Canceling a Kinetix Gym Membership Proves Nearly Impossible

I was recently contacted by a friend that has been receiving harassing letters demanding over $1,200 dollars for a Kinetix gym membership he signed with the gym in Warner Robins, GA way back in November of 2009. He cancelled in June of 2010 when he had to move to Ohio to help out his father who suffers from COPD and heart disease. The gym in Warner Robins has now closed permanently.  The harassment letters he has been receiving are from a company called National Fitness which are apparently a finance or billing company. Take a look at some reviews of National Fitness at Consumer Affairs.  National Fitness Center are located in Clarksville, TN and here are some more reviews from their “happy” customers. This company apparently handles dozens of other gyms as well so it is not just Kinetix that uses this company so if you receive billing from these guys good luck canceling or even stopping the auto-renewal.

Long story short… my friend is very stressed out because it has ruined his credit. He recently bought a new Chevrolet and the only company that would give him a loan was one that offered 17.9% interest rate. This was thanks to this Kinetix hit on his credit report he only discovered from looking on Credit Karma. Kinetix has cost him potentially thousands more now in higher interest rate payments that approach what a loan shark would charge.

When he first learned that he needed to move to Ohio where there was no Kinetix he visited the local Warner Robins Gym in person to cancel. They informed him to contact National Fitness which he promptly did. This is when his path to gym cancellation hell began.

After calling National Fitness numerous times and being kept on hold for over 90 minutes or more every call as soon as an agent finally answered and he explained why he was calling they promptly hung up the phone. Sound familiar to any of you?  He followed this up with emails and letters to their office with proof of his new address in Ohio. He received no replies. He called several more times, same tactic of being kept on hold then being hung up on.

My friend was aware there might be a cancellation fee but didn’t hear anything more from them until recently when they started sending demand letters for this outrageous sum five years after the cancellation. As soon as he told me this story I immediately advised him to file a complain with both the local BBB office and another one with the Georgia State Attorney’s General’s office under the Consumer Affairs Division.

The reason I am particularly knowledgeable about the business practices of Kinetix and National Fitness is I had my own horrific experience with this company at a gym in Macon that like the one in Warner Robins, GA is now closed but reopened after being sold. Kinetix has a bad habit it seems of opening up, pissing people off, closing or selling the gym to another company but still demanding payments years later. I am far from alone. Take a look at the horror story from a person in Macon,GA named Amy who took to blogging to get justice and be sure to read the comments below the article!

I had signed up for a free two week trial and then cancelled 5 days into the contract because I had a 14 day window to cancel under the terms of the contract. They tried to pull a stunt on me that they did to so many of the reviews you can read below. They made it nearly impossible to legally cancel under the terms because they kept hanging up. They tried to stall me past the 14 day window but I fortunately had the good sense to record my calls and send certified letters as soon as I figured out their scam. I also recorded calls to the local gym manager who basically told he I was “shit out of luck and wished me luck canceling with National Fitness”.

I immediately filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau and the Consumer Affairs Division and posted a review on social media. Soon after  I promptly  received a call from the local gym manager. The guy that had recently claimed it was out of his hands to cancel my membership magically found the ability to cancel my contract.  Not satisfied after all the lies and hurdles I been put though, I demanded a copy of the cancellation in writing. There was also a rather veiled threat suggesting I remove my review on social media I had posted because it was costing his gym new members. I responded by saying that I was pleased as punch I could help steer customers to a more honest gym at which point he hung up. When I went to the gym to get my cancellation letter in writing per the terms from the BBB and Consumer Affairs complaints the tough guy on the phone hid in the back and told a female staff member to give me the letter. Amazing how tough guys on the phone aren’t quite so brave in person.

Word of advice to anyone thinking of signing a gym membership with Kinetix or any other gym, don’t unless you read the contract and read the local reviews from members. Then still don’t do it!  Also read this article: Six Gym Membership Pitfalls  Also be aware that many gyms have false reviews by staff praising them online to counter all the legitimate negative reviews so speak to actual members. Because if you don’t you might lose a lot more than a few pounds, you might lose several thousand dollars and all your hair from the stress of trying to get out of these contracts that always seem to magically renew. Don’t join any gym that uses these national billing or finance companies like National Fitness. Stick to locally owned gyms without 10 page contacts of fine print or better yet no contract required at all.

Don’t say you weren’t warned! I collected a list of reviews about Kinetix from several sites that paint a very similar picture to the hell my friend is currently going through. Kinetix is hardly unique and you can read similar experience for many if not most other gyms with these arduous contracts. Consider eating healthy, walking, and buying some home equipment instead. You might not use it but at least the treadmill won’t harass you years later for payments.

Kinetix Reviews

Mathew C. 5 months ago Don’t give these people access to your credit cards or banking account. They assured me that when I moved I would have no problem canceling the membership. I have been trying for 4 months now and still cant get them to stop charging me. They told me to give them a copy of my order or prof of relocation but they are still charging me even after they have that. I talk to them on the phone and they tell me everything is fine and the account will be canceled but the next month I am right back to them because they charged for another month. I even had an extra clause written into my contract when i signed up saying I could cancel but they just will not stop charging me. They can not be trusted and you should not give them your money to start with. Not to mention the Gym is terrible in the first place I have been in a lot of Gyms but never one as unfriendly as this. Bathrooms are dirty equipment poorly cared for. My wife stopped going because she did not feel safe leaving our kids in the gym day care while she was working out. Just stay away. I realize options in the Warner Robins area are limited but this place is bottom of the barrel for sure.

Ian D. 09/05/2012  Let me count the ways I loathe Kinetix.
1.) 40$ a month for a crap gym.
2.) An annual 50$ maintenance fee for..
3.) Broken equipment
4.) Wow every piece of equipment has a tv!!!!
5.) There are only 3 remotes and they are all hidden
6.) The person behind you has one of those remotes
7.) The person behind you is always changing your channel
8.) 1/4 of the tvs display nothing but static
9.) Let’s say you find a machine…it’s usually broken with no sign
10.) Food days at the gym where they lay out a gross buffet in the aisle
11.) Sweaty gym food
12.) Free session with personal trainer where you practically have to douse yourself in gasoline and light yourself on fire to escape
13.) They will most likely go out of business and continue to bill you
14.) They lie and make promises they do not keep
15.) It’s like working out at an Amway with the constant barage of special events trying to sell me meal plans I do not want
16.) Just try and raise a complaint about the broken equipment
17.) Why am I climbing over broken equipment
18.) Try to not renew your membership. Opps, sorry we renewed you.
19.) They will randomly charge you on a whim (suck gym fee)
20.) They swore that they wouldn’t burn us like Peak Fitness did (they are worse than Peak Fitness)

I will not be renewing my membership. I urge any current member to rise up and take a stand against all of the broken equipment. We deserve better.

On a positive note, I do like that evey cardio machine has a tv. Splash. Turd.

Sarah F. 11/10/2012 Don’t join this gym if you ever want to stop making payments for the REST OF YOUR LIFE! They are a part of National Fitness and national fitness is a total scam. We moved nearly 3 months ago and they continue to charge us.

When we joined Kinetix they informed us that all we would have to do to cancel is send in our lease. Well we have done that and more and National Fitness continues to charge us.

We found the people at the gym friendly, but the gym is dirty and not worth the hassle of continuing to pay for months and months after.

Kinetix reviews from Yelp

Ron C. 9/18/2015 I had a horrible experience with this gym.  If you’re like me you hate signing contracts with gyms.  When I joined the gym back in 2011 I made it clear to the girl when I joined that I didn’t want to be locked into a contract and she assured me I wasn’t.  Yeah well, I guess whatever I signed was a 3-year contract!  Needless to say, I tried to cancel my membership one day and was denied because they claimed I signed a 3-year contract and would need to pay $1,500 to get out of the contract.  WHAT?!  I called and tried to meet with the General Manager who was disrespectful and wouldn’t do anything for me.  I had to cancel my debit card because they kept charging it each month.  Needless, to say a few months later my account went into collections and they even reported me to a credit bureau so my credit got hit and this will be the case for 3 more years over their disgusting tactics.  I even tried to report them to the BBB.  Guess what?  They’re not a member.  I would steer clear of this gym at all costs since its run by unethical people.

