Consumer complaint received 2026-01-13 00:00:00
Product: Debt collection — Other debt
Issue: Attempts to collect debt not owed — Debt is not yours
Company: Aldous & Associates, PLLC
State: TN

Complaint narrative:
In XX/XX/XXXX I signed a month-to-month gym membership with XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, TN . The membership was billed and managed by XXXX XXXX XXXX, and I was told I could use multiple locations, including the XXXX XXXX, TN XXXX. 

In XX/XX/XXXX I had a health-related incident involving an insect bite in the locker room at the XXXX XXXX location. After that I no longer felt comfortable using their facilities and decided to cancel my membership. I tried several times to contact the gym and XXXX XXXX XXXX to report what happened and to cancel, but only received automated responses and voicemail messages asking me to update my billing information. 

Because I was not getting help, I sent a written cancellation notice by mail in late XX/XX/XXXX. In that letter I clearly identified my membership as being with XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX and requested that my membership be cancelled and my billing authorization revoked. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX XXXX XXXX emailed me back in response to that letter and stated in writing that my membership has been cancelled and that there are no further payments due. The email referenced a different club location in the subject line, but it was sent as a reply to my cancellation letter and did not say anything about any other active account or balance. 

After that email I continued to receive automated voicemail messages telling me to update my billing information. On XX/XX/XXXX, I replied to the same email chain and asked them to remove me from their system and stop contacting me. On XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX XXXX XXXX again replied in writing confirming that my account had been placed as do not contact, that my membership had been cancelled, and that there were no further payments due. At no point did they tell me that there was still an open balance or a separate active account. 

Several months later, at the end of XXXX and beginning of XXXX, I received collection notices from Aldous & Associates, a debt collection law firm, claiming I owed {$240.00} for past-due dues and fees related to my XXXX XXXX membership. Their letter states that the original creditor sent my file to them because of a breach of the agreement and lists my home club as XXXX XXXX. This was the first time I was ever told that any amount was still owed after the written confirmations from XXXX XXXX XXXX that my membership was cancelled with no further payments due. 

Within 30 days I disputed the debt in writing and requested validation, including an itemized statement of charges, a copy of my membership agreement, and an explanation of how any balance could still be owed after XXXX XXXX XXXX twice told me in writing that my membership was cancelled with a XXXX balance. Aldous & Associates mailed me a copy of the agreement and an invoice list, but they did not explain or reconcile this with the written no further payments due confirmations from XXXX XXXX XXXX. Their letter also states that, per my request, they will stop contacting me, but it still shows the full balance as due and warns that they report certain accounts to credit bureaus. 

I believe this is an attempt to collect a debt that is not owed, or at minimum an amount that has not been properly validated, because : XXXX XXXX XXXX twice confirmed in writing that my membership was cancelled and that no further payments were due. 

Both of those confirmations were sent directly in response to my written cancellation request that clearly referenced the XXXX XXXX membership. If there truly were multiple accounts or any remaining balance, that would have been the appropriate time to notify me. 

The amount now being collected includes monthly dues and fees that appear to have accrued after my cancellation request and after XXXX XXXX told me I owed nothing further. 

I have acted in good faith, followed the cancellation instructions to the best of my ability, and provided all of my documentation to the collector. I am very concerned that this disputed gym debt could be reported on my credit despite the conflicting written information from the original billing company.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation