La Fitness is LYING. If your home gym was sold, you are NO LONGER a Bally member, according to Ballys. They told me my lifetiime membership was sold to La Fitness. Norris is full of crap, he is not doing anyone a favor by honoring their memberships, he bought them. If he didn't I would still be a Bally member. If he didn't buy my membership then why would La Fitness have my checking account routing number in order to get my monthly payments. I called La Fitness(CA) at 12:00 EST phone number 949-505-2043 spoke with Courtney and was told they have me in the system as a member at my current Bally rate of $5 per month. According to Norris's statement I was made a member until days later out of the goodness of La's heart. Ok, so how was I in the system immediately following the close of the deal. LIES,LIES,LIES. They are trying their hardest not to honor the lifetime memberships and it just won't happen.

I too had a lifetime membership with Bally Fitness and the membership is NOT being honored by LA Fitness. I called LA Fitness corporate offices about 2 hours ago and was told in no uncertain terms that the membership is not being honored. In addition, I visited the Franklin Mills (former Bally) location and called both Willow Grove (former Bally) and Northeast Philadelphia. All clubs told me that memberships would NOT be honored. I would love to know how to get in contact with Mr. Norris.

I have a Premier Plus lifetime membership. Just spoke to Joel Perez general manager at the Aramingo(Philly) location and was told LA fitness WILL NOT HONOR life time memberships.

I was ambused last Thursday when entering the Willow Grove location and told my lifetime membership was no longer being honored. Additionally, I was told by three staff members that I was the reason that Ballys had the finanical problems, since I was not a financial contributor for the last twenty-five years. Forget about the charter memberships that built all of the clubs of the day and the large sum of upfront money. After being humiliated at the front dest and being accused of being the problem, I left the Willow Grove location and went to a LA Fitness where I cancelled three family members memberships that were coming off of my checking account and purchasing a membership of my own that gives me two guest per visit. After doing the math, I'm $30 bucks ahead every month and have access to the old Ballys and all LA Fitness locations. All said and done, I am grateful for the 30 plus years I had with Holiday Spa and Ballys Fitness Center. The members are what made the clubs great. It hurts to see the lack of sensitivity and respect that the new staff members come at loyal club members, which mostly targets 50 year olds and above persons. Hopefully the resolve the membership issues for the sake of thousands of members that rely on using the gyms to maintain good health.

I used to own a health club that I bought from another club organization Washington. You have to honor lifetime memberships as a successor corporation on original terms. A further note. It is not illegal to honor a lifetime membership in any state. It is only illegal in those states to sell new ones. In Washington that has been the case since 1986. Even if you call it an assets sale as LA has, if you are in the same location, operating as the same business (health club) you are considered a successor corporation. If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, sounds like a duck, it is considered a duck.

I went to the Bally Fitness Sports club in Bay Shore New York and was informed by the General Manager that they will not honor lifetime membership even though they were not purchased by LA fitness. Ballys gym in westbury was closed after it became a health hazard. Bally total fitness in Bay Shore was closed after they opened the Bally Sports in Bayshore. Initially they told me that Bally sports would honor my lifetime membership now they are no longer honoring their contractual agreement. This was a calculated scheme to break their contractual agreement. The public should be aware and think long and hard before signing up for any membership with Ballys sport club and or LA Fitness club.

go to ballyssuit.com for pulling together on this.

I may be repeating myself. I have been a member since 1976. Joined at the Masapequa Mall, Long Island NY. First Holiday, then Jack LaLane, then Bally's They tried the same crap when we converted from Holiday. A group of us took them to Small Claims Ct. The knew that they had no case and made a deal with us. I now pay $12.00 per year for my "LIfetime Membership". I do not care what they say or try to get us to sign up for more money. A contract is a contract. LA Fitness bought Bally's and they got the whole kit and kibudale. There are plenty of attorneys out there anxious to take on a company like this. So let's just wait and see.

http://upperdublin.patch.com/articles/la-fitness-we-re-honoring-lifetime-memberships

This newspaper reports that after protests LA Fitness says it will honor lifetime memebership. Paul norris is a principal at LA Finess main headquarters.

I have been going to the King of Prussia Bally's for years with a lifetime membership that was purchased when it opened as Holiday Fitness. I called this location and was told that my membership was void because LA Fitness could not profit from it.

