Peak Fitness Knighdale Closed!
By Brad Carroll on May 7th, 2009As many of you may know, I blogged about some “interesting” news yesterday about Peak Fitness. I knew they were closing but chose not to disclose the information due to the fact that no one was willing to go on the record with the information. Well today it’s confirmed. Peak Fitness Knightdale has closed it’s doors. It’s quite interesting given the fact that Peak’s recent settlement with the Attorney General stipulates that Peak Fitness is required to
Give advance notice to gym members and the Attorney General’s Office when a health club will be closed or when members will be transferred to another location.
Hmm, I was at the Knightdale location of Peak Fitness yesterday and asked the manager specifically if the place was closing down. She even contacted her general manager and was told that there was no word on any closing. Hmm.
So apparently last night they emptied out the entire place! That’s right the place is now empty!
So What About Peak Fitness Members?
Apparently you can still work out at other Peak Fitness locations. Planet Fitness is also honoring Peak Memberships. However, it’s important to note that Planet Fitness doesn’t have child care or basketball courts (a big reason why so many chose to work out at Peak Fitness Knightdale.
I’ll be contacting the Attorney General today for some additional insight. If you are a member of the Peak Fitness leave a comment below or message me on twitter.
I just signed up for a year membership at Planet Fitness, and they are waving the annual fee of $39 for the Peak members who want to transfer, pretty good deal. As far as canceling with Peak, I called and was immediatly hung up on when I said I wanted to cancel. I called back and was told to email customer service to cancel so they could have it in writing. I did this, and then recieved another email stating I then needed to either fax (two different fax numbers) or write a request and mail it in to actually cancel. I faxed both numbers and we’ll see what happens
i’ve given planet a chance and I am pleased as well, although i was a little scared because when i began going, the treadmills were always taken and i had to wait several minutes for a free one. however, i found a very nice time to go in the evening when it is down time and have enjoyed it. i am still getting use to the closeness to my neighbor gym-goer. I was a little taken aback a few times when the girl/boy at the desk says, “have you checked in yet?” i’d flash my peak card, and i’d get “oh, you’re from peak.” then, i was pointed towards the sign-in book. yesterday, i officially, transferred my membership to the 10 and for the price, you cannot beat it. I was getting robbed by Peak for 29.99 per month per membership(2) and now i feel so much better. if i want to skip out on a workout, i don’t feel so badly because i know i’m not wasting money. i’m glad Planet was a great option in the town of Knightdale for those who committed on January 1 to take better care of their bodies.
Just for anyone wondering, I contact the DOJ to see if there has been any progress with Peak.
They replied that they have contacted Peak’s attorney, and he has yet to contact them back.
This whole thing is just a mess.
i saw on the news this morning that the attorney general has placed a restraining order on peak forbidding them from accepting pre-paid memberships because if they go out of business, they are not bonded to be able to provide refunds. no hope for those of us who were drafted monthly and lost 1/12 months of dues.
Craziest thing happened today, I called Peak to check up on the status of my cancellation (which I submitted in writing 3 different ways nearly 2 weeks ago) and was hung up on… again
VICTORY! I pre-payed for a 2 year gym membership back in October of last year. When the gym closed, I e-mailed Peak, the Attorney General, and my credit card company. On Friday, I received a check for the prorated remainder of what I was owed from my membership.
IT CAN BE DONE!
Contacted Peak again today after being hung up on twice Friday and finally got to speak to someone. They asked when I sent my cancellation request and I told them about 2 weeks ago. The woman I spoke with said that it hadn’t been touched and she said she would cancel it right now and send me the confirmation to my email and to expect my refund within 30 days, so here’s to wishful thinking!
CJ- I went to the Planet Fitness yesterdeay and was told that you are no longer honoring Peak Fitness pre-paid members. What is the the deal?
Just to update everyone, I received my refund of 265 out of 424 paid for a 2 yr contract. They just closed Downtown Peak and more to come. It was just a matter of time that things ended like this. I have been a member of Lifestyle Family Fitness since Peak closed and I have to say, I am completely satisfied with the equipment, the business and the staff. Good luck all!
Niv, glad you got your money back… My wife and I have been a member of Lifestyle Family Fitness since May 9th we love it too.
FYI!
http://triangle.bizjournals.com/triangle/stories/2009/07/13/daily2.html?ed=2009-07-13&ana=e_du_pap
Well, I am getting the complete run around by Peak and ABC Financial! I requested my refund, filed a complaint with the Dept. of Justice, emailed Peak and called, emailed and called Billie Rouse and still no refund.
