ComplaintsforDedham Health & Athletic Complex

• Initial Complaint

  10/01/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  As a guest playing tennis at the complex I am responsible for paying court fees which I am happy to do. I received a bill for $146.25 which was more than I incurred and went in person to request an itemized bill.I was advised I had to pay the balance first before they could provide the itemization. I foolishly paid it.Once the itemized printout was provide there were 3 charges of $25 with the notation insufficient funds. I challenged this with no luck. and took the statement to my credit union where my account and debit card are managed. They confirmed these 3 charges WERE NEVER BILLED by Dedham Health and Athletic and that they must have entered invalid card information. My account has never been below a significant amount so with this confirmation from the credit union, I proceeded to Dedham Health and Athletic. The desk associate was unable to assist me so the manager *** got involved.*** was adamant that they could NOT refund me the $75 in incorrect charges due to their error ($3 $25 charges. He stated he could credit me $75 if I joined the club which I have no interest in doing.I am appalled that this business refused to rectify their 3 errors and refund me the monies due to their carelessness and errors.To add insult to injury I received a letter on 9/25 stating this was their 3rd attempt to collect monies I paid several days before.I am seeking reimbursement and also suggest if a card is ever denied that the business share that with the client WHEN IT OCCURS . The fact that dio not makes me feel they are scamming clients. Very shady business practices in place!

  

  Business response

  10/02/2023

  Good Morning
  My name is ***********************, I am the membership director at Dedham Health and Athletic Complex. I am writing in response to Mr. ***************************** and his statement /concern regarding our billing policy, specifically our procedure for credit card kickbacks.
  ****************** is a somewhat consistent guest at our facility. As such he is familiar with the fact that we charge guest fees and court fees which he has contractually agreed to by providing a credit card for monthly withdrawal of accrued charges. We withdraw accrued fees each month on the first of the month. We have thousands of transactions on a monthly basis. In many cases for whatever reason credit cards are rejected or kicked back. It is not always because of insufficient funds. It may be due to the fact that a card was tampered with, or an account is on temporary hold because it was used at a business that was hacked, perhaps the zip code doesn't match up, there are many reasons why a card may not go through. In almost all cases the credit card company or the bank will fault the establishment doing the billing. Its an easy out.
  In this specific case ****************** states that after the 3rd kick back he received a letter from us regarding monies owed. Also, in his complaint he states that we should notify clients upon the initial kick back, that's a great idea. In fact we do. Anytime there is a card issue all members and non-members receive an email making them aware of the issue and requesting they reach out to us to resolve the problem. ****************** would have received 2 of these notifications prior to the letter which he obviously received. We have ******************** correct email in our system based on the "customer information provided by ********************.
  We are not in the business of aggravating paying customers. In fact we work very hard to avoid issues like this. That said I can't require patrons to read their emails or answer their phones.
  As for his statement that he has "no interest in joining the club" I have a different recollection. In fact, he asked me what I could do with the charges if he decided to join, and I told him we would reduce his joining fee accordingly.
  Furthermore, the letter that he received **** was sent by a collection agency for people who bounce after 3 months. The letter is an automatic part of the process and Im sure it was in the mailing system prior to him paying his past due balance. I certainly apologize for the mail being slower than it could be.
  Lastly, Dedham Health and Athletic has been a thriving business for more than 50 years. I have been the director for over 30 , We have an outstanding relationship with our members, guests and our community. We are always happy to discuss member / guest concerns and resolve them to the best of our ability. I am happy to have another discussion with ****************** to explain the process from our end so he does not feel that we are "SCAMMING CLIENTS" or that we are a "VERY SHADY PRACTICE". Contrary to his choice of words we do not make careless errors. Are we perfect? Absolutely not. To state, however that our policies are "careless", and "shady" is offensive to what we stand for and the reputation we have created over 50 years.
  Sincerely
  ***********************
  Director

  Customer response

  10/03/2023

  Better Business Bureau:I have reviewed the response submitted by the business and have determined that the response does not satisfy or resolve my issues and/or concerns in reference to complaint # ********. Please add your rejection comments below; if you do not provide any details, your complaint will be closed as Answered. 