I have a silver not (gold) membership. my fee is $5.00 a yr. Join in the 80s. I was told Voorhees is not my home gym. Roosevelt blvd is mine, i never been there? They told me i can go to a local La fitness which is on Grant ave phila pa. They did this to make me go over 30 miles to La fitness not the La fitness in my home town Somerdale nj. I told the manager can u simply correct my home gym to Voorhess. The could look in system see where i swiped my card at for last 10yrs. He said no, but after Dec 31 maybe the Grant ave manager could change to somerdale. I think i'm screwed!!

I previously emailed Kyle on this topic. I am continueing to dig by talking to other members. I also read that article with the Presidents comments. If you look closely, in our case (Willow Grove, Pa Bally's) at his comments, I see the following happening. He is saying I (a lifetime member since inception) can pay $1 for the exact contract and then only work out at Willow Grove facility. I also can pay $19.99 a month and use any facility. What he doesn't touch on and Kyle this is for your next phone call to him, would be if they close Willow Grove. I would suspect since my $1 only got me in there, I would have to become a new member with money down etc. Very Sneaky by the Prez. Why would I think Willow Grove would close, because they have done minimal to the facility the last 10 years. There are 2 La Fitnesses within 2 miles each direction, and most importantly, they have not changed one single sign inside or outside at Willow Grove. That tells me Willow Grove will close in a few months, and they will sell the land, which has way more value to them. They also will then make me rejoin at their price because a $1 only gets you Willow Grove. Very clever or sneaky depending on your perspective.

I am totally confused. I have been to Bally's (willow grove, pa) location and an LA Fitness employee barked that my Bally's "Lifetime" membership will not be tranferred to LA Fitness and I would have to pay an intiation fee of $250 along with a monthly due of $20 per month. I thought they bought all contract from Bally's but it seems Lifetimers are screwed big time! What can we do??????

I have an original Holiday Spa lifetime membership and have been going to the King of Prussia Bally's forever. I was told on Sunday that lifetime memberships with zero renewal are not being honored; however, $5 or $12 (or whatever) renewals bring in revenue (yep, 5 bucks) and those are okay. The LA Fitness websites states that they are servicing all memberships. Last time I checked Webster's - all means ALL. And my contract clearly states that if it is transferred, "...we, our and us will then mean that person or organization." Thank you for reporting on this. I notified the Time Herald about the KoP location, but they've done nothing.

I had a bad experience last Thursday, December 1, 2011 at a newly acquired Bally located in Miami, FL. I was instructed to work out first, then go to the registration desk post work out. As I was wait for my turn to speak to the LA Fitness Representative (Rep.), I overheard a the Rep. telling a member that his information does not appear in the computer so he can not help him. I knew then it was going to be a up hill battle. I forwarded a "verified account" printed from LA Fitness website. The Rep. appeared agitated and said to a co worker, "See that's why, that's why" pointing to my account. The Rep.'s demeanor became hostel towards me. Rep stated that my account is non-renewable and I would have to pay $40.00 after my account expires early next year while boasting to his co-worker. The Rep. made it seem like LA Fitness was the victim and he was teaching me a lesson. The Rep.'s behavior is a poor to say the least and reflection of the company who hired him. I believe that Mr. Norris will take the corrective action to remedy the Bally issue. Kyle is correct we have to wait for Mr. Norris to act so we can react.

Kyle, you noted that "Norris also told me that Bally's members who had a 'go anywhere' kind of membership would still have that right for other Bally's locations. ". I have a problem with that. I have a national (premier) membership which is stated on my Bally card. But LAFitness says the records they got from Bally showed I had a single club membership. They said they can't change it to national unless I can give them my original contract. My membership is over 20 years old and I do not have the original contract any longer.

I called Bally and they confirmed their records showed national access but they could not send me any confirmation. Since LA fitness won't convert my membership to national without something more than my Bally card to prove it, I am stuck with one club access. Bally and LA Fitness just point the finger at each other and let the customer suffer because of their poor handling of he transaction.

Can you talk to Norris again and see what can be done to fix these problems?

How can we start a class action lawsuit. I paid Bally's $576 for a 6 year renewal a week before the selling of Bally's to LA Fitness. When my account was transfered Dec. 1, my account was only extended 1 year. Both Bally and LA Fitness is claiming I need to work with the other company to get my money back or account corrected.

There is an area of the LA Fitness website where you can validate the transfer of your Bally's membership.
Go to the area to validate your Ballys membership. My Bally's Premier Plus membership seems to have been transferred to LA - BUT - with a definite change in terms.
Welcome Bally Members Your Membership Access
If you hold a One Club Bally membership the club you can use is shown at the bottom of this page
Local Club access is still local club Bally plus the club listed below
National Club access is still national club Bally access
Whether local or national, it’s only to the Bally clubs acquired by Fitness International
Some more disconcerting revelations came in the Account Info area
The Member Since info is the date I joined BTF (Holiday at the time)
BUT NOW THERE IS A MEMBERSHIP EXPERIATION DATE! 12/01/2014!!!

