Hi Refund Lady,
Your gym charged my account another $40 on 20-Nov-2009. Can you please make sure this gets refunded ASAP along with the other $280. Can you also check your system and make sure that I am not added to your automatic withdrawal system. Please fix this ASAP, I cannot bear having one more NSF Fee applied to my account. My pay cheque for Monday is not even going to make my balance to Zero. I am just a student and this is getting really out of hand… At this point I am certainly regretting getting a gym membership, I really should have taken moms advise and run around the block.
—Annoyed and Broke
This article appears in Nov 26 – Dec 2, 2009.
its called stop payment ……
call your bank!
I’m sure they’re going to see this, know it’s you, and follow your request.
stop payment still costs $10 the onus was on them to stop charging the account.
If they’ve admitted error in taking hte money from your account, demand the nsf fees from the gym. My car insurance company fucks this up form time to time and all I have to do is say NSF and they will issue a cheque in the amount of the nsf fee provided I show them a bank statement where the nsf item is listed.
Gym memberships cost money. Power-walking and running cost nothing. Which is the better choice?
Your account and your money = YOUR responsibility NO MATTER WHAT!!
End of story!
Cement causes joint pain and inflamation. treadmills reduce impact to knees and ankles. Which is the better choice?
zZz, if you run on a crushed gravel trail (PPP) or similar surface, you get the best of both worlds.
Also, power walking is pretty joint-friendly.
jen, you are aware that treadmills are not the only items inside a gym… right?
nev, I didn’t say otherwise. I was just responding to zZz’s comment re: running on concrete vs. running on a treadmill.
zZz: I’ve been working out on sidewalks and trails for over 10 years. So do lots of people I know. So far all our joints are in prime shape. Those at risk of osteoporosis are better off on pavement as the impact with the hard surface actually promotes better bone health according to one of the leading osteo specialists in Nova Scotia.
so you’re saying you should work your joints harder to promote strength?
I’m sure that works…. in the short run. (no pun implied)
I’ve never been big on cardio anyways… I much prefer the weights for a good challenge.
I get WAY too bored jogging/running.
15 min walk/jog for warm up and 15 mins for cool down is all I need.
and powerwalking? isn’t that the one where they look like they’re trying to hold in a huge shit while they race to the toilet??? please, can I look like that in public regularly? pretty please?
or you could use the free gym at your school.
Power-walking doesn’t have to be that extreme zZz. There’s a difference between competitive athletic power-walking and work-out power-walking.
I don’t say you should work your joints harder, my bone specialist does, for people at the age to be at risk of osteoporosis. Walking is mandatory in my case.
A stop payment requires knowing exactly when the payment is going to be taken out, which, is a bit tricky when you’re dealing with the unexpected. On top of that, it only works one time only, and some banks charge 15 bucks.
Your best bet, OP, is to get your balance up to $0 and close the account and open another. I had to close an account a few years back at TD when RBC kept charging me twice a month for line of credit interest payments. TD wouldn’t do anything to stop the automatic withdrawal permanently because they said once I allow someone access to my account like that, they can’t stop it. Or something like that.
Also, call the bank and see if they can do anything for you. Explain the situation and see if you can open another account and transfer your overdraft balance to that account. That way you KNOW the gym won’t be able to access your account anymore.
Alsox2 on the topic of gyms: anyone know what’s up with goodlife/nubody’s? Did they merge or something?
Use cash, bitches.
I think oceanlady is right zZz….runners actually have less injuries and joint problems than non-runners. I assume it would be the same for power walkers. Apparently, moderate exercise can actually strengthen the joint rather than wear it down. I think that trend is contingent on proper technique and not overdoing it however. It’s been a while since I read up on it, but I do remember being surprised by the answer.
That run on the treadmill last night hurt my gallbladder 🙁
PK, I feel your pain. Exercise would sometimes give me a gall bladder attack! I just got it out though, on Friday, so I’m looking forward to no more pain, and some nice brisk hikes!
On another note, sometimes it’s snowy, rainy, freezing cold, gross weather outside, and if you have a nice warm gym to go its motivating to actually go and exercise.
