GOD WIL HAV HIS TOLL ON FITNESS FIRST DOHA
ITS SLIGHTLY LONG,BUT PLEASE SPARE A FEW MINUTES FOR A CAUSE...its hard to believe that such a big international club is very happy to steal your hard earned money..! my wife joined there in fi'first city centre for a 'special 3 months' membership. the lady executive(the big cheater) told us that its a very very special offer rare from the club,that they give a 3 months membership..she made us to sign the agreement without allowing us to even go through it,as she convinced me that its the usual stuff like 'you will be responsible for any damage..' and things like that..she was like she won a lottery when i gave my credit card. now what happened is,my wife's short term memebership finished in the month of april, and these people are still drawing 439 riyals monthly from my account.i lost for the month of may and june already,i rushed to the club and what they says is that "its an open end membership and you have to close it for not losing the money.." the lady executive clearly told us that its valid only for 3 months..and now she don't remember anything it seems..i felt pity for them. if there is anyone who experienced a similar cheating from them,please share it here so that i can tell them about the reputation they have in doha...i dont regret for the money lost, i only regret for being cheated...and i will never let anyone else to be cheated by them.. god will definitely have his toll on that executive and whoever responsible for it..!
Sorry, missed your later post - glad FF management resolved your issue.
But write to Fitness First - they are an international club with memberships across a few borders and they are professional,. I'm a member in Malaysia and that's why I know this. They will attend to customer issues. The problem there is possibly the ubiquitous lack of proper communication and customer service in Qatar generally.
You signed the agreement so you are bound by it, legally. Your issue is the alleged representation that the marketing person made to you when gettiing your wife to join up. The management should investigate and sort this out for you. Hope that you find a satisfactory resolution to your issue.
i like that place, they have the best facilities i've seen around, but I think there are a lot of weirdos who just sit there and stare at other ppl exercising lol WTF?
weldone management, they fixed my problem by throwing a free membership for the amount deducted...
Before I go and visit FF.
If I may ask, why let this incident go on for two months before finally making a move to halt the credit card charges? I've a credit card and I religiously check my charges online, if I see an unfamiliar bill on my card, I immediately report to my CC company, dispute the charges and ask for refund.
moral of the story - dont blindly sign agreement papers without reading the fine print.
I'm surprised the manager has given in so easily. Standard practice to read T&C's before signing. Make sure to learn from YOUR mistake. The world is full of sales pitches it's up to you to make the final and right decision.
met the general manager of the club and convinced him how the lady did the trick..he promised me to make my refund.. now lets see what they value more..my 1000+ riyals or their reputation..! thank you all for the comments & suggestions..
Pretty standard, I'm afraid. The fine print will say that you must cancel in writing a certain period of time before the month ends or you will continue to be billed. They will not give partial refunds for an unused month.
Mandi
have you given in writing to them? This could be your proof. What you say on the phone is generally not going to be accepted.
laplandsql - you have to tell them in advance that you will discontinue your membership otherwise they will keep on deducting from your credit card. thats what we did and we didnt face any problem at all. either it was not explained properly to you or you were not listening. you should have asked questions at the beginning to avoid problems later on.
as long as they are not informed of cancellation they willl assume that you uses or will still use their facilities.
i will go to the bank tomorrow and check the possibilities..also i have an appointment with ff manager tomorrow..lets see what he got to say.. i shall carry a printout of this and a google search..i don't expect them to refund..but i shall let him know about the reputation his business have among the customers...
Reminds me of the first time I subscribed to a porn site using my mums credit card. Always read the fine print (about automatic renewal).
You may consider filing a dispute claim with your bank.
if FF have any proof that your family have used the service (After 3 months)
they will get the money, or you can get a full refund.
You can apply for a refund from your bank CC have these facilities.
Just out of curiosity...did your wife actually use the facilities after the first 3 months?
If she did not then you should ask for refund. They probably won't give it to you, but I would be interested to hear their response.
Does your credit card allow you to specify people whose charges should not be honored? You could try that trick on them next time :P
The same situation for Fitness First in the Philippines they will continuously bill your credit card, they will never allow you to cancel the contract they want to take your money even though you are out of the country and not using the facilities.
Fitness First Dubai is actually famous for this. People get charged on their credit card even after they hav formally closed their membership. Guess they have imported the scam here too.
This is a usual scam in the fitness business and happens all the time in North America. It seems they have exported their expertise to this part of the world also. Only way to save yourself is to cancel the card.
The offer was for 3 months only and then standard rates apply.
Sorry that you lost out on your money but you will never be able to pin it on her.
Maybe she said this offer (QR.493/month) is VALID only for three months...
Write to Fitness First headquarters telling them that the lady in question DID NOT mention this fact and you feel you were wronged.
now go and cancel the credit card first.
Then I suggest you read the fine print on your contract before you hand over your credit card.
ok now, will u off ur Caps lock plz ?
I DIDN'T KNOW MUCH ABOUT THEM...THEY TOLD ME THEY DONT ACCEPT ANY OTHER PAYMENT OPTION THAN A CREDIT CARD.
Actually that's pretty standard for fitness clubs. That's why you don't give them a credit card, or your account information.