Consumer complaint received 2018-10-12
Company: Jim Bottin Enterprises, Inc
State: MA
Product: Debt collection
Sub-product: Other debt
Issue: Took or threatened to take negative or legal action
Sub-issue: Threatened or suggested your credit would be damaged

Complaint:
I joined XXXX XXXX XXXX ( XXXX, XXXX XXXX XXXX ) gym with a platinum service ( for {$20.00} + {$1.00} joining fee ) on XX/XX/XXXX with the only purpose of taking classes there. I attended 2 times/week in only 2 weeks and a half, the service provided in this short period of time ( which my have been 6-8 classes in total ) left a lot to think. I cancelled my membership 3 weeks after I joined because I was unsatisfied with the services. The equipment is old and dirty, but the worst part are the instructors that offer classes with no knowledge and lack of care of the students to maintain proper form to avoid injuries. I had been a member for over 6 years in a different gym ( XXXX ) where instructors had the knowledge and care for students. My workplace changed and thus I was trying to find a gym in a convenient location near my workplace. So, the only reason I joined XXXX was not because of the cheap fee price but because it was the nearest gym to my workplace, without knowing how bad XXXX is. Three weeks after I joined I was charged {$49.00} for an annual fee, a fee that was not discussed with me when I joined, when I joined they said it was a {$1.00} as joining fee ( find attached " bank statement '' with charges and dates as well as " emails for cancellation '' ). Obviously, they made me sign an agreement which I did not read given that I was not given the time to read and I naively thought everything I discussed with the person was there. Since my bank changed my credit card at the time the " cancellation fee '' ( {$49.00} ) was rejected and not made. Thus, I ended up owing {$49.00} to XXXX XXXX somehow. However, just recently I got by mail a note saying that I owe {$130.00} to a debt collector which I believed the name is XXXX XXXX XXXX. This is absurd and ridiculous for the time and service provided. This XXXX gym company looks like a scam in the way they handle everything. I have received two times in the following months after my cancellation text-messages and emails from the gym ( thats using my information ) to make an offer to join back and theyll cancel my debt. This only supports my thoughts that it is a scam because Im serious when I left and about the reasons why I left and I dont want to come back and if the gym were a serious place it would be trying to figure out why I left after 3 weeks of joining and trying to hear my feedback, which is not the case. 
I emailed them before submitting this complaint and things got even worse ( find attached " email '' ). I basically explained to them what I'm explaining here. They sent emails with different answers, saying that my debt was in collections already and they couldn't make anything. However one woman XXXX from XXXX XXXX called me on XX/XX/XXXX saying that being in collections is bad for my credit and she made an " offer '' to remove me from collections paying only {$93.00}, only that time and by phone. I asked several times if this was the only solution and that I did not want to pay this huge amount for the terrible service I got. After her insistence I gave to her two credit cards information to split in two the fee and the amount was charged ( I'm not attaching that statements because I haven't gotten it ). The day after I paid this, I get an email saying that for {$20.00} I could have joined back and then gotten my cancellation. It is very confusing, I emailed them back today XX/XX/XXXX and haven't gotten their answer. I'm worried that now I'm still in collections and the {$93.00} went to some other place instead to clear my " debt ''. Also, I'm very upset that I ended up paying more than what they later offered to solve this issue because clearly depending which person replied the email I got different answers from XXXX XXXX. In the end I want my money back, everything. I think they should be very careful for doing this type of business, it all looks sketchy.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation