Complaints

This profile includes complaints for Sapience, LLC dba Emerald City Athletics's headquarters and its corporate-owned locations. To view all corporate locations, see Find Local Branches.

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Sapience, LLC dba Emerald City Athletics has 4 locations, listed below.

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  Sapience, LLC dba Emerald City Athletics

  3924 Stone Way N Seattle, WA 98103

  
• 

  Emerald City Athletics - Ballinger Village

  20202 Ballinger Way NE Shoreline, WA 98155

• 

  Emerald City Athletics - Everett

  10110 Evergreen Way Everett, WA 98204

  
• 

  Emerald City Athletics - Columbia City

  3785 S. Alaska Street Seattle, WA 98118

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:04/28/2023

  Type:Order Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  "Harassment, Stalking, Discrimination, Slandering, Defamation, Negligence, and Emotional Injury": I used to go to a workout place (gym) for approximately 12 years. These things happened to me for the last approximately 3 years. Despite my repeated complaints to trainers, management, and owner, nothing was done about it. When I pressed them to run investigation, I was asked to leave the gym with an offensive way. This happened to me at Emerald City Athletic (***) in *******, **.*I was harassed by the verbal threats and insults made by the other member. These threats and insults persisted and never went away as *** never managed to have the other person to stop harassing me, despite my repeated complaints for trainers, management, and finally the owner.*I am a victim of *** negligence and was harmed and emotionally distressed; especially, when *** owner labeled me as a predator and offensive by accusing me touching a woman and following her in the parking lot.*I was stalked as the other member waited for me behind an open door until I pass by and he would say get out of here scaring me. *I was discriminated against as the other member used to say I have an accent after he said get out of here.*I was slandered and defamed by *** owner by accusing me touching a woman and following her in the parking lot.*Honor tarnishing: My honor was tarnished by accusing me touching a woman and following her in the parking lot. *Financial Fraud / Contract Money: *** stole my contract money by violating the contract and not reimbursing me for the amount I paid of $ ****** and was supposed to expire on 9/14/2023 as the contract renewed on 9/14/2021.*Also, for approximately 1 year, the *** owner was saying he will be increasing charges on my contract as I am over-using the gym multiple times per day at time the contract does not specify how many times I can use the gym per day.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 05/01/2023

  To whom it may concern,
  
  Over the years we have been happy to have ****** in our facility. Generally, he had been a good member and we had not had any notable complaints regarding him. Our staff knew him by name and even looked forward to greeting him when he came in. Sometime in mid 2021 our staff noticed unusual behaviors including improper use of equipment and dressing indecently (wearing just underwear without pants). Our team addressed the issues with ******, but no changes were made following the conversations. Shortly thereafter we started to receive complaints from members stating that ****** had been following them around, bumping into them repeatedly, staring, and otherwise creating an uncomfortable environment. Our manager addressed the complaints, and still again nothing changed. The complaints became more frequent and quickly turned into other members demanding we revoke his membership or else they would cancel theirs.
  Because ****** had been a member for so long, and we knew he meant no harm, we did not revoke his membership at that time. The complaints continued and we had many members cancel their memberships due to feeling uncomfortable around ******. This issue had grown to a point where it was causing a financial loss to our business to allow ****** to continue as a member. Our owner had the conversation with ****** himself letting him know that we were revoking his membership. We never enjoy having to revoke a membership; however it was not only in ECAs best interest, but the best interest of the hundreds of other members who use our club every day.
  As always, we wish ****** nothing but good health and happiness.
  
  Respectfully,
  ECA Management 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 05/01/2023

   
  Complaint: 19992203
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  Emerald City claims are lies and I maintain they are lies.
  
  ECA lies and false accusation mostly to divert attention away from the actual problems/complaints listed above "Harassment,Stalking, Discrimination, Slandering, Defamation, Negligence, and Emotional Injury".
  
  I rarely used the equipment and whenever I used the equipment I used them the same way for my entire time at ECA. When they lately started suggesting not to use the equipment certain way, I immediately complied. I never resisted with their change of policy.
  
  I never went with only underwear. Any adjustment requested from me was done promptly and I was complying with any recommendation they made. My behaviors had been the same over the years. They suddenly turned around and started discriminating against me trying to have me pay more for my old low-priced membership and because of me going to the gym multiple times per day at time others were using the gym multiple times a day as well and were not asked to pay more.
  