Certainly some details need to be worked out. I understand that LA is attracted to revenue streams and they need income flow to sustain operations. I’d be willing to pay an LOW annual maint fee to keep my lifetime membership going. I think there needs to be some disclosure about what the expiration date means and what happens to my membership after that point.

We need absolute clarification of the definition and privileges of LIFETIME MEMBER, considering just last week I could use ANY BALLYS ANYWHERE for my ENTIRE LIFE with a membership that I bought and paid for in full under the terms of the contract that I signed.

All,

I have a premier Gold membership with an annual fee of $5 per year at any Bally's club for my entire life. I signed my contract with Holiday then sold to Bally's in the early 80's. I was advised by LA Fitness that I don't have any such contract. They want me to pay a fee of $19.99 per month and have a date of 2/2/12 as my expiration date. My membership at Bally's has a date of 6/23/13 and then is renewable for a fee of $5. I believe that LA Fitness & Bally's have a scam going on. I filled a consumer complaint with the Attorney General's office IN MA against both health clubs.

More interesting verbage (legal posturing?) from LA Fitness account activation page which raises several red flags about whether they really will honor the contracts per the original conditions and club access

Your Membership Access

If you hold a One Club Bally membership the club you can use is shown at the bottom of this page
Local Club access is still local club Bally plus the club listed below
National Club access is still national club Bally access
Whether local or national, it’s only to the Bally clubs acquired by Fitness International

Additional Membership Access In December

We want to welcome you by inviting you to use all of the LA Fitness clubs across the country, including our Signature clubs, during the entire month of December. This will give you an opportunity to see and experience what we have to offer. Your regular membership access will resume in January.

I tried the number above and I couldnt reach it. I also called the Bally Total Fitness that was bought by LA fitness, and they said that they don't know anything about the news, and the offer that LA fitness is willing to give previous Bally Total Fitness lifetime member.

New movement? This afternoon my Member expiration date read 12/1/2014. This evening it changed to 1/1/2071. The same for my Wife's contract. Anyone else seeing this on the now accessible account info?. (Maybe this is a computer issue. My new car warranty is lifetime but the contract reads one million miles.... but with a clarification noted.) Another point. If LA Fitness did not acquire the lifetime memberships from Bally... then how did they "acquire" the information?
Next up bringing our contracts totally in line with the original deal.

Sooner or later somebody will go Postal at one of the clubs over this. Then who will accept the blame?

I too, have a lifetime $5 per yr plan. I went into LaFitness Somerdale NJ. They first could not find me in their system. After giving them more info, they found me. They told me I had to change to $19 per month plan but after voicing my complaint, a manager but me in the system contracted $5 per yr. Only problem, i can only use local Lafitness and any Ballys still open. (This is not fair!!)

This is the problem we Ballys members are having. When we were Bally members we had 2 main privileges "THAT WE PAID INTO". 1-Lifetime member (which simply meant my rate will remain the same the life of the contract. 2- Access to any/all Ballys clubs national wide. When we transfered to a LaFitness member (if we had these privileges, they should "TRANSFER" too). Why are we being Discriminated against!!! If a company buyout another company, should the other company employees be treated differently. Can you amagine that company telling those employees they had to pay a "FEE" to join the new company!!!

LaFitness seems to have a problem with the Term "lifetime membership". But this is just a term Ballys used when refering to "Your rate will remain the same the life of the contract". Its the same contract they offer to their present members. Their members signed a contract that indicate there fees per month or year. When Lafitness members contract come up for renew (each year) they simply pay that original amt each year (for the life of the contract). If you asked an LaFitness member who join years ago, "ARE THEY PAYING THE SAME RATE" they paid years ago. The answer you bet would be "YES". Bally members are not asking too much, just the same privileges as the all Lafitness member. because, "WE ARE NOW MEMBERS?"

If I bought Apple stock years ago for $5 a share and the stock goes up to $400 should the company make me pay todays rate? Should LaFitness be allow to tell me your membership rate is too small and we need to bring you up to today membership rate. I really think a class-action suit is coming,, and all Ballys members will be awarded it's privileges that are being lost here.

I have the opposite problem that some of you seem to have. Please read and tell me what you think:

My original "home" Bally location isn't acquired by LA Fitness, but I have not used my original home location for over 11 years since I graduated from school. I have been receiving renewal statements from Bally for the last 11 years at my current resident address. I've been going to the Bally gyms near my current resident in IL for the last 11 years. Now, all the clubs in IL are acquired by Bally Fitness, and my contract wasn't transitioned over. According to Bally, it's because my original "home" location isn't acquired by LA Fitness. They said I can continue to use my any Bally nation wide because I have Premier Plus. However, there is ZERO Bally location within 200-300 miles of my current resident, which I've resided for over 11 years. To make the matter worse, I've just reently prepaid my membership for 3 years until 11/2014. I THINK I have a Lifetime membership w/ a fixed amount of $100/year. I called Bally and they said I cannot get my 3 years worth of prepayment refunded but I can use the clubs 300 miles away from my home or any Bally nationwide. The closest Bally to my home is 300 miles away. No Thank you! Is this ridiculous or what???? What can I do, please help.

Marketing professionals know that every pissed-off consumer shares his anger about product, service and brand with 11 other people. It's quite mysterious to me why a sophisticated organization like LA Fitness wouldn't keep that in mind -- along with the cost of acquiring one happy member, and the free word-of-mouth publicity from happy customers -- in running their business.

The total cost to them of honoring pre-existing Bally's memberships on the terms they were issued cannot be very high. The total additional revenue they can hope to earn by surcharging $20 a month or whatever is also not very high (because the overwhelming majority will walk instead, demanding compensation for "taken" value in addition.

In my particular case, I joined Bally's in Pennsylvania, and haven't lived there for 15 years ... yet my "home club" is still there. I have a national Premier membership with a contractual cap on annual renewal rate increases.

I now live in Arizona, and was told by the front desk of my nearest LAF (pre-merger) that I would be eligible for the pre-merger LAF that's nearest the Bally's that closes today ... even though it's way further away from my home than the one I went to near my home.

In any event, to reiterate: besides legality, decency and fairness, the main reason LAF should fairly accomodate Bally's members is because in the long run, they'll generate more revenue at a lower cost of marketing investment.

continuing ...

I feel very very strongly that there's a pointless artificial distinction in relegating national members' usage to the subset of LAF clubs that are former Bally's locations. We should be able to use any regular-level LAF nationwide ... or at least in our home state. State-by-state is LAF's normal way of operating

Also, by the way, LAF has plenty of members paying monthly dues much lower than what they're currently offering new members, because they generally don't increase the monthly rate. The whole business is built on customer inertia regarding automatic monthly payments, and an increase is enough to get someone who rarely gets himself to the gym to cancel those payments.

I bought a lifetime Bally membership in 1991 which includes dues of $10. per month. My membership allowed me to use any Bally club nationwide. I have been using the Bally club in King of Prussia PA for the past nine or so years. I am being told that I can now use only the Bally clubs purchased by LA Fitness. So much for my nationwide membership. Also, in order to use other LA Fitness clubs I'm told I have to upgrade my membership with an initiation fee of $249. and dues of $19.99. Why am I required to pay an initiation fee at all if my membership was purchased by LA Fitness and I am now a LA Fitness member? There was no mention of an initiation fee when Mr.Norris said memberships would be available to Bally members for $19.99. Something just isn't right here!

This is all messed up. Why cant we be told the truth. When I went to LA Fitness I was told I can only workout till the end of the month after 12/11 I would have to go to a LA Fitness club that was formerly ballys.which is much more of a drive away from my house. My life time membership from Ballys should be used, when I joined back in 1988 the gym was called Jack Lalanne Holiday Spa,,than it went to Ballys.everything was ok with my membership. So why is LA Fitness screwing members around?

Hello, and thanks for your work! I just purchased a Lifetime Bally Sport membership 2 months ago from a private party who transferred it to me as per the rules and regulations of the membership. I paid well over $1000 for this membership. It has a fixed annual renewel of around $50. This membership was originally purchased in Ohio, and therefore, I was told it was not aquired by LA Fitness as part of the deal. So now I'm still a member of Bally's, but the nearest club is over 400 miles away! I called Bally's and they basically told me I was out of luck, but it would be of use to me when I travel, which is never. I've been working out at my local Bally's for over 20 years with the same group of 8 guys but decided to buy a lifetime membership with a fixed rate so that I could also use the Bally's Sport which just opened up 3 miles from my house. Now my old membership is about to expire and the one I just paid over $1000 for isn't being honored. I doubt anyone is much angrier than I am right now. Hopefully the right thing will be done here. WE NEED AN UPDATE!!

I don't belong to either club (thank goodness) but it sure sounds like a cluster@#$% to me. Perhaps the various clubs haven't gotten the memo from Norris. But isn't the customer always right? LAF really needs to get their act together and keep that age old adage in mind. Perhaps a class action suit will be necessary. I am thinking the company ran the numbers and realized that they could lose a certian number of disgruntled customers and still make a profit. But you folks are doing the right thing by voicing your concerns and contacting (or attempting to contact) the company. I have seen similar aquisitions and mergers before; some went smoothly, some were ugly. I have seen companies fold and disappear literally overnight, leaving astounded and confused customers and even employees in their wake. It is ALWAYS about the profit...always. Thank you Kyle for extensively and consistently covering this story and talking with Mr. Norris. I sounds to me like it's not over by a longshot and that LAF really needs to address these concerns quickly and fairly.

Around 1984-85, my husband purchased 2 Lifetime Memberships at the "Holiday Fitness" in Willow Grove. On the cards, it has the following "GCX" and "EXP PERM". He paid several thousand dollars for these memberships. They were "Pre-Construction memberships". We used the gym for quite a few years, but then stopped. There is an LA Fitness around the corner from us (in Huntingdon Valley). We joined that when it opened (about 10 or so years ago), and then ended our membership there about 2-3 years ago. We still (as recently as TODAY), get e-mails about how they want us back. We had been thinking about going back to Holiday/Bally because we realized that we had this "lifetime" membership that we hadn't been using. Then I read this article and the 50+ comments about what is going on. We plan on going to Bally's on Monday with our "Holiday" lifetime membership cards and see what we are told.........

Kyle Have you heard anything new from Paul Norris, or anyone, at LA Fitness?. Reps are still in the dark here in Rockville, MD. Your coverage lit a fire under LA Fitness Corporate but we don;t wish for this to just blow over . We really need definitive action giving us our FULL rights and FULL club(s) access.

I joined Bay Shore NY in 1987 and have paid for a Premier Plus membership. I have not worked in Bay Shore in 20 years and now I too am being told my membership is only good at Bay Shore (they gave me an automatic upgrade to Bally Sport) or Rockville Center. Problem is, I've been going to the Lake Grove location for 20 plus years.
I am not happy about the turn of events either. This is downright sneaky. As for the comment someone made about the rest of Bally's being sold in March - it wouldn't surprise me.

Here is a list of clubs etc. broken down by acquired clubs, clubs scheduled to close etc.
https://www.lafitness.com/Pages/NewsAndAnnouncements.aspx?Source=6

I happen to have the advantage (or the disadvantage), of membership to both clubs( before the buyout). I pay $5 per year w/Bally since 1988. I pay $215/yr w/LAF since 3/31/11 (new). LAF, converted my Bally lifetime into their system today. The $215 acct, is mulit-club and the $5 acct is local-club only (it was multi-club w/Bally but they will not honor Bally members their previous privileges). I have been told, that I can not have 2 membership in same name. But the buyout caused this problem. If they allow my $5 acct multi-club access, I will close the $215 acct. Proir to the merge, I worked out at both gyms. LAF had more equipment but Bally I loved their indoor track and better whirlpool. I'm hoping there is an announcement soon that Bally members will have their multi-club access re-instated. One thing for sure, All the LAF employees have been nice to me during this transition. P.S.---- Is there anyone out there (like me) who had membership both clubs. What have you been told?

To all, local club access (only) might not be a problem after all. I has told its only $5.00 extra when we want to go to another LAF nationwide. We simple show our card at the new LaF club and pay $5 to use that club that day. I'm okay with that, cause its only a few times during the year (on vacation, out of town for business) that I use other clubs. So, if you get your Bally acct transferred to a local club your winning.

I purchased a lifetime membership from Bally Total Fitness years ago, with the stipulation that dues of $5.00 a month will never increase and the right to transfer or sell my membership. L A fitness personnel at 2828 N Clark St. in Chicago are asking members to sign a blank electronic screen(they state that this is to protect them in case a member is injured). in fact you are signing a 3 page contract unseen and unread. Unsuspecting members are signing a contract by deception and fraud.
This is the latest fiasco as of Dec 12, 2011.

