New owner holds them to contract

By NANCY PARADIS

© St. Petersburg Times, published June 8, 2000

Last November, my family, my wife Melba and two children, Jennifer and Steven, signed up at Oakbrook Fitness Center in Clearwater during a "two for one" membership drive. We paid just under $1,000. We did not notice at the time that, on my wife's application, our daughter Jennifer was not included. Mine did include my son, Steven.

Since November, we have been attending classes at the center. Initially we received four provisional cards. When only three official cards arrived, we repeatedly complained to the front desk and were told it was "in the mail."

A new owner took over, and on Monday, April 24, he removed my daughter from the exercise class she had been attending. He said that, unless we paid for our daughter, she could not come again.

I tried in vain to talk to the new owner, Mr. Clymer. His response was that the mistake was made by the previous manager and that we should have noticed she wasn't included on the contract. I wish to have my daughter reinstated as a member of the gym. Henry Morris

Response: Kirk Clymer, president of WorkOut Station in Lake Elsinore, Calif., said he purchased Oakbrook Fitness Center in Clearwater on Feb. 1. As part of the purchase agreement, WorkOut Station agreed to honor all existing members in accordance with their contracts. Your contracts show that you purchased a 14-month membership for yourself and Steven and a 26-month membership for your wife, Melba. Nowhere on either contract is there any reference to your daughter. Both contracts are signed by you and your wife.

It is standard for all fitness centers to have their members check in at the front desk when entering the facility, he said. On the occasion to which you referred on April 24, it was your wife who refused to check in when she was asked to provide her membership identification. Shortly thereafter, she and your daughter were asked to leave the class that they had entered without authorization.

Clymer said that, when you called to discuss the situation, you suggested that he reduce your wife's membership to one year and add your daughter. He was willing to do this until he learned that she is only 12 years old, and his insurance will not cover anyone under 13. He explained this to you and said he would continue to honor the contracts as they are written. He said he will continue to do so unless you refuse to obey the rules of the club, in which case he will suspend your memberships indefinitely. Your anger should be directed at the previous owners of the club, he said, and not at him.

Plants dead on arrival

On March 3, I mailed a check for $13.95 to Lakeside Products in Pompano Beach for two tomato tree plants. Upon receiving the canceled check but no plants, I called the company long-distance on April 5, and, after being put on hold for nearly 10 minutes, was told that the order had been sent March 15 and would take two weeks to arrive.

The plants arrived on May 8 in a flimsy box from Hartford, Mich. As you can see from the pictures I took of them, they could not have been more dead.

I contacted the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, and it advised me to return the plants to Lakeside Products for a refund.

Can you tell me why a company in Pompano Beach can have its orders sent from a company in Hartford, Mich.? Even if the plants had arrived in perfect condition instead of being dead, it was much too late to plant them in Florida.

Thank you for your information and help. Charlotte Wilkinson

Response: According to a handwritten note from the company, Lakeside Products in Pompano Beach, a refund of $10.95 was issued on May 24. Although you were hoping to be reimbursed the cost of the long-distance call and the cost to ship the dead plants back, you have been refunded only the cost of the plants themselves. It is not unusual for companies to deduct their initial shipping and handling expenses when issuing refunds.

Now, to answer your other questions. The nursery from which the plants were shipped is in Michigan. Again, it is not uncommon for a mail-order company to ship merchandise from a different address or state than the order or customer service address.

We checked with Opal Schallmo, horticulturist at the Pinellas County Cooperative Extension Service in Largo. She said you are right, May is too late to plant tomatoes. She also said you are better off buying plants from local nurseries. The plants sold in local markets are going to be those that grow well here.

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