  I never followed anyone around. I never bumped into anyone. I never starred at anyone. All my behaviors were consistent with the behaviors over the years I spent at ECA. Any suggestion made by the manager was complied with promptly. Again, I complied with any change in policy. I maintain that they suddenly turned around and started discriminating against me trying to have me pay more for my low-priced membership.
  
  I was never told that members cancelled their memberships because of me. Mismanagement and failure of running ECA properly definitely result in loss of business and not blame ******** because of his low-priced membership and falsely accuse him. 
  
  The owner never had a conversation with me. On 9/25/2022 the owner walked up to me, in front of other members, and he said "****** this is your last day at the club. Go and find another club. You touched a woman and followed her in the parking lot" and he walked away and did not want to talk anymore. This was a big lie as I never touched a woman and never followed a woman in the parking lot.
  
  I still maintain my original list of claims are true and exactly how things happened. ECA response is full of lies and false accusations.

  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***********************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:04/07/2023

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  EAC bought another local gym's memberships without notifying those members. They then charged a $60 "joining" fee without any notification, and have since continued to charge monthly fees without any authorization to do so. I have now been charged over $110 for a service I don't want, never asked for, or signed any contract for. At no point have I ever agreed to be a member of this gym and I expect a full refund for all charges since the previous business closed down.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 04/18/2023

  *****,
  
  We appreciate you reaching out to make sure your account was properly taken care of and apologize for any confusion there may be regarding the transfer of your membership. I want to assure you that nothing unauthorized has taken place. In your agreement with Fitness19 you authorized the sale of the membership with clause "41. Assignment: FITNESS 19 may close or move your club of enrollment without affecting this agreement if it transfers your membership to a comparable club within ten (10) miles of this one. FITNESS 19 reserves the right to sell, transfer or assign your membership. A notice of assignment shall be in writing and addressed to the Member at the address shown on this Agreement." 
  
  Fitness19 reached out to each member prior to the transfer to make sure everyone was informed of the move in locations. Our third-party billing company, *** Fitness Solutions, handled the transfer of accounts internally to ensure the utmost security of data. Once the transfer was complete, we here at ECA have reached out to you directly several times at the contact information provided by Fitness19 in hopes that we could get you in using the facilities and show you what all we have to offer. 
  
  Im not sure where you are seeing a $69 enrollment fee.We have not and will never charge any of our members, including those transferred from Fitness19, any amounts outside of their signed agreement.
  Our Club Coordinator has previously reached out to confirm the cancellation of your membership here at ECA and provided you with the contact information for Fitness19 in the case that you feel your membership was transferred incorrectly. Our offer of a 30-day no-hassle pass at our club in ************************** still stands should you need a gym to use temporarily until you find a club that better suits your needs. Again, I appreciate you reaching out and giving us the opportunity to take care of your account. If you have any further questions, dont hesitate to reach out!
  
  Respectfully,
  ECA Management 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 04/18/2023

   
  Complaint: 19911035
  
  I am rejecting this response because: at no point have I received any communication from EAC or Fitness19 to notify me of this transfer. When I was finally contact by the club regarding cancelling the membership I never authorized they had to do so by text to the phone number I left when I called. They clearly do not have an email or physical address for me therefore any claims that they carried out their obligations to communicate with me are false. 
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *************************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:12/02/2022

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Fitness ************************************* closed 11-15-2022 Email was sent out 11-11-2022 regarding closure and membership being automatically transferred to Emerald City Athletics. Given 30 days to cancel membership and try gym -Wednesday 11-16-2022 around 7pm I came in to cancel, see image of signed request -Thursday 11-17-2022 while on a business call with the pharmacy commission at 12:56 noon I received a voice message that I had to call back or my membership will still be considered active from a ***** 12:57 email was sent out with the same message -11-17-2022 @2pm called back ************, person said ***** wasnt working that day even though the caller ID clearly has their number, said she starts at 3pm -11-17-22 @3pm called back ***** and person said shes on the line and will call me in 10 min -11-17-22 @4pm called back again to the other line ************ and different male voice says ***** isnt there. Left my number again and was told shed call back Friday 11/18/22 Monday 11/21/22 I noticed the email sent out and responded @6:52pm. I work nights and for the last 4 days Ive slept with my phone on and next to me in case she would call back. It is now Tuesday 11/22/22 and no return call and I called again @3:08pm and ***** is still not in. This gym is horrible!!!! Horrible business practice and unprofessional. Im expecting Im going to get the run around until the next dues are due. I want my account/membership cancelled and closed! I want no further charges, my last charge was 11/15/22 from Fitness 19 and if I had gone in November and realized they were closing I would have cancelled then. I want nothing to go into collections after this date and I will continue to file complaints. Ive attached records of all my attempts. My original contract was with fitness 19 not these people and the contract is over 10 years old. I paid $49 total for 4 different peoples membership. Please get them to cancel my membership before more charges accrue.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 03/31/2023

