Spunk Fitness

The facility, although it was new when I joined, is dirty and unkempt. I saw a q-​tip remain on the floor of the ladies’ locker room for over 2 weeks. Each bathroom stall’s toilet dispenser is ripped off the wall, with toilet rolls all over the floor. Every day, every week, for the entire time I visited.
There is NEVER a personal trainer on staff. Never. Ever. They will tell you to come back some time next week, when someone may or may not be available. So much for the perks of membership.
Let’s not forget that Spunk fitness has a reputation for shady billing practices (do a quick Internet search). I became such a victim. Because they outsource to an auto-​dial robotic billing company (which calls you if they have concerns about your account, but they robo-​dial and give you an automated message instructing you to call another number if you want to know what the call is about — why not just call me, with a human, from that number?), they have no idea the status of your account. So, they could be calling you over and over, and because you have no idea who’s calling you, and aren’t willing to call the number the robot gives you, you will have no idea that «Spunk Fitness» is trying to get a hold of you. Also, the instructions for canceling your membership is to mail in your key tag to the address listed on the back. I did this. They refused to honor my cancellation.
Let me repeat this: I followed the instructions for canceling, and THEY REFUSED TO HONOR MY CANCELLATION.
The reason they continued to bill me was because somehow my paypal balance was too low one month, which lead to a missed payment. I had no idea of this. Because of the robo-​billing system, they refused to stop pulling auto payments because of that one «missed» payment. Call me crazy, but I would think that one auto-​payment made past my cancellation date would cover that missed payment. Instead, they kept going, even charging me the yearly renewal fee, for months after my cancellation. When I emailed the manager, he still TO THIS DAY refuses to acknowledge my cancellation date. He just flat-​out refuses to believe that I mailed in my key tag, in spite of the fact that I mailed it CERTIFIED, and it was SIGNED FOR by a representative at their billing farm in Maryland, where I was instructed to send the key tag. I’m glad I trusted my instincts and did that, because something in me knew that they would contest it. I was right. So I just gifted Mr. Manager and Spunk over $ 100, simply because this cut-​rate enterprise has no idea how to communicate in-​house. My last two emails to him were completely ignored. He got his money. He’s not the greatest customer-​relations representative and might want to stick to lifting or not being available when you need him at the gym.
This experience has ruined my view of gyms. I will now look at every membership with the skepticism of someone who was legitimately and unfairly taken advantage of. I should have heeded the *hundreds* of warnings from friends and former customers, but I thought that the contract and the principles of good business would save me. I was so wrong, and I’ve learned my lesson: Stay far, far away from anything that calls itself «Spunk.»