Megatlon- a warning

[Rachel M]

Just a warning to all of you out there:

Megatlon told me when I signed up for a pre-paid six-month membership that the money that I was paying up-front would be the only financial transaction that would occur. They said that after six month my membership would automatically expire. Yet, they kept charging me forty dollars a month for seven months thereafter, until I convinced VISA to block their charges. Be careful with these people-- I didn't authorize them to use my details for direct debit, yet apparently to them a foreign credit card was an invitation to steal funds. DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH THESE PEOPLE.

 

[arty]

can you just pay in cash or is it only credit?

 

[MizzMarr]

As I understand, that's a very common practice in general here with gyms. Ideally you'd pay upfront, but if you have to use the credit card, well... monitor your bills! Megatlon and any other gym, I have known at least a couple of people this has happened to. Worse, even if you're still in the city they won't let you cancel over the phone, you have to come into the branch where you signed up. Ridiculous. That said, I am a member of Megatlon (I've paid only in cash) for at least a couple of years, and it's otherwise a very good gym.

 

[esllou]

can you not just do a chargeback on any unauthorised payments from your CC?

 

[Ailujjj]

Yes, this is hardly a rare occurrence with gyms or similar businesses that charge a monthly fee. One of the reasons one should avoid automated payments with anyone other than a usage-assessed provider (eg electricity, mobile phone, etc).

 

[Viajero Mike]

Just pay cash. I swear by it and it works best. My porno sites do the same thing to me. I join for 3 months and three months only and on the first day of the fourth month they are charging me again. It is very frustrating but it is not going to change.

 

[allcraz]

I go to Megatlon, and they have always made it clear to me that when I want to stop paying, I MUST come in and sign a form. It has worked for 3 years. I just signed up for a year last week and they reminded me once again that although it was for a year, I had to come in and "dar de baja" at the end if I didn't want to continue being charged. Of course, statement monitoring is always important.

 

[gouchobob]

I would advise people that its generally a bad idea to use credit cards to pre-pay or make automatic payments in Argentina. It can be difficult to get the charges to stop once you have ended the service. In my case I had a internet provider who continued to bill me for 9 months after I terminated their services despite numerous phone calls, faxes, and letters. I ended up having my current credit card canceled and a new one issued with a different number. Moral of the story is have them send you a bill once a month and pay with cash or some other method.

 

[RogueTango]

I was just looking at their site because I desperately need to start working out again. Can someone tell me how much the dues are? Is it possible to just pay for one month? May stay is indefinate so I really don't want to commit to something just yet.