pay be cheque only as proof of payment..........
Several hundred customers of GoodLife Fitness are learning they may have been the victims of fraud after the memberships they paid for were never legitimately registered with the company.
Francesco Campo told CityNews he first signed up with GoodLife Fitness in 2016, handing over $435 in cash to Leanna Habil, who was general manager at the Richmond Hill facility at the time. When he went to renew his membership in January, he was told the cost would be only $390 this time around. Three weeks later, Campo was denied access to the fitness centre after being told there was no record of his paid membership.
Campo was then informed that Habil was no longer with the company.
It appears Campo was not the only one affected by the alleged scam.
A GoodLife spokeswoman told CityNews approximately 275 members were duped out of almost $125,000. The issue came to light after the company identified what it calls “irregular banking activity” for one of its members.
“We are very sorry for their experience and are doing all that we can to make this situation right for them,” Tracy Matthews, executive director of membership services said in an email.
Matthews said the company is planning to honour the memberships that were sold by Habil.
She added GoodLife has launched an internal investigation and is taking “swift and appropriate action” against Habil.
In a telephone interview with CityNews, Habil denied the allegations, saying the memberships were pre-approved by other managers at GoodLife. She said she has receipts of all the pre-payments made to her.
GoodLife disputes those claims, saying it has proof that Habil received money from members which was never forwarded to the company.
The Ministry of Government and Consumer Services said anyone with any questions can call Consumer Protection Ontario at 1-800-889-9768 or email consumer@ontario.ca.
Under Ontario’s Consumer Protection Act, gym members who have to pay in advance and the total payment obligation exceeds $50, have the right to:
Almost 300 customers allegedly defrauded of GoodLife memberships - 680 NEWS
Several hundred customers of GoodLife Fitness are learning they may have been the victims of fraud after the memberships they paid for were never legitimately registered with the company.
Francesco Campo told CityNews he first signed up with GoodLife Fitness in 2016, handing over $435 in cash to Leanna Habil, who was general manager at the Richmond Hill facility at the time. When he went to renew his membership in January, he was told the cost would be only $390 this time around. Three weeks later, Campo was denied access to the fitness centre after being told there was no record of his paid membership.
Campo was then informed that Habil was no longer with the company.
It appears Campo was not the only one affected by the alleged scam.
A GoodLife spokeswoman told CityNews approximately 275 members were duped out of almost $125,000. The issue came to light after the company identified what it calls “irregular banking activity” for one of its members.
“We are very sorry for their experience and are doing all that we can to make this situation right for them,” Tracy Matthews, executive director of membership services said in an email.
Matthews said the company is planning to honour the memberships that were sold by Habil.
She added GoodLife has launched an internal investigation and is taking “swift and appropriate action” against Habil.
In a telephone interview with CityNews, Habil denied the allegations, saying the memberships were pre-approved by other managers at GoodLife. She said she has receipts of all the pre-payments made to her.
GoodLife disputes those claims, saying it has proof that Habil received money from members which was never forwarded to the company.
The Ministry of Government and Consumer Services said anyone with any questions can call Consumer Protection Ontario at 1-800-889-9768 or email consumer@ontario.ca.
Under Ontario’s Consumer Protection Act, gym members who have to pay in advance and the total payment obligation exceeds $50, have the right to:
Almost 300 customers allegedly defrauded of GoodLife memberships - 680 NEWS