Mark C. 3/9/2015 Mark CULLARS is the owner of Kinetix health Clubs and some Body Plex and core fit gyms in Georgia.  DO NOT INVEST IN OR WITH MARK CULLARS!  He will tell you what you want to hear about making big money but will never deliver tax returns, P&L statements or a profit check.  He will lie to you and anyone he can to con you out of your money.  He paints a pretty picture but investors beware!  There are many more investors/ partners that have the same experience I have met and been in contact with them!   He sneaks out the back door at his corporate location in Macon Georgia when investors come calling asking questions and for P&Ls while getting his employees to lie for him to cover his ass.  He fraudulent represents his revenue to landlords and doesn’t pay his rent.  Landlords beware he has no problem breaking his leases and setting up at other locations he doesn’t care about his credit.

N.N 6/7/2011 Terrible gym with dishonest staff and thieves.. these people will do the best they can to cheat you out of your money and won’t lose any sleep. Don’t believe me, visit the better business bureau website. This gym started their fraudalent practices since the day that they were open, they have so many complaints that it is ridiculous. STAY AWAY FROM THIS GYM… even when your membership is canceled they will still deduct money from your account.

Amber J. 3/12/2015 By far the most unprofessional business I have had the displeasure to deal with.  When it came time to cancel my membership, Eric the manager would not even return my calls.  I was misled and misinformed by  Kinetix to the point of having to call their billing company (National Fitness) to cancel my own membership.  By the way, National Fitness was just as rude and unprofessional.  The front desk attendant at Kinetix even admitted that calls were rarely returned by the manager and never returned by the owner (Mark Cullars).  That place is just a complete disaster.

Birdeye Kinetix Reviews

Do not join this gym. These people are complete liars and scam artists. Very deceptive business practices. They try to lure you in with a free or very discounted trial membership while getting many personal details. Why would a gym need your social security number? They say that information is required and if you want to cancel all you have to do is tell them and return your card and key. Well, that is a lie. They give you a toll free number to call for National Fitness. When you call you will be on hold for about an hour, and once you speak to someone they inform you that you can’t cancel. While the deceptive agent was getting your information, the terms they describe verbally are completely different that the actual “contract” which you have never even seen.You see they email you a contract later, but you don’t get to actually see the contract on the computer at all. Do not believe what they say, ask to actually read the contract before you tell them anything. To everyone that is having problems, dispute their charges with your credit card company, write a review here, file a BBB complaint, file a complaint with the state attorney generals office, and as a last resort take them to small claims court. These people are nothing but liars and make any used car salesman look like a paragon of virtue. Unless they change their shady business practices they should be run out of town. Buyer Beware. I warned you! If you don’t believe my review, then check their Better Business Bureau score. Hint: they got an F

This has got to be the biggest run around full of crap gym that I have ever been a member of. Don’t trust any prices they give you. Make sure you read all the fine print on the agreement, if you are crazy enough to get tangled up with this bunch of thieves. Even to cancel you have to jump through impossible hoops all the way out to Utah and back! Good luck with that.

Crooks! Please read your membership agreement and keep a copy. They doctored my paper work to make it look like I wanted an automatic renewal and I did not. I work hard for my money and don’t like to be scammed. Member of planet fitness now and MUCH happier!

Google User 01/19/2013 DO NOT JOIN THIS GYM! They are dishonest! The “sales” people will lie to your face! I thought I was signing a one year contract, they signed me and my friend together, then when I called at the end of the year to cancel( because they promised the area behind the treadmills was going to be a classroom in January 2010) I found out they SOLD my contract to National Fitness for TWO years…So I had to pay the lying idiots for another whole year. Then when I called National Fitness, they informed me that they require 30 days notice to cancel-so no matter when you call they can be assured to steal one more month. ( They assured me OF COURSE that it was stated “IN THE CONTRACT” that they required 30 days…and you can bet it was in bold print,right?)If you can’t do business honestly with people, then DON’T DO IT AT ALL! As far as I am concerned, they are a bunch of lying schiesters! Go to Edge Fitness. They are honest and their gym is owned and operated by a true Christian. Also, worth noting the FREE personal trainer with a membership is a funny joke. The girl I started with ( the one who actually came to my office selling memberships) didn’t even work there a week later…

JC 08/05/2015I was told that it would be a 20% cancellation fee. I did decided to cancel after 6 months. They told me I would have to call their billing company. When I did, they told me there was no option to cancel. So I called Kinetix back on 2 different occasions. They did not return calls. A month later, I went back in person. Again i was told that i could cancel for 20% of the remaining balance; just call the billing company.I called their billing company while in Kinetix and was again told I could not cancel. So finally the owner decided to cancel it himself. No apologies were made for all the headaches. And as a bonus, they charged me 25% cancellation fee.

