Fysicly Fit - the Long Beach, CA company- does anyone know what happened-did the owners flee town?

Question

LONG BEACH - The owners of the Fysicly Fit gyms closed up shop at four sites Wednesday, leaving scores of clients and a cadre of trainers out in the cold.
There were only vague messages posted on the locations themselves, telling former customers that unforeseen circumstances led to the sudden move.

The owners, identified by employees as Craig and Yvonne Claro, moved.
The four locations that were closed up Wednesday were at 5542 E. Second St., in Naples; 148 Main St., Seal Beach; 301 Atlantic Ave., in downtown Long Beach and a Just For Her Fitness branch at 6549 E. Pacific Coast Highway. A supervisor said he had received an e-mail that the closure was necessary due to emergency circumstances. A number of customers complained of losing substantial amounts of cash for their prepaid memberships and personal training sessions.

Answer 1

OUCH! Can we say "Better Business Bureau"???!!!! I'd be contacting my local news station. They'd probably love to do a story on this and would be able to delve into the details. Forced bad publicity will ensure they cough up the owed money.

Answer 2

Sounds like you got screwed!

Let this be a lesson to anyone reading. You NEVER EVER want to sign up for fitness clubs where you have to sign contracts and prepay for anything longer than a month. The reasons are:

1. The company may go out of business, leaving you with a worthless prepaid membership.
2. The company is more interested in signing new members, hoping they will tire of the place and not show up, so they can sign up even more new members. They have no reason to actually try and encourage you to come work out with them once you've joined.

The best clubs are the ones on a monthly membership plan. They are actively trying to get you to come to the club and use it, so you will keep paying your dues. They are the ones coming up with improvements in services offered, because if you don't keep using them, you'll quit and they'll lose those monthly dues.

I'm sorry you had to learn this lesson. My one suggestion is that if you were paying your membership by credit card, contact your credit card immediately to see if they can reverse some of the charges.