Bally Total Fitness

Pros: Convenient Locations
Cons: Agressive collections if you decide that Bally's is not for you

Whatever you do, don't sign a contract with this company because if some reason you are no longer able to use the club you will end up paying anyway! I made the mistake of joining Bally Total Fitness and signed a three year contract. When I found that I am no longer using the facilities I tried to cancel, but they would not. They continued to charge my credit card EVERY MONTH. I eventually had to cancel my card to stop the charges and now they are calling me twice/week on my cell phone!!! They are really harrassing me with their agressive collection efforts.

DON'T SIGN ANY CONTRACT WITH THEM - YOU MAY REGRET IT!

Pros: Some gyms are new and clean
Cons: Next to impossible to get rid of the contract Others are ugly and smell

Bally's is easy to join but hard to quit - contrary what they tell you when you join, of course. Once you sign, there is no going back - they will NOT let you quit the club!

What you should understand when joining, that the total bill for three years is several thousand dollars and this is very likely what you will ultimately end up paying.

You are making a decision worth of several thousand dollars! Make sure this is what you want!

Pros: None, that you cannot find in other club
Cons: THEY TIE A ROPE AROUND YOUR NECK, LIES, TRICKY, BAD SERVICE, SUCKS.

I have to say that bally's sales people are very, VERY SKILLED people. You walk in ask one question and walk out with a very sticky 3 years and expensive membership.
After that they don't care about you; without count all the lies that the sales staff tells you to get you in. They overcharge your credit card, take 4 weeks to return you money, promises you a started pack that you will never find in any club, and the last one i go is that after almost a year they just call me to tell me i owe money from 2004.

Is very, very unfair that after you signed a contract you cannot end it for a reason of bad service, i fell so frustrated i could throw my self form a second floor to hurt my back and have a reason to send them to hell.

If you ever think in join Bally PLEASE, DO YOUR SELF A FAVOR; DON'T DO IT!!!

Pros: - Daycare (but have to call every day if you would like to use it)
Cons: - Plans are scam - Impossible to cancel - Rude customer service

One of the biggest problems we had with Ballys was when my husband signed up for a membership through his job. He worked for a record label who was going to pay for an artist's membership. My husband signed all the paperwork on behalf of the company. When the artist left the company, they would not let the company transfer the membership, even though they said it could be transferred to another artist. The company decided to stop payments, and my husband eventually left that record label. But guess what? They came after my husband, and not the company, for payments! My husband never gave them his social security, just the company's tax id, but they didn't care! We called Customer Service numerous times to try to solve this to no avail. The record label finally paid them so that my husband wouldn't get his credit ruined!

Pros: New clubs are ok with updated equipment and clean facilities
Cons: Contract Scam

I signed up for BTF in San Francisco in late 2005 under a promotional family plan. I had asked that my membership be month to month since we were looking to move in the next year and didn't want to commit long term. We were told that they had a great program that goes month to month and can be canceled anytime.

A year later I called to BTF to cancel my membership and they said that I was locked in for 3 year contract would only cancel if I could prove that I moved 55 miles away from the closest Bally's. I told them this wasn't the agreement I had signed up for and that I signed up for a month to month cancel anytime for the reason that I may be moving. They told me that I should have read the agreement carefully before signing it and that it wasn't they're problem if I was mislead or given the wrong contract to sign. I spoke to a manager who said the same scripted thing. I told them that I was extremely upset and would take this up legally.

Pros: nothing
Cons: I HATE Bally's!!

It is the worst gym experience of MY LIFE!!! THEY DID NOT LET ME CANCEL! Why? I told them that I am unhappy with the service and overall facilities. They don't want to acknowledge it. It says that I need a medical note saying that I have a physical disability. So i have to end up like Christopher Reeves to get out of this membership?
Lawsuits are taking place. My friends are writing to the State Attorney about their memberships because they aren't able to cancel either. Be careful everyone! Read your contracts!!!

Pros: None. Join at your own risk.
Cons: Almost impossible to get rid of. They ll rip your credit history.

They are vultures ready to eat you when you are alive. NEVER EVER try to join. Join only if you want to ruin your credit.

After repeated solicitations from Bally, I joined. I clearly told them that I dont want to commit for anything longer than 12 months. CSR agreed and assured several times that cancellation is very easy.

After 15 months, I had to move to Florida. When shopping for apartment, I found that they ruined my credit. It appear on my credit report that they financed me for $3000, for which I m paying $60 a month as installment. I tried to cancel my membership, but bally refused - saying that there is a Bally with in 25 miles (exactly 22 miles from from the new apartment I liked). So I moved to a different apartment which is exactly 26 miles away. Initially I sent my cancellation request by mail, they never admitted that they recieved it. So again I sent by priority mail with signature required. They took three months to cancel, and charged me for all three months.

Pros: close to home, lot's of equipment
Cons: no help from the staff, NONE. ZERO.

I would not recommend it at all. The only cons-they are close to my home.
But the trainers are lazy, I could not get any help (I asked them if they can show me how do the machines work, they've never explained).
I am helpless there. I don't even know why do they keep their staff trainers there. It's a total joke.
Tomorrow I plan to go to manager and ask about termination of my contract.
I'd rather buy some equipment for my home gym, an elliptical and some weights.
Oh, and the club itself is very unattractive.
It's dissapointing.

