GoodLife Fitness Personal Training Scam Scam Scam
I recently joined GoodLife because I wanted to try personal training. During the consultation, the trainer explained how I could achieve my fitness goals and suggested I train with them twice a week while coming in on two additional days on my own.
When it came time to pay, we went to the front desk. I tapped my card, paid, and was handed the signature pad. I honestly believed I was signing to authorize the payment. At no point was I shown a contract or told that I was signing one.
I was never told that:
I was committing to a one-year personal training agreement.
There was a 15% cancellation/buyout fee if I wanted to end the agreement early.
I should review the contract before signing.
A copy would be emailed to me for review.
If I had been told there was a one-year commitment, I would never have signed up. I was actively looking for a new job at the time, so I specifically wanted something short-term. A one-year commitment was never something I was willing to agree to.
A few days later, after accepting a part-time job, I contacted GoodLife to cancel because my schedule had changed. Instead of working with me, I was told I had to pay a 15% buyout fee because they claimed all of this had been explained to me. It wasn’t.
What has been most frustrating is that I wasn’t treated with much understanding after raising my concerns. I feel like my concerns were dismissed, even though I genuinely don’t believe I gave informed consent to a one-year contract.
I’ve done personal training at other gyms before, including LA Fitness, and this has been by far the worst experience I’ve had. In my experience, other gyms have been upfront about whether you’re signing a contract and what the cancellation terms are. I never had anything remotely like this happen elsewhere.
What makes it even more ironic is that during my consultation, the trainer criticized LA Fitness and told me they had a bad reputation. Based on my own experience, I ended up having a much better experience there than I have with GoodLife.
I’ve also come across reviews from other people describing similar experiences with GoodLife’s personal training contracts, which makes me wonder if this is a recurring issue.
Has anyone else experienced something similar? Were you able to get out of the contract or have the buyout fee waived? I’d really appreciate hearing how your situation turned out.