Review of Soma Health Club in South Williamsburg Brookly. DO NOT JOIN

December 7th, 2009

It has been a while since I have blogged here at Almost Girl. I have tended towards puttering around on my Almost Blogs and occasionally Tumbling.

However I am so concerned and frustrated by an experience I had with Soma Health Club in Williamsburg I plan to voice my concerns as far and as wide as it is possible so that others do get find themselves in my position. I am now $410 dollars in the hole to Soma Health Club due to their DECEPTIVE and MANIPULATIVE business practices.

I signed a one year contract with Soma from July 2008 to July 2009. I moved from Brooklyn to Manhattan in May and had asked about early termination of memberships at the end of March as I knew my move was impending. The cancelation fee was four months of membership so I told the female supervisor that I would pay through July and end my membership. She verbally confirmed this would be fine. Frustrating but still in the contract.

However I have recently been going through my finances and I have been getting charged by Soma $82 a month every single month despite the fact that my membership was up in July. IT IS NOW DECEMBER!

They are now telling me I have to physically come in and sign a form saying I do not want to auto-renew. However the contract I signed says that you must simply give 30 day notice, it does not stipulate it must be written notice.

Soma Health Club Member Agreement

I have phone records and emails to prove that I contacted the club on March 27th to investigate termination of membership and received verbal confirmation from the female supervisor that I would end my contract in July. Given the terms of the contract this should be adequate. Below is my first email contact with them at 2:11pm on March 27st and my phone call to them (from my AT&T phone bill) at 3pm the same day.

Email To Soma Health Club
Call To Soma Health Club To Cancel

I called to complain on Saturday the 5th of December saying that I thought I had canceled in March and that my final payment would be July as confirmed by their female supervisor. I called again this morning saying I had gotten another charge on my credit card despite the fact that I had called on Saturday asking for this to stop. The manager very nastily told me that until I signed the form I would continue toget charged and I would not get my money for December back even though clearly I have been trying to cancel, if not in March, then very clearly in December.

It is upsetting that I have only just discovered this and yes I should have found it earlier but this is not appropriate given the terms of their own contract. They are making no attempt to work with me in good faith. Getting a charge on my card even though they know I want to get this canceled because I did not physically come into the club to sign is not my legal obligation according to their own contract.

The fact that they are unwilling to do anything to be helpful or decent is shocking to me. As far as I am concerned they should refund me five months of dues or $410 dollars and particularly the December dues given that I have been trying to cancel, they knew this, and yet they still charged me.

When I asked to speak to the owner the manager David said that he would not forward my complaint to them and he is the only person who would hear it. He further reiterated that he had no intention of refunding my dues. I continued to ask politely and in a calm tone if they would be willing to give me back any money and he said “this conversation is over.”

They won’t even try to work with me on this. In my final phone conversation with them the Manager David told me that if I wanted to pursue the matter further I could take it up with a lawyer. I have filed a chargeback to my VISA and my lawyer tells me I have enough evidence to make the case to my credit card company with the above evidence and contract. I have also submitted a complaint to the Better Business Bureau.

To anyone looking to join a gym in Williamsburg think twice. They have no concern for you as a person, as a member or to gain your loyal business. They simply want your money. Do not give your business or money. I have reviewed them on Yelp, CitySearch, Google Business, Yahoo Local Business, Social Workout and on their own Facebook page. I will continue to tell my story until Soma Health Club wishes to work with me in good faith towards an equitable solution. One that does not involve lawyers or the Better Business Bureau preferably.

Find Me At The Almost Blogs

December 30th, 2008

It is unlikely that I will be doing much personal blogging for a while. I am far too busy with my job. But I am blogging actively and every single day on the almost blogs. Check out Almost Abode, Almost Dressed, Almost Heeled, Almost Packed and Almost Pretty for a daily dose of Julie.

Sorry For The Interruption

December 10th, 2008

Not feeling much urge to blog or otherwise engage in social media on a personal level much anymore. But don’t worry you can always email me! I believe that is real social networking.

Phew Fashion Week. Halfway

September 9th, 2008

Really impressed with the way coverage is going this season Coutorture. We are using a new platform that I am thrilled with (its making this so much easier). I am trucking around town with two batteries, a wifi stick and a laptop I go from designer interview to designer interview.

I really feel like our coverage has gotten progressively more serious, much faster, and more artistically interesting. We are still beating larger organizations with bigger budgets and more public relations lubrication with our pace and even our breadth. We now have access pretty much anywhere we want when it comes to interviews and shows but its still a lot of work and not all PRs are as aware of the breadth and seriousness of our coverage. I think our access has improved as more people have gotten used to the idea of online coverage not necessarily because people are that investigative of our work and given it their seal of approval (meh, its my own fault for using so many big words in our features) as our coverage has enough nuance to confuse the poor dears as to just how positive (very honestly, we live for designers) we really are or are not. I would warrant most PRs don’t really do their homework when it comes to the coverage, the tone, and the intensity of a given outlet.

But designers are certainly taking notice which is heartening. Its been so amazing to have been at this for enough seasons (I believe I am on my 7th) that I have relationships with so many of the designers I have come to love and respect. Out of everyone they seem to appreciate our interest in the process and its details from the textiles and sourcing to the imaginative process the most. They know we aren’t in it for some gimmicky coverage or entitled enjoyment and they have rewarded us with their insight and friendship. Hard work really is its own reward.

