Let me tell you a little story about Work Out World (WOW).

I joined the gym in December of 2004. Just like a cell phone, they required a two-year contract. No big deal, I was planning on going. And I did. For the first year and a few months… Well, I realized at the beginning of this year that I hadn’t gone since April or so of 2006, so I decided to cancel. I would get an elliptical machine for home use and drop the gym. Should be pretty easy, I figured.

Let me tell you, WOW does everything they can to RIP YOU OFF. First of all, you pay for your first and LAST months up front. Ok, that doesn’t sound too bad. I can live with that. That’s on top of the one-time fee for joining — they were asking for $500, but I talked them down to $100. Again, sweet. And to be honest, I DID enjoy the facilities while I was going. I just never thought it would be such a HUGE issue to cancel.

1) March 23rd, I decided to cancel. So I stopped by the gym. They had me sign a “Request For Membership Cancellation” waiver. On said paper was a phone number for me to call, for the billing company they use. They explain to me that if I cancel before the end of the month, I will still be able to go to the gym until the end of April, due to paying for the first and last month up front. So no, I wasn’t paying for the last month I wanted to attend up front, I was paying for ONE MONTH BEYOND THAT. I tried to call the billing company, but it was closed, as it was Friday evening.

2) March 24th, I call up the billing company. A nice lady informs me that WOW requires a written request for cancellation. Fortunately, email is an acceptable form of written communication. So, I write an email to the address that the billing lady gave me requesting a cancellation. She said that it would be processed in 24-48 hours. So, Monday or Tuesday, I’m thinking. Which means it will be processed before the beginning of April, so I won’t get charged for yet another month.

3) I never heard back from the billing company, but I didn’t think twice about it. Today (April 2), the charge for WOW showed up in my bank account. Not cool. So, I call up the billing company again, and they tell me they NEVER GOT THE EMAIL I SENT. Uh, huh. Sure. It just disappeared. Not only that, but they tell me that WOW requires a 30 DAY WRITTEN NOTICE.

Let’s see. Where am I. I just paid for April. Which I can’t fight, because a 30 day notice was apparently part of the agreement I signed when I joined, and March 23 to April 2 is well within that time period. Oh well, the $20 monthly fee won’t kill me. It’s the whole idea behind it. It’s the fact that WOW is dragging every cent out of me they can. Super shady, if you ask me.

Not only that, but because the billing company apparently didn’t get my first email, it’s now April 2 when I’m sending it again. Does that mean I’ll get charged at the beginning of May, as it’s within 30 days?? As it is, now I’ll have my membership until the END of May, due to paying for the LAST month up front.

Like I said, a few years from now and I won’t care about the money. It’s the shady business that WOW is pulling on its member. A two year contract, now a complete pain to cancel.

I’m not saying you shouldn’t join. They have good equipment. I’m just warning you up front that they make it as painful as they possibly can for you to cancel, taking you to the bank on your way out.

Now you know.