wcvb.com , 2/22/06)
Health Club's Coupons Anger Some Consumers
Club Manager Defends Advertising
BOSTON -- Some consumers are upset about a Massachusetts' health club chain's coupons for gym memberships.
NewsCenter 5's Susan Wornick reported Tuesday that some consumers say Work Out World is trying to trick them into joining.
"I saw this coupon," Vita Cyr said.
The coupon offered a two for one deal for $19.99 per month.
"Then, it says, 'free enrollment,'" Cyr said.
But when Cyr and a friend went to Work Out World, they were told the offer was sold out.
Cyr said that when she returned home, there was a flyer from Work Out World that offered a deal to the "first 30 members" who signed up.
"I'm so angry and aggravated," Erin Delaney said.
Delaney was also intrigued by a Work Out World coupon. But once inside, a salesman explained that the coupon really meant seven free days to cancel after you sign up.
The $19.99 didn't include other charges, which brought the total to join the gym to more than $900. Delaney felt deceived, but she signed up anyway because the gym was close to her home. Then, when she decided to cancel, it took repeated, unanswered phone calls, threats and two weeks for Delaney to get her money back.
"I felt like it was misleading. It's false advertising," Delaney said.
Work Out World let NewsCenter 5 tour a gym, and a district manager defended the company's coupons, though he didn't want to show his face on camera.
"What we're talking about is advertisement," Work Out World's Darren Martin said.
Martin admitted the gym's various offers are designed to get people into the gym to sign up for memberships that, in reality cost, hundreds of dollars. He insisted the coupons are clear.
One offer says "$10 per month. No enrollment fees" in big letters. But Martin said that a small notation on the coupon refers to small print, which says there is an enrollment fee for this deal. A small asterisk at "no enrollment fee" explains that it's based on $49.99 per month.
Massachusetts Consumer Affairs' Janice Tatarka said that the coupons make it look like it's pretty in expensive to join Work Out World.
"They're not going to have a long relationship in Massachusetts if they don't clarify," Tatarka said.
The Attorney General's office has received dozens of complaints about Work Out World -- 50 just in the last three years about things such as the gym's cancellation policy and misrepresentation of the gym's membership deals.
Now, it's up to the Attorney General's office to do something. For the record, state law gives consumers three days to cancel any gym membership.
Copyright 2006 by TheBostonChannel. All rights reserved.
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Work Out World fitness center's ads accused of being fraudulent