Couple warn of gym fee problems
Won a small claims court judgment against Anytime Fitness, but haven’t seen any payments
Just when many people are joining a gym to shed extra pounds gained over the holidays, there comes a cautionary tale about fitness club memberships.
Jennifer and Jonathon Bennett have been waging a small claims court battle since last May to recoup monthly membership fees taken from their bank account after they cancelled Jonathan’s membership with Anytime Fitness in Waterdown in November 2017.
They cancelled because they moved to the Fort Erie area.
The Bennetts won their case in July, with small claims court Deputy Judge Dermot Nolan awarding them $784, including costs. He also awarded them interest until the award is paid in full.
But the couple has yet to receive any of it, says Jennifer.
Still, Jennifer is not giving up, despite a time-consuming small claims process to continue to get Anytime to pay the money back.
“I don’t want others going through the same hassle of trying to collect their money,” says Jennifer.
She especially wants people at this time of year — when so many are joining gyms — to know that they could be “walking into a trap.”
Anytime in Waterdown dismisses the court award and the Bennetts’ claims.
Melissa Socholotiuk, sales director for the Waterdown club, said in emails that the Bennetts did not cancel their membership properly — and that by calling the club Anytime Fitness Inc., the Bennetts did not properly name the corporation in their small claims suit.
“The corporation” was not named and as a result no managers, officers or directors attended court, she said.
“We had been advised by legal counsel not to respond to claims that were not legitimate. Any document (that) was delivered to the club address, which is not the official corporation address, may not make it to me and so would not necessarily be (responded to) in a timely manner,” she said.
McMaster University business professor Marvin Ryder said while 99 per cent of businesses do the right thing by their customers, such stories as the Bennetts do happen. But he also warned that a small claims win is often “a hollow victory” because getting an award paid out can be like getting blood out of a stone.
Jennifer says she did all the required small claims legwork to fill out all legal documents and delivered copies of everything to
Anytime in Waterdown.
She says the cancellation was done as per the stipulated club contract cancellation policies: that you can cancel if you “relocate more than 40 km from your original residence” and provide a 60-day written notice. She also paid the $50 cancellation fee.
The couple must now start a new round of small court filings and processes to have the funds garnished from Anytime Fitness, or have the club found in contempt of court, Jennifer says.
The Bennetts’ tale echoes the challenges and experiences some other gym members went through with another fitness firm more than a decade ago and prompted an award-winning investigative series from the Spectator — and to some changes in Ontario consumer protection laws.
The Bennetts’ contempt of court hearing against Anytime Fitness is now set for February in small claims court.
Ontario consumer protection
tips on joining a gym or fitness club can be found online.