TL;DR: Please be wary of a $200 cancellation fee and arguably deceptive/predatory/aggressive tactics from this gym.
The process for signing up for the gym membership was unnecessarily confusing and I didn't understand it at the time, but now I think I know why PH does it this way. I attempted to cancel my membership after several months and was told that I would need to pay a $200 cancellation fee to do so -- a fee that had not been communicated to me at any time during sign up. This is after I've already paid $150 in up-front fees, and ~$30 monthly, totaling >$300 in membership fees from May to October. Does $500 for less than 6 months of membership (sparingly used at that) sound like a good deal to you?
The PH owner, Hunter, pointed to some obscure fine-print language in the contract (excerpt attached) to show why I am obligated to pay the cancellation fee. I expressed that (1) I disagreed with the plain meaning of said contract language; (2) I considered the cancellation fee and surrounding circumstances to be a predatory business practice; and (3), if left with no other recourse, I would exercise my (very limited) consumer rights by leaving a review on Google/Yelp among other things (such as reporting to BBB and disputing the cancellation fee in Michigan small claims). Hunter responded by threatening me with a libel suit. How dare I exercise my rights as a consumer! But I refuse to be intimidated or fall prey to corporate bullying.
I don't even pretend to care about the $200 at this point; I do care about the GH community falling victim to the same trap. I am speaking up on principle -- so that other GH locals do not repeat my mistakes.I sincerely warn all GH locals against PH's arguably predatory membership/cancellation practices, and I hope you will thoroughly consider the implications of signing any contract with them. If you look at the other Google reviews, you'll see several other ex-PH members voicing similarly negative experiences regarding cancellation/fine print of the contract -- and I'm sure the total number is far greater than the vocal minority leaving reviews on the internet (especially considering that PH has shown its willingness to threaten defamation a lawsuit against a dissatisfied customer to keep them from speaking up).
I think everyone can agree, from a consumer's perspective: (1) "hidden" cancellation fees are unfair and deceptive and (2) a corporate entity threatening a local consumer with a libel suit as part of a good-faith contract dispute is grossly over-the-top and aggressive. I encourage PH to rethink its approach.
Please draw your own conclusions. This review reflects my personal experience and opinions based on the events as I understood them. It is intended for informational purposes only. I have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of my statements, and nothing in this review is meant to be false, misleading, or defamatory.
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