  ****,

  
  I appreciate you reaching out to resolve this issue and apologize for any confusion. It looks like your account was cancelled immediately with no further billing once we received your request in November 2022. We were in a bit of a game of phone tag trying to confirm your account information. We are more than happy to help take care of your account in any way we can, but it is an unfair request that our one administrator should ignore other inquiries and be available for just you at any moment. It seems youve made a number of assumptions about our company that are plainly not true. We have no desire to give anyone the run around in order to continue billing. Whether we are able to speak with you the same day you handed in your request or two weeks later, your accepted notice of termination date remains the same. It seems you have a busy schedule, as do we,which can make a phone conversation difficult and that is why we send a follow up email immediately after leaving a voice message; to ensure you can contact us in whichever way is most convenient for you. ***** is a kind, professional,and wonderful employee and for you to publicly discredit that in this way is wrong.
  
  
  Additionally,In your agreement with Fitness19 you authorized the sale of the membership with clause "41. Assignment: FITNESS 19 may close or move your club of enrollment without affecting this agreement if it transfers your membership to a comparable club within ten (10) miles of this one. FITNESS 19 reserves the right to sell, transfer or assign your membership. A notice of assignment shall be in writing and addressed to the Member at the address shown on this Agreement" If you are upset with the transfer of your original contract,please reach out to Fitness19 corporate in order to find resolution.
  
  Respectfully,

• Initial Complaint

  Date:11/16/2022

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I filled out a form to cancel my membership last Novemeber 2021. For a year now the gym has been recurring my monthly payments without my knowledge and I signed a form saying I do not consent to continue my membership. They said today, 11/16/22, that no such file is attached to my account. They have essentially stolen $1,200 from me under the guise of me not completing the proper procedures. I asked to be reimbursed or to have my membership paid forward and lady on the phone who handles accounts hung up on me

  

  Business Response

  Date: 12/12/2022

  ********,

  
  Ive looked over in detail your account. To this date there has been no request to cancel provided by you to ********* If you had cancelled in November of 2021, there were only two ways to go about the process and each of those ways ensure that you, the member, receive physical documentation of your Cancellation Notice. The first way is to come into the club and fill out a cancellation form in club, we would have provided you with a yellow carbon copy of that form for your records. The second way is to send Cancellation Notice via certified mail. This way you receive a tracking number as well as proof of delivery once ******** signs for the letter. If you can provide either of these documents, we are more than happy to correct any wrongful charges. Without proper cancellation notice, any membership that bills monthly will continue as such until action is taken on your end. Without any cancellation notice handed in prior to 11/16/2022, all charges on the account are non-refundable per your signed agreement. It looks like when you spoke with our Club Coordinator, she explained this in depth to you. She went above and beyond during that conversation by offering to cancel the account with no further billing, waiving the required 30-day notice for cancellation and granting you a free 6-month extension on your membership as a customer service gesture. The transcripts of the call show that you were using profanity towards her and not allowing her to speak. She finally interrupted and let you know we do not tolerate being screamed at so if you would like the conversation to continue you had to stop.You continued to yell at her, so she ended the conversation. It goes without saying that yelling at, belittling, and blatantly disrespecting a customer service representative at a small business is entirely unacceptable.
   Again, we will absolutely take responsibility for any error on our end by correcting any charges deemed wrong by your contract, but without proper notice of cancellation the charges remain accurate. We will even hold true to our offer of 6 months for free, as long as you agree to remain respectful to all staff and members within the club.
  
  Respectfully,
  ***** ECA District Coordinator