Blueprint

August 24th, 2008

This may be a sign that I am getting older but I don’t immediately dismiss shelter magazines like I once did. An old Domino magazine crossed my path this weekend and I spent an hour reading it. But you know what I really miss? I miss Blueprint.

Blueprint Magazine

If precious twentysomething style had a shelter magazine Blueprint was it. I knew the magazine died (I am kicking myself for not getting a subscription to support its killer editorial) but after my Domino experience I figured I could at least enjoy the Blueprint website. WRONG! They let that die too. Come on Martha, how the hell are we supposed to grow up to be like you if we don’t have a good starter magazine?

I would wager precious twentysomethings aren’t spendy enough or they spend on Marni and not Smeg but come on, I am going to hit my mid twenties soon and I am starting to feel the urge to take shelter!

Niagra Falls

August 12th, 2008

Julie at Niagra Falls

I am in Buffalo for a few days working (great internet cafes in this town) and hanging with my big brother Scott. While he normally lives in Baton Rouge where he works as a chemical engineer he is in Buffalo for a few days for a client. Thus I hopped on a train to meet him up here for a few days of large bodies of water and chicken wings.

In The Summer, In The City

July 29th, 2008

No need to watch, just listen

GNERG

July 22nd, 2008

We have a fun photo shoot today for Coutorture and I have become obsessed with these Selima Optique clear glasses. GNERGY!

Julie Fredrickson in Selima Optique

The Perils of Being Late

July 16th, 2008

I was having one of those mornings in which delays popped up at every turn. My phone got misplaced, I hit all the red lights on my walk to the subway, I just missed the train, and so on and so forth. I was on my way to Sabine Le Chatelier’s Trend Tasting talk at Premier Vision. Sadly I arrived at 9:40 and was faced with a giant registration line that would have gotten me in the door somewhere around 10am and half an hour into her talk.

Thus to distract myself until the next seminar I wandered into the Jimmy Choo sample sale next door. I am somewhat wary of large shoe sales as invariably the prices are completely out of whack, there are scary women lusting, and you rarely find a good deal anyway. Despite my good friend Lauren coming out with a book on the brand the allure of the Choo shoe has never been strong for me. And yet I found something. The one hole in my shoe wardrobe is the formal sandal.

New Jimmy Choos

My preference for gold and platform heels is long standing. And thus when a press sample pair of 37 gold platform current season sandals came my way I got a little distracted. The moral of the story? Never use shopping to kill the time.

And if you like these beauties they are called the Elazer Leather Mirror Platform Sandal in Gold and they retail for about $800. Glad I got them at a fraction of that price!

New Jimmy Choos

New Jimmy Choos

Sunshine On My Window

July 15th, 2008

Makes me happy! Like I should be! Just a beautiful sunset in the best apartment in the best neighborhood in the best city in the world.

Sunset Outside The Window

On The Straight And Narrow

July 11th, 2008

I think I should become a hair blogger. It seems like a lot more fun! Check out just how straight it is! The results of a VERY swank hair straightener indeed.

Julie Fredrickson After Fancy Hair Straightener

Double Trouble

July 10th, 2008

I recently moved back into the loft that my Coutorture partner in crime and I signed a lease on over a year ago. With a sale, a move to San Francisco, a move back, and lots of other fun stuff in between I hadn’t been able to move back into what is my dream apartment until just a week ago. Now maybe its because I am not broke anymore but in the space of a year I have gone from taking up one closet to now easily hogging up both closets in the bedroom.

Closet Space

Embracing The T3

June 30th, 2008

I avoided seeing T3 the movie. T2 may be one of the best films of all times and as such should not be sullied by some pathetic attempt to extend a franchise. I have however found a T3 I can really get behind! With my bicoastal tendencies I have the pleasure of life in San Francisco and New York. The dangers? Varied climates and tempting Sephora superstores are dangerous. Thus I found myself the proud owner of a T3 travel hairdryer. The before (after a day in Berkeley) and the after (before some cocktail or another). And after 24 hours from a blow out. I have no fancy blowout skills and my hair is normally stick straight so keep that in mind.

Hair Before T2

Hair After T3

Hair After T3
Julie 24 Hours After T3 Blowout

I Enjoy Being A Girl

June 24th, 2008

Apparently I am actually a girl. And really is that such a bad thing?

San Francisco Fashion Geek Out on Tuesday

June 14th, 2008

I am hosting a little San Francisco Fashion Geek out on Monday as I am in town. Weirdly I have discovered a lot of people don’t realize I am vaguely bicoastal now so I should probably let everyone know that I am in Williamsburg Brooklyn most of the time and San Francisco the rest of the time thanks to my employers Sugar who keep us fashion folks in the New York scene and make sure we get to spend time at the HQ in the Bay Area too.

Anyway, if you are interested in attending the fashion geek out session drop me a line at my gmail (this should be easy to figure out if you know my actual name) or leave a comment here. Hope to see serious fashion and geek contenders. Since we already did a blogger meet up this week for the Coutorture folks this is more of an industry centric dinner just fyi. I plan to have it at 6pm on Tuesday evening at a restaurant in the Mission.