CURVES: 5 West Virginia Curves Close Abruptly
February 22, 2010
5 West Virginia Curves fitness clubs closed abruptly with no more than a voice mail to notify members.
The closed Curves for Women fitness clubs are:
Curves, Wheeling,
Curves, Martins Ferry,
Cuves, St. Clairsville,
Curves, Cadiz
Curves, Wintersville
According to a news story on the Curves closures, all 5 locations are owned by the same Curves franchisee:
Curves in Wheeling, Martins Ferry, St. Clairsville, Cadiz and Wintersville closed suddenly Monday, with only a voicemail message saying the closure was permanent and that it was due to national and local economic conditions.
But other club owners say it certainly was not a national thing, and that other Curves locations in this area and across the nation are still going strong.
Linda Mayberry, owner of the Barnesville Curves, has gotten frantic phone calls from members, fearing that all Curves clubs were closing.
She says only five have closed, all owned by the same Wheeling owner….
Mayberry emphasizes the closure was not nationwide.
She said Moundsville, Barnesville and Cambridge are going strong and would warmly welcome members from the clubs that are closed.
West Virginia has the third highest rate of adult obesity in the nation, at 31.1 percent and the eighth highest of overweight youths (ages 10-17) at 35.5 percent. It trails only Mississippi and Alabama as the fattest state in America.
Many Curves clubs across the country are closing as the economy and member boredom take their toll.
Also read:
CURVES: Can Indie Clubs Thrive Where Curves Failed?
CURVES: Complaints of Unauthorized Membership Charges
CURVES FOR WOMEN: An Unhappy Franchisee Tale
Tip of the hat to Fitdude for the link to this story
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DIVERSIFIED HEALTH: Testimonials From Failed Franchisees
February 15, 2010
Today’s amusing lesson in why you should dig deeper than the franchisor’s franchise marketing web page comes to us from Diversified Health & Fitness.
Diversified Health & Fitness, founded by “Dynamic leader, Successful Entrepreneur, Steadfast Friend and beloved Father” Roger Wittenberns, is sort of the fitness industry hospice for terminally ill franchise chains.
If you look at the franchise marketing page for Diversified Health & Fitness concept Fit For Her, you’ll see that they tout the safety of investing in a franchise with the bogus, widely discredited claim that “90% of franchise businesses are still operating after 10 years, but 82% of independent businesses fail.”
(Read Lies, Damn Lies & Franchise Statistics for more on FranBogies)
Another Diversified Health & Fitness web page contains testimonials from 7 Diversified franchise owners representing 8 clubs.
Funny thing is, 2 of the 7 franchisees currently featured in Diversified testimonials have closed their clubs.
The testimonial of Carol Weickardt, franchise owner of Shapexpress of Pewaukee, Wisconsin, still reads:
…I have been with Diversified since July 1, 2008. Although this is not a long time… I really appreciate working with a dependable company like Diversified that who I feel I can put my trust into to help my business succeed.
ShapeXpress of Pewaukee, WI has been removed from the location directory and the phone has been disconnected.
Ray Shoaf’s testimonial currently reads:
I am currently in the process of opening… Fit For Her in Sherman, TX… The consistent help and support provided by DHF is unlike any in the industry and sis sure to make any of the unique health and fitness brands be a huge success!
Ray Shoaf’s Fit For Her franchise in Sherman, TX reportedly closed a month after its grand opening. He came under fire after he allegedly continued to bill members for 6 months after the club closed.
(See the post: DIVERSIFIED HEALTH: Fit For Her Members Cry Fraud).
25% of Testimonial Clubs Fail in the First 2 Years?
Just a thought… It might be wise for Diversified Health & Fitness to rethink its claim that 90% of franchises succeed when, in fact, 25% of the franchise clubs featured in the company’s own testimonials didn’t survive 2 years.
Just sayin’…
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DIVERSIFIED HEALTH: Fit For Her Members Cry Fraud
February 15, 2010
“"Diversified Health has a pattern of doing this same type of thing, where they open a franchise and then go out of business and continue to draft the member’s accounts." Jim Hall, Nautilus Fitness Centers, Sherman, TX
Franchise owner Ray Shoaf has high praise for Diversified Health & Fitness, the Fort Lauderdale-based conglomeration that collects and operates troubled and/or dying franchise fitness chains. Shoaf’s franchise testimonial is prominently featured in Diversified Health & Fitness marketing materials. However, Shoaf’s Fit for Her franchised club in Sherman, TX closed a month after its grand opening… and former members have few kind words for him.
Members billed for 6 months after Fit For Her club closed
According to a KTEN news report,
“Fit For Her in Sherman closed down a month after its grand opening, but the gym continued to draft its former members bank accounts for over six months. Two members we spoke with say the tried to cancel their accounts multiple times, but after failed attempts both decided to cancel their bank accounts to stop Fit For Her from continuing to debt their accounts.”
Diversified Health & Fitness Allegedly Stiffs Competitor, too
According to the news report, parent Diversified Health & Fitness worked out a deal with the local Nautilus club to honor the Fit For Her memberships. “Once Nautilus and Diversified Health and Fitness reached an agreement,” the report states, “Fit For Her members began working out at Nautilus, but Nautilus never received a dime from Diversified Health. Jim Hall, owner of Nautilus in Sherman says, ‘Fit For Her never paid us what they were suppose to pay us.’”
The good news? It seems the club was no great loss.
Online reviews indicate the Sherman, TX Fit For Her club – with a one-star rating – is no great loss. One reviewer wrote:
…The place is always nasty. Most of the employees are rude… There is always some reason that the gym is closing down, rather it be for the electric getting shut off or because of malfunctions with the card reader. its ridiculous, i mean how can someone run a business like that….He is always late paying his employees, and everyday that he is late on payment for them, there is always another excuse that comes up, ALWAYS, it never fails, then he refuses to pay his employees what he owes them after they no longer work for him… Ray Shoaf needs to learn a little about the management of a business before he trys to start something up, and be a little bit more professional with the way that he runs things…
Guest wrote:
WOW!!! Place closed Down less a Year for not paying his bills or employees. Equipment was so out dated! When you try to call the place there is no anwser why he closed down, as well no REFUNDS! He is also closing the fitness center in ANNA "The Zoo".. So he scammed… members of there money, Since the finance company will [not] stop payment!
Is billing members of closed clubs normal for Diversified Health & Fitness?
Ray Shoaf’s glowing testimonial for Diversified Health & Fitness is prominently featured in the company’s franchise marketing materials. And it seems that he indeed has years of experience running Diversified-affiliated health clubs. According to franchisee Ray Shoaf’s Linked In profile, he owned and operated Lady of America fitness centers for 14 years, owned the Sherman Fit For Her club and still owns The Zoo fitness club in Anna, TX. All three of those chains are or were affiliated with Diversified Health & Fitness.
It makes one wonder: Is billing customers for 6 months after a club closes just the way things are done at Diversified Health & Fitness?
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CURVES: Can Indie Clubs Thrive Where Curves Failed?
January 19, 2010
Rande LaDue, distributor of PACE hydraulic exercise equipment, is seeing a fitness industry trend: independent express fitness clubs opening in markets and locations that could not sustain a Curves franchise.
PACE sells hydraulic exercise equipment like the machines used in Curves franchise clubs*. In fact, the first Curves club in Harlingen, TX originally used PACE equipment, according to LaDue. Ironically, PACE is finding a new niche where Curves clubs are struggling.
In an interview posted on FranBest.com, (see PACE Express Circuit Training Equipment) LaDue states:
One of our biggest areas of growth right now is selling into markets where a Curves club has just gone out of business. There may have been 50-60 loyal members who loved working out but have been left high and dry; maybe this was not enough members to cover the high franchise fees, but usually more than enough to cover basic expenses.
LaDue gives the example of Kimberly Ellingsen, a former Curves member who opened her independent New Image Fitness when the local Curves club closed. According to LaDue, Ellingsen “had over 50 former Curves members signed up before she opened her PACE club, then recently had her grand opening and signed up dozens of new people.”
[Pictured, above right: Rande LaDue, Owner, Hydraulic Fitness Products. For information on PACE exercise equipment, email PaceEquipment@gmail.com]
Independent clubs pay no franchise fees or royalties.
How could an independent club – with no established branding or name recognition – survive where a powerhouse like Curves could not?
The most obvious reason is cost. Independent clubs cost less to start, and less to operate. In some low-volume locations, that cost difference could be the difference between success and failure.
According to the Curves website, the cost of a Curves franchise is $24,900 (new equipment) or $19,900 (refurbished equipment) with delivery of the Curves equipment ranging from $3,000- $5,000. A PACE new equipment package is well under $15,000, with training included (normally a $1000 option).
According to Curves, “Curves charges a monthly franchise royalty and a monthly advertising royalty based on a percentage of gross revenues….The franchise royalty is 5% of gross revenues, with $795 being the maximum monthly payment by a franchisee and $195 being the minimum. The advertising royalty is 3% of gross revenues, with $395 being the maximum monthly payment by a franchisee and $95 being the minimum.”
Independent clubs pay no franchise or advertising royalties, as opposed to yearly costs ranging from $3480 to $14,280 Curves owners must pay. Additionally, Curves owners have other costs, including mandatory purchases and program participation costs.
Independent clubs have freedom to experiment.
Franchises like Curves are based on conformity and compliance; they build their brand by enforcing consistent standards throughout their international network of clubs. Curves franchise owners do not have the freedom to, say, add a line of retail products on their own, or to promote their club as co-ed. In smaller, extra-competitive or nuanced markets, finding new and creative ways to add revenue or grow membership may require out-of-the-box initiatives that would not be approved by a national franchise.
In recent discussions on UnhappyFranchisee.com, some Curves owners have complained that they have trouble retaining members who plateau and/or get bored with the non-adjustable Curves hydraulic equipment, yet they are prohibited from going to weight-based machines or even the adjustable hydraulic machines offered by PACE.
Curves franchises face stiffer penalties for failure.
The penalties for failure also seem to be greater for Curves owners than independent operators. Many comments by Curves owners here (see the comments on Robert Lay’s Story) cite the fact that they are pressured to pay closing or “failure” fees if they cannot remain open for the full term of their agreement, and that they are pursued for “future royalties” despite having done their best to keep their Curves clubs open.
Independents stake their claims.
There’s no doubt that Curves pioneered the concept of circuit-based express fitness clubs. However, many, many franchise clubs are fighting for their survival in oversaturated or underpopulated markets. Where these clubs cannot survive, independent clubs – unburdened by franchise fees, royalties and corporate mandates – may be able to thrive. If they do, the independent owners and suppliers like PACE will have Curves to thank.
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* According to LaDue, PACE equipment differs from the Curves machines in that PACE equipment can be adjusted to increase or decrease resistance.
14% of Florida Health Clubs Closed in 2008
January 10, 2010
258 of the more 1,800 registered health studios in Florida went out of business in 2008, according Florida Agriculture and Consumer Services Commissioner Charles H. Bronson.
The Florida health club failure statistic is cited in an Florida Today article on the closing of the Ten Minute Gym location in Melbourne, FL. The location of the failed Ten Minute Gym was previously home to Simply Fit and, before that, a Lady of America fitness club.
The owner of the club, Max Salinas, blames the economy and local competition on his club’s closing. It appears that the owner of the independent club is trying to help transition members with the least amount of inconvenience or financial loss:
Salinas, who closed a Ten Minute Gym in Rockledge two years ago, promised to make good on debts he owes to Reinig and others, either by arranging gym memberships at nearby health clubs or making straight refunds once he collects money from selling the equipment at the Ten Minute Gym, 2447 N. Wickham Road.
According to state regulations, once a health club closes and people have deposits down, they either have to get a refund or the owner must arrange for a similar facility, within five miles, to honor the contract…
According to Florida Today, Ten Minute Gym provided a “supervised, high-intensity workout in less time that it took at other health clubs.”
Tip of the hat: Thanks to WipedOut for the link to this story.
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CURVES Franchisee Regrets Not Sticking It to Others
January 7, 2010
A recent New York Times article features comments from a Curves franchise owner who regrets not having dumped her four Curves for Women franchise locations on some other poor schmuck when her sales were good.
In a recent post on “You’re the Boss,” NYT editors solicited readers’ stories about businesses that did not survive 2009. The owner of four Curves franchise locations (Joan Donofrio of Concord, California) — shared this comment:
“I made my biggest mistake by not selling my first two clubs when they were raking in the money. I could have made a profit of $700,000. Instead I ended up broke and in bankruptcy court. Not knowing when to get out of a business is the biggest hurdle people make…Not having an exit plan is the biggest peril of all.”
According to the writer, business broker Barbara Taylor, the moral of the story is to make sure that when the music stops, you’re not the moron left without a chair . Writes Taylor: “It can be difficult to let go of your business in good times, as well as bad. No business owner plans to fail, but many — like Ms. Donofrio — fail to plan their exit strategy.”
Really? Donofrio’s biggest mistake was not sticking some unsuspecting buyer with her doomed clubs so they could lost $700K more than she did?
Did it occur to Donofrio that perhaps buying a concept that could not withstand overexpansion and/or an economic downturn was her biggest mistake? Or not taking steps to reverse her declining sales? Or perhaps not organizing with other franchisees to demand more support from the franchisor?
The irony of Donofrio’s statement was not lost on commenter Quasimoto, who responded:
Let me fix that for you.
“I made my biggest mistake by not duping an unwitting bagholder into overpaying for my first two clubs when they were raking in the money hand over fist by preying on insecure women that had access to credit. I could have made a profit of $700,000. Instead my greed landed me broke and in bankruptcy court. Not knowing when to get out of a Ponzi Scheme is the biggest hurdle people make…Not having a greater fool to bail you out of your greed laden binge is the biggest peril of all.”
So what was Joan Donofrio’s second biggest mistake?
Perhaps it was posting her true regrets to the New York Times for all to see.
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LADY OF AMERICA: Members of Closed Franchise Forced to Pay
December 22, 2009
Members of the Woodlands, Texas LOA Lady of America women-only fitness club are outraged. They claim franchisee Alex Valladares closed without notice, and they are being hounded to pay off the membership contract for a club they can’t use.
According to MyFox Houston, members found themselves locked out of the club on October 15th, 2009, a year and a half after opening. They claim the LOA franchise owner Alex Valladares never posted a 30 day notice, as required by state law. They also claim that they are being told by Lady of America that they must continue to pay on their contracts because they are being offered membership at the co-ed Gold’s Gym 7 miles away:
The women say they’re still bound by multi-year contracts and being hounded by debt collectors.
"They more or less imply they will destroy my credit if I don’t comply with their request. They have written me letters telling me since they’re no longer allowed to debit my credit card, I owe them the full amount which is about $500," said Holmes.
The women say Lady Of America is telling them they can’t cancel their contracts.
Under the Health Spa Act, Texas Occupations Code, a contract is still valid at a closed gym as long as the gym offers members equivalent facilities located not more than ten miles from the health spa. The women have been offered to attend a Gold’s Gym in Magnolia, seven miles away, but they argue it isn’t equivalent.
The Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office and the Texas Attorney General’s Office are both investigating.
Numerous complaints against Lady of America, National Fitness
According to article commenter DS:
LOA (LADY OF AMERICA FITNESS FOR WOMEN) doesn’t collect their debt directly. As soon as you sign their contract it is collected through a company called National Fitness located in Utah which has a D rating with the Utah BBB. National Fitness says they are a collection agency from the beginning and treats you as such from the start. Everytime you phone to inquire about your account you talk with a different person. It is all scripted and impersonal. Not a good situation for anyone – not a good way of doing business. I’d advise to find another gym.
Searches on consumer complaint site RipoffReport return 62 complaints for National Fitness and 77 complaints for Lady of America, many stemming from similar practices.
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CURVES: Complaints of Unauthorized Membership Charges
November 18, 2009
Most of the Curves for Women comments and emails we receive are requests for guidance and/or complaints from struggling Curves franchisees. However, we do receive complaints about Curve franchisees. The most common complaint regards the unauthorized billing of membership fees from ex-members.
Curves ex-member still billed 5 years later
Several different scenarios have prompted these complaints. One of the strangest was the recent report in the Chicago Tribune of a member who was billed $117 by the Curves club in Park Ridge, IL 5 years after she had cancelled her membership. The franchise owner, Michelle Aviles, claimed “the $117 was withdrawn from Bichkoff’s bank account after Curves for Women changed its accounting system in July. Due to a glitch in the process, some former members were accidentally charged.”
The franchise owner apologized and promised a refund. Months passed. The member never heard from her, nor received the refund. The ex-member drove to the club only to find it shuttered. She called Curves International, which was no help. She only got action after getting the Tribune’s Consumer Watch columnist (The Problem Solver) involved. She’s still waiting for the check.
The franchise owner seemed contrite about the supposed “mix-up,” but why did they even have this ex-members credit card information on file after 5 years? Was this really an honest mistake? How many others were “accidentally” billed right before the club closed? Have they received refunds?
Complaints about billing before a club closure
Member complaints have also been lodged by those who claim that they were charged for membership fees shortly before a Curves club closed. Members feel bad that the club closed, but protest that that’s not their problem. Curves franchise owners are entrusted with their private billing information. Some have asked: If owners abuse that trust and bill them for services they know will never be provided, isn’t that fraud? How can they complain about Curves International, they ask, when they are, in essence, stealing from their members?
Complaints about inflated memberships prior to selling a club
One of the most disturbing stories was from a franchisee who bought an established club from a Curves franchisee. The price was based on having an established base of paying customers. After the sale, the franchise buyer changed billing companies, which resulted in “Curves” showing up on credit card statements instead of a more generic company name used by the previous owner. Slews of outraged ex-members realized that they had been billed for membership dues long after they had terminated their memberships. The new owner not only claimed to be a victim of a fraudulent sale, but was maligned in the community for the unauthorized charges.
How many other credit cards of Curves ex-members are being charged each month? It makes you wonder.
Here’s the Question: How widespread is the practice of questionable or fraudulent billing by desperate Curves franchise owners?
CURVES: “Another Curves nightmare. Please advise!”
November 10, 2009
We received yet another sad email from a failed Curves franchisee reaching out for advice, this one with the subject line “PLEASE ADVISE ! (another curves nightmare)” Please feel free to share your experience, thoughts or helpful resources:
“It’s a huge relief to know that I have so much company who are walking in my shoes, but will that help??? I had my club for 7 yrs and just closed the end of Aug. The decision was made with only a weeks notice, but it was kind of the only chance because I was supposed to sign an amendment to my lease. Couldn’t do it because the business was already failing. Anyway, Curves was given a weeks notice, which was all I had to give and in all of my correspondence with them, I repeatedly told them I have NOTHING…No money, no credit, nothing in my name….
“Everything I did have I stupidly dumped back into the business thinking that I could somehow rebuild it and save it but then it only kept getting worse. I filled out their initial paperwork and had the equipment destroyed (what a shame…), & sent them the receipt to prove it. They asked me for the 10,000, knowing I don’t have it. Then offered I settle for 4000; told them I don’t have that either.
“I have not yet mailed them back their cylinders because I was told by another owner that it had cost a few hundred dollars when she mailed hers back. I told Curves I was trying to sell some stuff to make the money so that I could send them back. They then told me that I should just write that in the paperwork and send that, but at the same time they told me i hadn’t met the deadline for turning in my closing stuff so it was now being turned over to Legal.
“Last week I got paperwork from Legal stating I know owe everything (totals $28,175.00). It said that I had to respond within 10 days; haven’t done it because I have nothing. I don’t know what to do. I am considering filing for Bankruptcy against the Corporation, but will that help? I’m an S-Corp and I don’t know if since I signed the franchise agreement as an individual initially, does that mean that filing wouldn’t help? The attorney I spoke with doesn’t seem to be all that concerned with the franchise part of it all, but this is all just a nightmare to me without having any definite resolution in writing to protect me.
“I can’t move forward and take care of my family until I have the franchise, the landlord, and some tax issues resolved. It’s a relief not having to go to sleep every night and wake up every morning consumed with the struggle of drowning in Curves to keep it open, but all of that has been completely exchanged for the new nightmares of the aftermath of closing the doors… Does anyone have ANY advice???? “
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CURVES: Franchise Resale Complaints, Comments
October 31, 2009
Our previous post CURVES: Franchise Resale Buyer Alleges Fraud, originally published on the Franchise Pick website, generated some strong comments. The story was about a Curves owner who purchased an existing franchise club and felt she was defrauded by the seller. We’ve published them here in their entirety; feel free to add your own below.
April 2, 2009 Wipedout wrote:
Entrepreneur magazine shows that 940 Curves closed in 2008, from 7,269 to 6,329 still open in the US. That amounts to nearly 13% in just one year.
606 Curves closed in 2007.
2009 is sure to be even uglier for Curves…
Sounds like the owner and her relatives should take this “friend of the family” to court.
April 2, 2009 at 4:10 pm Carol Cross wrote:
Of course, in the resale of franchise units, the burden is on the seller of the franchise to “disclose” to the new buyer and BOTH the buyer and the seller will sign a release to the franchisor, and to each other, as a condition for the franchisor to approve the new franchisee, who will sign a franchise agreement with the franchisors. Resales are usually attractive if their P&L statements suggest to new owners that there is a job and profits and the price is right.
However, If the selling franchisee doesn’t disclose adequately, how can you prove this in the courts when the asset-purchase agreement will probably bear terms that wiull protect the seller from the new buyer and neither the seller nor the buyer have any recourse against the franchisor?
Churning and turning of units in large systems is hard to uncover and those who have been “churned” to great disadvantage want to pass on the problem to the next franchisee and get out from under. If they believe they have been cheated and lied to by the franchisor, or whomever they bought the unit from, they rationalize that this is only fair, etc..
It is my opinion that a resale of a franchise does present better possibilities of doing better due diligence on the deal because you can demand to see the P&L Statements and the Business Tax Statements, etc… as a condition of purchasing the franchise.
As for recourse against the seller, read the terms of the contract. Could the seller be taken to court for “fraudulent inducement to contract” in a State Court if it could be proven that they intentionally misled and cheated the new buyer?
We know the franchisor is protected by public policy and the FTC Rule and the State UFOC/FDD from claims of fraudulent inducement to contract, but what about the owner of a franchise who commits fraud in the resale of the unit. Can the victim get satisfaction in the State Courts? I don’t think so but I’m not an attorney —just an observer of rhe law.
April 3, 2009 at 8:43 am Sean Kelly wrote:
Another lesson of this story is to check your credit card or bank statement carefully each month. Hundreds of women paid $29.00 every month to “merchant” without verifying what the charge was for. Amazing.
April 3, 2009 at 9:43 pm jd wrote:
Sean, there are so many things wrong with how this person went about their due diligence, it’s hard to figure out where to begin. First, if they were making $300-400k a year based on their tax return, the $350k price tag on the franchise was way too low.
Second, not requiring the seller to put at least a piece of the price into escrow is probably a trap that most people fall in to. If a seller has no problem putting a portion into escrow (paid for by the buyer and with some sort of interest on the funds to go to the seller if nothing was wrong), then there is probably a good case that they are being completely honest. Someone that doesn’t agree to this is probably ‘hiding’ something in the sales process.
I’m guessing that the buyer did not review any contracts or the appropriate files, if they knew that some contracts were ‘cancelled’ the price might have been less. Plus, this is something that could’ve been covered in an escrow agreement.
