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Peak still gets fees
Many complain their accounts are being drafted after it closed
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Published: November 16, 2009
Peak Fitness Centers may have exited Forsyth County more than two months ago, but some former customers are complaining that monthly dues are still being drafted from their checking account or applied to their charge and debit cards.
"I want to warn all ex-Peak Fitness members that if you haven't canceled your membership with a written letter to Peak, they can and will do a draft on your bank account," said Narda Marvin, a former member of Peak.
The Better Business Bureau of Northwest N.C. lists 61 complaints about Peak, including 33 filed in the last 12 months. The largest category is contract disputes, with 23, followed by credit or billing disputes at 12, refund practices at eight and selling practices and service issues at seven each.
The bureau said that just five complaints have been resolved and the company has not responded to 46 complaints. Officials with Peak could not be reached for comment.
"We're working with the attorney general's office on additional actions to take regarding Peak," David Dalrymple, the president and chief executive of the local bureau, said Friday.
Dalrymple and Greg McBride, an analyst with Bankrate.com, said that consumers have the option of changing their checking-account number and requesting a new credit or debit card from their card issuer to resolve the monthly drafting issues.
"If you want to change the credit card, you need to ask the insurer to bridge the account so all that changes are the account number," McBride said. "That way, there is no risk to your credit record compared with closing one account and opening a new one.
"However, the first step should be disputing the charges with your card issuer to get them involved to get to the bottom of the dispute. By changing your checking-account number, you at least keep the merchant from making future drafts."
On Aug. 24, Peak abruptly closed its club at 3474 Robinhood Road in Winston-Salem because it could not renegotiate a lease with its landlord, Harris Teeter. It closed its company-owned club at 6221 Ramada Drive in Clemmons on Sept. 4.
Both closings came after Peak Fitness and Fitness Management Group filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on July 10.
Peak arranged a transfer-membership agreement for members with pre-paid dues. Clemmons members were transferred to Fitness 2000 Gym and Wellness Center at 1415 River Ridge Road, while Robinhood members went transferred to Gold's Gym at 3300 Reynolda Road.
Marvin said she made payments through February 2011 on a credit card.
"They will probably try to renew my membership without my signature," she said.
The N.C. Attorney General's Office has dedicated an entire page on its Web site -- www.ncdoj.com -- to the Peak disputes, going as far as to give individual advice for each of the clubs that Peak has closed recently in the Triad and Triangle.
The links are:
□ http://ncdoj.gov/Consumer/Health/Health-Club-Closi...
□ http://ncdoj.gov/Consumer/Health/Health-Club-Closi...
Peak also has closed sites on Yadkinville and Jonestown roads in Forsyth County.
In January, the company was compelled to change its customer-service, contract and billing practices statewide to settle a lawsuit filed by the office.
In May, the office forced the company to stop selling prepaid gym memberships and collecting fees other than monthly payments until the company can secure bonds for each health club. Bonds are required by state law to reimburse consumers if the health club closes and the company doesn't have money to refund advance payments.
Noelle Talley, a spokeswoman for the office, said that consumers can call 877-5-NOSCAM or fill out an online complaint form if Peak continues to draft dues after they canceled their membership.
Both Dalrymple and Talley said that former Peak members whose membership was transferred to Gold's Gym can request termination of their contract because that gym's amenities are believed to be significantly different from Peak. Consumers are entitled to a refund if they paid in full in advance.
Dalrymple said that Fitness 2000 has had 32 complaints in the past three years, including 18 in the past 12 months. Fifteen complaints were resolved.
By comparison, Gold's Gym has had three complaints in the past three years, including two in the past year. None have been resolved.
rcraver@wsjournal.com
727-7376
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