I was told at the end of June that my refund was coming and if I hadn’t received it by July 14th to call back. When I called back they said I was not eligible for a refund since they are no longer handling Peak’s claims and that I should be talking to Planet Fitness because they now have control of the memberships…When I called PF, they deny having the memberships since Peak never paid them….
It’s a BIG MESS. I am debating my options…I plan to call Billie Rouse tomorrow and if that doesn’t work, maybe “Five on your Side” or “2 Wants to Know” will be options…Any suggestions?
I signed up with Peak at Knighdale before they opened. Started working out in Clayton and signed up with a personal trainer there, before transfering back to Knightdale when they opened. I have been trying to cancel my gym membership and professional fitness contract since the K’dale gym closed. They are still hitting my cards for monthly payments. I am getting the run around by ABC*KX Fitness – they can’t find my contract. No contract but they are stealing my money from my account.
Pat contact the NC Attorney General office and file a complaint. The individual that deals with gym closings is name Billie and her number is 919-716-6016.
I filed a complaint because my membership started the month the gym closed down and I paid in advance for 2 full years and that was over $200 dollars. So I cancelled my account at the Knightdale Peak on May 13th and I was alerted by Peak by email that my refund will be sent out in 30 days, I call them at the 30 day mark and they told me it will be sent after 30 days.
After not receiving anything in two after the 30 day mark I called back on a Wednesday and they told me that I’m on the urgent list and they will send my check out on Monday and of course I never received anything, and that was in mid June. So I continue to try and call back but I was constantly sent to voice mail when my call was next in line to speak to someone and then when I finally go to speak to a person and told them I was calling to discuss my refund they said I had to talk to the refund department and sent me to a voicemail and I left 3 messages and I did not get a call back.
I contacted the Attorney’s General office recently to get the status of my file and I was alerted that peak fitness (it’s in lower case for a reason) is in bankruptcy and they will not be sending me a refund while they are going through the bankruptcy and there was nothing I could do at this point but sit on my hands. They did say they requested the bond from Peak and when they get that money (in my opinion if they get it) they will disperse a prorated refund to the members that should get one. Since my membership started in May and the gym closed in May I’m hoping that if there is such a thing as justice in this country I will get most of my money back. But the individual I talked to did ask if I paid with a credit card, I said yes, and they asked was it Visa or MasterCard and I said it was a Discover. They told me, “Yeah you will have to wait”, so I’m pretty frustrated at this point that this so called company can take my money from my account instantaneously and when I ask for a refund due to cancellation it takes at least 30 days (as they stated initially) that now has turned into almost 90 days.
Good luck Pat and as I said if I were you I would contact the NC Attorney General’s office so they will have this on file for you.
Pat & Cassie – Unfortunately, anyone who has not received a refund by now will not get one . . . at least not anytime in the near future. Fitness Management Group, Inc. (owner of Peak Fitness Knightdale) filed for bankruptcy protection on July 10th, which stopped all refunds.
http://www.peakfitnessclubs.com/fileClaim.html
I signed a prepaid 2-year contract with Peak Fitness Knightdale in Nov. 2008 (5 1/2 months before they closed) & have been trying to get a refund since the beginning of June. When Peak closed in May, I got the same letter everyone else did saying that my membership had been transferred to Planet Fitness. Upon going to Planet Fitness on June 2nd to work out and learning that I had no membership, I immediately called Peak and requested a refund of my prepaid contract. I was initially told by Peak, just like many of you, that I would have to deal with Planet Fitness because my membership had been transferred. The customer service rep at Peak refused to talk to me, even stating that she could not locate my file because all of my information had been transferred. On June 18th, I got a letter from the management at Planet Fitness confirming that I had no membership & filed a complaint with the Consumer Protection Dept at the AG’s Office. After Peak received my complaint, they finally acknowledged that the negotiations with Planet Fitness fell through and told me on June 25th that my refund request had been processed and to expect a refund within 30 days. Of course, after 30 days had passed, I had no refund. So I called Peak and was told that all refunds stopped being processed on July 10th when Peak filed for bankruptcy, which obviously meant that the customer service rep who told me that my refund was processed on June 25th was lying.
Needless to say, I am upset that Peak has broken the law, defrauded numerous citizens of Wake County and is apparently getting away with it, at least for now.
I would just advise anyone who has been affected by this mess to take all possible steps to protect your interests by filing a complaint with the Consumer Protection Department of the NC Attorney General’s Office AND filing a complaint as a CREDITOR with the bankruptcy court. Detailed instructions on how to do both are located on the AG’s website at:
http://www.ncdoj.gov/Consumer/Health/Health-Club-Closings/Peak-Fitness-Members.aspx
Good luck to you guys!