Gold's Gym

THESE PEOPLE ARE LITERALLY THIEVES. PLEASE READ THIS!
My wife and I joined what was then Aspen Athletic this past summer. We were told that Aspen would likely get purchased by Gold's, but that our contract would not change and there would be no additional charges. So we paid the initial "annual fee" and joined. Then, this month, I noticed what amounted to an additional $100 charge from Gold's for our monthly membership fee. When I asked about the reason for the extra $100, I was told by the customer service rep that it was a Gold's "annual service charge". I mentioned that I had already paid an "annual fee" when I joined 7 months ago, and that I had received no notification of, or reason for, this sudden extra $100 charge. Her only response was to say that this was a standard Gold's Gym charge, and that it was non-refundable. So basically, "tough s__t". Not only is this an unethical business practice, but it makes me wonder what other surprise charges are waiting for us out there from Gold's. Now, having read the numerous posts on the web about how shady Gold's is about their charging practices (for example: continuing to charge a former member's credit card for months after their contract is up) I wish I'd never joined this gym. The gym facility itself has proven very average, with nothing to make it stand-out from other options in the area. So, I guess if you have so much money that you're not concerned about how much someone who has your credit card number decides to charge you each month, you may get along great with the fine folks from Gold's Gym. Beware.