Pros: close to my house
Cons: dirty, rude, unsanitary

I joined Bally's in Portland, Maine when it was Planet Fitness and then stayed on when it became Bally's. When it was Planet Fitness it was clean and the staff was friendly and helpful. Once it became Bally's things declined. The locker rooms are now one of the most disgusting things I have ever seen in my life. I watched a man in the steam room create his own little mini sand castle out of the "funk" that was on the floor there. There are also tissues and bottle caps that have been there for over two months. I can no longer take a shower there it is just too disgusting.


My recommendation for people that are trying to get out of contracts at Bally's is the accuse them of breaking their contract of maintenance of their facilities. If their locker rooms at other place are anything like the ones in Portland this should work. If you need to go further I recommend calling the health inspector and request that they inspect their facilities, they really are unsanitary and should be closed down.

Pros: Loss limited to $1,017 if you quit the first month and pay in full.
Cons: Your mental health is likely to suffer when you realize how badly you've been taken.

Just this January, my wife was duped into signing a 3 year sales contract with the promise that she had 30 days to try out the club and cancel if it wasn't working for her. (This was at the Bally Total Fitness, Inc. facility doing business under the name Pinnacle Fitness in Walnut Creek, CA).

There is in fact no such provision in the contract, and they have refused to honor the salesperson's promise.

The 30 day "Guarantee" that came alongside the contract in fact requires an arduous level of attendance of a minimum of 12 recorded sessions - only they didn't bother mentioning this, nor the fact there weren't even that many of the Palates classes (that my wife came in requesting) on the schedule!

In short, I wouldn't trust them farther than I can throw a stairmaster.

The abuses that have occurred in New York (see the recent release from the Attorney General there at http://www.oag.state.ny.us/press/2004/feb/feb16b_04.html ) are occurring here in California as well.

Pros: None.
Cons: Mislead members. Cram many people in small spaces.

I and my wife had joined Ballys. We were fooled into believing that ours was a month to month contract. The staff seemed very enthusiastic in our health and came up with these different schemes. in the end I paid for mine and my wife's membership for three years although I had canceled it after 1.5 years.
After that, my wife went to school and came back. At that point we decided to again enroll into Ballys since that was the only gym in our neighborhood. This time, since we had experienced it once, we specifically asked that the contract say a month to month deal. However today when my wife wants to cancel that membership since we are moving, they are again insisting that we signed up for a 3 year membership and that we have to pay a 1000$ cancellation fee! I feel that they manipulate the papers and documents that they we sign and give them.
Their service is also horrible and their gyms are small and always packed with too many people with little room to do any exercise.

Pros: Just down the road.
Cons: Mindless money mongers without a lick of sense. No manager on site.

Sign a contract. Have trouble with your shoulder, right shoulder, right handed. Get an MRI: oops! major problem. Necrotic bone to an old injury (NOT Bally's problem). MUST have surgery, cannot work out for the remainder of the year. Does Bally listen? It must really be true that there is only muscle between them there ears: NO. Screw you. You signed a contract. No, you can't have a refund. Come back when you're healed. Unfortunately, when I'm healed will be after the expected termination of the contract and...my livelihood will have taken me elsewhere. And so, due to medical inconvenience, Bally is more interested in my money than my well-being. My friends need a new basketball, any Bally heads available?

Pros: The contract was only 36 months, not 36 years.
Cons: Once you've signed a contract, they can do whatever they want with your credit.

Upon moving to a new area,I signed up for a 3-year contract with Bally's in August of 2005. I soon learned that Bally's is dirty and poorly maintained, so I joined 24-hour fitness. I have been attempting to buy out my contract with Bally's for over 18 months. Twice I have been told that my account balance has been paid off in full and that I no longer owe them money.

This month I was notified by WAMU that my home-equity line of credit was canceled because my credit rating tanked. Bally's notified collection agencies and TransUnion that I owe them $72. Upon speaking to them, they have removed the erroneous charge -- it was a computer glitch. Yet, they never sent me a letter or phoned me about this mistaken charge. They never told me anything, just ruined my credit "accidentally."

Stay away from Bally's at all costs.

Pros: There might be some pros. A place like that would work well for some people.
Cons: They will hound you into submission once you sign up for the "Free Trial"

My daughter-in-law signed up for the two week free trial, and OMG!! I realize they make money from getting people to join, but she told them no, she wasn't interested. She just didn't like the staff or the facility here in our area.

They call incessantly. Why do they have to call three times in a 45 minute period?

The worst part of it is they are calling MY cell phone and home phone.

What part of NO don't they understand?

Pros: After the initial cost, the gym is not too expensive overall.
Cons: Crowded and yearly fees increase. Deceptive price tactics.

I joined Bally's for over$1,100.00 because of the $3.00 per month fee after four years of my membership. What the small print didn't reveal to me was that Bally's has the right to increase that fee as they deem appropriate. My membership is now over $20.00 per month and climbs every year. What a hugh disappointment! Shame on Bally's for using these money making tactics. I have called and spoken with the corporate office and they state "rising cost is the reason" why they must increase yearly dues. Be very Cautious.