It is time for all BALLYS memebers to file a classs action law suit LA FITNESS is a liar so is BALLY

Fellow member of Ballys, Let's show our support by signing the link below. you just need to provide name and email add. Please, please and please let other members know this.
http://www.change.org/petitions/lafitness-honor-reduced-fee-lifetime-contracts-of-bally-members-after-billing-period

This is a huge mess. Neither side is accommodating. No one knows what's going on. I have been a Bally's Lifetime member for 20 years. I use a gym 300 miles from my "home gym" and have for over 5 years. My contract was "not purchased" but Bally's is telling me they have transferred my account to the newly purchased gym in Chicago. (Same gym as above 2828 N. Clark, Chicago IL) I am still not showing in the system. People on both sides are telling me this will take weeks to go through and some are telling me that it's not even possible. The employees at the gym are scared for their own jobs. They have no idea what is going on. I see them making people sign the signature pad not knowing they are signing a new contract. They are trying to get me to pay an initiation fee basically to start over from scratch. I was a member of LA Fitness for over 5 years as well because it was convenient. You would think that they would just reinstate me for good will but they won't. LA Fitness is no better. Horrible customer service. The "Manager" from LA Fitness who is overseeing the transition at Century City is unprofessional. She won't even give the courtesy of listening to the issue and try to give the appearance she even cares. And this is the new owner? Horrible. LA Fitness is headed for the same place Bally's ended up in. I guess I shouldn't be surprised. It's a junky gym run by two junky companies. Shame on them.

As I posted above, I was one of the bally lifetime member who's "home club" was not bought by LA fitness,but I moved and had been using other bally location that was bought by LA fitness. After a 2 1/2 weeks wait, Bally was able to transfer my contract to LA fitness. No change in my contract, so I will be paying the same dues, and LA Fitness told me that I do have national access to any clubs. Although it took some time, and it was a little cumbersome trying to explain the situation to both sides, everything turned out ok. I suggest calling their corporate offices than calling the local clubs. Good luck guys.

Eugene, what was the process to transfer contract from Ballys to LA Fitness. Did you speak to either Ballys/LA Fitness? Or both.

Bally's Corporate membership director John Sennett in Chicago (773) 380-3000 to discuss Bally's memberships that were purchased that you want put back to a Bally's club, and LA Fitness corporate membership # in Irvine,(949) 255-7200 which can see the status of the Bally's membership they purchased. If you just renewed (but have time left in your original contract until it works itself out) contact your credit card company and cancel the charge - just in case. John has been very helpful and is working with several "hundred" people to get them transferred from LA Fitness back to the Bally's they have been using that is close to where they live. See my original posts for weird "home club" which is 300 miles away, closest LA Fitness is 30 minutes away and the Bally's I've been using is 3 blocks away!! Go figure. I agree that the whole Home Club thing is strange - for instance when I renewed with my current club they should have noticed and entered a transfer of home club into the computer.....or done so when I asked instead of saying "oh, it doesn't really matter".

Eugene,
I am seriously considering just dumping Bally's after all these years but am nervous that LAF will raise my dues. I am paid until 12/14. Do you have it in writing that LAF will honor your bally's contract? What did you say exactly to get them to transfer your membership? Anything else that you can post will help. The LAF site says something confusing about whether you join in NY as to what other types of LAF clubs you can use. This is a really big deal for me, I am literally losing sleep over this. I go to Copiague, NY (former) Bally's everyday on the way to the train to the city. I simply can't afford a separate trip to bally's Bayshore on top of the $300 that I pay for our wonderful Long Island Rail Road..

I went to my local Bally's yesterday, the one I had been going to (see comment above for whole story). My home club had been sold and I've been in contact with LA Fitness (cancelled the membership renewal I paid to Bally's in October and got a full refund from Bally's on my credit card) and with Bally's offices in Chicago - Mr. John Sennett (sp) at the corporate Bryn Mawr offices in Chicago 773-380-3000. My membership to Bally's, all clubs, has been reinstated in their computers, along with the rates and offers I have always gotten (about $108 per year which started years ago at $99) and my "home club" has been changed to the New Jersey club I've been attending. While I can't say that this sale was well-handled, Mr. Sennett got the job done exactly as he promised he would do, and LA Fitness folks AT THE CLUB in Union, NJ were very helpful in getting that membership cancelled so I could be reinstated by Bally's. Hopefully they have learned their lesson and when the rest of Ballys are sold in 2012 to New York Sports Club or whoever locally can handle them (rumour only) they won't make the same mistakes. Seems to me they needed a good Executive Assistant on the job during the sale to think of the details!!!