Google User 01/20/2012 I am big on reading reviews and not leaving them…I feel like it is my civil duty to leave one in regards to Kinetix Gym. Also, I am not an old person needing something to complain about as one reviewer states. I was new to the area and Kinetix’s location was ideal for me. It also appeared very clean and new, but like the old adage appearances can be deceiving. I one hundred and ten percent agree with Sarah’s and other poor reviews of Kinetix in Macon. In addition to her review I will say that the gym is always packed and there isn’t enough equipment or parking to go around. The temperature in the gym alone will make you sweat…take that as a good or bad thing…and most times there are no towels. They have recently added a gated personal training area, which makes the once cramped gym even tighter. I participated in the personal training. They couldn’t keep the same trainer for the duration of my contract. I had five different trainers and not even one was certified. They failed to mention that their trainers are not certified nor did they study nutrition/physical fitness. There is no way I would pay what I did for a trainer with a business major or less. I have been counting down the months until my contract is up. I asked the front desk about how to cancel and they said “Someone will call you when it’s up, so you can renew.” Surprise… that didn’t happen. And, like Sarah my contract went month to month with a thirty day cancellation period which I have to pay. However, they only got one extra month out of me…I will be joining a different local gym, where there is everything Kinetix has plus an indoor track, pool, sauna, permanent lockers, better hours for 25% less a month with half the length of a Kinetix required minimum contract.

Google User 01/20/2012 I joined Kinetix in Macon a little over a year ago. From the looks of it, it is a very nice gym, and they do offer very good classes. HOWEVER, if you like to get what you pay for, enjoy friendly staff, believe in customer service, etc., do NOT join this gym. The “managers” (i.e. sales leeches) will pressure you in every way they can think of to sign a life-forfeiting contract. Only after you “agree” on one set of terms and sign will they tell you the TRUTH about what/how you’ll be paying. I went into this thinking I’d have a year contract, pay by month, $39/mo, relatively easy to cancel if I moved away. Instead, I have a 2-year, $59!!!/mo, sold-my-soul-to-the-devil contract. The “3rd party” is a company full of jerks or idiots that make it impossible to hold them to the terms of your contract. And the gym staff will lie to your face just to get you to stop asking questions about your contract…***UPDATE: Now that my two-year contract is (supposed to be) over, I am still be charged a “month-to-month” fee. I called the gym, and they (once again) did nothing but give me the number to their third-party billing company. I called National Fitness and was told that my contract states that it will roll over to a month-to-moth plan once my two year plan is over. This is absolute bull. I never signed or agreed to this. Long story short, I was told to complete the request for discontinuation process which requires a 30-day notice. So I will be charged for yet another month against my knowledge or consent. DO NOT SIGN A CONTRACT FOR THIS GYM

Google User 01/20 2012 I agree to most of the negative reviews here especially cheatings done by staff as well as unethical business practise by National fitness. I have faced below mentioned problems with these guys.1> somebody here mentioned about cheating by sales staff about contract terms. Yes, they explain u wrong things verbally and they have something else written in contract.Sales person told me that my contract is of 2 years with early termination fee of 50 dollars. But actually it was 3 years contract with termination fees of 20% of remaining. 2> Somebody mentioned here about unethical business practice by National fitness… yes I vouch for it. It has been more than 15 days I sent cancellation notice with required evidence but they have not cancelled my membership.. and they still deducting money from my debit card.3> Team of liers, cheaters and frauds…. Management at Kinetix told me that if you move more than 25 miles no cancellation fee would be added. Management said that they would canel my account for me, but never did. I have to go out of USA but they did not agree to cancel my account, they asked for around $200 as cancellation fees. I WOULD NEVER JOIN AGAIN OR RECOMMEND THIS GYM TO ANYONE!!!!!

Google User January 2012 Cancelling our membership with this gym has been the most infuriating process! We have been trying to cancel for over 2 weeks but National Fitness continues to call us with more demands before we can cancel. Gym staff is very elusive when working on contracts. They do not discuss AUTOMATIC RENEWAL terms or give you the option to deny the terms. Also, the staff member working on our contract wrote the wrong name (used my husband’s middle name instead of his first). When we pointed out the mistake, he said it wouldn’t matter. Then National Fitness has made us jump through hoops to try to prove my husband is the actual member.I have been a member of several gym before and have never had so much trouble. I will never join another NATIONAL FITNESS gym and recommend that you don’t either!

Aakash Thakar 05/23/2011 I agree to most of the negative reviews here especially cheatings done by staff as well as unethical business practise by National fitness.I have faced below mentioned problems with these guys.1 somebody here mentioned about cheating by sales staff about contract terms. Yes, they explain u wrong things verbally and they have something else written in contract.Sales person told me that my contract is of 2 years with early termination fee of 50 dollars. But actually it was 3 years contract with termination fees of 20% of remaining. 2 Somebody mentioned here about unethical business practice by National fitness… yes I vouch for it. It has been more than 15 days I sent cancellation notice with required evidence but they have not cancelled my membership.. and they still deducting money from my debit card.3 Team of liers, cheaters and frauds…. Management at Kinetix told me that if you move more than 25 miles no cancellation fee would be added. Management said that they would canel my account for me, but never did. I have to go out of USA but they did not agree to cancel my account, they asked for around $200 as cancellation fees. I WOULD NEVER JOIN AGAIN OR RECOMMEND THIS GYM TO ANYONE!!!!!

Winston P 05/22/2011 Do not join this gym. I signed a two year contract and you could not pay me to renew it when its time. I am a member at the Warner Robins location. I have been a member of several other gyms over the years, but this is a low. The equipment is nice, but thats it. The staff is rude, and conceited, from top to bottom. They have recently done renovations to accommadate group fitness, which made the gym even smaller than it already was. I dont know how often they clean the place, but I saw a bandaid stay stuck to the same place on the carpet for a few weeks. I cant speak for the womens locker room, but the mens is never clean. You cant leave the equipment you are working out on to get water, or one of the trainers will take the machine you are on with their client, which comes back to the rude staff. With the new design, space was lost, therefore, equipment was lost. I am not the only member that feels this way, trust me. To sum it up, poor design, small, cramped, dirty, and unfriendly. I hope this helps your decisions.

A Yahoo Local User 05/06/2011 There are some positive reviews here, I will admit. I think they must be posted by people who work for Kinetix. Please, run don’t walk away from these people. I can’t really say much about the gym itself, only the high pressure sales tactics and the things they tell you like, you have a window in the thirteenth month when you can cancel. Not on the contract, cause it wasn’t true. I blame myself for joining, I blame myself for not tearing up the contract the minute that I signed and they started pressuring me to give up my friend’s cell numbers. Deal with these people at your on risk.

A Google User 01/21/2011 Beware of this gym. The “management people” lie, cheat, and steal. These guys will tell you terms of your contract and then when the bill comes it is entirely different than what you signed on for. When you confront them and demand that they right the wrong, they give you a number to call that sends you chasing your tail. Then ask to speak to the head manager that is non existent, and then another chase your tail experience. Unfortunately, this is really the only gym in town but they will surely go under as soon as LA Fitness moves to town. That will be a glorious day. Also it is funny to read the good reviews of this gym. Apparently the Kinetix employees have nothing better to do than write good reviews to save their name. What a joke.

A Google User 01/21/2011 These guys are really something else. Nice gym, but I wouldn’t step foot inside again. The staff, in my opinion, misdirected my wife into signing a two year contract when she thought she was signing up for a year. So she went ahead and paid for the extra year. When the contract was up she gave the manager a letter saying she didn’t want the membership. He told her he would take care of it. Then they charged her for two more months! They told us today that a separate company handles the billing and we need to send them the letter! My wife is so sweet and I feel that these people really took advantage of her. I don’t even think they deserve one star. Check out their BBB rating.