⭐ 1/5 - Misleading Membership Information and Poor Communication
I am extremely disappointed with my experience at Crunch Fitness due to their inconsistent policies and misleading sales practices. During both my initial sales call and a subsequent personal training session, I was explicitly assured that my 10-year-old son could use the gym equipment as long as he remained under my supervision. This was a key factor in my decision to purchase a membership.
The reality proved to be completely different. When I brought my son to work out with me for the first time - something he was genuinely excited about - we were turned away and told he was too young to be on the gym floor. Instead, we were directed to "Kids Crunch," a childcare area primarily designed for toddlers and young children. As my son pointed out, he would be one of the oldest children there, making it an inappropriate space for a 10-year-old who was interested in actual fitness training.
What makes this situation particularly frustrating is that I have witnessed multiple instances of children who appeared younger than my son using the equipment with their adult supervisors. This inconsistent enforcement of policies only adds to the frustration of being misled during the sales process.
Major Issues:
- False information provided during sales calls
- Contradictory information from personal trainer
- Inconsistent enforcement of age policies
- Inappropriate alternative solutions (Kids Crunch being unsuitable for older children)
- Lack of clear communication about actual policies
I cannot recommend Crunch Fitness to families looking to exercise together. The company needs to:
1. Provide accurate information during sales calls
2. Train their staff to consistently communicate and enforce policies
3. Create appropriate programs for older children who are interested in fitness
4. Be transparent about age restrictions before selling memberships
If you're a parent looking to exercise with your children, I strongly suggest finding a more family-friendly gym that is honest about their policies and actually delivers on their promises.
WD
Wilko D.
Rips you off and no customer service
Rips you off and no customer service - just badWorst Gym I have ever joined - overcharging you for months and when you send them an email no one responds you send them a second one and nothing - in the meantime they overcharge you again - then you bring it up at the counter in Mentone and no one feels responsible just saying send it to the head office - 2 more emails and no response - after a phone call there is a review and there is an overcharge of $160 - yet to be checked as o do not trust them - but not that they just give you the money back they just apparently credit it to your account - and please note while changing credit cards they are happy to charge you an overdue fee while being in credit too just to show how bad they are - we asked to get an email with a confirmation which was promised but still not received - I just could keep going but this is really the worst customer service I have ever come across and I am wondering how many more members get overcharged .
PS. Just have a look at the cob webs in their Gym in Mentone - you can stuff a few pillows with them … and if equipment breaks it is broken for weeks…
AM
Anne Marie G.
Crunch sucks
My experience with Crunch Apollo Beach was nothing short of horrendous. The treatment I received was awful. They are not good people. They will steal your money without warning and then refuse to refund you. They tell you it’s “zero commitment and cancel anytime” then charge an “annual fee” that was never disclosed and refuse to refund it. Then charge you an extra month to cancel!!!
MI
Mark I.
Shady and Dishonest. AVOID IF YOU CAN
I don't typically do many reviews but I felt forewarning potential customers of this gym of their shady practices and overall membership policies. First off, folks should probably should be aware should you decide to join Crunch they will lock into either your bank account or credit card. So be aware that should you have any desire to cancel your membership for any reason, they control your funds (period)
I signed up for a basic plan at 9.99 / month (advertised boldly on their site). But in reality, you'll never pay 9.99 / month.
The reality is you'll pay around $100+ for the initial signup for this plan. Breakdown will generally be as follows:
Monthly Fee: $ 9.99
Monthly Processing Fee: $ 2.25
Annual Fee: $59.99
Enrollment Fee: $75.00
Initial Monthly Dues: $ 9.99
Annual Fee (Pro-Rated). $10.00
Add in taxes to the total and you'll be a bit over $100
If you'll pay attention to what you're being charged you'll see the "Monthly Fee" and "Initial Monthly Dues" are the same so you get charged twice for the falsely advertised monthly fee of $9.99 before you've even used the facility. My 1st issue is that there is absolute zero reasonable justification to double the monthly fee upon signup except to stack up their own revenue.
Also, contrary to their "BOLD" advertised $9.99 / month you will continually pay $2.25 additional for their monthly processing fee. So the actual amount you'll pay for the stated $9.99 / month will actually be $12.24 / month. The cost being less important to me than the slick way they raised the monthly amount.