OP, if you are a student, doesn’t your school have a gym were you get a free membership?
I’m getting mine out soon, sarey! No more debilitating stomach pain w00t!
As much as cardio is great, the most effective work outs include some form of resistance/weight training and the gym is generally a one stop shop for resistance equipment. I mean free weights are fine, but they only do so much. I like using the resistance machines to freeweights because I find I work the muscles a lot better, and they target my legs a lot better. And last time I checked, HRM didn’t provide resistance machines on every street corner….
Also: I agree with sarey on the whole shitty weather thing. AND in the summer when it’s hot as hell out, it’s nice to work out in an air conditioned facility! Plus the atmosphere of the gym is kind of a motivator in itself.
I just dress for the weather and go for it no matter the season. It’s free and the benefits of being outdoors vs indoors speak for themselves.
i tell everyone who just moved here, buy good rain gear and your good to go
Goodlife purchased Nubodys back in August. But Nubodys is still a brand.
I’d have to say; if you go to your bank and ask them to put a stop payment on the PAD (pre-authorised debit), they will. They can find out what the PAD comes out as, be it Nubody’s, Goodlife, or even a numbered company. Here’s just some general information for you folks: Just because you go into a location and tell them to stop it from their end, doesn’t mean it’s done right away. According to the Canadian Payments Association (these are the guys who dictate the rules and regulations around things like cheques and PADs) a company has up to and including 15 business days to comply with the request of the person to stop payment on a PAD.So, technically speaking, you could go into a location and tell them that you want the PAD stopped, they have to have it stopped by Dec. 21st. (Today being Nov.29). A registered bank needs to comply with the same request immediately. So, it’s always a good idea to place a stop payment at your bank, and if you ask nicely and don’t do it too often, they’ll waive the fee because of the circumstances. Even if they don’t, 10-15 bucks is better than a 40 dollar charge.
Oceanlady— as someone who has osteoarthritis in a load-bearing joint (my right knee), I have to tell you, concrete and even most of the paths in HRM wreak havoc on my knee. I use a treadmill simply because there’s much more give and when I stop, I rest my knee immediately. That all said, I really prefer to use a stationary bike or elliptical trainer. If the OP is healthy though, there’s no reason why they can’t.
suppose we can agree to disagree for now… though I will keep my mind open.
besides, they never mentioned it was for running… so if it’s weight training, they still have few options. I mean bowflex’s are expensive and quite space demanding, as is a squat rack and/or smith machine. That’s not mentioning weight goes for .70 to $1 a pound.
You are fucking shitting me, DF. I tried that with TD and they basically told me to suck it, and that the only way it would stop is if I opened a new account and closed the old one. *facepalm*
Fucking banks. Thanks for that info, dude. Glad I switched banks now.
I totally think that having my gym membership is worth it. I got rid of it for a bit, and it’s just not as fun exercising by yourself, outdoors. I have, however, switched gyms, because goodlife hounded me like crazy. They just wouldn’t leave me alone. IMO a smaller gym with familiar staff is much more helpful because you get the attention when you need it but they’re not always bugging you to buy more stuff from them.
Btw, for anyone who said use the school’s free gym, I know when I went to the community college we didn’t have a free gym, so that could be the case with the OP.
PK— there’s two explanations to that situation. First, some banks can’t stop payments on the requested item because there’s usually a second PAD for the company a day later, but under a different name (say it comes out as Goodlife normally, the second time it’ll come out as Nubody’s. The payday advance people do the same thing, except they’ll do till they get an NSF message from the bank) it’s a fail safe so that people don’t stop the money from rolling in and absconding on payments. Second explanation is this: that’s a common bank account sales tactic. “Oh,, you need to stop a payment? Well, we have the hardest time stopping those guys… Let’s just open a new account and generate a sale, and that’ll stop us from having to worry about the CPA being on our backs.” Again, 10 or 15 bucks is much better than a 40 dollar NSF fee. Doesn’t affect your in-bank credit rating either.
A certain gym advertises a free 5-day membership for anyone who would write their name, phone # and addy on their piece of paper.
But then they asked for a void check the first time you walked in.
Is this even legal?