Putnam: Fitness US closes abruptly; members told to go to Owosso

LANSING – A financially troubled Frandor gym has abruptly closed its doors, telling its members to take a hike – and drive 34 miles to work out at Powerhouse gym in Owosso.

Fitness US, which took over a long-term lease in Frandor Shopping Center from the old Fitness USA in July 2014, closed Thursday morning without a word of warning to members or the  landlord.

Penny Ancel of DeWitt said she paid for classes on Wednesday as did other members of a busy water aerobics class. The policy was new, she said. She and others were told if they didn’t pay additional dollars for the classes, they wouldn’t be allowed to participate.

“I think it’s just a big scam. They knew they were going to close on Thursday so they tried to get as much out of us as they could,” said Ancel, who is 84. “It’s dishonest.”

Ancel said she paid $29 extra Wednesday in order to take classes in December. She generally pays $20 a month. She’s said she's out a total of $129 for a membership she won’t be able to use.

Owner Roberto Larrivey couldn’t be reached for comment. A message for him at Powerhouse gym in Owosso wasn’t returned though a woman who called back and identified herself only as a spokesperson said the Owosso gym company will work with Fitness US members. It wasn't clear how or if money already paid would be refunded.

Larrivey's LinkedIn page lists him as the owner of Fitness US sites in Lansing; Elkhart, Indiana; and Niceville, Florida. It lists his home base as Lansing.

“We had no idea they were closing. It was a shock to us,” said Patrick Corr, president of Corr Commercial Real Estate. Corr is one of the owners of the shopping center and his company manages the site.

He said the gym is six months behind in rent, totaling $30,000. Corr said  he filed a claim in Lansing district court in October to collect the back rent.

“He’s just calling it quits, I guess,” Corr said. “He’s been telling people it’s the landlord’s fault. It’s an outright lie…..These people should all get their money back.”

Corr said the gym at Frandor dates back 60 years. He said the gym was relocated during the 1990 reconstruction of the shopping center. It was rebuilt as a new space on the plaza’s north side.

Larrivey took over a long-term lease that still has two years remaining, Corr said. He added that the cost was far below current market rental rates.

On Friday morning, Fitness US employee John Bailey was draining the pool and disassembling equipment. He’s worked at the gym since 1998.

“I was informed by the management that they could not continue to take losses, and his losses were extensive,” Bailey said.

He said no instructions were left for members on how to collect money they’ve paid in advance.

Don Monta has been going to the gym since the late 1970s. It was called Slenderform originally, before it was Fitness USA. He said the gym offers a workout but also a social outlet as many members know each other.

He drives 17 miles from his home near Onondaga to use the gym on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, the days the locker room is designated for men. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays are for women.

He called the management style of the latest owner weird, with odd signs posted randomly. Notes would go up telling members to use private booths to change their clothes or to make sure to pick up the weight in the weight rooms because it was being monitored.

“They’d be up for a week or two, and then they’d disappear,” he said.

He said the membership fees were inconsistent too, with some people paying $5 or $10 a month and others more. The new fees for classes pushed the monthly costs for some up to $49 a month.

Monta, a retired attorney who worked in state government, said he wasn’t totally surprised when the gym closed. He recalls one time when a worker at the front desk was yelling into her phone that she needed to be paid. Then she said she quit and walked out, leaving the facility without any employees for about an hour, he recalled.

He said he asked a worker inside the facility Thursday for a way to get his money back. He’s out about $180 for paying a year in advance.

The worker handed him a form for cancellation. When he looked at the fine print, he found a $99 fee for cancelling.

Monta was especially irritated by the hand-written note that greeted him Thursday morning, directing him to Owosso – more than a 30 minute drive from Lansing.

“That’s ridiculous,” he said.

As of Friday morning, no consumer protection complaints had been filed, said Andrea Bitely, spokesman for Attorney General Bill Schuette.

She offered some tips from the Consumer Protection Division:

• Contact your credit card company or bank to dispute any charges or stop automatic payments. 
• File a complaint with the Consumer Protection Division, (517) 373-1140 or www.mi.gov/ag or by writing to Consumer Protection Division, P.O. Box 30213, Lansing MI 48909. 
• Businesses that close are still required to protect personal financial information. Check with the attorney general’s office for help.

Schuette said in a consumer alert that there were 65 complaints filed last year about health club memberships. Most of the complaints involved a discrepancy between what members were told by a salesperson and what they actually got.

He also warned to carefully consider what lifetime membership could mean if the gym closes or you move. And keep a copy of your contract.

Consumer complaints should be filed as soon as possible with the attorney general’s office as the Consumer Protection Division will try to collect as much as possible prior to a company filling for bankruptcy, the consumer alert said.

Judy Putnam is a columnist with the Lansing State Journal. Contact her at (517) 267-1304 or at jputnam@lsj.com. Write to her at300 S. Washington Square Suite #300 Lansing, MI, 48933. Follow her on Twitter @JudyPutnam.