Seen a Rogue on the loose? Get in touch with our Roguemeister: JOHN SCHRAG jschrag@wweek.com (503) 243-2122 FAX: (503) 243-1115 When Michael Gorsline decided to cancel his membership at the Twin Oaks Gold's Gym in Beaverton two years ago, he assumed he was finished paying health-club fees. But in January, 17 months after he last set foot in the club, Gorsline started getting billed $34 a month for that same membership. The bills came from 24 Hour Fitness, a California-based chain that bought Gold's local operations about the same time Gorsline says he quit the club. Since January, Gorsline says that he's spent more than 10 hours on countless phone calls and e-mails trying to get 24 Hour to stop billing him. So far it's been all pain and no gain. After four months of fruitless efforts, Gorsline took his complaints to a higher power, the attorney general's office. Valerie Kazanjian, a spokesperson for 24 Hour Fitness, says Gorsline's problem is probably the result of a computer glitch and that the company is now reviewing it. We might be willing to chalk Gorsline's problems up to technical difficulties, but he isn't the only one who's had trouble with the company--and other complaints have been even more serious. In addition to Gorsline's call, the attorney general's office has received seven other complaints against 24 Hour Fitness in the last year. Kazanjian says most of them relate to club employees failing to provide the appropriate price lists to prospective customers. The AG's office has told the company to shape up. Last December, 24 Hour Fitness signed what's known as an Agreement of Voluntary Compliance in Marion County Court. In the agreement, the company pledged to stop pitching memberships to customers without disclosing rates on a typewritten, laminated form. As for Gorsline, he just wants the gym to work out his problem. "I'm thinking about picketing," he says. "It may be the only way to get their attention." Note: Just before press time, Kazanjian informed WW that 24 Hour Fitness had indeed made a mistake and that Gorsline's money would be refunded. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Willamette Week | originally published April 14, 1999