  As he was when I met with him to rectify the issue of the 3 incorrect $25 charges which show as Insufficient funds on the printout rhe desk clerk provide, he is defecting the issue and did not address or respond to the actual complaint that is the surcharges totaling $75 should be refunded.  

  **** speaks to what an amazing club he runs but neglected to address the actual complaint and request for a refund., instead he deflected to the volume of their transactions etc.and blames the bank for the clubs system/financial errors.

  As I noted I am very aware and was very willing to pay the required court fees but not the additional surcharges due to issues with DAC system and process. To set the record straight, I did ask what the membership would cost and at that point the application to the club was handed to me and I was asked to sign up and **** would credit my membership $75.00 but he could not do anything to correct the clerical/system error of incorrect charges. Absurd.

  As to email notices as the fees were being charged, I never received any or would have addressed immediately.

  I am hopeful that the club ,which as **** explained, has been in business for years, will do the proper thing and am hopeful my credit to my debit card is forthcoming.

  
  Businesses and Customers should be civil, courteous and polite in their responses to complaints. It is important to remain professional and productive when participating in the BBB complaint process.
  
  FAQ
  
  Regards,

  ******

   

   

  

  Business response

  10/04/2023

  Good afternoon,

  ******************, I have several concerns regarding your statement to the BBB.

  1. You state that it is our fault that your credit card was not accessible to pay ** for the services we provided you. The notation of insufficient funds is somehow the fault of the club. We will agree to disagree here. Your card kicked back 3 times. We sent you an email to the email on account 3 times and still did not receive a reply. The business is charged for the card kick backs. 

  2. You state that you never received the emails. There are only 3 reasons in my experience that you would not receive a system email. 1. Wrong email,. 2. You have unsubscribed to our emails. 3. You server sent the email to SPAM. I checked our system and emails were sent to bluewatersteve @icloud.com

  3. You stated you didn't ask about membership when in fact you did. The form you were asked to fill out was an interest /tour card not a contract as you stated.

  4. You also stated that we required you to make a payment before we would show you an itemized bill. This is totally untrue. In fact ,your itemized bill is available to you at all times on line through our website, so why would we keep you from viewing it in person?

  5. I never stated that I run an amazing club. I simply stated that DHAC has been in business for 50+ years and we are proud of the reputation we have earned. While you use disparaging terms like "shady" and "scamming". in reference to our practices. My staff takes great pride in providing outstanding service to our members and guests. We work hard for our good reputation which you take liberty's with and bend the truth to fit your narrative. 

  6. Lastly, I did not "defect" as you state, from your actual complaint. I attempted to explain why the charges occurred and even offered to speak in person to explain and resolve this issue. Obviously you weren't and aren't interested. 

  In conclusion, it is evident that you do not like the way we conduct our business, and you have no interest in continuing this relationship. To avoid being accused of "deflecting" I will resolve this issue immediately and credit the card you have on file for the $75 which you state has been charged in error. This credit will mark the end of any further services offered by Dedham Health and Athletic Complex to ******************************** 

  I trust this resolves your concerns.

  All the best

  ***********************

  Director

   

   

  Customer response

  10/05/2023

  
  
  Better Business Bureau:
  My integrity and reputation is being questioned based on the different "recollections" stated here by the Director.  In addition, I am being punished and excluded from visiting DAHC with my long term friends who are members . I willingly agreed to pay the court fees and any other expenses I incurred but felt being charged for insufficient funds that I never heard of until I received the overstated bill.  I will share with members why I am no no longer able to  join them for our twice weekly tennis plans and the unpleasant interactions. 
  I have reviewed the response submitted by the business and have determined that the response does satisfy my issues and/or concerns in reference to complaint #********. I understand that by choosing to accept the business response that my complaint will be closed as resolved. 

  
  
  Regards,
  
  ***************************

*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. ↩