With the upcoming opening of the new Powerhouse Gym in the Daytona Beach area, a consumer has asked us if it makes sense to purchase a membership to a gym that hasn't opened, nor has construction began. Apparently the Powerhouse Gym is offering a pre-opening discount to all members that enroll in a long term contract before the gym is opened. What the consumer really is attempting to determine is;
Would the potential savings be worth the risk of investment?
Our immediate answer would be no if the savings is based on a long term contract or commitment. Without reading the contract or written agreement, we can't, at this point, determine what the financial risk would be to the consumer but if the Daytona Beach Powerhouse Gym truly wants the consumer's business they should honor any pre-opening price if and when the gym actually opens. There are many area gym options available to the local consumer and many of them come with risk-free, no long term obligation clauses. Powerhouse Gym would be foolish not to accept a consumer's business at opening and honor the pre-opening price at that time.
In this economic climate the consumer can negotiate their own price for almost anything. It simply depends on how bad the business wants your business.
Before we can offer any definitive statements with regards to this particular facility, we will research the specific offer and provide our feedback as soon as possible.
In our opinion, it is never a good idea to purchase a product, sight unseen, at any price, regardless of the terms and conditions unless specific language provides an opt out clause at the time of delivery, a full refund is offered if unsatisfied and ample time has been provided to assure that the product is right for you.
Many area health clubs and gyms offer a short term free or reduced price membership for that very reason. They want you to be completely satisfied before purchasing their product. We will attempt to compile a list of area facilities that offer such programs and post it here as soon as possible.
Florida Law does provide for a three (3) day right of rescission for all contracts but the statutory period of time would expire before the consumer would be able to fully gauge if the Gym Membership would be a proper fit. Apparently the Daytona Powerhouse Gym won't open for at least another 90 days, based on information that has been provided to us.
In one situation, although not locally, over 3000 individuals pre-purchased a gym membership for a gym that didn't open. In fact, the gym was not authorized by the State to open or sell memberships. Here is the story - Gym Memberships Paid But No Gym
According to a study conducted in 2007, Complaints received by Better Business Bureau for fitness clubs had increased more than 90 percent in the previous 5 years. According to the analysis, the most common complaints consumers had about fitness clubs focused on two related areas, contract disputes (41.5 percent) and billing issues (31.7 percent). BBB also recognized a rise in complaints about fitness centers that sold memberships, only to go out of business a few weeks later (15.1 percent), leaving disgruntled customers behind trying to recoup their advance payments.
At this point, our advice would be to wait until the gym is opened before any decisions are made. There are plenty of local gyms that will allow you to use their facilities on a month to month basis without committing to any long term contracts or depositing your youngest child as collateral.
Your physical health is a commodity that should be protected but not at the expense of your future financial health. Read the Fine Print and remember Buyer Beware!
Keywords: Health Club Membership, Gym Membership, Powerhouse Gym Daytona Beach, Pre-sale Membership, Pre-opening Membership
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Read and Understand the Fine Print!
Greetings fellow Greater Daytona Beach consumers. Through a cooperative effort of local business leaders, this web blog has been created to keep our friends and neighbors apprised of various ways to avoid becoming a victim of product misrepresentation or deceptive advertising by local businesses.
Due to Florida's poor economic climate, many businesses are finding creative ways to pull in unsuspecting consumers in order to purchase long term product and service contracts that they really don't need, don't fully understand and in some instances, simply can't afford. It is our intent to educate you.
We have all heard about the unscrupulous used car salesman, Pyramid, Work at Home, Investment Scams and other such devious ways to separate you from your hard earned cash but many of the contracts that are executed on a daily basis can be just as financially damaging. We are going to help you look out for the warning signs and arm you with the questions to ask before executing your next consumer contract.
We can't refer to these dealings as Consumer Fraud or Scams because most consumer protection laws don’t apply to private sales or contracts that are entered into by the consumer willingly, although unwittingly. Simply stated, it's up to the buyer to beware. Many of these contracts may not be illegal, but they are unethical and misleading to the consumer.
Most long term contracts strongly favor the business, leaving little regard and "wiggle room" for the consumer to terminate the contract, regardless of whether the business has fulfilled their end of the bargain. Violating or attempting to terminate such a contract often comes with a hefty price and legal ramifications to the consumer.
Our goal is to review contracts that are being presented by area businesses to local consumers and alert the consumer to warning signs or clauses that may make entering into the particular contract a bad deal for the consumer.
If you are not completely confident or fully understand what kind of a commitment that you are making as a result of entering into any written agreement or contract, our advice is to ask additional questions and address all concerns before signing on the dotted line. Follow your gut feelings and never be pressured to sign anything that you don't fully understand. The best advise is always to consult with a family member, friend or an attorney that you trust before entering into such an agreement.
Although the "Fine Print" is a part of many contracts, providing clauses in fine print is controversial because of its deceptive nature. Its purpose is to make the consumer believe that the offer is really great. Though the real truth about the offer is "technically" available to the consumer in the smaller print of the advertisement—thus virtually ensuring plausible deny-ability from claims of fraud—it is often designed to be overlooked. The unsuspecting customer, who can instantly see all the attractive aspects of the offer, will, due to natural impulsive behavior, time constraints, and/or personal need, generally not bother to learn the caveats, instead focusing on the positives of the deal.
Many offers advertised in large print only apply when certain conditions are met. In many instances these conditions are difficult or nearly impossible to meet.
In many cases, the business states in fine print that it reserves the right to modify the terms of the contract at any time with little or no advance notice. This controversial practice is often seen in the banking and insurance industries as well as well as some unscrupulous health club operators. It is also widely abused in terms of use statements and privacy policies.
Our first web installment will focus on the health club industry, in particular, the risks and benefits of entering into contracts to purchase memberships from Gyms or Health Clubs.
Stay tuned as we conduct our research in order to provide the necessary answers to many of your consumer questions. In the interim, be careful what contracts and written agreements that you commit yourself to and above all, make sure to Read and Understand the Fine Print.
Due to Florida's poor economic climate, many businesses are finding creative ways to pull in unsuspecting consumers in order to purchase long term product and service contracts that they really don't need, don't fully understand and in some instances, simply can't afford. It is our intent to educate you.
We have all heard about the unscrupulous used car salesman, Pyramid, Work at Home, Investment Scams and other such devious ways to separate you from your hard earned cash but many of the contracts that are executed on a daily basis can be just as financially damaging. We are going to help you look out for the warning signs and arm you with the questions to ask before executing your next consumer contract.
We can't refer to these dealings as Consumer Fraud or Scams because most consumer protection laws don’t apply to private sales or contracts that are entered into by the consumer willingly, although unwittingly. Simply stated, it's up to the buyer to beware. Many of these contracts may not be illegal, but they are unethical and misleading to the consumer.
Most long term contracts strongly favor the business, leaving little regard and "wiggle room" for the consumer to terminate the contract, regardless of whether the business has fulfilled their end of the bargain. Violating or attempting to terminate such a contract often comes with a hefty price and legal ramifications to the consumer.
Our goal is to review contracts that are being presented by area businesses to local consumers and alert the consumer to warning signs or clauses that may make entering into the particular contract a bad deal for the consumer.
Before entering into any written agreement "READ AND UNDERSTAND THE FINE PRINT!"
If you are not completely confident or fully understand what kind of a commitment that you are making as a result of entering into any written agreement or contract, our advice is to ask additional questions and address all concerns before signing on the dotted line. Follow your gut feelings and never be pressured to sign anything that you don't fully understand. The best advise is always to consult with a family member, friend or an attorney that you trust before entering into such an agreement.
Although the "Fine Print" is a part of many contracts, providing clauses in fine print is controversial because of its deceptive nature. Its purpose is to make the consumer believe that the offer is really great. Though the real truth about the offer is "technically" available to the consumer in the smaller print of the advertisement—thus virtually ensuring plausible deny-ability from claims of fraud—it is often designed to be overlooked. The unsuspecting customer, who can instantly see all the attractive aspects of the offer, will, due to natural impulsive behavior, time constraints, and/or personal need, generally not bother to learn the caveats, instead focusing on the positives of the deal.
Many offers advertised in large print only apply when certain conditions are met. In many instances these conditions are difficult or nearly impossible to meet.
In many cases, the business states in fine print that it reserves the right to modify the terms of the contract at any time with little or no advance notice. This controversial practice is often seen in the banking and insurance industries as well as well as some unscrupulous health club operators. It is also widely abused in terms of use statements and privacy policies.
Our first web installment will focus on the health club industry, in particular, the risks and benefits of entering into contracts to purchase memberships from Gyms or Health Clubs.
Stay tuned as we conduct our research in order to provide the necessary answers to many of your consumer questions. In the interim, be careful what contracts and written agreements that you commit yourself to and above all, make sure to Read and Understand the Fine Print.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)