Anyone former members of the Snap Fitness in Cary?

They closed the place without warning (there's actually an eviction notice on the door) and now I'm trying to get the remainder of my membership refunded. Since it's franchise owned I can't get corporate to give me any information on refunds, and I havent heard anything from the (former) owner.

I'd like to get in touch with any other members to share information since the web and the corporate office seem to be a dead end.

5/28/2010 11:18:39 AM

all their members are coming to Lifestyle Family Fitness right down the road





it was bound to happen...those types of gyms never last very long

5/28/2010 11:23:21 AM

As far as I can tell, gym owners rank somewhere around tow truck companies and bail bondsmen on the shadiness scale.

I hope you put it on a credit card and you can file a dispute with them. Don't make the mistake of paying up front or signing a commitment in the future.

5/28/2010 11:30:33 AM

Something I have learned...if your gym membership is not month to month, you are doing it wrong.

5/28/2010 11:31:37 AM

I went there for a few months before they changed ownership and jacked up the prices even more. I really liked Jim, the guy who worked the desk, but that's about all the place had going for it. I was month-to-month though. I didn't know they had prepaid plans.

See you at LFF

5/28/2010 11:52:52 AM

I saw the email from Lifestyle, unfortunately that only applies to the rates being paid, they don't transfer the memberships over.

Month to Month would be ideal, but almost every gym out there will negotiate a better rate if you can pay in full which was the only way I could afford a membership. In NC paid-in-full memberships are a legitimate and legal business practice if it is a bonded entertainment venue (gym's would fall in this category to offer a pre-paid membership). I contacted the Attorney General's office about what they can do about helping me get my money back and they outlined several options. Unfortunately it doesn't look like the new owner bothered to get the gym bonded, or they had it bonded under a name different than their business.

I'm mainly interested in hearing from other members if they've had any success contacting the owner about a refund. I know a large chunk of their membership were recent grads from State and thought someone on this board may be in the same pickle.

^^^ I definitely agree on that point. This was our last try for gym's in this area. My wife and I found almost every gym in this area we visited or used in the past was trying to feed us some kind of bullshit or another. Once this is over we're just going to pick up running again until we can find access to a pool.

^ Jim was a cool dude. I enjoyed dealing with him and he helped me negotiate a better rate since they jacked their prices right as I was signing up for another year.

[Edited on May 28, 2010 at 12:03 PM. Reason : ]

5/28/2010 12:02:35 PM

Quote :

"Month to Month would be ideal, but almost every gym out there will negotiate a better rate if you can pay in full which was the only way I could afford a membership."

my gold's gym membership was $39.99/month without my corporate discount, and $29.99 with. just as an fyi

[Edited on May 28, 2010 at 12:19 PM. Reason : shop around dude. ]

5/28/2010 12:19:11 PM

I pay like $34.99 at LFF for access to all their gyms and I can use the tanning beds and attend spinning classes as well. (neither of which have any interest to me)

also month-to-month.

5/28/2010 12:52:51 PM

I don't know if beyond fitness is still open, but they were as cheap as 10 bucks a month with no contract when I lived near one.

5/28/2010 1:18:58 PM

The Beyond Fitness on Buck Jones folded into the Peak Fitness Downtown (or well, just about any Peak) which folded into the Lifestyle Family Fitness on Walnut.

5/28/2010 1:29:44 PM

OH SNAP fitness

5/28/2010 1:43:13 PM

my wife goes to fitness 19 near preston corners (just north on cary pkwy)... she pays month to month, and I think its only like 15/month. Also, she paid a 1 time babysitting fee of $75 per child, so she drops off all 3 and works out for 90 minutes, 4 times a week ...

Definitely gets her moneys worth ... but that gym is not for show ... its a modest place that charges a fair price

5/29/2010 7:31:34 AM

So how much money did you get dicked out of?

I do not think you will see a nickel of it back unless you paid with a credit card.

5/29/2010 9:21:07 AM

Good luck. I lost $215 last year when Peak Fitness closed without notice. Google "Peak Fitness Knightdale" for a blog with info about the legal battle of Peak and see if you can apply it to your situation. Also, send lots of emails and make lots of phone calls and keep records of all contact.

5/29/2010 12:28:26 PM

Beyond Fitness was the shadiest shit of all time. I remember rolling up to the one in Waverly Place for the last time and they shit down without notice. Probably the full year leading up to that shit would just break and they wouldn't fix it.

5/29/2010 3:59:13 PM

Update on the closure:

After my last posting I called the Attorney General's office to see what my options were. They checked to see if the gym was bonded which is required for any venue that sells prepaid memberships, turns out they weren't. I'd have to file a complaint if they don't refund my money and then go through several hoops to get it back.
I then get a call from the corporate office, they can't do anything but gave me the owner's contact info and recommended calling him.
I called the owner, he promised to refund my money (6 months at $25 a month for a total of $150) as soon as he could get back in the building to get his records. Said he'd call me within a week to get my information to send a check.
I don't hear anything so call back a week later and he promised they were getting together everything to send us refunds and he'd have it out to me in a week, he'd email me to let me know they went out. I gave him my mailing information.
I don't hear anything after a week so I call him again (this was last Friday). He tells me they just mailed me the check but he hadn't had a chance to email me to let me know.
I get a check in the mail Monday for the full refund and just deposited it today.

Even though it took a couple of weeks it was nice to see the owner follow through on his obligation. Since they weren't bonded it could have been much more difficult than it actually was.
Thanks for all the info on area gyms, but I'm not going to give any more money to a gym for a while. My wife and I just had our first son (hence the 2 week absence) and I'm going to find some conditioning /strength training routines I can do at or near the house.

Also, if anyone is now at Lifestyle could they let Ray know Austin and Mary had the baby. He trained me and my wife back in the fall and was one of the first people we told about the pregnancy, I'm sure he'd like to know she's no longer shaped like a beach ball.

6/15/2010 5:35:23 PM

PF4LYFE

6/15/2010 9:36:35 PM

Quote :

"As far as I can tell, gym owners rank somewhere around tow truck companies and bail bondsmen on the shadiness scale."

Yeah, these surprise shutdowns seem to happen every year. I'm surprised that you got anything back.

6/16/2010 12:58:12 AM

after the headache with peak fitness closing i thought id go crazy trying to get my money back but i just transferred it over to o2

also for the people that say month to month is the way to go, you're probably more secure knowing which gym you'll be attending but i doubt you can say you get two people for $8/month total like i did prepaying and thats after i paid an extra transfer fee to join o2

6/16/2010 10:30:33 AM

Quote :

"My wife and I just had our first son (hence the 2 week absence) and I'm going to find some conditioning /strength training routines I can do at or near the house."

Baby bicep curls.

The nice thing is that the weight keeps increasing

6/16/2010 10:35:21 AM

Quote :

"I get a check in the mail Monday for the full refund and just deposited it today."

I hope that check doesn't bounce!

6/16/2010 10:47:16 AM

Beyond fitness on waverly was a great gym. good basketball games and large gym. The owner was a coke dealer though that had done several years in prison. When he got out he immediately bought the gym, presumably to launder money. It's not a surprise it shut down eventually. I felt bad for Dave (bought the juice/creatine) store inside about a year or so before it shut down he lost a shitload on all the inventory and business loans he took out to open the store.

LFF is a great replacement though, its clean, big, and never crowded. It seems to be lacking in the hot girls department except when the classes let out but damn theres never anyone in there and theres tons of cardio and weights. No basketball though which sucks.

6/16/2010 5:48:50 PM