Then there's the very "fine" print that they'll use to justify the charge when you realize they're taking more than the advertised $9.99 / month where they'll then state that the monthly fee is $12.24.
Also, in addition to the charges you may agree to... if you fail to read the fine print of which they won't be fully transparent with unless you specifically ask it states upon signing up.
It basically says that in addition to the pro-rated, non-refundable Annual fee of $10 stated; you'll again pay the annual fee 3 months after you've signed up. IDK but the last time I checked "Annual" meant once per year. So they're obviously redefining the word.
So if you're smart enough to do the math, you'll pay the annual fee twice within the 1st year of your signup. Of course, you won't realize it until you see the charge taken from your account and question it. At which time they'll quote you their fine print and you won't have any choice but to suck it up and realize you've been taken.
If you get annoyed with the shear lack of transparency and full disclosure during your signup and decide you perhaps would like to cancel. There's yet another portion of their fine print stating that they will take the 2nd annual fee within 3 months of your signup regardless.
So if you proceed to cancel and simply accept that 2nd annual charge as a penalty for trusting them and their process, think you'll be done with it?? Well, think again.....
Because they will also charge you for every single month from the time you signed up equivalent to a full 12 months.
Meaning you will not only pay double on the annual membership on the 1st year of signing up; but for all the months remaining you will also pay although your cancellation will void your use of the facility altogether.
Lastly and most annoying, although they have all your personal information in their systems including your picture ID, bank account / Credit Card info and etc .......should you call to cancel your membership you'll be told that you have to personally come in to do that.
I asked why and was informed that there is too much paperwork that you'll have to sign in person to cancel the membership over the phone.
As senseless as that sounded (since there was hardly any paperwork involved during the signup when they required my banking and/or CC into AND the fact that you can signup online without coming in at all)....... I simply agreed to come in. At which time there was no paperwork required..... it was actually to ensure I knew in person that they were going to take the full amount of my monthly membership for all the months remaining since the initial time I joined equivalent to 12 months from my account; PLUS whatever other ungodly charges they could come up with.
So now you've been WARNED of their practices and procedures. Join and they'll lock onto your financial account and you'll have no choice but to watch while they control "your" money and will take from you whether you agree to their practices or not. You'll have zero ability to stop them.
I wouldn't recommend them to an enemy and much less to any family or friends.
TOO SHADY and DISHONEST.
Join at your own risk now knowing what I've already found out the hard way; and trust......you'll also pay if you do.
Btw. you can view their BBB rating as well.
WN
William N.
I hurt my elbow and froze my membership…
I hurt my elbow and froze my membership until it healed. The healing took longer than I expected so I went to the location where I signed up to cancel. I was told that I could not cancel until the freeze ended in 3 months nor could I unfreeze the membership until the three months has expired. This was so that they could collect an additional month's fees for a service I could not use. They are acting outside of FTC guidelines for membership cancellations and are ripe for a class action lawsuit for bad business practices. DO NOT JOIN THIS GYM.
KH
Kelly H.
Horrible gym
Horrible gym! The amenities are great but the customer service is awful. When canceling the membership I could not access my agreement online. I had to go in. So I did and cancelled. They still harassed me and when I requested my agreement they would not provide it. Who does that? I considered going back but now I never will and I suggest everyone who wants to join go somewhere else. Sad because ther amenities are good but their staff and customer service is horrid!
JD
joseph D.
Avoid This Place!!
For the last several months this place has become a nightmare. I have been a member since it opened--but now it is being run by a bunch of kids who are rude and unfriendly. They insist on playing club music ten times louder than it needs to be--i always leave with a headache. My teeth hurt and my ears are ringing,. You can't listen to your own music--and it is impossible focus on form and reps. And I have tried different times of the day figuring they can't always be pounding that music. But they do. The employees ignore customers unless they need money from you. They sit at tables in the front of the gym, eat and laugh at us in their little cliques. The gym is littered with these disgusting baby wipes that no one bothers to pick up. When a machine breaks, it stays broken. Most of the televisions don't work. The ones that do don't have captions--so what's the point? A real dump.
PB
Patrick B.
Equipment stays broken for days…
Equipment stays broken for days bathroom is filthy TVs don't work wights all over the floor were tripped once corporate needs to come to take a look before they lose more members