Gym Closed, Members Want Their Money

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Posted May 3, 2013 12:49 pm by

Gym Closed, Members Want Their Money A Palm Desert gym is closed.

Hundreds of customers are out the money they paid for their memberships.
And it turns out, this isn’t the first time this has happened at this gym.
Several viewers asked us to investigate, including Joe from Palm Desert who wrote, “I showed up to the gym…to discover that the gym was closing.  Owners were nowhere to be found.  I would be interested to know how many members have lost money and now have to find a new gym.”
Chains bar the doors, and no trespassing signs forbid entrance, leaving gym members wondering what happened?
Gym member, Joe Pradetto, heard about it from a friend.
“Hey Joe, did you hear the gym’s closing, I said you’re joking with me, there’s no way.”
This isn’t the first time Joe’s lost money there.
“Different owners, so I guess I was robbed by two different organizations,” said Joe.
In Fall 2012, Athletics Inc. purchased the business from Palm Desert Athletic Club.
“I came in to work out one day and they told me oh you’re no longer a member here, and forced me to sign up for another year, they weren’t going to honor my previous contract because I couldn’t find the receipt,” said Joe.
He still has nine months left on the new contract, now Joe wants to know, where’s my money?
“It doesn’t equate to a lot of money, 200 dollars, but I still feel like I’m owed that two hundred dollars.”
We asked Athletic Inc’s attorney, Daniel Martorella if people are going to get their money back?
Martorella said, “Absolutely, and the process that people can apply for their reimbursements is as follows:”
Martorella says to email or call him with your name, address, proof of membership, and if it was a yearly or monthly contract.
His contact information is DanielMartorella@aol.com or call 760-776-6666.
“I’m hoping we can process this within 30 to 60 days,” said Martorella.
But why is the gym closed?
“Recently we found out that the building is in foreclosure, and we also found out that the fire department has declared the sprinkler system to not be per code,” said Martorella.
But the attorney for the previous owner Palm Desert Athletic Club, Renell Burch, says if the new owners had abided by their agreement and made payments, this would have been a good deal for everyone.
Burch says the new owners agreed to take all memberships as well.
But Athletic Inc’s attorney says, “One of the things they were to transfer were all the contracts, computer information, we got nothing. So as people were walking in the door the first day that we took over the gym, we didn’t even know who they were.”
Roy Triplett lost his gym membership back in December, but those circumstances are a little different.
“Bartering is the oldest form of commerce there is, so it’s a legitimate form of payment, just like cash or check or anything else,” said Roy.
Roy’s air conditioning company did repairs for the previous owner in April 2012.
“I had three guys working over there for three days, and the bill probably would have been somewhere around five or six thousand dollars, but I bartered with him for a lesser amount for my membership,” said Roy.
But that barter was not recognized when the club changed hands.
“If I had sold my business to someone, I would want to make sure that they were going to honor any previous work that was done,” said Roy.
So what do you need to know if you find yourself in this situation?
A local attorney not involved in the case says you do have a case.
“If you’re member of a gym and you’ve entered into a contract and suddenly you’ve paid out a year or two in advance, and now your membership is no longer valid, that’s a breach of a contract,” said Robert Gilliland Jr. with Guralnik and Gilliland, LLP.
And as far as Roy’s situation, where he bartered for membership, Gilliland says, “One option would be that there would be some type of unjust enrichment to the owner of the building itself, and the owner of the building may have some exposure given the fact they now have an air conditioning unit that they haven’t paid for.”
And Gilliland says people should be careful entering into gym memberships on a long term basis.
“If you’ve seen a club that’s changed ownership and membership on a revolving basis, then that should be a red flag to the consumer to steer clear of that club, or at least don’t pay out in advance on membership dues, keep it on a monthly basis.”
Behind the gym doors there is also a squash wall that gym members built and paid for.  Athletic Inc’s attorney told us he is working on getting that out for them, and as he said previously reimbursing members for the rest of their contracts.
“I’m not going to hold my breath, I know that there have been issues here for many years, that many gyms have lived here and they’ve all had financial issues,” said Joe.
Roy learned a lesson, “Never prepay for one thing, never get too far ahead of yourself.”
Roy has a new gym, but for Joe, he’s working out at home.
“I ended up buying my own equipment, and not the cheap bowflex, I got Olympic weightlifts and my neighbors are going to think I’m weird working out in my front backyard, but that’s my plan,” said Joe.