My guess, is that the buyer looked at the tax returns and didn’t do much additional research, and found out too late that the club wasn’t as good as shown. As for fraud, you’d have to prove that they intentionally misrepresented facts, which it sounds like they didn’t.
April 5, 2009 at 1:28 am Wipedout wrote:
I’ve heard one year’s revenue is a good selling price.
April 10, 2009 at 3:18 pm Fayaz Karim says:
Curves resale buyer
It is all about proper due diligence, seller’s disclosures, some seller financing (for insurance), and getting a second opinion from some qualified experts. What an amazing valuation methodology that defies all logic and reference to CASH FLOWS and an assessment of future revenue…….
mrfranchiseman, Franchise Valuations, Due diligence and more buyer services
April 28, 2009 at 12:27 am Wipedout says:
How would the new owner have known the old owner was still billing members who had quit? I think the new owner’s got a good case.
April 30, 2009 at 1:36 pm Curves Owner2 says:
You would think so, but you can’t win a fraud case like this. The seller sold 500 members per club. She was drafting 500 members and bringing in the income for 500 members. The buyer bought the assets. Yes, the seller was drafting deceptively, but it’s not against the law. Id this went to court, a judge would say, “The amount was coming out every month, it’s not the sellers fault, the women should have noticed it.” This is the problem. If there was a law that didn’t allowing drafting in this way, the buyer wouldn’t be in this situation.
May 28, 2009 at 8:46 pm unhappy says:
To all curves owners who have had problems with curves International and Gary Howie Havein please send your complaints to the BBB of your city and Waco TX. As well as the attorney general of your state and TX. And the federal trade commission. Below are web links where you can file the complaints on line.
http://waco.bbb.org/WWWRoot/SitePage.aspx?site=40&id=ab5100aa-4c5a-4314-8e1b-f5996973f10c
May 29, 2009 at 7:56 pm unhappy says:
the moral of the story is that even if the frachise is for sale for a buck thats right one losy dollar DON’T GET SUCKERED INTO THIS BUISNESS UNTIL THE CROOK HOWIE IS GONE OR YOU WILL BE VERY SORRY AND BROKE WITH NOTHING LEFT BUT TO FILE A LAWSUIT AGAINST THIS BLANTANT ASSHO—–
June 6, 2009 at 3:39 am Curves Owner 2 says:
Will the lawsuit get rid of Gary, but Curves will go on. If so, should we hold on, in hopes that in due time, we may be able to make the money we need to pay off our debt?
April 7, 2009 at 4:40 pm Curves Owner2 says:
Jd, the seller made $400k profit in the first 2 years of owning the clubs, which means the seller made $200k profit each year, for 2 years. The buyer believed they had purchased 2 clubs with 500 members each, who knew they were paying for their membership. As the buyer in the article states, “When we bought the clubs, we switched from paper drafts to an electronic drafting system. A month later we started getting calls from women who were threatening to sue us for taking money from them without permission. I explained that I was the new owner, that they were still under contract, and based on my knowledge, the previous owner was drafting them when I bought the clubs. They argued with me and said they had cancelled their contracts, and they had not been getting drafted from Curves until we started drafting them. I asked them to bring in a bank statement from any month prior, and the current months statement. When they brought in their statements, we discovered that the previous owners draft was coming out as “Merchant”. They didn’t realize they were being drafted until they saw our “Curves” draft. Over the next 3 months, we had over 300 women cancel in each club.”
I don’t believe any amount of research would have given the buyer access to the fact that the previous owner was drafting these women deceptively. The seller would have had to mention this. Obviously, she didn’t.
June 16, 2009 at 9:33 pm unhappy says:
I wish I had a crystal ball and could answer that question. It has been on many owners mind and we are all hopefull that things will change as most owners love helping women reach their fitness goals. Only time will so if you decided to go on you should at least go to the yahoogroupcurvesowners site as they are a good resorce to help you stay open. Good Luck and God Bless you and your family.
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Photo: Bobu. Licensed by Creative Commons.
