Misrepresentations by the Dunfield Clubby Uriel Wittenberg (uw@urielw.com)
The Dunfield Club is part of the Bally Total Fitness Holding Corp. empire. The correspondence below describes misrepresentations by club salesperson Sushma Smaddar, and shows Dunfield Assistant Manager Gerald Tannenbaum supporting the misrepresentations. These misrepresentations are perfectly consistent with those that have led to multiple government investigations into the illegal practices of Bally clubs (see Northridge / Bally Ethical Breaches).
From: Uriel Wittenberg Dear Gerald Tannenbaum, I write to bring misrepresentations by your staff to your attention. Yesterday I spoke by phone with Sushma Smaddar about signing up as a club member. She agreed to give me a written promise that I could cancel my membership any time during the first 12 months if I move abroad, with a simple plane ticket as proof. On that basis, I went to the club to meet her and sign up. She gave me the written promise I'd asked for. Then she gave me the club's legal contract to sign. It says that the promise she had just given me was void and had no legal effect whatsoever. Sushma told me I had to sign it exactly as it was, and that it was impossible to insert any words or modify it in any way. That meant, of course, that the written promise she'd just given me was meaningless. I ended up discussing this at some length with Sushma. She insisted that she could not see the problem here. I submit to you that the problem is childishly obvious. And that if Sushma is really being sincere, then you need to do a better job educating your reps about what they are selling and the contracts they're asking prospective members to sign. This is not an idle concern for me. As I told Sushma, I plan to relocate abroad in under 12 months. Your standard contract requires documentation that may not be available to me. (I know this from experience -- it would not have been available for past relocations I have made in China.) I would request from you: 1. An apology; 2. A promise that in future your reps will no longer offer written "promises" that falsely purport to alter membership contract provisions. Sincerely, Uriel Wittenberg
From: Gerald Tannenbaum Hi Uriel, Thank you for your feedback. Firstly, I appreciate that this is not an idle concern of yours as I understand that you would not wish to be responsible for payments being abroad. Please understand that our manager of membership services at our Toronto Head office has the discretion to authorize cancellations with documentation other than that stipulated in the agreement. I suppose the reason every example is not listed within the agreement is that it would be difficult to list every possible scenario and therefore only a couple of examples are given. In most cases the examples listed would be manageable. I'm not certain why you would be unable to provide documentation demonstrating your relocation. A one way plane ticket would suffice, for example, - Or some documentation illustrating job relocation.. (i.e. job offer, letter of acceptance,) or anything with your name and new address. That said, legally speaking, I do appreciate your concern, however, our priority is to have reasonable exits for our members in the case of out of province relocation. We recognize that these things happen and a) it would be unreasonable to expect payment or obligation from someone relocated to China, and b) we want you to have a great experience at the Sports Clubs and hope you return should you come back to Toronto. There are most definitely exceptions made on a case by case basis. I am sorry that this situation is causing difficulty. I hope you understand the nature of the agreement and why the stipulations are as they are. I hope you will have a positive experience during your time here and I know you will have no problem canceling when the time comes - although, I totally understand the nature of your concern. I will review the agreements and protocols with the staff. Thank you again, Yours in good health,
Gerald Tannenbaum
From: Uriel Wittenberg Hello Gerald, Thanks for your reply. However, you've provided neither of the two things I asked for. I explained the documentation issue to Sushma and could explain it again to you if you wish. But the main point here is that Sushma gave me a signed promise which falsely purports to modify the membership agreement. That's a misrepresentation and it's dishonest. Again, I'd like an apology and a promise that this dishonest practice will stop. Sincerely, Uriel
From: Gerald Tannenbaum Uriel, I believe I did address your two requests. Respectfully, I will reiterate. Sushma's intent, I suspect, was not to falsely purport anything, but rather, to offer some level of reassurance to you beyond a verbal promise. You are not the first, nor the last person to have unique circumstances which by the letter of the agreement would not be able to be accommodated. You are correct that her note may not be legally sufficient, but practically it serves the aforementioned purpose. There are individuals who are satisfied with a verbal agreement, some who prefer something documented, and others who will refuse anything beyond the wording of the agreement. It is certainly your prerogative to choose to opt out as you did when you met with Sushma. I would hope that you would reconsider. Also, it would be my contention, that this situation would only become dishonest if you decided to 'test' her promise and were disappointed. I recognize why you may choose to not do so, however, as I tried to explain, exceptions are made. I trust your situation is unique and can be accommodated. And if im not mistaken, you have spoken to our assistant manager of membership services at head office who gave you the same reassurance - She too was not being dishonest. Once again, i apologize for the difficulty in this matter and i will convey to the staff to try and avoid these situations in the future. Gerald
From: Uriel Wittenberg Gerald, When a customer asks for something, you promise to give it to him, and then you give him something worthless instead of what he asked for, that's dishonest. That's exactly what Sushma did. I think just about everyone in the world would be able to see this. Further, you don't seem to understand that I don't want to have to petition you to make an "exception" for me when I go abroad. My condition for signing up was that I get a promise that you won't keep taking my money every month after I've left the country. To sell me a membership, Sushma agreed to give me this promise in writing. What she gave me instead was a fraudulent promise which is explicitly voided by your densely worded legal contract. That's obviously a misrepresentation, and it's unethical. It shouldn't be so hard for you to see the problem here, Gerald. Sincerely, Uriel
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