Complaint Registered - CW Fitness LLC and owner Chris Warnes

Please be advised that I have registered a formal complaint with the Better Business Bureau against CW Fitness LLC and its owner Chris Warnes. I have also filed a Consumer Statement with the State of Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection.

On or about June 9th, 2017, I spoke directly with the owner of CW Fitness, Chris Warnes, about renewing my family membership. At that time Chris told me he would work up a good deal and waive the "enhancement fee". Upon filling out the electronic paperwork June 10, 2017, Drew, his employee, informed me that I would have to pay this fee. I stopped signing the electronic form at this time and told the employee that I would need to speak with the owner. (Please see attached image which shows that I declined to accept the "Gym Enhancement Fee.")

Chris called me on June 12th, 2017. At this time he informed me that I would indeed have to pay the enhancement fee. This really didn't sit right with me based on the condition of the equipment and the fact that I never had to pay such a fee. He also told me that I would be subject to a 4 month cancellation fee upon completing the contract. His employee never told me this. Please keep in mind that I personally have belonged to this gym for 12 full years prior. My wife and three sons also belonged to this gym. I have always paid in full, never monthly. I was informed by Chris, however, that there was no discount for full payment, so I decided that monthly payments simply made sense. Again I was NEVER informed by either Chris or his employee about the 4 month cancellation fee either prior to, or during the application process.

I then told Chris that I was going to look at other gyms and that I would inform him by the end of the week whether I would complete the contract or not. As it turns out, I joined a different gym and tried calling Chris on Thursday, June 15th and again on Friday June 16th. I was told that he was not available, so I left messages with his employees, Drew and Joe respectively, stating that I had joined another gym and to have Chris call me. He NEVER returned my calls. I was contacted the following week to come in and complete the contract. I informed his employees that I would not complete the contract as my family and I had joined another gym,

Since that time, I have been getting charged on my credit card for the monthly membership even though I have not stepped foot in this gym since. I stopped payment on the card thinking that there was some clerical error. As far as I knew the contract was NOT finalized as I had discussed this in detail directly with the owner, Chris Warnes. I then began receiving collection calls. After leaving three (3) messages on October 24th, 25th and 26th for Chris to call me, with no call back, I had to physically go to the gym to meet with Chris to find out why I was being charged. Chris told me that although I did not complete the contract, he would not stop collection. He also did not accept responsibility for the fact that he or his employee did not tell me about the cancellation policy prior to or during the application process or that his employee never presented me with a copy of the partially completed contract. He said it was MY responsibility to obtain a copy of this contract. I informed Chris that I felt he was taking advantage of me and that, based on this experience, my family and I would never return to CW Fitness. His response was that this was probably best because "I yelled at him and his employees". This is an outright lie as my family and I have ALWAYS treated Chris and his employees with the utmost of respect. It turns out that Chris Warnes considers well founded complaints about poorly maintained equipment as yelling… At that point, I told him to provide me with the balance statement and I paid off the $508.00 in order to maintain my credit. I firmly believe that I was dealing with a less than reputable gym owner who simply took my money based on the threat of ruining my credit.

If I can prevent one just one individual or family from being taken advantage of in a similar manner, then I feel that this post was well worth the time and effort!

My family and I now belong to The Edge Fitness Club and are VERY happy! The gym is far superior to CW Fitness in every way. The equipment is well maintained, the gym is pristine, the Cinema is AWESOME and the employees are wonderful.

Brian D'Amico