I wish I had read some of the reviews prior to joining Simi Valley Workout. I signed up with the intention of having a personal trainer; however the trainer (who also happens to be the manager) always had an excuse as to why he couldn't be there (grandmother was sick, best friend was in a car accident, personal emergency). The final straw was when I was scheduled for an hour session, and the trainer had me on the treadmill for a 10 minute warm up, and then he asked me to do 10 minutes on the elliptical. During this time he disappeared leaving me to finish working out on my own. I inquired with other personnel and he was nowhere to be found in the gym. After I got home (70 minutes after the start time of my session), I received a phone call from him inquiring as to why I left. He then informed me he had to leave the gym for personal reasons (diarrhea?TMI) and he begged that I give him another opportunity. Now keep in mind, this was the 3rd time during my first 2 weeks where he was not able to train me during a scheduled session. I informed him that I was going to find another trainer who took his job seriously, I wanted a refund for the money I had previously paid for the sessions and I wanted to cancel my membership. He stated I would need to speak to the owner for a refund and cancellation. After many attempts over a period of 3 weeks at trying to contact the owner, I was finally successful at getting a refund and I was led to believe my membership would also be cancelled. To my surprise my membership had not been cancelled and they continue to bill me each month through a deduction in my checking account. I have gone to the gym during the time I had been informed that the owner would be there and each time he is not at the gym. I have been informed by personnel all about the owner?s medical issues and that he only comes in a few hours per day and nobody else but the owner can cancel a membership. I have left multiple messages with other personnel to have the owner contact me but I have yet to get a return call. So here I am many months later disputing the reoccurring charges with my bank in hopes that they can cancel any future payments. I think it is time to stop playing nice and contact the Better Business Bureau and file a claim in small claims court.
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