Advertisement
| Digg | Facebook | E-mail | Print

Call Kurtis: "Super" Charges?

To Contact the Attorney General's Office:
(916) 322-3360
(800) 952-5225
AG's Website

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) ― Last night, we told you about a Granite Bay man who couldn't use his fitness club because of a name change.

Tonight, we're learning he's not the only one with this problem.

I got more complaints today from viewers about this problem. 24 Hour Fitness is closing some of its clubs and opening new ones with the word "super" in its name. And now they want members in the Bay Area to pay more for the new clubs, too.

"In order to go to the new gym, I'm going to have to pay three times what my membership is now, which makes me very angry," says Dean Jackson, Gym Member.

Dean Jackson works out at 24 Hour Fitness in Moraga. His contract says he only has to pay $50 a year. But that may change.

The company is closing Dean's gym and opening a "Super Sport club" nearby. It costs an extra $10 a month.

Some members are mad because they locked in a lower rate.

"I paid extra money so that down the road we could have a yearly fee at a much reduced cost," says Fawn Jackson, gym member.

Now, they're over a barrel. Newer 24 Hour Fitness club members get contracts saying the company can charge more for super club memberships.

"What makes this a super club? It doesn't have a pool, it doesn't have a sauna room, it doesn't have a tanning facility," says Fawn.

The circumstances are identical for Richard Williams of Granite Bay's situation, except his contract is from back in 2004.

The Folsom club he went to shut down, but 24 Hour Fitness wants more money for him to go to the new super sport that opened up nearby.

"I'd go from $20 a year to a whopping $260 a year which is a 1200% increase to come and use the same treadmill, only now this treadmill sits in a building called a super sport. I said, 'This is absurd,'" says Richard.

These members think 24 Hour Fitness is calling it a "super sport club" just so it can raise rates.

"So what am I paying for? I'm really peeved. It's just a way to get more money from me" says Fawn.

24 Hour Fitness refused to talk with us about Richard's case.

But in a statement to our sister station in San Francisco, 24 Hour Fitness said members who joined the Moraga location in the last year will have full access without any increase. Those who signed up prior can enjoy our new facility for an additional $9.99 a month ... No more than $39.99 per month.

"Instead of a $120 dollars, they'll be getting nothing," says Dean.

Richard Williams is considering a class action lawsuit.

"It's not just for me, it's for everybody else caught in this web," says Richard.

We contacted 24 Hour Fitness yet again today and they have no solution for our viewers facing this in Folsom. As we mentioned last night, the Attorney General's office is asking anyone who has a similar problem to contact them.

(© MMVIII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

From Our Partners

Video

You need the latest Flash player to view video content.
Click here to download.

Click here to bypass this detection if you already have the latest Flash Player.
Advertisement