After trying other gyms in Fort Collins, Zone Athletic Club seemed just right for Megan Jones.
The sprawling south Fort Collins facility, 2937 Council Tree Ave., was nice, not too crowded and close to Jones’ home, she said. What’s more? Jones’ boyfriend, Trey Branom, had already been a member there for months. She joined under Branom’s account — for $39.99 a month — in early February.
A few weeks later, on Feb. 26, Jones said she and Branom were surprised to learn from an employee that the gym might not be open the next day.
A letter soon went up in its front door confirming the permanent closure, citing a lease issue with the building’s landlord. Notices from the Colorado Department of Revenue followed, detailing how the business had been seized over $45,000 in unpaid taxes withheld from employee wages.
When the Coloradoan originally reported on the closure, Crunch Fitness, 2211 S. College Ave., said it would honor Zone Athletic Club memberships and allow former Zone members to work out at its Midtown facility. After 90 days, Zone memberships are expected to be formally transferred over to Crunch Fitness, according to Crunch area manager Tiffany Lawson.
But now, almost two weeks later, Jones said she and Branom have tried to cancel their memberships with no success while still being charged for them and Branom’s personal training sessions. Another Zone Athletic Club member who reached out to the Coloradoan also detailed confusion around Zone’s closure and a lack of communication about next steps for its members.
Zone Athletic Clubs contends that the Fort Collins gym’s sudden closure came after a monthslong effort to reassign its lease to a new gym tenant fell through at the eleventh hour in late February, according to Brad Banker, COO of Zone Athletic Clubs, which has two other locations in Denver and Aurora.
“Our hands were tied,” Banker said. “We literally could not do anything more. We tried everything.”
The building’s landlord, Kimco Realty, does not comment on individual tenant discussions or legal proceedings, its senior vice president for marketing and retail partnerships Jennifer Maisch told the Coloradoan last month.
The gym’s last day in operation was Feb. 26.
At the time of its closure, the Fort Collins gym was in the process of paying off unpaid income taxes withheld from employee wages, Banker said. Banker claims that the tax bill was a result of Zone Athletic Clubs’ old payroll company not paying wage withheld taxes to the state.
Once the gym closed, Banker said, the state seized the business and plans to sell its equipment to pay off its tax bill.
Zone Athletic Clubs’ former payroll company did not respond to the Coloradoan’s request for comment Tuesday.
With its closure imminent, Banker said Zone Athletic Clubs sold its 4,000-strong membership base to Crunch Fitness in late February. Crunch Fitness has a facility at 2211 S. College Ave. in Fort Collins.
Zone Athletic Club memberships were therefore transferred to Crunch Fitness. Banker defended the move, noting that, per the Colorado Consumer Protection Act, Zone Athletic Clubs doesn’t need to offer membership cancellations as long as said memberships are moved to a new location less than five miles away.
While Crunch Fitness is over a five-mile drive from Fort Collins’ Zone Athletic Club, Banker argues the two gyms are less than five miles apart “as the crow flies,” therefore satisfying any legal requirements.
Under Crunch Fitness, former Zone Athletic Club members who had monthly memberships can cancel with 30 days notice, per their contracts, Banker said. Zone Athletic Club members who prepaid for longer membership terms will have to see those contracts through at Crunch Fitness, he added.
Members can enquire about cancellation by emailing Zone Athletic Clubs’ billing company, PeakServe, at support@peakserve.com, Banker said. PeakServe’s customer phone line can be reached at 801-981-5328.
Despite being told they’d be able to cancel their memberships, Jones said she and Branom have had no luck doing so after repeated calls and emails to PeakServe.
Branom called the company on Feb. 28 and Jones followed up with calls on March 5, March 7 and March 10, Jones said. Emails sent to PeakServe have been met with automated messages that acknowledge their receipt and ask for 5-7 days to respond, according to screenshots Jones sent the Coloradoan.
The couple had also tried calling Zone Athletic Clubs’ Fort Collins location, which has since had its phone line disconnected, and emailing the health club. They have received no response, Jones said.
In the meantime, Branom has continued to be charged for the pair’s monthly memberships — including a $59.99 monthly membership charge on March 7 and $680 in personal training fees charged by Zone Athletic Clubs on Monday, according to banking information shared with the Coloradoan.
While Jones said they were told Branom’s twice-weekly personal training sessions would be honored at Crunch Fitness, she said he was told by Crunch Fitness that since he signed a contract with a specific trainer at Zone — and that trainer did not move over to Crunch Fitness — they cannot honor those sessions.
Banker said any personal training sessions purchased at Zone Athletic Clubs should be honored at Crunch Fitness, whether by a client’s original trainer or another trainer at the gym.
The Coloradoan contacted Crunch Fitness regarding this claim on Tuesday and had not heard back as of Wednesday afternoon.
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