Help! Collections notice from gym

[gvs.psych]

So, I had a very bad experience recently cancelling a gym membership. There was no term to the contract, it was 'month-to-month', but they required 45 day notice, so I still had to pay for an extra month and a half, had to pay the annual fee again as the renewal date occurred during the cancellation period, and was required to go into the gym during office hours with my spouse to complete the process. All very frustrating. I spent about $200 during the 45 day cancellation period. Then, despite all of this, I today received a collections notice from some random agency saying I owed them $28. I called the gym and they told me to ignore it since my account is paid off. But the notice was generated three days ago. The manager is not returning my calls.

Gyms. Like, wtf guys.

[G]

Ugh, no advice but I feel for you. I would BBB and Yelp the heck put of them.

My home gym is/was the best investment I ever made!

Good luck.

[wonka31]

I’d get the name of the person you spoke with at the gym, try to re-contact the manager. If you get no response, I’d then send a CC’d letter to the gym stating that I spoke with ‘x’ who said not to worry about the $28 as my membership is paid off/closed.

[ZZZ]

Sounds like paying $28 is the most time efficient way to resolve that.

[MPMD]

anything under a hundred dollars i got from a collections agency i would just pay.

not worth it to try to deal with the almost certain idiocy that led to your getting that notice.

[Zaphod]

Gyms are notorious for this, and billing you forever due to the "contract" that says so. Very frustrating.

[Peds]

What kind of gyms are you joining??

[Lordosis]

ZZZ wrote:

Sounds like paying $28 is the most time efficient way to resolve that.

Click to expand...

MPMD wrote:

anything under a hundred dollars i got from a collections agency i would just pay.

not worth it to try to deal with the almost certain idiocy that led to your getting that notice.

Click to expand...

What happens when the next bill comes in?  How long do you eat it for?

[mkintx]

This is why I hate gyms.

[Kamban]

MPMD wrote:

anything under a hundred dollars i got from a collections agency i would just pay.

not worth it to try to deal with the almost certain idiocy that led to your getting that notice.

Click to expand...

On the other hand I refuse to give in to terrorism and blackmail. If it is legit, I pay it. if not, to ************************ with it, no way.

I am FI and have all the credit cards I need. No need for mortgage or car loan. I don't care what they do to my credit report. If needed, I can always add a rebuttal on my credit report.

[molar roller]

or you can just

MPMD wrote:

anything under a hundred dollars i got from a collections agency i would just pay.

not worth it to try to deal with the almost certain idiocy that led to your getting that notice.

Click to expand...

as any of us in private practice know, collection agencies are absolutely useless for collections.

We send about $5-10K to collections every year.  Don't remember the last time I got a dime back.

In many states, collection agencies are not allowed to report to credit bureaus, so they are meaningless.

I would just ignore it and they will go away.  If they don't, ask them for documentation on the debt.  They will go away for a while and likely never come back for $28.

[Lordosis]

I have taken a stand for less when I know I am right.  It is stupid and a waste of time I know but I do not like to be pushed around.

[Nrm07]

Do not “just pay” the collection. If you do that you’ll have a paid collection on your credit report for 7 yrs. there’s a few ways to go about it, be sure to read up on it first. You can either make a contract with the collection agency to completely remove it from your report if you pay in full or to have the gym remove it if you pay them.

[jfoxcpacfp]

Would. Not. Pay.

[fatlittlepig]

gvs.psych wrote:

So, I had a very bad experience recently cancelling a gym membership. There was no term to the contract, it was ‘month-to-month’, but they required 45 day notice, so I still had to pay for an extra month and a half, had to pay the annual fee again as the renewal date occurred during the cancellation period, and was required to go into the gym during office hours with my spouse to complete the process. All very frustrating. I spent about $200 during the 45 day cancellation period. Then, despite all of this, I today received a collections notice from some random agency saying I owed them $28. I called the gym and they told me to ignore it since my account is paid off. But the notice was generated three days ago. The manager is not returning my calls.

Gyms. Like, wtf guys.

Click to expand...

I would in the future just sign up for a year's worth of membership, I believe that would get rid of this problem.