Athletics Inc. had as many as 1,000 members at the time they closed their doors.A Palm Desert gym is closed.

Hundreds of customers are out the money they paid for their memberships.
And it turns out, this isn’t the first time this has happened at this gym.
Several viewers asked us to investigate, including Joe from Palm Desert who wrote, “I showed up to the gym…to discover that the gym was closing.  Owners were nowhere to be found.  I would be interested to know how many members have lost money and now have to find a new gym.”
Chains bar the doors, and no trespassing signs forbid entrance, leaving gym members wondering what happened?
Gym member, Joe Pradetto, heard about it from a friend.
“Hey Joe, did you hear the gym’s closing, I said you’re joking with me, there’s no way.”
This isn’t the first time Joe’s lost money there.
“Different owners, so I guess I was robbed by two different organizations,” said Joe.
In Fall 2012, Athletics Inc. purchased the business from Palm Desert Athletic Club.
“I came in to work out one day and they told me oh you’re no longer a member here, and forced me to sign up for another year, they weren’t going to honor my previous contract because I couldn’t find the receipt,” said Joe.
He still has nine months left on the new contract, now Joe wants to know, where’s my money?
“It doesn’t equate to a lot of money, 200 dollars, but I still feel like I’m owed that two hundred dollars.”
We asked Athletic Inc’s attorney, Daniel Martorella if people are going to get their money back?
Martorella said, “Absolutely, and the process that people can apply for their reimbursements is as follows:”
Martorella says to email or call him with your name, address, proof of membership, and if it was a yearly or monthly contract.
His contact information is DanielMartorella@aol.com or call 760-776-6666.
“I’m hoping we can process this within 30 to 60 days,” said Martorella.
But why is the gym closed?
“Recently we found out that the building is in foreclosure, and we also found out that the fire department has declared the sprinkler system to not be per code,” said Martorella.
But the attorney for the previous owner Palm Desert Athletic Club, Renell Burch, says if the new owners had abided by their agreement and made payments, this would have been a good deal for everyone.
Burch says the new owners agreed to take all memberships as well.
But Athletic Inc’s attorney says, “One of the things they were to transfer were all the contracts, computer information, we got nothing. So as people were walking in the door the first day that we took over the gym, we didn’t even know who they were.”
Roy Triplett lost his gym membership back in December, but those circumstances are a little different.
“Bartering is the oldest form of commerce there is, so it’s a legitimate form of payment, just like cash or check or anything else,” said Roy.
Roy’s air conditioning company did repairs for the previous owner in April 2012.
“I had three guys working over there for three days, and the bill probably would have been somewhere around five or six thousand dollars, but I bartered with him for a lesser amount for my membership,” said Roy.
But that barter was not recognized when the club changed hands.
“If I had sold my business to someone, I would want to make sure that they were going to honor any previous work that was done,” said Roy.
So what do you need to know if you find yourself in this situation?
A local attorney not involved in the case says you do have a case.
“If you’re member of a gym and you’ve entered into a contract and suddenly you’ve paid out a year or two in advance, and now your membership is no longer valid, that’s a breach of a contract,” said Robert Gilliland Jr. with Guralnik and Gilliland, LLP.
And as far as Roy’s situation, where he bartered for membership, Gilliland says, “One option would be that there would be some type of unjust enrichment to the owner of the building itself, and the owner of the building may have some exposure given the fact they now have an air conditioning unit that they haven’t paid for.”
And Gilliland says people should be careful entering into gym memberships on a long term basis.
“If you’ve seen a club that’s changed ownership and membership on a revolving basis, then that should be a red flag to the consumer to steer clear of that club, or at least don’t pay out in advance on membership dues, keep it on a monthly basis.”
Behind the gym doors there is also a squash wall that gym members built and paid for.  Athletic Inc’s attorney told us he is working on getting that out for them, and as he said previously reimbursing members for the rest of their contracts.
“I’m not going to hold my breath, I know that there have been issues here for many years, that many gyms have lived here and they’ve all had financial issues,” said Joe.
Roy learned a lesson, “Never prepay for one thing, never get too far ahead of yourself.”
Roy has a new gym, but for Joe, he’s working out at home.
“I ended up buying my own equipment, and not the cheap bowflex, I got Olympic weightlifts and my neighbors are going to think I’m weird working out in my front backyard, but that’s my plan,” said Joe.