This action sucks. I'm requesting my State General Attorney to move into action this is nothing but fraud. The company has all of your contact information there was no reason for them not to one inform members of the impending sale and two the provisions of the sale in terms of honoring a "lifetime contract". This membership was a live instrument that could be sold and traded at anytime therefore it is a live negotiable instruments how could it not be part of a sale. When you purchase a business you purchase all of its obligation there is no such thing as a partial sale it's either a sale or not. This is where government agencies who mission is to protect consumers comes in. LA Fitness is ripping off millions of members and Bally is being allowed to not honor contractual obligations. There is no provision in the law that allows you to not honor a contract except bankruptcy which this was not.

My premier membership FINALLY transferred to LA Fitness! I paid $126 renewal for 2 years back in 8/2010 and it is to expire in 8/2012. I was originally told that my membership did not transfer so I signed up with LA Fitness and was given a rate of $29.99/multi club anywhere in NJ with no enrollement fee. Then a couple days after, I found out that I am able to put in a request (12/28/2011) to have my premier membership transferred to LA Fitness. Luckily, I was able to cancel within 3 days with LAF and was given my money back. I was told by Ballys that my request was processing. Meanwhile, LA Fitness was kind enough to issue me a 2 week guest pass. I waited almost 2 weeks just to be told by Ballys that since the original place of enrollment (Wayne, NJ) remained as Ballys, it was not going to transfer and LA Fitness was not longer accepting transfers. So they were going to issue a refund. So I signed up with LA Fitness again 29.99/month no enrollment fee/multiclub in NJ. Then, I received a phone call 2 weeks later from Ballys corporate asking if I would still like to transfer my account to La Fitness. I told them ABSOLUTELY! LA Fitness was able to issue me my money back again. This has been a long process but once my local LA Fitness received my information, everything went smoothly. My original contract WAS HONORED! Multi-State Access! I am paid until Sept 2012 & annual renewal fee will be $156/year!! Thank you Ballys/LA Fitness for making right!

My name is Francis Mand; I joined Bally’s Total Fitness in 1979 in Colorado and am a life-time member. My wife joined in 1989 in Indiana. I moved to Indiana in 2005. I have been going to a Bally’s in Indpls, IN. My wife was able to transfer her membership without problems. My problem was said to be related to originally joining Bally's in Colorado. Feeling left with no options, last night I reluctantly decided to sign a 3 year contract with LA Finess for $705.00. The manager at Carmel West assured me this was the cheapest alternative to being able to continue going and utilizing the LA Fitness facility. Bally’s is resolute that my Bally’s membership was transferred to LA Fitness but LA denies. LA Fitness exhaustedly reports my membership from Bally’s has not been transferred. The Bally’s supervisor said there “is nothing Bally’s can do…and that it’s all up to La Fitness.” I am left being told I no longer am a member of Bally’s and told by LA Fitness that the Bally membership was not transferred. If I wanted to continue to going to LA Fitness, I was left with no alternative than to purchase a new contract. I’m a senior citizen on a fixed income and signing a new contract is a significant expense.
I am approaching 80 years old and feel my age in this case has contributed to discrimination. Is this how Bally’s treats a retired US Airforce senior citizen who’s been a Bally’s member for over 30 years? It’s unjust and just not right.

I bought a life membership 1993. La Fitness signed me in back in December. Informed me that they were opening a new Gym in a few months. They just opened it on May 16, 2012. On the second day of my visit they told me a could no longer visit this location because of their signature club policy. I paid my years fee but now they are sending me to a location about 9 miles away from my home. they want me to upgrade and pay over $400.00 year. Need advise what do I do? This gym just opened in Woodland Hills, CA.

It has been a long time since I signed as a memeber how do I go about getting my original contract. Also, what do I do if they refused entery to the location of my choice, that would be the closest to my house.

They are refusing entery to the gym because they said that the LA fitness has switched to "LAFITNESS SIGNATURE"

Gloria: I was in the old (decrepit, hideous) Woodland Hills LA Fitness club a few weeks ago. I'm a former Bally's member with a lifetime membership to use any club.

When I visited the old WH club, I asked and the girl at the front desk said that I'd be able to use the new club when it opened. I haven't been back to test that yet, though.

Did you have a lifetime/any-club membership with Bally's?

As to the clubs they tried to send you to, I'm aware of two club in the "general vicinity": The one in Chatsworth, and the one in Encino. The Chatsworth club is a dump, the one in Encino isn't bad. Both are better than that monstrosity that carried the LA Fitness name in Woodland Hills before they moved into the new digs.

Anyone here in this situation: Bally member whose club has been bought by Blast Fitness? Apparently, Blast Fitness is only going to honor the Bally memberships until the end of 2012, then they become worthless. (You need to buy new Blast membership and Bally will no longer honor them, even if they are "lifetime" and "any club").

My situation is that I purchase a one time transferable Bally's Fitness membership from someone from the east coast 5 years ago, The home club was bought out by LA Fitness so no i am a LA Fitness member but the thing is i live in st. louis and my currently club is bought out by blast fitness and bally refuse to transfer back into their system. (LA fitness currently has all my info). Not sure how long Blast fitness will continue to honor former bally's member. does anyone know? any idea how i should deal with this? let me know. thanks

I bought a Bally's Premier Plus 11 years ago. After hearing about the buyout, I went into an LAF in the Philly area with my Bally's card, signed something on a computer screen and was given an LAF card. I was told it would work at both LAF and Bally's, and this seemed to be the case (though I've only gone to the gym a dozen times this year).

Today I went to exercise at that Philly LAF and was told I wasn't in the system. (Funny, my card worked earlier this week.) The employee hypothesized that it's because I live in Boston and LAF hadn't bought the Boston clubs. So tonight I queried google and learned that the Boston Bally's are now owned by Blast. Who? Huh?

And about that LAF contract I signed... apparently my phone number is the secondary number on my ex-boyfriend's account, and the contract I signed was HIS. We weren't on the same account, so that's the only explanation I can think of. Everything on the screen seemed correct (though I don't remember seeing any names, come to think of it). The LAF employee had circled my monthly fee on the printout, so that's all I'd looked at until just now.

What do I do? Thanks to LAF screwing up and having me sign someone else's contract and giving me a (formerly working) card, the window to get this most easily cleared up might have closed.

Anyone in a similar situation? Any tips?

Regarding LA FITNESS - SIGNATURE CLUB

If you read the supposed resolution to our fight back in DEC 2011....There was this bit:

*Except for New York clubs (unless you enrolled in NY) and clubs designated now or in the future as Signature and Athletic clubs.

So, the hid a nice bit of bait and switch in a sentence that appeared to be referring to New York residents.

....Or in the future designated as Signature Clubs.

I too just learned that my 1985 Holiday Spa/Bally Premiere National Affiliate membership will not give access to the new Woodland Hills LA Fitness (Signature). Also, a co-worker mentioned they made the Northridge, CA LA Fitness a Signature.

Amazing how corporations these days always get their way. Have a nice bit of PR and fanfare one day...6 months later when the dust settles, change clubs to SIGNATURE and there you go...Problem solved.

wow this is corporate freaky. i am in early stages of run around/b.s.live in pembroke pines fl, premier plus "lifetime" member since 1989;rockville cntr, ny. what's my next move? ballyssuit.com or florida A.G.? ron b

I have been a Bally's member since 1988. I purchased an olympic gold membership. I have never missed paying my annual dues of $84 dollars. LA fitness called me. I was not home but they left a message saying they could help me with "renewing" my membership. I already have a membership and a contract. I have read all your posts. I believe that if we all file with small claims court it will cause them great difficulty. You will most likely need your original contracts. This is beyond unprofessional. I live on Long Island in New York and attended the Lake Grove facility. To the best of my knowledge it is unlawful to break the terms of a written contract. I think you can sue for up to $5,000.00 at small claims court at no charge to you. Perhaps if enough people file they will combine the cases. I would be careful about signing anything. There only out is to declare bankrupsy. Currently, all of our contracts should be legal and binding. At the very least I would like to get back some of my money since I have not gone to the gym in many years. I just find what they are doing to be an outrage. Our only chance is to maintain solidarity and unity. When you start combining all of our contracts the amount of liability will become staggering to them and they will probably look to make some kind of agreement. Just my two cents for what it's worth. Thank You
Tim

Anyone have updated information? I have a Bally Premier Plus membership. It was converted into a Bally Sports Club. I havent been to a Ballys in years but maintain my annual dues hoping there would be an opportunity for one in the future. Then I found out about LA Fitness. Another gym close by was purchased by LA Fitness. What do I need to do to attend this gym? Or, is there a class-action suit against them? Anyone with any info will be helpful. fbadala@yahoo.com Greatly appreciated...

I(Ballys member) called one of LA's gyms, and I was told that I can use LA Fitness gyms anywhere in the nation like like old Ballys membership guidelines. This announcement was published on their website last year. Wish the staff at the gym told us. They didn't raise my membership fee... Hope it stays.