Athletics Inc. had as many as 1,000 members at the time they closed their doors.A Palm Desert gym is closed.

Hundreds of customers are out the money they paid for their memberships.
And it turns out, this isn’t the first time this has happened at this gym.
Several viewers asked us to investigate, including Joe from Palm Desert who wrote, “I showed up to the gym…to discover that the gym was closing.  Owners were nowhere to be found.  I would be interested to know how many members have lost money and now have to find a new gym.”
Chains bar the doors, and no trespassing signs forbid entrance, leaving gym members wondering what happened?
Gym member, Joe Pradetto, heard about it from a friend.
“Hey Joe, did you hear the gym’s closing, I said you’re joking with me, there’s no way.”
This isn’t the first time Joe’s lost money there.
“Different owners, so I guess I was robbed by two different organizations,” said Joe.
In Fall 2012, Athletics Inc. purchased the business from Palm Desert Athletic Club.
“I came in to work out one day and they told me oh you’re no longer a member here, and forced me to sign up for another year, they weren’t going to honor my previous contract because I couldn’t find the receipt,” said Joe.
He still has nine months left on the new contract, now Joe wants to know, where’s my money?
“It doesn’t equate to a lot of money, 200 dollars, but I still feel like I’m owed that two hundred dollars.”
We asked Athletic Inc’s attorney, Daniel Martorella if people are going to get their money back?
Martorella said, “Absolutely, and the process that people can apply for their reimbursements is as follows:”
Martorella says to email or call him with your name, address, proof of membership, and if it was a yearly or monthly contract.
His contact information is DanielMartorella@aol.com or call 760-776-6666.
“I’m hoping we can process this within 30 to 60 days,” said Martorella.
But why is the gym closed?
“Recently we found out that the building is in foreclosure, and we also found out that the fire department has declared the sprinkler system to not be per code,” said Martorella.
But the attorney for the previous owner Palm Desert Athletic Club, Renell Burch, says if the new owners had abided by their agreement and made payments, this would have been a good deal for everyone.
Burch says the new owners agreed to take all memberships as well.
But Athletic Inc’s attorney says, “One of the things they were to transfer were all the contracts, computer information, we got nothing. So as people were walking in the door the first day that we took over the gym, we didn’t even know who they were.”
Roy Triplett lost his gym membership back in December, but those circumstances are a little different.
“Bartering is the oldest form of commerce there is, so it’s a legitimate form of payment, just like cash or check or anything else,” said Roy.
Roy’s air conditioning company did repairs for the previous owner in April 2012.
“I had three guys working over there for three days, and the bill probably would have been somewhere around five or six thousand dollars, but I bartered with him for a lesser amount for my membership,” said Roy.
But that barter was not recognized when the club changed hands.
“If I had sold my business to someone, I would want to make sure that they were going to honor any previous work that was done,” said Roy.
So what do you need to know if you find yourself in this situation?
A local attorney not involved in the case says you do have a case.
“If you’re member of a gym and you’ve entered into a contract and suddenly you’ve paid out a year or two in advance, and now your membership is no longer valid, that’s a breach of a contract,” said Robert Gilliland Jr. with Guralnik and Gilliland, LLP.
And as far as Roy’s situation, where he bartered for membership, Gilliland says, “One option would be that there would be some type of unjust enrichment to the owner of the building itself, and the owner of the building may have some exposure given the fact they now have an air conditioning unit that they haven’t paid for.”
And Gilliland says people should be careful entering into gym memberships on a long term basis.
“If you’ve seen a club that’s changed ownership and membership on a revolving basis, then that should be a red flag to the consumer to steer clear of that club, or at least don’t pay out in advance on membership dues, keep it on a monthly basis.”
Behind the gym doors there is also a squash wall that gym members built and paid for.  Athletic Inc’s attorney told us he is working on getting that out for them, and as he said previously reimbursing members for the rest of their contracts.
“I’m not going to hold my breath, I know that there have been issues here for many years, that many gyms have lived here and they’ve all had financial issues,” said Joe.
Roy learned a lesson, “Never prepay for one thing, never get too far ahead of yourself.”
Roy has a new gym, but for Joe, he’s working out at home.
“I ended up buying my own equipment, and not the cheap bowflex, I got Olympic weightlifts and my neighbors are going to think I’m weird working out in my front backyard, but that’s my plan,” said Joe.
Athletics Inc. had as many as 1,000 members at the time they closed their doors.A Palm Desert gym is closed.

Hundreds of customers are out the money they paid for their memberships.
And it turns out, this isn’t the first time this has happened at this gym.
Several viewers asked us to investigate, including Joe from Palm Desert who wrote, “I showed up to the gym…to discover that the gym was closing.  Owners were nowhere to be found.  I would be interested to know how many members have lost money and now have to find a new gym.”
Chains bar the doors, and no trespassing signs forbid entrance, leaving gym members wondering what happened?
Gym member, Joe Pradetto, heard about it from a friend.
“Hey Joe, did you hear the gym’s closing, I said you’re joking with me, there’s no way.”
This isn’t the first time Joe’s lost money there.
“Different owners, so I guess I was robbed by two different organizations,” said Joe.
In Fall 2012, Athletics Inc. purchased the business from Palm Desert Athletic Club.
“I came in to work out one day and they told me oh you’re no longer a member here, and forced me to sign up for another year, they weren’t going to honor my previous contract because I couldn’t find the receipt,” said Joe.
He still has nine months left on the new contract, now Joe wants to know, where’s my money?
“It doesn’t equate to a lot of money, 200 dollars, but I still feel like I’m owed that two hundred dollars.”
We asked Athletic Inc’s attorney, Daniel Martorella if people are going to get their money back?
Martorella said, “Absolutely, and the process that people can apply for their reimbursements is as follows:”
Martorella says to email or call him with your name, address, proof of membership, and if it was a yearly or monthly contract.
His contact information is DanielMartorella@aol.com or call 760-776-6666.
“I’m hoping we can process this within 30 to 60 days,” said Martorella.
But why is the gym closed?
“Recently we found out that the building is in foreclosure, and we also found out that the fire department has declared the sprinkler system to not be per code,” said Martorella.
But the attorney for the previous owner Palm Desert Athletic Club, Renell Burch, says if the new owners had abided by their agreement and made payments, this would have been a good deal for everyone.
Burch says the new owners agreed to take all memberships as well.
But Athletic Inc’s attorney says, “One of the things they were to transfer were all the contracts, computer information, we got nothing. So as people were walking in the door the first day that we took over the gym, we didn’t even know who they were.”
Roy Triplett lost his gym membership back in December, but those circumstances are a little different.
“Bartering is the oldest form of commerce there is, so it’s a legitimate form of payment, just like cash or check or anything else,” said Roy.
Roy’s air conditioning company did repairs for the previous owner in April 2012.
“I had three guys working over there for three days, and the bill probably would have been somewhere around five or six thousand dollars, but I bartered with him for a lesser amount for my membership,” said Roy.
But that barter was not recognized when the club changed hands.
“If I had sold my business to someone, I would want to make sure that they were going to honor any previous work that was done,” said Roy.
So what do you need to know if you find yourself in this situation?
A local attorney not involved in the case says you do have a case.
“If you’re member of a gym and you’ve entered into a contract and suddenly you’ve paid out a year or two in advance, and now your membership is no longer valid, that’s a breach of a contract,” said Robert Gilliland Jr. with Guralnik and Gilliland, LLP.
And as far as Roy’s situation, where he bartered for membership, Gilliland says, “One option would be that there would be some type of unjust enrichment to the owner of the building itself, and the owner of the building may have some exposure given the fact they now have an air conditioning unit that they haven’t paid for.”
And Gilliland says people should be careful entering into gym memberships on a long term basis.
“If you’ve seen a club that’s changed ownership and membership on a revolving basis, then that should be a red flag to the consumer to steer clear of that club, or at least don’t pay out in advance on membership dues, keep it on a monthly basis.”
Behind the gym doors there is also a squash wall that gym members built and paid for.  Athletic Inc’s attorney told us he is working on getting that out for them, and as he said previously reimbursing members for the rest of their contracts.
“I’m not going to hold my breath, I know that there have been issues here for many years, that many gyms have lived here and they’ve all had financial issues,” said Joe.
Roy learned a lesson, “Never prepay for one thing, never get too far ahead of yourself.”
Roy has a new gym, but for Joe, he’s working out at home.
“I ended up buying my own equipment, and not the cheap bowflex, I got Olympic weightlifts and my neighbors are going to think I’m weird working out in my front backyard, but that’s my plan,” said Joe.
Athletics Inc. had as many as 1,000 members at the time they closed their doors.A Palm Desert gym is closed.

Hundreds of customers are out the money they paid for their memberships.
And it turns out, this isn’t the first time this has happened at this gym.
Several viewers asked us to investigate, including Joe from Palm Desert who wrote, “I showed up to the gym…to discover that the gym was closing.  Owners were nowhere to be found.  I would be interested to know how many members have lost money and now have to find a new gym.”
Chains bar the doors, and no trespassing signs forbid entrance, leaving gym members wondering what happened?
Gym member, Joe Pradetto, heard about it from a friend.
“Hey Joe, did you hear the gym’s closing, I said you’re joking with me, there’s no way.”
This isn’t the first time Joe’s lost money there.
“Different owners, so I guess I was robbed by two different organizations,” said Joe.
In Fall 2012, Athletics Inc. purchased the business from Palm Desert Athletic Club.
“I came in to work out one day and they told me oh you’re no longer a member here, and forced me to sign up for another year, they weren’t going to honor my previous contract because I couldn’t find the receipt,” said Joe.
He still has nine months left on the new contract, now Joe wants to know, where’s my money?
“It doesn’t equate to a lot of money, 200 dollars, but I still feel like I’m owed that two hundred dollars.”
We asked Athletic Inc’s attorney, Daniel Martorella if people are going to get their money back?
Martorella said, “Absolutely, and the process that people can apply for their reimbursements is as follows:”
Martorella says to email or call him with your name, address, proof of membership, and if it was a yearly or monthly contract.
His contact information is DanielMartorella@aol.com or call 760-776-6666.
“I’m hoping we can process this within 30 to 60 days,” said Martorella.
But why is the gym closed?
“Recently we found out that the building is in foreclosure, and we also found out that the fire department has declared the sprinkler system to not be per code,” said Martorella.
But the attorney for the previous owner Palm Desert Athletic Club, Renell Burch, says if the new owners had abided by their agreement and made payments, this would have been a good deal for everyone.
Burch says the new owners agreed to take all memberships as well.
But Athletic Inc’s attorney says, “One of the things they were to transfer were all the contracts, computer information, we got nothing. So as people were walking in the door the first day that we took over the gym, we didn’t even know who they were.”
Roy Triplett lost his gym membership back in December, but those circumstances are a little different.
“Bartering is the oldest form of commerce there is, so it’s a legitimate form of payment, just like cash or check or anything else,” said Roy.
Roy’s air conditioning company did repairs for the previous owner in April 2012.
“I had three guys working over there for three days, and the bill probably would have been somewhere around five or six thousand dollars, but I bartered with him for a lesser amount for my membership,” said Roy.
But that barter was not recognized when the club changed hands.
“If I had sold my business to someone, I would want to make sure that they were going to honor any previous work that was done,” said Roy.
So what do you need to know if you find yourself in this situation?
A local attorney not involved in the case says you do have a case.
“If you’re member of a gym and you’ve entered into a contract and suddenly you’ve paid out a year or two in advance, and now your membership is no longer valid, that’s a breach of a contract,” said Robert Gilliland Jr. with Guralnik and Gilliland, LLP.
And as far as Roy’s situation, where he bartered for membership, Gilliland says, “One option would be that there would be some type of unjust enrichment to the owner of the building itself, and the owner of the building may have some exposure given the fact they now have an air conditioning unit that they haven’t paid for.”
And Gilliland says people should be careful entering into gym memberships on a long term basis.
“If you’ve seen a club that’s changed ownership and membership on a revolving basis, then that should be a red flag to the consumer to steer clear of that club, or at least don’t pay out in advance on membership dues, keep it on a monthly basis.”
Behind the gym doors there is also a squash wall that gym members built and paid for.  Athletic Inc’s attorney told us he is working on getting that out for them, and as he said previously reimbursing members for the rest of their contracts.
“I’m not going to hold my breath, I know that there have been issues here for many years, that many gyms have lived here and they’ve all had financial issues,” said Joe.
Roy learned a lesson, “Never prepay for one thing, never get too far ahead of yourself.”
Roy has a new gym, but for Joe, he’s working out at home.
“I ended up buying my own equipment, and not the cheap bowflex, I got Olympic weightlifts and my neighbors are going to think I’m weird working out in my front backyard, but that’s my plan,” said Joe.
Athletics Inc. had as many as 1,000 members at the time they closed their doors.

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